Edling

For other uses, see Edling (disambiguation).

Edling (Welsh: etifedd) was a title given to the agreed successor or heir apparent of a reigning Welsh monarch.^[1] It is related to the English term Æþeling.

While Æþeling or "noble child" (for example, see Edgar the Ætheling) was used in Anglo-Saxon England before the Norman Conquest to denote one of "royal blood",^[2] the Welsh use had a more precise meaning and denoted the acknowledged heir to the throne, usually the ruler's eldest son, although any son (legitimate or illegitimate) could be chosen as edling.^[3]

In 1923, the academic T. H. Parry-Williams identified the title as being borrowed from Old English.^[4] However, David Dumville has argued that the term may have been borrowed at a later date from Middle English.^[2][5]

The term has been used in Welsh poetry, including by Iolo Goch when praising Roger Mortimer as heir to Richard II.^[5]

See also

• Titles of the Welsh Court