Owain ap Dyfnwal (died 1015)

Owain ap Dyfnwal
Owain's name as it appears on folio 60r of Oxford Jesus College 111 (the Red Book of Hergest): "owein".
King of Strathclyde
Predecessor	Máel Coluim
Successor	Owain Foel
Died	1015
Father	Dyfnwal ab Owain

Owain ap Dyfnwal (died 1015) may have been an eleventh-century ruler of the Kingdom of Strathclyde. He seems to have been a son of Dyfnwal ab Owain, King of Strathclyde, and may well have succeeded Dyfnwal's son, Máel Coluim, King of Strathclyde. During Owain's reign, he would have faced a massive invasion by Æthelræd II, King of the English. Owain's death is recorded in 1015, and seems to have been succeeded by Owain Foel, a man who may have been his nephew.

Uncertain succession of Dyfnwal ap Owain

Simplified pedigree of the royal Cumbrian dynasty. Owain is highlighted. It is possible that all these men ruled as King of Strathclyde.
Dyfnwal ab Owain (died 975) Rhydderch (fl. 971) Máel Coluim (died 997) Owain (died 1015) Owain Foel (fl. 1018)

Owain seems to have been a son of Dyfnwal ab Owain, King of Strathclyde. For much of the tenth century—possibly from the 930s to the 970s—the latter ruled the Kingdom of Strathclyde. The chronology of Dyfnwal's apparent abdication is uncertain. He seems to have vacated the throne by the 970s. His apparent son, Rhydderch, may have briefly reigned as king, although no source states as much. Certainly, English sources reveal that Dyfnwal's son, Máel Coluim, ruled in 973 whilst Dyfnwal was still alive. Owain may well have taken up the throne after Máel Coluim's death in 997.

Invasions of Owain's realm

The terminology employed for Owain's realm as it appears on folio 146r of British Library Cotton Tiberius B I (the "C" version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle): "Cumerlande".

Surviving sources fail to note the Cumbrian kingdom between the obituaries of Dyfnwal in 975 and his son, Máel Coluim, in 997. Little is certain of Owain's apparent reign. Near the turn of the new millennium, Owain may well have been in his fifties or sixties, and seems to have faced an English invasion of his realm. Specifically, the ninth- to twelfth-century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports that Æthelræd II, King of the English unleashed a devastating campaign against the Cumbrian kingdom in 1000. Although the English are said to have ravaged nearly all of the country, the English naval forces based at Chester failed to link up with the land forces —seemingly due to adverse weather conditions —and are recorded to have attacked the Isle of Man instead. On one hand, this island assault could indicate that the English fleet had originally intended to penetrate the Firth of Clyde region before improvising an attack in the Solway Firth. On the other hand, it is possible that the English originally intended to strike out at both the Cumbrians and Islesmen.

The name of Æthelræd II as it appears on folio 152r of British Library Cotton Tiberius B I: "Æþelred".

The specific reasons behind Æthelræd's attack upon the Cumbrians are uncertain. It may have been meant as a message to his northern subjects and neighbours signifying the strength of English royal authority. One possibility is that Æthelræd's invasion concerned Cumbrian support of Scandinavian predatory forces in the area, and that the operation was aimed at Scandinavian outposts in the Irish Sea region. Certainly, the aforesaid annal-entry also notes that an "enemy fleet" departed for Normandy that year, although no context for this movement is given. According to the twelfth-century Chronicon ex chronicis, the fleet vacated the north prior to Æthelræd's strike, which may well explain why the latter was free to undertake a foreign campaign. In fact, there is reason to suspect that the English had struck a deal with a Scandinavian army seated in England, and thereafter directed one part of this force to engage the Cumbrians and another to attack the Normans.

The name of Máel Coluim mac Cináeda as it appears on folio 16v of Oxford Bodleian Library Rawlinson B 488: "Mael Colaim mac Cínaetha".

An Irish contemporary of Owain was Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig, High King of Ireland. In 1006, he mustered a massive force in southern Ireland and marched throughout the north of the island in a remarkable show of force. A passage preserved by the eleventh- or twelfth-century Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib claims that, whilst in the north, Brian's maritime forces levied tribute from Saxons and Britons, and from Argyll, the Lennox, and Alba. This source may be evidence that Brian's Scandinavian forces—perhaps commanded by Sitriuc mac Amlaíb, King of Dublin—campaigned against various Cumbrian-controlled territories, and either the English population of Lothian or the western coast of Northumbria. Just the year before, Máel Coluim mac Cináeda succeeded a kinsman to become King of Alba. The twelfth-century pseudo-prophetic Prophecy of Berchán describes this monarch as an "enemy of Britons", and within the same passage seems to refer to military actions against the islands of Islay and Arran. This source, therefore, may refer to events related to Brian's apparent overseas operations. It could also be evidence of competition in the region between Brian and his Scottish counterpart.

