A SHOCKING DISCOVERY: THE REAL LOCATION OF ELIWLAD GRANDSON OF UTHER

The medieval Welsh didactic poem Ymddiddan Arthur a'r Eryr ("Dialogue of Arthur and the Eagle") places Eliwlad son of Madog son of Uther at or near the Cutmadoc place-names in Bodmin, Cornwall.  Eliwlad, as I have discussed exhaustively before, takes the form of a spectral eagle in an oak tree, a motif apparently copied from that of Lleu as death-eagle in an oak at Nantlle.  The god Mabon's grave is said to be in Nantlle, and there are Tremabyn ('settlement of Mabon') names right next to Cutmadoc.  The same Mabon is the servant (W. gwas) of Uther in the 'Pa Gur' poem.

But I have just found something incredible. I thought to go look at old maps of Nantlle, not only because of Eliwlad the eagle, but because Arthur's family is brought into connection with Caer Dathal in Arfon.  Arthur himself marries a woman of Caer Dathal.  I've shown Caer Dathal to be the equivalent of Dinas Emrys (https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2021/01/dinas-emrys-as-caer-dathal-late.html).

There are Coed Madoc place-names in Nantlle.  This are the exact equivalent of the Cornish Cutmadoc place-names.

The conclusion we must reach is inevitable: Eliwlad son of Madog son of Uther was relocated from Coed Madog in Nantlle to Bodmin.

The name of Eliwlad the eagle is from *Eiliw-(g)wlad, 'Grief-lord.'  The leading Celticists preferred this etymology to any other I proposed.  It is also a very fitting name for a figure who appeared to be modeled on the dead god Lleu, whose eagle feathers cast a grief-laden darkness upon Nantlle in the englyns accompanying MATH SON OF MATHONWY.  

Note, finally, the proximity of Dinas Emrys to Coed Madog.   I will also remind my reader of the presence of the Llydaw place-name near Dinas Emrys - a Llydaw which matches the word used by the Welsh for Brittany.  Geoffrey of Monmouth claimed Uther came from Llydaw.  An Emyr or 'Emperor' Llydaw is given a son Madog in some late genealogies (see Bartram).  While the Welsh identified Emyr with Geoffrey's Budicius, this could also be Uther. 

But is the Coed Madoc name in Nantlle ancient?   Well that question is hard to answer.  Here is the relevant information from Nia Gruffydd, Rheolwr Llyfrgelloedd Gwynedd, Gwynedd Libraries Manager, Canolfan Llyfrgell Caernarfon, Caernarfon, Gwynedd:

"It seems to be the Madog descended from Cilmin Droed Ddu. I know the link below is in Welsh, but you can see the genealogy. Taken from the local history site Cof y Cwmwd. 

https://cof.uwchgwyrfai.cymru/wici/Cilmin_Droed-ddu

[Google translated site: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=cy&u=https://cof.uwchgwyrfai.cymru/wici/Cilmin_Droed-ddu&prev=search]

“It was probable that there was only one Coed Madog originally, but was divided in time to Plas Coedmadog, Coedmadog Farm, Coedmadog Uchaf and Brynmadog. Most of the village of Tal-y-sarn was built on the grounds of Plas Coedmadog in the second half of the nineteenth century. As it happens, I've traced some of the history.

In the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, Coedmadog was part of the Glan'rafon estate, in the parish of Llanbeblig, which is in Waunfawr. In the family tree page in JE Griffith's book, Pedigrees (p. 195) there is a note stating that Ellis Glynn of the Bryn Gwydion family sold Coed Madog to his cousin William Wynn of Glan'rafon, who died in 1700. The Gwydions of Bryn Gwydion, Pontllyfni are of the same family as the Glyns, Glynllifon who are descended from Cilmin Droed-ddu. None of that helps explain who Madog was, however.

All I can add, though, is that an auction catalog of 1845 notes a variation of the name - "the valuable freehold estate called Coed Madog otherwise Coed Gwyn." 

Adding to this, the folks at https://historicplacenames.rcahmw.gov.uk/ have told me:

"It's impossible to say who the Madog in question was, but he was presumably a local nobleman, saint, or otherwise significant person."