View source for Rhain ap Cadwgan

{{Short description|Welsh king}}
{{Hatnote|For other Welsh rulers of the same name, see [[Rhain (disambiguation)]].}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2009}}
'''Rhain ap Cadwgan''' ({{langx|en|Regin son of Cadogan}}; died {{circa|740}}) was an 8th-century [[kings of Dyfed|king]] of [[Kingdom of Dyfed|Dyfed]] and [[Brycheiniog]] in [[Wales of the Early Middle Ages]]. He succeeded his father Cadwgan, who succeeded his father Caten ap [[Cloten of Dyfed and Brycheiniog|Cloten]].<ref name=EBK>{{cite web |url=http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/bios/rheindf.html |title=
King Rhain of Dyfed & Brycheioniog  |last=Ford |first=David Nash |date=2001 |website=Early British Kingdoms |publisher=Nash Ford Publishing |access-date=25 July 2021}}</ref>

==Biography==
Rhain's great-grandfather, Cloten, had married the heiress of Brycheiniog, [[Ceindrych ferch Rhiwallon|Queen Ceindrych of Brycheiniog]] briefly [[Rheinwg|uniting the two kingdoms]].  During Rhain's rule, however, [[kings of Ceredigion|King]] [[Seisyll]] of [[Kingdom of Ceredigion|Ceredigion]] invaded Dyfed and annexed its [[Cantref]] [[Ystrad Tywi]] (c. 710), cleaving apart Rhain's realm; Ceredigion and [[Ystrad Tywi]] were merged by Seisyll to form [[Seisyllwg]].<ref name=EBK /> Sometime after this, the reduced Dyfed-Brycheiniog was briefly called [[Rhainwg]],<ref name=EBK /> but the detached parts could not be maintained as a unit, and Rhain's younger brother - Awst ({{langx|en|Augustus}}) - was appointed as a governor of Brycheiniog.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

Rhain's son, Tewdws succeeded him in Dyfed. Following Awst's death, Tewdws asserted his right to Brycheiniog, only allowing Awst's son, Elwystl, to rule a sub-division of it. Tewdws later murdered Elwystl, forcibly re-establishing Rhainwg.<ref>[[John Edward Lloyd]], History of Wales</ref>

==Three brothers: Tewdos, Gruffudd and Caten==
{{Original research section|date=July 2021}}
The various manuscripts identifying Rhain's wife and immediate descendants are particularly inconsistent, and muddled.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} There are a number of possible conclusions:{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}
*that Rhain's son Tewdos (also known as Tewdwr) had two sons - [[Maredudd ap Tewdws|Maredudd]] and Nowy Hen, between whom the land was divided; Maredudd received Dyfedd and Nowy Hen received Brycheiniog. In syzygy with this, 
**that Tewdos' mother (Rhain's wife) was the daughter of [[Elisedd ap Gwylog]] (the king of [[Kingdom of Powys|Powys]]) and Sanan(t) ferch Nowy, Cloten's younger sister; that her grandson - Nowy Hen - was the father of Grufydd. 
**alternatively, that (as in Jesus College Manuscript 20), Sanan(t) was the daughter of Elisse, the son of Nowy Hen; Sanan(t) and an unnamed king of Powys were the parents of Grufydd
*alternatively, that Rhain had three or four sons - Tewdos, Naufedd Hen, Tewdwr, and possibly also Elisse - between whom the land was divided; Dyfed going to Tewdos (whose son Maredudd inherited it from him), Naufedd Hen receiving [[Cantref Selyf]] of Brycheiniog, Tewdwr receiving [[Cantref Mawr]], and Elisse (or Naufedd Hen, if Elisse didn't exist) receiving the remainder of Brycheiniog. In close-union with this alternative, that Tewdwr's son and heir was also named ''Elisse'', and his daughter Sanan(t) married Nowy, an unidentified king, whose son was Gruffydd; Naufedd Hen, meanwhile, was the great-great-grandfather of a man named ''Elisse ap Gwylog'' (eg. as in Peniarth Manuscript 131).

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-bef|rows=2|before=[[Cloten of Dyfed and Brycheiniog]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[List of rulers of Wales#Dyfed|King of Dyfed]]|years=to c. 740}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Tewdws ap Rhain]]}}
|-
{{S-ttl|title=[[List of rulers of Wales#Brycheiniog|King of Brycheiniog]]|years=to c. 740}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Tewdwr ap Rhain]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Wales-bio-stub}}
{{Wales-hist-stub}}
{{Rulers of medieval Wales}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhain ap Cadwgan}}
[[Category:8th-century Welsh monarchs]]
[[Category:Monarchs of Dyfed]]
[[Category:Monarchs of Brycheiniog]]
[[Category:740 deaths]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Year of death uncertain]]