Monday, April 27, 2020
Sunday, April 26, 2020
APRIL 2020 SUMMARY OF MY HISTORICAL ARTHUR THEORY
Bath House, Roman Ribchester (Photo Courtesy Paul Adams)
After doing everything conceivable to destroy my own argument for Arthur's Dark Age origin at Ribchester, Lancashire, I've come to realize that it really is a good theory - perhaps even a valid one. I will emphasize, as I always do, that it is only a theory. Anyone who claims to be presenting historical fact when it comes to an Arthur of the 6th century A.D. is being ingenuine.
What I would like to present here is a summary of sorts of my conclusions (I will not dignify them by calling them "findings", as that implies a result stemming from scientific testing).
1) The paper "Missing Pieces" (Malcor, L.A., Trinchese, A., Faggiani, A., Missing Pieces: A New Reading of the Main Lucius Artorius Castus Inscription, Journal of Indo-European Studies, Vol. 47, no 3 & 4 Fall/Winter, 2019, pp. 415-437), after critical examination by top Roman historians and epigraphers, has convinced me that the 2nd century A.D. Lucius Artorius Castus would, in fact, have had a great deal to do with the Sarmatians who were sent to Britain. LAC's center of operations would have been York, but the Sarmatians served as garrison troops at Ribchester and that fort became a civilian settlement reserved for Sarmatian veterans. Had the name Artorius been remembered in the North, becoming eventually Cumbric Arthur, the two most likely places to find it as far as ruling families are concerned would be those two cities.
2) Uther is said to have had a son named Madog. A 5th-6th century chieftain of Ribchester named Sawyl Benisel had a son of that name. We know of this St. Madog only through the Irish sources. In the 'Dialogue of Arthur and the Eagle' (Ymddiddan Arthur a'r Eryr), Madog son of Uther is given a son named Eliwlad. While it is possible to come up with one barely acceptable etymology for Eliwlad (one that relies upon a word definition only possibly found in very early Welsh), the simplest derivation would be to propose an original form Eilwlad (the metathesis happening rather easily, as can be demonstrated by copying errors in MSS.). This would mean 'Other-land' and would be a perfect semantic match to Irish Ailithir, 'Other-land', an epithet applied to Sawyl's son Madog. Thus, Eliwlad or Eilwlad son of Madog would be a folk memory of Madog Ailithir. Ailithir was used to mean 'pilgrim' from the time of Old Irish, and in Welsh literature we find another didactic poem which Oliver Padel has compared to the one featuring Arthur and the eagle. In this later poem, a saint instructs a pilgrim on Christian doctrine.
3) The name Sawyl is almost certainly used in the elegy for Uther Pendragon (Marwnat Vthyr Pen) for Uther himself. This requires emending a word kawyl through a single error known as an eye-skip. According to no less an authority than Dr. Simon Rodway of the University of Wales, cannwyll for kawyl calls for several errors and some of these would be unique to the MSS. in which the poem is embedded. Because of this he holds that Sawyl is the preferred reading. 'eil cannwyll' would also make no sense, given the reference to Uther's transformation in the previous line. And this is true whether eil here is supposed to have the sense of 'like' or 'second.' Eil Sawyl, 'a second Sawyl', on the other hand, does work quite nicely. The pen kawell of the previous line (which is the source of the proposed eye-skip) can perhaps be found in the place-name Kingscavil in West Lothian. Unfortunately, Kingscavil as it now stands is a Gaelic name and the derivation of its second element is disputed. If we instead accept Sawyl for kawyl, then the best reading of pen kawell is "Lord of the Sanctuary", an epithet for God in the same line. "Lord of the Sanctuary" would be a play on "Sanctuary of the Lord", first found used of God in the Old Testament in the context of Samuel and his mother at Shiloh.
4) Pendragon may be interpreted in standard Welsh poetic fashion as meaning merely 'chief-warrior' or the like. In other words, 'dragon' in this context would be a metaphor. However, the Sarmatians were among those steppe people who are credited with bringing the draco standard into the Roman army. It is true that by the late Roman period the draco had become thoroughly 'Roman.' But it may have remained particularly sacred to the Sarmato-Britons of sub-Roman and Dark Age Ribchester. In the late Roman army there was a rank magister draconum which would translate perfectly into pen + dragon. What this means is that there might be something to Geoffrey of Monmouth's story about the comet and the draco after all. I have elsewhere covered in some detail the comet of 442 A.D., found in Continental and Irish records. This comet originated in Ursa Major, the Great Bear, and we know the Welsh frequently alluded to Arthur as a 'bear.'
Alternately, the cruel/terrible/horrible/fearful chief-dragon may owe his name/title to a desire on the part of the Welsh to hide the true identity of Arthur's father (see https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-two-sawyls-or-does-arthur-belong-at.html). This may well have happened because another wicked, cruel Sawyl, styled a dux and a tyrant, who resided in southern Wales was wrongly identified with the northern figure of that name.
5) The battles of Arthur as found in the HISTORIA BRITTONUM are in perfect accord with a man who was born at Ribchester and who then appears to have acquired military control of Hadrian's Wall. These battles stretch up and down the Roman Dere Street and include among them the York of Lucius Artorius Castus. Arthur died at Camlan on the Wall (Castlesteads fort) and may have had his control center at either Banna/Birdoswald (like Camlan, in the Irthing Valley/Valley of the Bear and of the *Artenses or People of the Bear, i.e. Welsh Arthwys) or at Uxellodunum/Stanwix. Banna was garrisoned for centuries by Dacians who, like the Sarmatians, had introduced a version of the draco into the Roman army. The Dacians may also have worshiped a bear god (Zalmoxis). Sarmatians and Dacians had fought together against Rome, and their homelands bordered upon one another.
6) The god Mabon is said to be the servant of Uther Pendragon. I have demonstrated that Eliwlad son of Madog is localized at Cutmadoc in Cornwall, very near to which are Mabon place-names (Tremabyn). In the parish of Llansawel in Wales (-sawel = Sawyl) there was a castle of Mabon the Giant. And we know that Mabon as the Roman period Apollo Maponus was worshipped at Ribchester. Eliwlad as the Otherworld eagle may have been associated with the god Lleu, who takes that form in death in Nantlle, Gwynedd. The Welsh placed Mabon's grave in the same place, and in the "Pa Gur" poem Mabon is said to be a predatory bird.
7) A requirement of the 6th century Arthur is that he be part Irish. This is because his name was used in the following generation by two Irish-descended dynasties in Britain (those of Dyfed and Dalriada). Sawyl of Ribchester had as his wife a princess of Ulaid. No one else has been able to satisfactorily explain why only Irish-descended dynasties in Britain named their sons Arthur. If you can't demonstrate why this happened, then your theory is not valid. This may seem a brutal assessment, but I feel the need to emphasize it precisely because so many Arthurian scholars have chosen to ignore it.
One theory which seeks to account for the later Irish Arthurs was first voiced by Oliver Padel and echoed by Nicholas HIgham (in KING ARTHUR:MYTH-MAKING AND HISTORY, p. 77):
"The upsurge in Arthur-naming seems to be exclusive to Irish or Irish-connected families. This may simply reflect interaction of Irish in-comers with the name Arthur as a wonder-worker and folk-hero, upon arrival in Britain. Its adoption may, therefore, reflect a desire to capture whatever mythological kudos and religious potency already surrounded the name, with British/Welsh families avoiding its use primarily because of its newly acquired mythological connections."
