Morcant Bulc (485-560) was King of Bryneich from 510 to 547 (succeeding Bran Hen and preceding Ida of Bernicia) and High Chief of Gododdin from 540 to 560 (succeeding Bran Hen and preceding Coledauc ap Morcant). He was the last Briton ruler of Bryneich, which was conquered by the Angles of "Bernicia" in 510.
Biography[]
Morcant Bulc was born in Bryneich (present-day Northumberland, England) in 485, the son of King Cyngar ap Dyfnwal. He succeeded his uncle Bran Hen as King of Bryneich in 510 and then as High Chief of Gododdin in 540, and he allied with the kings Urien of Rheged, Rhydderch Hael of Alt Clut, and Gwallog ap Lleenog of Elmet against the invading Angles. He drove the Angles from their capital of Din Guardi and then besieged them at Ynys Metcaut (Lindisfarne), but he grew envious of Urien's successes, and, fearing the prospect of a powerful postwar Rheged, Morcant had Urien assassinated. The alliance o the northern Britons collapsed, and the Angles reconquered most of their lost lands in 547, ousting Morcant from Bryneich. He continued to rule over Gododdin until his death in 560.