Meurig ab Arthfael[a] (or Mouric, ruled c. 848 – c. 874) was a king in south-east Wales. In the seventh century, Gwent was a single kingdom covering south-east Wales, but in the ninth century it was divided between Glywysing (Glamorgan), which had a higher status, and a smaller Gwent, covering the area which is now Monmouthshire. Historians disagree whether Meurig was king of Glywysing, with authority across south-east Wales, or only of Gwent. His sons Brochfael ap Meurig and Ffernfael ap Meurig were only kings of Gwent, and they were subject to their cousin Hywel ap Rhys, King of Glywysing.
The twelfth-century Book of Llandaff records charters in which Meurig granted land to the church or guaranteed grants by others. Two charters state that he ordered all churches were to be free from obligations to laymen, and in the view of the historian Wendy Davies, he was one of the few kings who attempted to guarantee ecclesiastical immunity from widespread lawlessness and arbitrary use of power. Historians disagree about his death date. Some date it definitely as 874, but others think that the Meurig whose death is recorded in 849 is also possible.
- ^ Lloyd 1911, endpapers; Charles-Edwards 2013, p. 553; Sims-Williams 2019, p. 117.
- ^ Rowlands & Rowlands 1996, p. 8.
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