I'm afraid I find this explanation rather nonsensical.
The only other attempt to account for the Arthur name among the Irish in Britain is that of Ken Dark, who thinks the famous, legendary Arthur was the one who belonged to 7th century Wales (see https://www.reading.ac.uk/web/files/GCMS/RMS-2000-04_K._Dark,_A_Famous_Arthur_in_the_Sixth_Century.pdf). There are several problems with his idea. The main one has to do with chronology. Simply put, it doesn't work for the dates and time-bracketing that are assigned to the 6th century Arthur.
And that's pretty much it. At this point in time, after more than a quarter of a century of Arthurian research, I cannot do better in terms of producing a solid historical candidate for the famous hero. My "gut feeling" is now aligned with my rational mind and I can state with a measured degree of confidence that no other theory seems especially compelling to me. This is especially true given the intensive and comprehensive 'stress testing' I have inflicted upon it. As a result, I will be reissuing my book THE BATTLE-LEADER OF RIBCHESTER with some minor corrections and improvements in the next few days.
My book can be found here:
Saturday, April 25, 2020
MADOG SON OF UTHER: A BRIEF STUDY
The Bulwark, Llanmadoc Hill, Swansea, Wales
I've placed much importance on Madog son of Uther. In both of my current (rival) theories, he is used to help point the way towards an identification of Arthur's father. For quite some time I held firm to the idea that he was Madog son of Sawyl Benisel of Sarmato-British Ribchester. Only recently did I dare suggest that because Madog means 'fox' in Welsh, he may be a reference to Coroticus/Ceredig of Alclud, whose own men transformed magically into a little fox.
This last is more than a bit of a strain, I'm afraid, as 1) Madog for fox is not attested in Welsh until the 16th century and 2) arbitrarily assigning Madog to Ceredig when so many other fox words are available to us in Cumbric or Irish is not very convincing. I've demonstrated, for example, that near Ceredig's Alclud are two place-names containing a British personal name that means 'little fox,' something that perfectly matches Muirchu's vulpecula.
Which brings us back, in roundabout fashion, to the very real possibility that Madog son of Uther is Sawyl's son.
To help us decide whether to move permanently in this direction, I thought it might be beneficial for us to take a look at the various Madogs we know of from the 5th or 6th centuries A.D. There are not many such, and I've listed them all at the bottom of this post as they appear in the entries from P.C. Bartram's A CLASSICAL WELSH DICTIONARY. Any argument of this nature assumes that Madog son of the terrible chief-warrior is otherwise known. Needless to say, it must be admitted that we might have no record of him other than that which associates him with Uther.
To summarize, there are only a couple of possible candidates. Sawyl's son is one. We know nothing about St. Madog. One of his churches (West Gower) gave his name to the major hillfort known as The Bulwark. There is a Penmynydd on the hill, and that place-name (or merely a descriptor for the end or top of a hill) is mentioned in the Uther elegy poem (line 22). Cunedda and his sons were supposedly in Gower, chasing out the Ui Liathain. As Marged Haycock mentions in her edition of the Uther elegy, pen mynydd may also be a reference to that place on Anglesey, which is associated with the Tudor family of the 14th century. There are several 'Dragon' names at this Penmynydd, including red and white ones echoning those of Dinas Emrys fame.
We can probably safely discount those Madogs whose estimated birth dates belong to the latter half of the 6th century. Of those remaining, an interesting one is the son of Emyr Llydaw or the "Emperor of Brittany." Bartram emphasizes that he is listed only in "some late versions of Bonedd y Saint." But this does not necessarily disqualify him from our consideration. It doesn't help that in the same MSS. he is alternately called the son of Hywel Fychan ap Hywel ab Emyr Llydaw.
Uther was said by Geoffrey of Monmouth to hail from Llydaw. The Welsh substitute Emyr Llydaw for Geoffrey of Monmouth's Budicius of Armorica. There were a handful of Llydaw place-names in Wales (most notably Llyn Llydaw) and I earlier identified the Vale of Leadon bordering on Wales as another traditional 'Llydaw.'
Madog son of Brwyn is thought by Bromwich to be an error for M. son of Rhun. If so, he is too late for our purposes. However, there was a Brwyn son of Cunedda. We know nothing about him save the name of his horse.
Thanks to a poem in THE BOOK OF TALIESIN, we at least possess a character sketch for Madog son of Uther:
Madawg drut ac Erof
Madawc mur menwyt.
Madawc kyn bu bed,
Bu dinas edryssed
o gamp a chymwed.
Mab vthyr kyn lleas
Oe law dywystlas.
Madog, the rampart of rejoicing.
Madog, before he was in the grave,
he was a fortress of generosity
[consisting] of feat(s) and play.
The son of Uthyr, before death
he handed over pledges.
(P. Sims-Williams, 'The Early Welsh Arthurian Poems', in R. Bromwich et al (edd.), The Arthur of the Welsh: The Arthurian Legend in Medieval Welsh Literature (Cardiff, 1991), pp. 33-71 at pp. 53-4)
M. son of Uther is mentioned ironically in a list of former worthies in a religious poem variously attributed to Prydydd y Moch (fl. 1173-1220) and to Cynddelw (fl. 1155-1200):
Rybu gamwetawc madawc modur faw;
Rybut wu itaw dylaw dollar.
Madog, famous leader, was false;
he had great profit: wretched sorrow!
The epithet camwetawc 'flase' here looks like a half-reminiscence of the sound of camp a chymwed in the elegy.
(Sims-Williams, 1991, p. 54)
Does any of the above contribute towards our search for Madog son of Uther?
Not really. I'm personally unable to produce a more viable candidate from our extant records than Madog son of Sawyl. If we go with that, there is the possibility that Sawyl is the correct reading for the word kawyl in the Uther elegy, and that Eliwlad son of Madog son of Uther should be emended to Eilwlad, 'Other land', in accordance with the Irish epithet Ailithir, 'Other land', of Madog Ailithir son of Sawyl. All of that, in turn, fits well with the Arthur name being preserved at either York or Ribchester of the Sarmatians (due to the involvement at both places of Lucius Artorius Castus of the 2nd century).
***
FROM https://www.llgc.org.uk/fileadmin/fileadmin/docs_gwefan/casgliadau/Drych_Digidol/Deunydd_print/Welsh_Classical_Dictionary/08_M-N.pdf:
MADOG, ST. Madog is given as patron of Haroldston West and Nolton in Dyfed, Llanfadog, a chapel in the parish of Llansanffraid Cwmteuddwr, Radnorshire, and Llanmadog in West Gower (PW 33, 343, 40, 54). At the last place his festival is kept on November 12 (LBS III.395). See also G.H.Doble, St.Teilo, “Welsh Saints” No.3, p.14.
MADOG ap BRWYN. He is mentioned in a triad (TYP no.61) where we are told that his was one of the ‘Three Golden Corpses’ of Ynys Prydain. Iolo Morganwg explained this as meaning that “their weight in gold was given for their bodies to purchase them out of the hands of those who had slain them.” (Myvyrian 'Third Series' Triad 77, see Trans.Cym., 1969, p. 135). This is one of three possible interpretations of the expression ‘golden corpses’ suggested by Rachel Bromwich (TYP p.166). Rachel Bromwich suggested that Madog ap Brwyn might be a mistake for Madog ap Rhun (TYP p.436). [I have checked Bromwich, p. 428, and Madog son of Brwyn son of Kynadaf is almost certainly a corruption of Madog son of Run y Kynnedvau. Brwyn son of Cunedda is not found in the genealogies.]