Also in 1006, the eleventh-century De obsessione Dunelmi records that the Scots penetrated into Northumbria, and besieged Durham before being beaten back by Uhtred, son of the northern English magnate Waltheof. The fact that there is no record of Cumbrian involvement in this Scottish enterprise could indicate that the devastation wrought by the English in 1000 had nullified Cumbrian military might. Another possibility is that the Cumbrians had adhered to the conditions of some sort of submission which Æthelræd had exacted from them as a result of his campaign.

Death and the Cumbrian succession

The Giant's Grave, a collection of apparent tenth-century monuments at Penrith. The stones display significant Scandinavian influences, and are traditionally associated with a legendary king, variably known as Owain Caesarius. It is possible that this figure refers to Owain himself, or any of the tenth- and eleventh-century Cumbrian kings who bore the same name.

According to the "B" version of the eleventh- to thirteenth-century Annales Cambriæ, Owain was slain in 1015. This obituary is corroborated by the thirteenth- and fourteenth-century texts Brut y Tywysogyon and Brenhinedd y Saesson. Although the notices of Owain's demise seem to indicate that he was killed in battle, nothing is known of the circumstances. Whilst it is possible that these records refer to the like-named Owain Foel, King of Strathclyde, there is evidence indicating that this man lived on years afterwards, and there is no reason to disregard the aforesaid obituaries as erroneous. If the like-named men are indeed different people, they could well have been closely related, with the latter perhaps being a son of Owain's brother Máel Coluim. The likelihood that there were indeed two contemporary Cumbrian rulers named Owain could account for Owain Foel's epithet (meaning "the bald"). According to the twelfth-century Historia regum Anglorum, Owain Foel assisted his Scottish counterpart, Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, against the English at the Battle of Carham in 1018.

Either Owain himself, or his like-named grandfather Owain ap Dyfnwal, King of Strathclyde, or else their ultimate royal successor Owain Foel may be identical to Owain Caesarius, a legendary figure associated with an assemblage of apparent tenth-century monuments at Penrith collectively known as The Giant's Grave. The nearby site of Castle Hewin (grid reference NY48544627), a place name meaning "Owain's castle" (derived from castell Ewain), may well be named after the same man. A seventeenth-century account associates Owain Caesarius with the Giant's Caves, located on the north bank of the River Eamont.

Another like-named member of the Cumbrian dynasty may be the Owain ap Dyfnwal who is reported to have been slain in 990 by sources such as the "B" version of Annales Cambriæ, Brut y Tywysogyon, and Brenhinedd y Saesson.

