Ffernfael ap Meurig

Not to be confused with the 8th-century king of Gwent, Ffernfael ab Idwal. For other Welsh rulers of the same name, see Ffernfael..

Ffernfael ap Meurig or Ffyrnfael[1] or Fernmail,[2] fl. 880s, was king of Gwent in southeast Wales jointly with his brother Brochfael ap Meurig.[3] Asser says in his biography of Alfred the Great that "Brochfael and Ffyrnfael, (sons of Meurig and kings of Gwent), driven by the might and tyrannical behaviour of Ealdorman Æthelred and the Mercians, petitioned King Alfred of their own accord, in order to obtain lordship and protection from him in the face of their enemies".[1]

In early medieval Wales, it was common for brothers to share the kingship.[4] Brochfael and Ffernfael are both listed in the Book of Llandaff as witnesses to a charter of their father, but Ffernfael does not witness any surviving charter of his own, whereas several show Brochfael as a royal grantor and witness. Ffernfael may have been subordinate to Brochfael.[5][6]

  1. ^ a b Keynes, Simon; Lapidge, Michael, eds. (1983). Alfred the Great: Asser's Life of King Alfred & Other Contemporary Sources. London, UK: Penguin Classics. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-14-044409-4.
  2. ^ Charles-Edwards, Thomas (2013). Wales and the Britons 350–1064. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. p. 253. ISBN 978-0-19-821731-2.
  3. ^ Charles-Edwards, pp. 489-90
  4. ^ Davies, Wendy (1978). An Early Welsh Microcosm. London, UK: Royal Historical Society. p. 102. ISBN 978-0-901050-33-5.
  5. ^ Charles-Edwards, Thomas (2011). "Dynastic Succession in Early Medieval Wales". In Griffiths, R. A.; Schofield, P. R. (eds.). Wales and the Welsh in the Middle Ages. Cardiff, UK: University of Wales Press. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-7083-2446-2.
  6. ^ Sims-Williams, Patrick (2019). The Book of Llandaff as a Historical Source. Woodbridge, UK: The Boydell Press. p. 122. ISBN 978-1-78327-418-5.