Penychen facts for kids

Penychen was an important area in early medieval Wales. It might have been a small kingdom at first, and later it became a "cantref." A cantref was like a large district or region within a bigger kingdom. Penychen was part of the Kingdom of Morgannwg, which was also known as Glywysing.

Penychen was located between the Taff and Thaw rivers. It was one of three main cantrefi that made up the kingdom of Glywysing. The other two were Gwynllwg and Gorfynydd. People believed these areas were created around 480 AD. This was when Glywys, the first king of Glywysing, died. His kingdom was then split among his three sons: Pawl, Gwynllyw, and Mechwyn. However, we don't know much for sure about this early history. Most of what we know comes from old documents and family histories from the Middle Ages.

Early Rulers of Penychen

Pawl was the first ruler of Penychen. When he died around 540 AD, he passed the cantref to his nephew.

Pawl's brother, Gwynllyw, ruled the area called Gwynllwg. When he died, his son, Cadoc, took over Gwynllwg. Cadoc was also known as Saint Cadoc. Later, Cadoc also gained control of Penychen. But when Saxons killed him, he had no children to inherit his lands. Because of this, both Penychen and Gwynllwg came under the control of Meureg. Meureg was the ruler of Gwent, and he added these areas to his own kingdom.

Norman Influence

After the Norman conquest of South Wales, things changed for Penychen. The southern parts of Penychen, which were close to the Bristol Channel, came under the direct rule of the Norman Marcher Lords. These lords were powerful Norman leaders and their families.

However, the rest of Penychen stayed under the control of local Welsh lords. These areas included the Rhondda Valley and Miskin. The Welsh lords had to show respect to the powerful Norman lords. But they still kept some of their independence. They were always ready to fight to protect it.

Important Places

During the Middle Ages, Penychen had two very important religious centers:

• The main church seat of Llandaf, which was a very important church.
• Llancarfan, which was a special religious settlement called a clas. This place was connected to an early writer named Caradoc of Llancarfan.

Where Was Penychen?

Penychen was located in South Wales. It was between the areas known as Senghenydd and Gwrinydd. Today, the land that used to be Penychen includes:

• Most of the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taff.
• The majority of the Vale of Glamorgan.
• The western part of Cardiff.