References

Primary sources

• Anderson, AO, ed. (1908). Scottish Annals From English Chroniclers, A.D. 500 to 1286. London: David Nutt. OL 7115802M – via Internet Archive.
• Anderson, AO, ed. (1922). Early Sources of Scottish History, A.D. 500 to 1286. Vol. 1. London: Oliver and Boyd. OL 14712679M – via Internet Archive.
• Anderson, AO (1930). "The Prophecy of Berchan". Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie. 18: 1–56. doi:10.1515/zcph.1930.18.1.1. eISSN 1865-889X. ISSN 0084-5302. S2CID 162902103.
• "Annals of Tigernach". Corpus of Electronic Texts (13 April 2005 ed.). University College Cork. 2005. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
• "The Annals of Tigernach". Corpus of Electronic Texts (2 November 2010 ed.). University College Cork. 2010. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
• Arnold, T, ed. (1882). Symeonis Monachi Opera Omnia. Rerum Britannicarum Medii Ævi Scriptores. Vol. 1. London: Longmans & Co.
• Arnold, T, ed. (1885). Symeonis Monachi Opera Omnia. Rerum Britannicarum Medii Ævi Scriptores. Vol. 2. London: Longmans & Co.
• "Bodleian Library MS. Rawl. B. 488". Early Manuscripts at Oxford University. Oxford Digital Library. n.d. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
• "Cotton MS Tiberius B I". British Library. n.d. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
• Ferguson, R, ed. (1890). A Cursory Relation of the Antiquities & Familyes in Cumberland. Kendal: T. Wilson. OL 25499451M – via Internet Archive.
• Forester, T, ed. (1854). The Chronicle of Florence of Worcester, with the Two Continuations: Comprising Annals of English History, From the Departure of the Romans to the Reign of Edward I. Bohn's Antiquarian Library. London: Henry G. Bohn. OL 24871176M – via Internet Archive.
• Gough-Cooper, HW, ed. (2015). Annales Cambriae: The B Text From London, National Archives, MS E164/1, pp. 2–26 (PDF) (September 2015 ed.) – via Welsh Chronicles Research Group.
• Hudson, BT (1996). Prophecy of Berchán: Irish and Scottish High-Kings of the Early Middle Ages. Contributions to the Study of World History. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-29567-0. ISSN 0885-9159.
• Irvine, S, ed. (2004). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A Collaborative Edition. Vol. 7. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer. ISBN 0-85991-494-1.
• "Jesus College MS. 111". Early Manuscripts at Oxford University. Oxford Digital Library. n.d. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
• Jones, O; Williams, E; Pughe, WO, eds. (1870). The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales. Denbigh: Thomas Gee. OL 6930827M – via Internet Archive.
• O'Keeffe, KO, ed. (2001). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A Collaborative Edition. Vol. 5. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer. ISBN 0-85991-491-7.
• "Oxford Jesus College MS. 111 (The Red Book of Hergest)". Welsh Prose 1300–1425. n.d. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
• Rhŷs, J; Evans, JG, eds. (1890). The Text of the Bruts From the Red Book of Hergest. Oxford. OL 19845420M – via Internet Archive.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Skene, WF, ed. (1867). Chronicles of the Picts, Chronicles of the Scots, and Other Early Memorials of Scottish History. Edinburgh: H.M. General Register House. OL 23286818M – via Internet Archive.
• Stevenson, J, ed. (1853). The Church Historians of England. Vol. 2, pt. 1. London: Seeleys – via Internet Archive.
• Stevenson, J, ed. (1855). The Church Historians of England. Vol. 3, pt. 2. London: Seeleys. OL 7055940M – via Internet Archive.
• Swanton, M, ed. (1998) [First published 1996]. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-92129-5.
• Thorpe, B, ed. (1848). Florentii Wigorniensis Monachi Chronicon ex Chronicis. Vol. 1. London: English Historical Society. OL 24871544M – via Internet Archive.
• Thorpe, B, ed. (1861). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Rerum Britannicarum Medii Ævi Scriptores. Vol. 1. London: Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts – via Internet Archive.
• Todd, JH, ed. (1867). Cogad Gaedel re Gallaib: The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill. London: Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer. OL 24826667M – via Internet Archive.
• Whitelock, D, ed. (1996) [First published 1955]. English Historical Documents, c. 500–1042 (2nd ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 0-203-43950-3.
• Williams Ab Ithel, J, ed. (1860). Brut y Tywysigion; or, The Chronicle of the Princes. Rerum Britannicarum Medii Ævi Scriptores. London: Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts. OL 24776516M – via Internet Archive.

