:Rhain the Irishman
{{Short description|King of Dyfed, Wales}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
Rhain was an 11th-century king of Dyfed.
It is unclear when Rhain's reign began. He claimed to be the son of Maredudd ab Owain, King of Gwynedd, a younger son of Owain ap Hywel Dda, King of Deheubarth and the grandson of King Hywel Dda. Rhain was apparently accepted as such by the people of the Kingdom of Dyfed, and by the anonymous author of the C text of the Annals of Wales.Charles-Edwards, [https://books.google.com/books?id=AK_yn7Q3_x0C&pg=PA556 p. 556]. It has been suggested that Rhain might have been an illegitimate son and fled to Ireland for safety when Maredudd died and Gwynedd was claimed by Cynan ap Hywel then Aeddan ap Blegywryd, possibly by violence.{{Cite web |title=The Era of Llewelyn ap Seisyll |url=http://www.ancientwalesstudies.org/id207.html |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=www.ancientwalesstudies.org}} Hywel Dda had a son whose name was spelled Rhain or Rhun,{{Cite web |title=Hywel Dda [Hywel Dda ap Cadell] (d. 949/50), king in Wales |url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-13968 |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |language=en |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/13968}} and given the naming conventions of the medieval Wales, it is possible that his name, historically identified with earlier rulers of Dyfed through Hywel's wife Elen ferch Llywarch ap Hyfaidd, king of Dyfed, was an indication of a familial relationship with the line of Hywel Dda.{{Cite journal |last=Thornton |first=David E. |date=1999 |title=Predatory Nomenclature and Dynastic Expansion in Early Medieval Wales |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/44946879 |journal=Medieval Prosopography |volume=20 |pages=1–22 |issn=0198-9405}}
Llywelyn ap Seisyll, King of Gwynedd, was the son in law of Maredudd ab Owain through his marriage to Angharad ferch Maredudd ab Owain, and saw Rhain's successful takeover of the Kingdom of Dyfed as a threat to his control of his more northern territories. Llywelyn brought an army against Rhain.Pierce, T. J., (1959). [https://biography.wales/article/s-MARE-ABO-0999 MAREDUDD ab OWAIN ap HYWEL DDA (died 999), king of Deheubarth]. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 29 Apr 2025, from
Rhain was later recorded as acting 'after the manner of the Irish' and 'proudly and ostentatiously' encouraging his men to fight in the battle, promising them victory. However, Rhain's troops lost the battle against the army from Gwynedd, and he was recorded by the victors as fleeing 'shamefully, like a fox'.{{cite DNB|wstitle= Llywelyn ab Seisyll |volume= 34 |last= Tout |first= Thomas |author-link= Thomas Tout |pages= 6-7 |year= 1893 | short=1}}
After his defeat at the Battle of Abergwilli near Carmarthen, he was deposed by Llywelyn ap Seisyll in 1022.Pierce, T. J., (1959). [https://biography.wales/article/s-LLYW-APS-1023 LLYWELYN ap SEISYLL (died 1023), king of Deheubarth and Gwynedd]. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 29 Apr 2025, from