MADOG ab EMYR LLYDAW. (450) He appears in some late versions of Bonedd y Saint as father of St.Rhystud (ByS §24a) and of Tewdwr Mawr (ByS §47). See EWGT pp.58, 61.
MADOG ap LLYWARCH HEN. (550) One of the sons of Llywarch Hen mentioned in two stanzas of the Llywarch Hen poetry. In the first (CLlH I.42) he is one of seven sons: Brave men, warlike brothers. See full quotation s.n. Maen. In the second (CLlH I.40), speaking of the graves of his sons, Llywarch is represented as saying: Neither Pwyll nor Madog would be long-lived, because of the custom which they observed: Whether they gave one or not, never would they ask for a truce. He occurs in the list of the sons of Llywarch Hen in the ‘Hanesyn Hen’ tract (ByA §5 in EWGT p.86). Pwyll is perhaps an error for Pyll (PCB).
MADOG ap LOCRINUS. See Maddan.
MADOG ap RHUN. (570) One of the ‘Three Gate-Keepers’ at the battle of Perllan Fangor [see Caerlleon] according to a triad (TYP no.60). This was probably in about A.D.616. See also Madog ap Brwyn. He is probably the same as Madog ap Rhun ap Cenelaph Dremrudd who appears in a pedigree in Jesus College MS.20 as a descendant of Casanauth Wledig; father of Merin and ancestor of Noë ap Madog (JC §16 in EWGT p.46). The pedigree is apparently of a line of princes of Powys. See discussion in Cy., 43 (1932) pp.59-61.
MADOG ap SANDDE. (670) Genealogical link in a line of princes, probably of Powys; father of Noë (JC §16 in EWGT p.46).
MADOG (MATÓC AILITHIR) ap SAWYL BENISEL. See Sawyl Benisel ap Pabo.
[SAWYL BENISEL ap PABO POST PRYDYN. (480) ‘S. Low-head or Humble’. He is mentioned in the ‘Harleian’ genealogies as son of Pabo Post Prydyn and father of Guitcun (§19 in EWGT p.12). Most later sources change his cognomen to Benuchel, ‘High-head or Proud’, namely ByS 13, AchS 12, BGG 4 in EWGT pp.56, 69, 73. He was father of St.Asa by Gwenasedd ferch Rhain of Rhieinwg (ByS 13). He is evidently the same as Samuel Chendisil the father of Matóc Ailithir and Sanctan by Deichter daughter of Muredach Muinderg, king of Ulster (MIS §1 in EWGT p.32). A daughter was the wife of Maelgwn Gwynedd (q.v).]
MADOG ab UTHR. (Legendary). A brother of Arthur of whom almost nothing is known. An elegy to him occurs in the Book of Taliesin (BT 66.9-11): Madawc, a rampart of joy(?); Madawc, before he was in the grave, was a fortress of abundance, of exploits and jests. Son of Uthyr; before he was slain he gave a pledge (?) from his hand. See TYP p.521; AoW 53-54. He is otherwise mentioned only as the father of Eliwlod (q.v.).
MADOG ELFED. A hero mentioned several times in the Gododdin of Aneirin: Warriors are described as returning to Pebyll Madawc, ‘Madog's tent’ (CA stanzas 2, 69A, B). In stanza 31 he is among several other warriors of whom it is said ‘Though they were slain, they slew’; and in stanza 96 he is called Madog Elfed who ‘was a destructive bearer of a shield’. See Kenneth Jackson, The Gododdin, 1969, pp.109, 116, 143, 129, 106, respectively. Compare Ceredig of Elfed.
MADOG MADOGION. (640) Father of Dwyfnerth and ancestor of Cynddelw Gam (q.v.). According to the genealogies he was son of Sandde Bryd Angel ap Llywarch Hen (ABT 1c, HL 5a in EWGT pp.96. 115). In ABT 6i (EWGT p.100) he is made son of Mechydd ap Sandde Bryd Angel, but this is perhaps a mistake, as Mechydd was a son of Llywarch Hen. In neither case is the pedigree long enough to satisfy chronology. The epithet Madogion suggests that he gave his name to a tribe named Madogion. This is confirmed by the poet Cynddelw who in his poem ‘Gwelygorddau Powys’ mentions the Madogion as one of the tribes of Powys: Madogyon Madawc essillit. The Madogion, offspring of Madog. (LlH p.164, RBP col.1396).
Not listed in Bartram: the MABINOGION'S ('Culhwch and Olwen') M. son of Teithyon and M. son of Twrgadarn. Nothing is known of these two warriors. Also there is a Maddock (from Madog) in the Maddock's Hill name at The Wrekin hillfort near Viroconium/Wroxeter. I have this on the Wrekin name:
"The name has come from the folk tale about how The Wrekin was formed by a giant named Madog.
Have a look at page 13 in the booklet here:
http://www.wellingtonla21.org.uk/discover/pdf/Wrekin.pdf
Wellington Library may know more about its history, as they have a Local History Centre. This is not one of our libraries, it is run by Telford and Wrekin Council, so you will need to contact them directly – details can be found here:
https://www.telford.gov.uk/info/20406/find_a_library/3438/wellington_library
Hope that helps.
Kind regards,
Rachel Shepherd
Team Librarian
Shropshire Libraries
THE TWO SAWYLS or DOES ARTHUR BELONG AT RIBCHESTER AFTER ALL?
Carn Goch Hillfort
The primary reason I moved away from Sawyl Benisel of Ribchester as Arthur's father is this: I could not understand why a man who had given birth to several saints and who possessed the famous Biblical name would have been called Uther Pendragon (the cruel/terrible/horrible chief-warrior/chief of warriors). Yet I had forgotten that this chieftain of the North had been thoroughly confused in Welsh tradition with an identically named personage of Wales - and one whose character was wholly in keeping with such a title.
Sawyl Benisel of Ribchester, in all but the earliest source, is called Benuchel. But this appear to be because a Sawyl of southern Wales had originally been called Benuchel in order to distinguish him from his northern namesake. Before I show how thoroughly the two Sawyls became conflated, I need to provide the complete story of the one who belonged in Glamorgan. And this is told in the Life of St. Cadog.
We can see that this Sawyl was not a particularly pleasant fellow. Called both a general (dux, a leader of soldiers; cf. Pendragon) and a tyrant ("a cruel or severe ruler, a despot" - Lewis and Short Dictionary), he is full of wickedness and also prone to slaying people cruelly (attrociter, from atrocitas, the quality of atrox - fierce, savage, bloody; heinous, cruel; severe; terrible, frightening, dreadful, horrible, harsh, severe, unyielding). Such a man could easily have been referred to as uther pendragon.
pendragon (GPC) - chief leader, chief of warriors, commander-in-chief, generalissimo
uthr - fearful, dreadful, awful, terrible, tremendous, mighty, overbearing, cruel; wonderful, wondrous, astonishing, excellent
Now, "According to Welsh tradition, the reason for Sawyl and Dunawd following their father [Pabo] into Wales was that they were unable to hold their own against the invaders ; moreover, Sawyl's over- bearing character drove his clansmen into revolt against him, and they expelled him." [See https://www.academia.edu/36351485/The_Lives_of_the_Saints_Volume_16.pdf.] I would urge my readers to also consult pp. 19-20 of this source -
So what we ended up with was one Sawyl, when originally there were two - the son of Pabo of the North and Sawyl Felyn son of Bledri Hir of the South (who seems to have become or eventually been made into a saint at Llansawel). It is obvious that the man of the North, during this process of identification, took on the unsavory characteristics of his namesake. This being the case, and assuming that at some point in the development of the tradition it was still known that a Sawyl was the father of Arthur, then the title Uther Pendragon might well have been conjured to hide the true identity of our hero's sire.