Secondary sources

• Aird, WM (2004). "Uhtred, Earl of Bamburgh (d. 1016)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/27981. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Beougher, DB (2007). Brian Boru: King, High-King, and Emperor of the Irish (PhD thesis). Pennsylvania State University.
• Breatnach, C (2005). "Historical Tales". In Duffy, S (ed.). Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia. New York: Routledge. pp. 221–222. ISBN 0-415-94052-4 – via Internet Archive.
• Broun, D (2004a). "Malcolm II (d. 1034)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/17858. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Broun, D (2004b). "The Welsh Identity of the Kingdom of Strathclyde c.900–c.1200". The Innes Review. 55 (2): 111–180. doi:10.3366/inr.2004.55.2.111. eISSN 1745-5219. ISSN 0020-157X.
• Candon, A (1988). "Muirchertach Ua Briain, Politics and Naval Activity in the Irish Sea, 1075 to 1119". In Mac Niocaill, G; Wallace, PF (eds.). Keimelia: Studies in Medieval Archaeology and History in Memory of Tom Delaney. Galway University Press. pp. 397–416.
• Charles-Edwards, TM (2013). Wales and the Britons, 350–1064. The History of Wales. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-821731-2.
• Clarkson, T (2010). The Men of the North: The Britons and Southern Scotland (EPUB). Edinburgh: John Donald. ISBN 978-1-907909-02-3.
• Clarkson, T (2012) [First published 2011]. The Makers of Scotland: Picts, Romans, Gaels and Vikings (EPUB). Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited. ISBN 978-1-907909-01-6.
• Clarkson, T (2013). "The Last King of Strathclyde". History Scotland. 13 (6): 24–27. ISSN 1475-5270.
• Clarkson, T (2014). Strathclyde and the Anglo-Saxons in the Viking Age (EPUB). Edinburgh: John Donald. ISBN 978-1-907909-25-2.
• Collingwood, WG (1923). "The Giant's Grave, Penrith" (PDF). Transactions of the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archæological Society. 23: 115–128. doi:10.5284/1032950.
• Cross, K (2018). Heirs of the Vikings: History and Identity in Normandy and England, c.950–c.1015. York: York Medieval Press. ISBN 978-1-903153-79-6.
• Cross, KC (2014). Enemy and Ancestor: Viking Identities and Ethnic Boundaries in England and Normandy, c.950 – c.1015 (PhD thesis). University College London.
• Cumberland And Westmorland Antiquarian And Archaeological Society (1947). "Proceedings" (PDF). Transactions of the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archæological Society. 47: 199–233. doi:10.5284/1032950.
• Davidson, MR (2002). Submission and Imperium in the Early Medieval Insular World (PhD thesis). University of Edinburgh. hdl:1842/23321.
• Downham, C (2004). "England and the Irish-Sea Zone in the Eleventh Century". In Gillingham, J (ed.). Anglo-Norman Studies. Vol. 26. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press. pp. 55–73. ISBN 1-84383-072-8. ISSN 0954-9927.
• Downham, C (2005). "The Battle of Clontarf in Irish History and Legend". History Ireland. 13 (5): 19–23. ISSN 0791-8224. JSTOR 27725330.
• Downham, C (2017). "Scottish Affairs and the Political Context of Cogadh Gaedhel re Gallaibh". Traversing the Inner Seas: Contacts and Continuity Around Western Scotland, the Hebrides and Northern Ireland. Edinburgh: Scottish Society for Northern Studies. pp. 86–106.
• DuBois, TA (2011). "Juxtaposing Cogadh Gáedel re Gallaib with Orkneyinga Saga". Oral Tradition. 26 (2): 267–296. eISSN 1542-4308. ISSN 0883-5365.
• Duffy, S (2004). "Brian Bóruma [Brian Boru] (c.941–1014)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/3377. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Duffy, S (2013). Brian Boru and the Battle of Clontarf. Gill & Macmillan.
• Duncan, AAM (2002). The Kingship of the Scots, 842–1292: Succession and Independence. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0-7486-1626-8.
• Edmonds, F (2015). "The Expansion of the Kingdom of Strathclyde". Early Medieval Europe. 23 (1): 43–66. doi:10.1111/emed.12087. eISSN 1468-0254. S2CID 162103346.
• Forte, A; Oram, RD; Pedersen, F (2005). Viking Empires. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-82992-2.
• Hicks, DA (2003). Language, History and Onomastics in Medieval Cumbria: An Analysis of the Generative Usage of the Cumbric Habitative Generics Cair and Tref (PhD thesis). University of Edinburgh. hdl:1842/7401.
• Howard, I (2003). Swein Forkbeard's Invasions and the Danish Conquest of England, 991–1017. Warfare in History. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press. ISBN 0-85115-928-1. ISSN 1358-779X.
• Hudson, B (2002). "Brjáns Saga". Medium Ævum. 71 (1): 241–285. doi:10.2307/43630435. eISSN 2398-1423. ISSN 0025-8385. JSTOR 43630435.
• Hudson, BT (1994). Kings of Celtic Scotland. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-29087-3. ISSN 0885-9159. Archived from the original on 23 June 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
