Athrwys ap Meurig

Athrwys (sometimes misspelled as Arthwys) was a Prince, possibly a King, from Gwent in Wales, who is generally accepted as having lived in the early 7th century.

Lineage

Athrwys (spelled Atroys in the 10th century Welsh Harleian genealogies and both Andres and Andrus (from Archaic Welsh *Antres) in the early medieval Latin Life of Saint Cadoc^[1]) was the son of Meurig ap Tewdrig, a King of Gwent (and probably Glywysing, now known as Glamorgan) by his wife, Onbrawst, or Onbraus the daughter of Gwrgan Fawr, King of Ergyng (Western Herefordshire).

His family relationships are recorded in a number of Old Welsh pedigrees, as well the Book of Llandaff. From her study of the Llandaff Charters in this manuscript, Prof. Wendy Davies has concluded that Athrwys predeceased his father around 655 and never actually ruled in Gwent.

His son was Morgan ab Athrwys or Morgan Mwynfawr 'Morgan the Benefactor' in the Welsh language. Morgan was King of Morgannwg, or Gwent and Glywysing, land as far west as the River Towy and also encompassing land beyond the River Wye, into the old Kingdom of Ergyng, South Herefordshire.

Arthurian connection

Due to the superficial similarity of the Middle Welsh spellings of the names Arthur and Athrwys (which is occasionally misspelled Arthwys in some post-medieval sources), as well as the area in which Athrwys lived and possibly ruled, it has been suggested by some modern authors that he had some connection with King Arthur, or was even the historical basis for the legendary king. However, the identification has been challenged on linguistic grounds by most of those who have examined the names.^[2]

Notes

References

• Bartrum, Peter C (1993). A Welsh Classical Dictionary. Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales. p. 136. 
• Davies, Wendy. (1979). The Llandaff Charters.
• Williams, David. (1796). The History of Monmouthshire.