Thursday, April 23, 2020
IN THE SHADOW OF THE STAR: THE DISCOVERY OF UTHER PENDRAGON'S PEN KAWELL
Before reading the following blog post, I would urge my readers to please reacquaint themselves with this piece:
I had made a logical observation in that article - simply put, that if we allowed cannwyll with its transf. meaning of 'star' for kawyll, then we could match lines 5 and 7, making for the pairing 'It's I who's a leader in the darkness'/'It's I who's like a candle/luminary (or star, leader) in the gloom.'
In addition, we could account for Geoffrey of Monmouth's claim that the star was Uther himself (the implication being the star in the heavens symbolized the new king), as well as the transformation of Uther into Gorlois, as Uther is gorlassar when the transformation of line 6 takes place.
I've been thinking about this the last couple of days in the context of the 'pen kawell' phrase in line 6. Based upon the conclusion I reached in https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2020/04/god-as-pen-kawell-cafell-in-uther-elegy.html, the emendation Sawyl seemed better for kawyl than cannwyll. That is, as long as we accepted my intepretation of kawell as W. cafell, 'sanctuary.' Then we could extract a Biblical meaning from the phrase, with God of line 6 being 'Lord of the Sanctuary' (yahweh hekal) of 1 Samuel.
But I have once again looked closely at the action of the first part of the elegy. It is clearly about a battle. All the material we have been discussing is neatly bracketed between lines 2 and 8:
"I’d not give up between two forces without bloodshed."
"I’d not give up without bloodshed [the fight] between two forces."
Quite awhile ago I had suggested that pen kawell was actually a location. I failed to find the place. Pen is frequently used of a promontory or headland, or the end of a geographical feature, or even a hill, and when Geoffrey has Uther change into Gorlois it is at Tintagel. The actual castle of Tintagel is on Tintagel Head and pen, literally, means 'head.'
But let us suppose once again that Uther was 'transformed' (metaphorically, of course, as we are dealing with poetic language that was interpreted literally by Geoffrey) somewhere called Pen Kawell. Can we find this headland/promontory? And, if we can, does it help us more firmly identify Uther?
Well, I had discounted one very good place-name because it seemed to be too far north. This is Kingscavil (properly Kincavil) in West Lothian.
Noted North British place-name expert Alan James, through private communication with colleague John Wilkinson, was kind enough to provide me with this information on the etymology for Kingscavil. I've taken the liberty of highlighting the most important passage in this entry.
Cf Snowdonia’s Llyn Cwellyn (cawell + llyn) ‘creel lake’ (Jones 1998).
†*Hill of KINGSCAVIL, Linlithgow c450ft/137m (Hill of Kuikauil [sic = Kinkauil]
1630) An earlier name for the Parklycraigs ridge, tipped by Nancy’s Hill. It may be the feature which gave Kingscavil its original name [NT0276].
NANCY’S Hill, Linlithgow c450ft/137m (Hill of Kuikauil [sic = Kinkauil] 1636
Pont, sic OS1) Again presumably literal, with the sort of name (John and Ann) that could commemorate myth, legend or at least folklore. Along the Parkly Craigs ridge to the east of Jock’s Hill with which it makes a lovely couple of humps, even if quarried to the north. Perhaps earlier †*Hill of Kingscavil [NT024759]. Also tree-covered by Nancy’s Hill Plantation (sic OS1), really two but named as one, as OSNB insist on telling us.
KINGSCAVIL, Linlithgow (Kincauill 1307, Kyncaville 1315-21, Kyncawel 1325,
Kingcavill 1378, Kingscavill 1457, Kincawill 1531, Kincauil c1590, Kingcavell 1688 Ret ii, 265, Kingcavill 1690 Ret ii, 270, sic x 3 OS1; locally Kings-CAVE-ull /kɪŋz'ke:vl/) It may be nothing to do with kings or cavils (ie Sc cavil ‘allotment of land’) as some think (GTSS, 107-9), but perhaps ScG ceann ‘headland, bluff’ + ScG cabhuil ‘creel’: ‘fishing-creel-head, or end’ with reference to the former loch (see PNWL, 60). Yet this too may be from Welsh, W pen ‘head’+ W cawell ‘creel’ ie *Pen(n)kauell: ‘head of creel(-ridge)’ or perhaps W cefn/cein ‘ridge’ + W cawell, and referent to the humped ridge tipped by Nancy’s Hill (hil of kincauil c1590, Hill of Kuikauil [sic for Kinkauil] 1636): Macdonald records ‘several references to saxum de Kincavill’ L saxum ‘rock’ and Kincavill Quarry (sic 1986) provided stone for James VI’s reconstruction of Linlithgow Palace (DWL, 87): see WLQR. In the early sources it is often linked to Caldorcler: see East Calder.The first OS maps offer three locations, the second being today’s [NT028767; NT030764; NT031763]. Also †*Easter Kingscavil (Easter Kincavill 1691, Easter-Kinkavil 1710) Sc easter ‘east’ [lost], †*Wester Kingscavil (Wester Kingkavill 1647) Sc wester ‘west’ [lost], †Mains (Mains of Kincavill 1569) Sc mains ‘home farm’ [lost]. See Park.
A site so far in the North would lend credence to my idea that Uther Pendragon was Ceredig of Strathclyde. His fighting here to the east of his kingdom is quite a reasonable proposition.
If Kingscavil is Pen Kawell, I would revise my reading of the poem's line to read:
"Our Lord transforms me at Pen Kawell."
