Urien

Urien ap Cynfarch Oer (Welsh pronunciation: [ˈɨ̞riɛn ap ˈkənvarχ oːɨ̯r]) or Urien Rheged (Welsh pronunciation: [ˈɨ̞riɛn ˈr̥ɛɡɛd], Old Welsh: Urbgen or Urbagen, Old Welsh pronunciation: [ɨ̞rβ(ə)ˈɣɛn]) was a powerful sixth-century Brittonic-speaking figure who was possibly the ruler of the territory or kingdom known as Rheged. He is one of the best-known and best documented of the British figures of the 'Old North'. His kingdom was most likely centred around the Solway Firth. According to the Historia Brittonum (c. 829-30 AD), Urien gained the decisive advantage in a conflict against the Anglo-Saxons in northern Britain led an alliance with three other kings: Rhydderch Hen, Gwallog ap Llênog, and Morgan. The alliance led by Urien penned the Anglo-Saxons in at Lindisfarne, though this siege came to an abrupt end when Urien was murdered on the orders of his erstwhile ally Morgan.

The most secure evidence for his existence comes the Historia Brittonum and eight praise-poems in Middle Welsh dedicated to him surviving in a fourteenth-century manuscript. Despite their being found in Middle Welsh orthography, the poems may possibly reflect earlier material, even material contemporaneous to Urien. One of these poems is explicitly attributed to the famed poet Taliesin in the manuscript. Taliesin is understood to have been a contemporary of Urien due to the testimony of the Historia Brittonum, which roughly synchronises the poet's career to the reign of Ida of Bernicia (547 x 549), as well as the strong association some of the Beirdd y Tywysogion (c. 1100-1283) give between Taliesin and Urien. The early material paints Urien as a ferocious warrior and a major political figure in his time, conquering Picts, Anglo-Saxons, and Britons of the 'Old North' alike. He may also have been the leader of the force opposing the men commemorated in the Gododdin who were killed in the Battle of Catraeth. In addition to this earlier material, Urien and his family feature heavily elsewhere in later medieval literature from Wales.

Outside of the Welsh context, he was later transformed in Arthurian legend into the figure of king Urien of Garlot or Gorre. His most celebrated son, Owain, likewise gave his name to the Arthurian character of Ywain.