 The 5th century saw the withdrawal of Imperial Roman support from Britain, and the succeeding centuries, the Dark Ages, witnessed the emergence of a national identity and of kingdoms. The area which would become the Rhondda lay within Glywysing, an area that incorporated the modern area of Glamorgan, ruled by a dynasty founded by Glywys. This dynasty was later replaced by another founded by Meurig ap Tewdrig whose descendant Morgan ap Owain would give Glamorgan its Welsh name Morgannwg. With the coming of the Norman overlords after the 1066 Battle of Hastings, south-east Wales was divided into five cantrefi. The Rhondda lay within Penychen, a narrow strip running between modern day Glyn Neath and the coast between Cardiff and Aberthaw. Each cantref was further divided into commotes, with Penychen made up of five such commotes, one being Glynrhondda.