Kingscavil lies between Clackmannan, Slamannan and Dalmeny. All three place-names are believed to contain the element designating Manau or Manau Gododdin. Dalmeny is not certainly a Manau place-name, but the chance it is can be considered fairly high:
303 Watson 1926, 354. Dalmeny WLO, Dunmanyn 1214. Watson 1926, 104, 354, 515 n104, Macdonald 1941, 3‒4, is a very puzzling name. Perhaps + *mejni, plural of *majn ‘stone’, but it does not show forms with -meny until 1587. Alternatively, perhaps it involves a saint’s or other personal name (Taylor’s discussion of Kilmany FIF, Taylor 2010, 456‒57, should be taken into consideration). The territorial name Manau cannot be ruled out: Watson’s and Macdonald’s rejection of this possibility implies greater certainty than seems justified regarding the boundaries of that territory
http://www.clanntuirc.co.uk/JSNS/V7/JSNS7.pdf
Dalmeny WLo CPNS pp. 104 and 515 n104, PNWLo pp. 3-4 ? + -maɣn- (which see) ? + -īn, or else the territorial name -*Mannan , see *man-
*man-
IE *mṇ- (zero-grade of *men- ‘jut, project’, see mönïδ, *mönju and *mönǭg) > eCelt *mon- > Br * Mon-, Man- (in p-ns), cf. (< IE participial *mṇ-t-) W mant ‘mouth, lip’; OIr Man- (in p-ns); cf. (< IE o-grade *mon-) O-MnIr, G moniu ‘upper back’; cf. (IE *men-) Latin mentum ‘chin’, prōmineō ‘I project’. The Indo-European status of this root is supported by Hittite and Avestan forms, see OIPrIE §18.5 at p. 298, but cf. Sims-Williams (2000) at pp 3-4. See also mönïδ. The root implies ‘projecting’, especially of facial and other bodily features: in place-names, the sense is presumably ‘outstanding, prominent, high’. With the suffix –awā-, it is seen in the North in the territorial name Manaw HB14.62, CT59(V) (and probably CT29(XI)), and in OIr forms at AU[582]583, AT[579]583, AU[710]711, AT[710]711, but see LHEB §47(1), pp. 375-6, YGod(KJ) pp. 69 – 75, and discussion of Clackmannan under *clog. Elsewhere, a similar form underlies the Isle of Man, Ellan Vannin (see PNRB pp. 410-11 and DMxPN p xi) and Ynys Môn, Anglesey (see PNRB pp. 419-20, DPNW p. 17). There are as many as fourteen related place-names in Ireland (Anglicised Mannin etc.: D MacG Easpaig at SNSBI Conference, Douglas IoM, 7.4.2001). Manaw, like Ynys Môn and some of the Irish places, is not outstandingly mountainous, and some other sense seems needed. A deity-name, perhaps associated with water, might be indicated – cf. the legendary personal name Manawydan/ Manannán (see PCB pp. 412 ets, DCML pp. 139-40, DCM pp. 285- 6) – or else an ethnic name: see Muhr (2002) at p. 41.
http://spns.org.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2017/04/Alan_James_Brittonic_Language_in_the_Old_North_BLITON_Volume_II_Dictionary.pdf
Saturday, April 18, 2020
GOD AS 'PEN KAWELL (CAFELL)' IN THE UTHER ELEGY: A REASON FOR ADOPTING SAWYL AS ARTHUR'S FATHER
Site of the Shiloh Sanctuary
My past few blog posts have focused on the problems inherent in identifying Uther Pendragon with Sawyl Benisel of Ribchester. Conclusions reached in those articles can be summarized thusly:
1) Eliwlad son of Madog son of Uther could be etymologized in a way that did not rely upon the Eli- of the name being a metathesis for Eil-. An Eilwlad, meaning 'other land' in Welsh, would have been a perfect semantic match for the Ailithir epithet applied to Madog son of Sawyl. My theory, therefore, was that Eilwlad son of Madog was a dim folk memory of Madog Ailithir. But because an early use of (g)wlad as 'lord, prince' might be present in Welsh, a second derivation presented itself in the form of e(i)liw-(g)wlad or 'lord of pain/grief/sadness.' Granted, the second etymology did not further our quest for Uther's true identity. Eilwlad, in addition, seemed to have a great deal of supportive material in favor of it - all of which I had discussed on great detail elsewhere. The major factor in my "gut feeling" for an Arthur originating from Sawyl's Ribchester was the new reading of the Lucius Artorius Castus memorial stone by Dr. Linda Malcor and colleagues. This reading demonstrated conclusively that 'LAC' had been involved in the transportation of 5,500 Sarmatians to Britain. He also made use of these heavy 'shock troops' when he served as prefect of the Sixth Legion and de facto governor. Thus, if the name Arthur had survived anywhere in the North, it was logical to look to either York (where LAC was headquartered) or to Ribchester, the settlement of the Sarmatian veterans.
2) To account for Geoffrey of Monmouth's story of Uther's star and his transformation into Gorlois, I had more or less settled on the kawyl word of an important, though ambiguous line of the elegy poem as being an error for cannwyll. Canwyll, in a tranfs. sense, could mean 'star.' Cannwyll also seemed to fit the context of the poem. Although Welsh expert Dr. Simon Rodway of The University of Wales favored an emendation to sawyl for several very good reasons, I realized that if I adopted the personal name over that of cannwyll I would lose a possible literary origin point for Geoffrey's 'star.' A reading of Sawyl, on the other hand, tied in very nicely with my Eilwlad etymology for Eliwlad and all the other circumstantial evidence in support of Sawyl = Uther.
I found myself in a dilemma and, in an attempt to break the stalemate, began to look elsewhere for Uther. I happened to notice that the Alclud king Coroticus/Ceredig was called credulisque tyrannus in the Life of St. Patrick by Muirchu. This seemed to work well for a Welsh rendering of the Latin as Uther Pendragon. That Coroticus was magically transformed by his own men into a little fox (vulpecula) seemed to point to Madog son of Uther, as Madog means "fox." I could also use an Arthur of Alclud to explain why the hero was later relocated to Dumnonia in SW Britain and, perhaps, to Domnonee in Brittany as well. He also worked well as a way to account for the presence of Arthur as a son of Aedan of Dalriada a generation later, as this Irish-founded kingdom in Britain was adjacent to Strathclyde. Of course, I had also shown that an Arthur son of Sawyl probably had as his mother an Irish princess, and if he were half-Irish that would be sufficient for both the Dalriadans and the Deisi-descended dynasty of Dyfed in Wales to have named royal sons after him.
In considerable mental turmoil, and finding myself frozen in indecisiveness, I realized I needed a 'tie-breaker.' Something that would enable me to finally commit, after much irritating vacillation, to one specific theory on a historical Arthur.
And I believe I was vaguely aware of just that for some time now. It was not until I fully explored the potential 'tie-breaker' that I realized what was in my possession already.
'Marwnat Vthyr Pen', Showing 'pen kawell' and 'eil kawyl'
According to Winifred Vogel (THE CULTIC MOTIF IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL, p. 61. n. 205), the “expression hekal Yahweh [sanctuary of the Lord] is used for the first time in the OT in 1 Samuel… in direct reference to the God of the sanctuary in Shiloh.” The Vulgate Latin text of the Bible renders this templo Domini.
Hekal yahweh is used in 1 Samuel 1:9 when Hannah, Samuel's mother, pledges him (as yet unconceived) to God at the Sanctuary of the Lord. The next occurrence of the phrase is in 1 Samuel 3:3, when we learn of Samuel sleeping in the Sanctuary of the Lord.
1 Samuel 3:3 (Latin Vulgate) lucerna Dei antequam extingueretur, Samuel dormiebat in templo Domini, ubi erat arca Dei.
If kawyl is not an error for sawyl, calling God the 'lord of the sanctuary' makes no sense. Not in the context of the poem, at any rate. This is clearly a reference to a Biblical title with which the author of the poem was familiar. And that this title is used first in the story of Samuel, whose name conforms to Sawyl in the Welsh, can hardly be a coincidence.
It is for this reason that I'm finally committing to an Arthur who was born at Ribchester to Sawyl Benisel.