• Hudson, BT (2005). Viking Pirates and Christian Princes: Dynasty, Religion, and Empire in the North Atlantic. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-516237-0.
• Macquarrie, A (1998) [First published 1993]. "The Kings of Strathclyde, c. 400–1018". In Grant, A; Stringer, KJ (eds.). Medieval Scotland: Crown, Lordship and Community. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 1–19. ISBN 0-7486-1110-X.
• Macquarrie, A (2004). "Donald (d. 975)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/49382. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• McGuigan, N (2015). Neither Scotland nor England: Middle Britain, c.850–1150 (PhD thesis). University of St Andrews. hdl:10023/7829.
• Minard, A; Busse, PE (2006). "Owain ap Dyfnwal". In Koch, JT (ed.). Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 1407. ISBN 1-85109-445-8.
• Molyneaux, G (2011). "Why Were Some Tenth-Century English Kings Presented as Rulers of Britain?". Transactions of the Royal Historical Society. 21: 59–91. doi:10.1017/S0080440111000041. eISSN 1474-0648. ISSN 0080-4401.
• Ní Mhaonaigh, M (1992). "Bréifne Bias in Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib". Ériu. 43: 135–158. eISSN 2009-0056. ISSN 0332-0758. JSTOR 30007422.
• Ní Mhaonaigh, M (1995). "Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib: Some Dating Considerations". Peritia. 9: 354–377. doi:10.1484/J.Peri.3.255. eISSN 2034-6506. ISSN 0332-1592.
• Ní Mhaonaigh, M (1996). "'Cogad Gáedel Re Gallaib' and the Annals: A Comparison". Ériu. 47: 101–126. eISSN 2009-0056. ISSN 0332-0758. JSTOR 30007439.
• Ní Mhaonaigh, M (2017a). "Brian Boru". In Echard, S; Rouse, R (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature in Britain. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 1–2. doi:10.1002/9781118396957.wbemlb404. ISBN 978-111839695-7.
• Ní Mhaonaigh, M (2017b). "Glorious by Association: The Clontarf Obituary of Brian Boru". In Duffy, S (ed.). Medieval Dublin. Vol. 16. Four Courts Press. pp. 170–187. doi:10.17863/CAM.26938.
• Oram, RD (2000). The Lordship of Galloway. Edinburgh: John Donald. ISBN 0-85976-541-5.
• Oram, RD (2011) [First published 2001]. The Kings & Queens of Scotland. Brimscombe Port: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-7099-3.
• Rose, RK (1982). "Cumbrian Society and the Anglo-Norman Church". Studies in Church History. 18: 119–135. doi:10.1017/S0424208400016089. eISSN 2059-0644. ISSN 0424-2084. S2CID 183905987.
• Somerville, AA; McDonald, RA, eds. (2014). The Viking Age: A Reader. Readings in Medieval Civilizations and Cultures (2nd ed.). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-1-4426-0869-6.
• Strickland, M (1997). "Military Technology and Conquest: The Anomaly of Anglo-Saxon England". In Harper-Bill, C (ed.). Anglo-Norman Studies. Vol. 19. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press. pp. 353–382. ISBN 0-85115-707-6.
• Swift, C (2013). "Chivalry, Saracens and the Chansons de Geste of Brian Boru". In Duffy, S (ed.). Medieval Dublin. Vol. 15. Dublin: Four Courts Press. pp. 119–140. hdl:10395/2767. ISBN 978-184682567-5.
• Taylor, S (2006). "The Early History and Languages of West Dunbartonshire". In Brown, I (ed.). Changing Identities, Ancient Roots: The History of West Dunbartonshire From Earliest Times. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 12–41. ISBN 978-0-7486-2561-1.
• Thornton, DE (1997). "Maredudd ab Owain (d. 999): The Most Famous King of the Welsh". The Welsh History Review. 18 (4): 567–591. eISSN 0083-792X. hdl:10107/1082967. ISSN 0043-2431.
• Thornton, DE (2001). "Edgar and the Eight Kings, AD 973: Textus et Dramatis Personae". Early Medieval Europe. 10 (1): 49–79. doi:10.1111/1468-0254.00079. eISSN 1468-0254. hdl:11693/24776. S2CID 162915120.
• Wadden, P (2015). "The Normans and the Irish Sea World in the Era of the Battle of Clontarf". In McAlister, V; Barry, T (eds.). Space and Settlement in Medieval Ireland. Dublin: Four Courts Press. pp. 15–33. ISBN 978-1-84682-500-2.
• Wadden, P (2016). "Dál Riata c. 1000: Genealogies and Irish Sea Politics". Scottish Historical Review. 95 (2): 164–181. doi:10.3366/shr.2016.0294. eISSN 1750-0222. ISSN 0036-9241.
• Walker, IW (2013) [First published 2006]. Lords of Alba: The Making of Scotland (EPUB). Brimscombe Port: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-9519-4.
• Williams, A (1999). Kingship and Government in Pre-Conquest England, c.500–1066. British History in Perspective. Houndmills, Basingstoke: Macmillan Press. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-27454-3. ISBN 978-1-349-27454-3.
• Woolf, A (2007). From Pictland to Alba, 789–1070. The New Edinburgh History of Scotland. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-1233-8.