Friday, April 17, 2020
THE ETYMOLOGY OF ELIWLAD - FINAL TAKE
White-tailed Eagle in an Oak Tree
I faced four problems with the idea that Eliwlad was originally Eilwlad. The first was not insurmountable, although it did cast some doubt on my theory. Dr. Simon Rodway, one of the foremost experts in the world on Old and Middle Welsh, preferred a late spelling for the name which terminated in -lod instead of -lad/-lat. According to Rodway, even though -lod only occurs in late MSS. and was used by a couple of late poets, for the form to exist demanded that Eliwlad must be an instance of the application of the principle of lectio difficilior. In other words, at some point scribes had opted for Eliwlad because it looked more familiar to them than Eliwlod. This was, perhaps, because they could make nothing of Eliwlod, and opted for (g)wlad as the second element of the name instead. -lod itself had to come from something like llawd or blawd. Alas, no workable etymology could be arrived at for such an exemplar. Other scholars backed me in supporting the Eliwlad/t spelling.
Late spellings in -lod also dropped the initial E-, but that is considered to be a "perfectly predictable" (Rodway) development and is not related to the -lad vs. -lod problem.
The second and more serious problem involves my preferred metathesis of Eil- for Eli-. While I was able to demonstrate this happening in MSS., even good ones, to sustain my argument meant that I had to find an example of Eilwlad extant somewhere. That I could not do. For while in the MSS. with eil for eli (or vice-versa) there was never any doubt which form was actually correct. For an Eilwlad name to have become Eliwlad would imply that the original form was miscopied at some point, the original form completely lost from all sources and the new, incorrect spelling was taken as the exemplar. Assuming the existence of such a lost form is a dangerous proposition. I was willing to take the risk, but only if I was absolutely certain no other, better etymology was available.
Third, I could not account for why an otherwise unknown W. eilwlad, 'other land' (for 'pilgrim') would have been substituted for the Irish ailithir, 'other land' (aile + tir) when Welsh itself from very early on had tir. As Professor Peter Schrijver pointed out, Irish aili- would have become Eli- in Welsh, but why would gwlad be used instead of tir?
And four, even if there had been an Irish compound aile + flaith, it would not have been spelled aili-, and the second component would have been altered in such a way as to prohibit it from becoming gwlad in Welsh. I have this from Professor Jurgen Uhlich:
"Such a compound could of course have existed. Its shape (and thus its reflection in spelling), however, would not feature aili-, as e.g. in ailithir, since while the schwa /ə/ of the second syllable in alilithir is followed by a palatal consonant and needs to be spelled <i> between two palatals, what follows in your example is neutral, hence *aile(f)laith or indeed, if with regular unstressed processing, *ailelaid."
So I went back to drawing board. All further attempts to etymologize the name failed - until I went back to an old idea. One that I had considered very early on and then dispensed with.
There is some evidence that gwlad in Welsh once not only meant 'land, kingdom' and the like, but that it also had the same meaning one finds in Irish, i.e. 'prince, lord, ruler.' Dr. Simon Rodway was kind enough to send me the information on this possibility and I include that here in full:
"‘The Date of Culhwch ac Olwen’, pp. 50–1:
Another possible old word that was not understood is gwlad in the sense of ‘lord, ruler’. In
one of the poems ascribed to Taliesin, his patron, Urien In one of the poems ascribed to
Taliesin, his patron, Urien of Rheged, is praised by comparison:
gwacsa gwlat da wrth Urföen.
In the context, this ought to mean, ‘Useless is a good lord compared with Urien’. Although in
Middle and Modern Welsh gwlad means ‘country’ or ‘kingdom’, its Irish cognate, flaith, has
a triple meaning, ‘lordship; kingdom; lord’. This example makes it likely that in early Welsh,
gwlad could have at least a double meaning, ‘lord’ and ‘country’. A further likely example is
in Culhwch. The phrase mab brenhin gvlat teithiawc in lines 90–1 has a parallel in line 95,
mabyon gwladoed ereill, where ereill shows that the text is referring back to the earlier
phrase. This makes it likely that brenhin here is an embedded gloss, so that the contrast was
between map gvlat teithiawc and mabyon gwladoed ereill. The mabyon gwladoed ereill were
to be housed in the yspyty, whereas the mab (brenhin) gvlat teithiawc would be allowed
through the gate so as to enter the hall: hence the gwladoed ereill would appear to be rulers of
lesser rank than a brenhin or gwlat teithiauc. This in turn makes it likely that gvlat in lines
90–1 and 95 should not be taken in the later sense of ‘major kingdom’, such as Gwynedd or
Powys. The adjective teithiawc was regularly applied to a person or an animal but not to a
country."
As names can be unusually conservative, I decided to take -wlad or 'prince, lord, ruler' as the second element of Eliwlad, I began searching for an initial element that would satisfy all the requirements of a close compound name. El- did not work for reasons I had explored before. Neither did Eli-. In the end, there were only two words that conceivably could have fronted -(g)wlad. One of them (eiliw/eilyw, 'appearance, aspect,' etc.) had to be discounted because it broke the language rule in which the first element in a close compound modifies the second, not the other way round. This is a rule of composition and never varies (Rodway).
But, fortunately, we have eiliw/eilyw, 'grief, pain, sadness.' Eiliw in Old Welsh can be spelled eliw and this ei to e can even happen in Middle Welsh in certain circumstances. There is no problem with the two /w/s becoming one. The /g/ of gwlad is, naturally, lost. I have now checked this with several linguists and it has been deemed quite allowable. The most succinct response came from Professor Peter Schrijver, who said merely: "Yes, that works well linguistically." From other notable Celticists I have:
"Grief-lord is certainly possible." Erich Poppe
"No problem with Eil- > El-, pretonic reduction, there would have been secondary stress on the 2nd syllable. So, yes, Eiliw + gwlad is fine for the name." Alan James
I have queries out to others and will add to these comments as responses come in.
If the meaning of the name had been known at some point, it may have contributed to the motif of Arthur's dead nephew as a ghost-eagle in a oak tree. Certainly, in the parallel story of Lleu as death-eagle in an oak the prevailing sense is sadness or grief. Worms and rotten flesh fall from Lleu. In the englyn of "Math Son of Mathonwy" we are told that the flowers of Lleu (feathers) make the sky gorddufrych. This last is an interesting word. GPC has gloomy, sombre, very dark, dusky; swarthy. The first part gorddu is very black, very dark, sombre, pitch-black; somewhat black, darkish; dire, very sad.
Thus the idea that Eliwlad is 'lord of grief' fits the context of "The Dialogue of Arthur and the Eagle." And we have similar personal names in early Welsh, like Efrddyl (afrddwl), 'sad, joyless, woeful', and Eiliwed, 'lamentation, sadness, grief.'
The fact that I now have a perfectly good etymology for Eliwlad, and have decided that cannwyll must be present in the Uther elegy poem rather than Sawyl (see https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2020/04/geoffrey-of-monmouths-gorloisstar.html), means that I must finally abandon the theory that Uther = Sawyl Benisel.
GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH'S GORLOIS/STAR TRANSFORMATION AND THE UTHER ELEGY
Comet Hale-Bopp Showing Green and Blue Colors
So what keeps me awake at night?
What I've come to think of as the 'Comet Conundrum.' In brief, this problem has to do with Geoffrey of Monmouth's story of Uther's comet and that king's transformation into Gorlois. If we look at the "Marwnat Vthyr Pen" poem, and interpret the relevant line as containing the word cannwyll, which can mean "star", we have the following translation:
It is I who commands hosts in battle:
I’d not give up between two forces without bloodshed.
It’s I who’s called gorlassar [the very blue or blue-green or, given the context, perhaps 'the great blaze, conflagration'; cf. Irish forlassar, from the intensive prefix plus lasar, 'fire, flame']:
my ferocity snared my enemy.
It is I who’s a leader in (tywyll) darkness:
Our God, Chief of the Sanctuary, transforms me.
It’s I who’s like ['eil' here means like/similar to, not 'second' - unless God is to be considered the 'first'] a (canwyll) candle/luminary [transf. star, sun, moon; fig. leader, hero] in the gloom:
I’d not give up fighting without bloodshed between two forces.
Such a rendition of this section of the elegy allows us to account for both Geoffrey's star - which he pointedly says is Uther himself - and the latter's transformation into Gorlois (given that Gorlois is derived from Uther's gorlassar epithet).
And what is wrong with that, the reader might ask?
Quite simply that while cannwyll is certainly possible for kawyl, a far simpler emendation to the text opts for Sawyl, a personal name that I have linked to Sawyl Benisel of the Ribchester fort of the Roman period Sarmatian veterans. While the identification of Uther with Sawyl is tempting (see my work on Eliwlad son of Madog son of Uther as a memory of Madog Ailithir son of Sawyl), if we drop cannwyll from the poem, we lose the star's literary origin. We also lose what seems an uncanny contextual fit. For the two lines which end with 'in darkness' and 'in the gloom' seem thematically linked. Marged Haycock, in a note to the poem, says "Cannwyll is sometimes a rhyme partner for tywyll (e.g. AP line 88 cannwyll yn tywyll; CC 18.13; R1056.15)." A luminary that was also a leader in the gloom echoes the earlier leader in darkness.
I'm also unhappy with the use of Uther Pendragon, the Terrible/Horrible (or Cruel) Chief-warrior or Chief of warriors being used consistently for Sawyl Benisel. I mean, why not simply use this chieftain's name? Pendragon could easily have been appended to his name in lieu of his proper epithet, Benisel. Plus there does not seem to be anything terrible about Sawyl. In fact, he fathered several well-known saints and married an Irish princess.
On the other hand, the credulisque tyrannus is treated so badly, St. Patrick says of what he has done to Christians -
Et contigit scelus tam horrendum ineffabile..
This unspeakably horrifying crime has been carried out...
[Letter to the soldiers of Coroticus 17]
Once again, this seem to fit the King of Alclud quite well, and Sawyl not at all.
On the other hand, the credulisque tyrannus is treated so badly, St. Patrick says of what he has done to Christians -
Et contigit scelus tam horrendum ineffabile..
This unspeakably horrifying crime has been carried out...
[Letter to the soldiers of Coroticus 17]
Once again, this seem to fit the King of Alclud quite well, and Sawyl not at all.
Sure, if I'm right and Sawyl belongs at Ribchester, he may have been associated with the Sarmatian draco which might have still been in use by the warriors who resided there. And so the man who was 'humble' (Benisel, Pen-isel, literally 'low-head') took on another title that, oddly enough, has the format of name + epithet instead of merely epithet. But how reasonable is this to propose?
A final issue is what Geoffrey of Monmouth had before him when he told his story of Uther. Are we to believe that he had a Welsh elegy poem that had sawyl written for kawyl, yet he opted instead to have Uther appear as a dragon-comet? It seems to me we must instead assume that what he had for kawyl was cannwyll and although the poem was using the word metaphorically, he chose to see 'star' in the word (perhaps influenced by the Continental and Irish records for the comet of 442 A.D.). In reality, as far as the elegy narrative is concerned, there was no star. Uther was merely the luminous leader of battle in a dark time.
I simply cannot account for the presence of the star in his story in any other way. And that means that although based solely on the number of copying errors required for sawyl vs. cannwyll the former is to be slightly preferred, we must instead prefer the latter as the most likely original spelling for the extant kawyl.
And, indeed, for what it's worth, this is what my gut instinct has been saying all along.
Now, if Sawyl is not present in the Uther elegy, and we cannot easily account for why Uther Pendragon as either a name + epithet formula or simply a descriptor was substituted the Sawyl Benisel, how do we find the real father of Arthur?
I think the best solution was something I offered in this recent article:
Coroticus or Ceredig of Strathclyde as crudelisque tyrannus would nicely account for the Welsh Uther Pendragon. In that piece I explored several other reasons why Coroticus is perfect for Arthur's father.
The only problem I can see with that post is my striving, somewhat desperately, to associate the star-gorlassar transformation of Uther with Coroticus' transformation via druidical spell into a little fox. There is really no reason to have to resort to that.
As I've shown above, Geoffrey's story of Gorlois and the star is derived from a imaginative interpretation of the elegy poem. He went even further when he mistranslated Pendragon into the 'Dragon's head', something that allowed him connect the epithet with both the comet and the Roman draco standard. Underneath this is hidden the real story of Uther's transformation, and that is alluded to only in the TRIADS. For when the Welsh tell us that Uther taught an enchantment to Menw, and this is found in a context which is replete with animal transformations - Menw himself having changed into a bird in CULHWCH AND OLWEN - we are being reminded of Coroticus' becoming a fox through magical agency.
The word used for Uther's enchantment is Welsh hut (hud), and this is by definition a spell or charm resulting from the practice of magic, wizardry, sorcery or even witchcraft. It is decidedly not a transformation brought about by God. We are not talking in this context about God making Uther into the shining hero of the Britons against their pagan enemies.
What this tells me is that a) Uther knew how to transform into an animal b) he taught that skill to Menw, who used it to become a bird c) there must have been a story in which Uther himself became an animal and d) we have such a story in that of Coroticus as a fox.
Madog is still probably important - precisely because his name means 'fox.' To the above-mentioned essay I recently added this statement about the 'Madawg drut ac Erof' poem...
In https://books.google.com/books?id=8Y2CO10-vsgC&pg=PA104&lpg=PA104&dq=%22coroticus%22%2B%22lupi+rapaces%22&source=bl&ots=6hUjX-Pu-Vsf&sig=ACfU3U0Y8gCwGArj7XXgHRUAf1_ET1aQjg&hl=en&ppis=_e&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiH4I_0psjoAhVQj54KHdl5CWUQ6AEwAXoECAsQLw#v=onepage&q=%22coroticus%22%2B%22lupi%20rapaces%22&f=false, Maire Johnson provides some excellent footnotes regarding this episode:
“Frustrated at Coroticus’ unrepentant attitude, the saint’s letter calls the leader and his gang of noble toughs a pack of ‘rapacious wolves’ (lupi rapaces) several times…
The mean form of the king’s new shape mocks Corictic’s virile warrior prowess and acts as a vulpine echo of the historical Patrick’s accusa-tion that Corictic and his ruffians were lupi ra-paces… It is also possible that here Muirchu may have been comparing Corictic/Coroticus to King Herod, whom Jesus calls a fox in Luke 13:32.”
The reference here to Herod as a fox is interesting, as in the Book of Taliesin we find a poem called Madawg Drut ac Erof. The poem is odd, in that the first part tells of the death of Madawg son of Uther, while the second tells of Herod (= Erof). But if we remember that Herod was called a fox and Madawg means fox, the pairing suddenly makes a great deal of sense.
I am reminded of the interesting correspondences that exist between the family names in "The Dialogue of Arthur and the Eagle" and various animals. Arthur, throughout the poem, is referred to as a bear. These relationships can best be seen in column form:
Uther Pendragon/dragon
Arthur/bear Madog/fox
Eliwlad/eagle
On the one hand, this pattern may be due to nothing more than poetic fancy. Or it may demonstrate a tendency in the royal family to subscribe to a peculiar brand of totemism.
CONCLUSION
My research indicates that Arthur's father Uther Pendragon is the crudelisque tyrannus Ceredig of Alclud. The descriptor was used so that the morally objectionable character of Ceredig could be avoided and he could be recast in a more favorable mould. The magical qualities of Uther can be found in Geoffrey's interpretation of the elegy and in Ceredig's transformation into a fox. The fox is present in the name Madog, used for a son of Uther. As far as Arthur is concerned, a hero from ancient Dumnonia in the North meets all the necessary criteria. We can account for his later presence in southern Dumnonia and even in Domnonee, Brittany. We can explain why Aedan of Dalriada named a son after him. Etc.
This all works so well, in fact, that I will be recasting THE ARTHUR OF HISTORY one last time to reflect my findings. I genuinely feel that I've not only done my utmost to reveal the true nature of Uther Pendragon, but that in doing so I have come up with perhaps the only valid theory to date for a historical Arthur.
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
TINTAGEL AND YGERNA, GUELLIT AND CARRUM: GEOFFREY AND THE SITING OF ARTHUR'S BIRTH
Daw's, Dane's or Dart's Castle, Somerset, England
Having come to the conclusion (see https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2020/04/a-new-identification-of-arthurs-mother.html ) that Arthur's mother owes her name to Carne (rock, rock outcrop) at Domellick, I reflected further on why Geoffrey of Monmouth placed Arthur's birth at Tintagel.
We must begin with the meaning of Tintagel. It is composed of two Cornish elements, Din for 'fort', and tagel, cognate with Welsh tagell, 'throat, windpipe, gullet.'
Now we can go to the Life of St. Carantoc (Version One), where Arthur's land of Carrum (or Carrov) is being ravaged by a 'serpentem validissimum, ingentem, terribiliem', i.e. a strong and terrible dragon. Carrov is modern-day Carhampton. This place is not far from the ostium Guellit, the mouth of the stream at Williton. These locations are in close proximity to Arthur's fort of Dindraithou, now called variously Daw's or Dane's or Dart's Castle (https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2017/12/dindraithou-darts-castle-at-watchet.html).
What seems pretty obvious to me is that Geoffrey of Monmouth utilized this saint's Life in the following way: he took the terrible dragon and made that monster into Uther Pendragon. Carrum or Carentone (1086 DB) is (see Mills) from OE carr, dative plural carrum, plus tun for "farm at the place of the rocks." Guellit was associated with the French word for throat or windpipe, our word 'gullet':
gullet (n.)
"passage from the mouth of an animal to the stomach," c. 1300 (as a surname), from Old French golet "neck (of a bottle); gutter; bay, creek," diminutive of gole "throat, neck" (Modern French gueule), from Latin gula "throat," also "appetite," which is related to gluttire "to gulp down, devour," glutto "a glutton." De Vaan writes, "We seem to be dealing with an onomatopoeic formation of the form *gul- / *glu-." Compare Old English ceole "throat;" Old Church Slavonic glutu "gullet," Russian glot "draught, gulp;" Old Irish gelim "I devour."
It was then a simple matter for the author to find Tintagel, whose second element seemed to be identical in meaning to Guellit.
At first glance this may all seem a bit far-fetched. But we must remember that first and foremost Geoffrey was not only a creative genius, but a master of synthesis. It was probably not at all difficult for him to see in the terrible dragon of the St. Carantoc Life the terrible chief dragon who was Arthur's father. Or to identify Carrum/Caren- in one place with Carne in another. Or to see in a Celtic name Guellit the French form of a word whose meaning was contained in Tintagel.
Not sure whether anyone else will find this convincing. As for myself, I no longer see any need to pay attention to Tintagel as a potential birthplace of Arthur. Nor should we look to Dindraithou as an alternative. I've made this last clear by consulting the archaeological reports on Dart's Castle, who have shown it to be an English construction designed to protect the coast against Viking marauders.
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
IS DINAS EMRYS IN THE WRONG PLACE?
Llanilid Castle Ringwork
According to Nennius, the boy Ambrosius was brought from Campus Elleti in Glywysing to Dinas Emrys (W. for Ambrosius) to act as a foundation sacrifice for Vortigern's new castle. I've written before about this particular legendary character, who would appear - as the 'Divine/Immortal One' - to be acting as a stand-in for the god Lleu, the Lord of Gwynedd in Welsh tradition.
Now I believe I've discovered another, complementary layer to the story.
Campus Elledi is Llanilid in Glamorgan. Regardless of the original meaning of the -ilid element, it came to be known as the Church of Julitta. Now Julitta is known for having a young son named Quiricus or Cyricus. The name is from Greek kyrios or kurios, 'lord, master.' It was used for both God and Jesus. Quiricus is martyred by being thrown down from a dais, where his blood spatters and smears over the steps.
Capel Curig with Caer Llugwy
Llugwy is from W. llug, meaning 'bright,' plus the usual stream-name suffix -gwy (https://historicplacenames.rcahmw.gov.uk/). The name of the god Lleu (Irish Lugh, Gaulish Lugos) is, in all probability, related to this word for bright. Here is llug in the GPC:
llug1
[H. Wydd. luchair ‘disglair; disgleirdeb’, e. lleoedd Llad. Prydain Leuca, Leucarum, Leucomagus [diwyg.], e. prs. Llad. Gâl Leucus, o’r gwr. *leuk- ‘goleuni, disgleirdeb’, a welir hefyd yn amlwg, eglwg, golwg, lluched, ?ac yn e. afon Llugwy; cf. Gr. λευκον ‘golau, disglair, gwyn’, Llad. lūx ‘goleuni’]
eg. (bach. llugyn) ac efallai fel a.
a Golau, goleuni, caneidrwydd, llewyrch, llathredd, disgleirdeb; ?gloyw, llathr, disglair, llachar, ysblennydd:
light, radiance, lustre, brightness; ?shining, brilliant, resplendent.
And lleu:
lleu1
[gw. golau; yn B xxi. 224-6, cynigir yr ystyr ychwanegol ‘tir agored’]
eg. a hefyd fel a.
Golau, disgleirdeb; disglair:
light, brightness; bright.
Caer Llugwy
In my opinion, the transference of the boy Ambrosius, the 'Divine/Immortal One', from Llanilid to a fort in Eryri originally had to do with the taking of the cult of Quiricus from Glamorgan to Gwynedd. Given the meaning of the boy saint's personal name and the presence at Capel Curig of the Llugwy place-name, it is reasonable to assume that the saint came to replace the pagan god thought to have ruled the region in the past.
I've elsewhere detailed how I feel the Dinas Emrys fort may have belonged to Cunedda, whose father was named Edern/Aeternus and whose grandfather Padarn/Paternus Pesrud (of the Red Cloak). See https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2019/12/dinas-emrys-before-vortigern-and.html. As Ambrosius was descended from parents who had worn the purple, and Aeternus could - like Ambrosius - mean 'immortal', the proper location of Dinas Emrys was relocated to its present hillfort site. Caer Llugwy was forgotten and any tradition that may have preserved the location of Cunedda's fortress was lost.
Vortigern's granting of all Gwynedd to Ambrosius, as I have suggested before, was in reality his giving the kingdom to Cunedda and his sons. This was either accidentally or intentionally obscured by effectively removing them from the current Dinas Emrys site.
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