[NOTE: SINCE WRITING THIS PIECE, DR. SIMON RODWAY HAS ASSURED ME THAT THE PERSONAL NAME DYFWN, WHICH IS PROBABLY FOR *DOBUNNOS, CANNOT HAVE YIELDED THE PLACE-NAME DEFYNNOG. "NO, BECAUSE OF THE -E-." THE -E- IS PRESENT IN THE PLACE-NAME'S EARLIEST FORMS. AUTHORS H.W. Owen & R. Morgan of 'Dictionary of the Place-names of Wales' (Gomer Press, 2007, Ceredigion) ARE SIMPLY WRONG. WITHOUT A DOBUNNOS NAME PRESENT AT THE SUPPOSED GRAVE SITE OF ILLTUD IN BRYCHEINIOG, THE CASE FOR THE VALE OF LEADON BEING THE SAINT'S 'LLYDAW' IS NO LONGER A GOOD ONE. I'M CONSULTING NOW WITH WELSH PLACE-NAME EXPERT PROFESSOR HYWEL WYN OWEN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WALES TO SEE IF THERE IS ANOTHER PREFERRED ETYMOLOGY FOR DEFYNNOG. THE RESULT WILL, AS ALWAYS, BE POSTED HERE. IF DEFYNNOG DOES NOT COME FROM DYFWN, THEN WE ARE LEFT WITH A) ILLTUD'S 'LLYDAW' IS AN ERROR FOR LIATHAIN OR B) LLYDAW IS, IN FACT, FOR THE VALE OF LEADON IN HEREFORDSHIRE.
UPDATE: PROFESSOR OWEN HAS NOT CHANGED HIS POSITION ON THIS PLACE-NAME SINCE PUBLISHING HIS Dictionary of the Place-Names of Wales. HE DERIVES IT FROM THE PERSONAL NAME DYFWN, BUT HAS TROUBLE EXPLAINING THE E, SUGGESTING INFLUENCE FROM FRENCH DE (CF. DE VENNOK 1372).
THE PLACE-NAME HAS THE FOLLOWING VARIANT SPELLINGS, FOUND LISTED IN THE MELVILLE RICHARDS ARCHIVES:
DEFYNNOG Dyvynnocke 1547 BMW A CATALOGUE OF THE MANUSCRIPTS RELATING TO WALES IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM iii.609
DEFYNNOG Devynnocke 1614/5 CFL DEEDS AT CARDIFF FREE LIBRARY, ARRANGED BY COUNTIES Monm
DEFYNNOG Devynock 1403 CPR CONWAY PARISH REGISTERS 1401-05.299
DEFYNNOG Devynnok 1484 CPR CONWAY PARISH REGISTERS 1466-85.452
DEFYNNOG Dyvynnake 1559 CPR CONWAY PARISH REGISTERS 1558-60.208
DEFYNNOG Dyvynnocke c.1571 CPR CONWAY PARISH REGISTERS 1569-72.325
DEFYNNOG Divinnocke 1623 TREDEGAR TREDEGAR MSS 123/63
DEFYNNOG Dyvonocke 1653/4 TREDEGAR TREDEGAR MSS 123/55
DEFYNNOG Devinnock 1581 TREDEGAR TREDEGAR MSS 124/129
DEFYNNOG Devinnocke 1594 TREDEGAR TREDEGAR MSS 124/132
DEFYNNOG Devennoc 1254 VN VALUATION OF NORWICH 476
DEFYNNOG Dyvynnocke 1579 TREDEGAR TREDEGAR MSS 137/54
DEFYNNOG Devynnocke 1626 TREDEGAR TREDEGAR MSS 114/26
DEFYNNOG Dyvynocke c.1765 TREDEGAR TREDEGAR MSS 116/113
DEFYNNOG Devinocke 1637 TREDEGAR TREDEGAR MSS 119/52
DEFYNNOG Devynocke 1690 TREDEGAR TREDEGAR MSS 119/28
DEFYNNOG Devynock 1589 TREDEGAR TREDEGAR MSS 123/31
DEFYNNOG Devynnock 1649 TREDEGAR TREDEGAR MSS 124/145
DEFYNNOG Devynocke 1664 TREDEGAR TREDEGAR MSS 124/238
DEFYNNOG Devinocke 1683 TREDEGAR TREDEGAR MSS 124/208
Here is the actual entry from Owen's and Morgan's place-name book:
The argument for Llydaw being a sort of corruption of Liathain through a similar spelling is somewhat compelling, but hard to sustain. It is much more reasonable to assume that this Welsh 'Llydaw' is the Vale of Leadon bordering on Wales proper. The presence of Llanilltud churches in Brycheiniog near Neolithic barrows/ringcairns naturally led to the application of his name to these ancient monuments, much as Arthur's name is attached to numerous cromlechs or "quoits." The notion that he was, therefore, buried in Brycheiniog can be discounted, as no Christian saint would ever have been buried in a prominent pagan burial structure. In any case, Brychan was quite famous, and his kingdom equally so. To choose to call Brycheiniog 'Llydaw' makes no sense at all.
I have looked again at the CULHWCH AND OLWEN account of the 'men of Llydaw', who are said to meet the pig-monster Llwydog at Ystrad Yw. The problem with this passage is that two personages from the Kingdom of Ercing are with them: Gwrfoddw, King of Ercing and his brother, Llygadrudd Emys - a corruption of the place-name Llygad Amr in Ercing (see P.C. Bartrum). This tells me that Ystrad Yw is an error for Ystrad Wy, i.e. Ystrad Gwy, the valley of the River Wye which ran through Ercing. The Vale of Leadon bordered on the portion of Ercing which lay to the east of the Wye. Ystrad Yw is over 30 kilometers as the crow flies from Weston Undere Penyard, the site of Ariconium, which gave its name to Ercing. Thus the idea that the Ercing brothers would be in Ystrad Yw instead of in Ystrad Wy is nonsensical.
That Ystradyw can be corrupted into Ystradwy is proven by the case of the place-name Llygadyw in Powys (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llygadwy). I thus assume the opposite could easily have happened. I would also cite this source (https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/cfwm/cf203.htm), which shows that just such a confusion could occur between Yw and Wy.
I can now say with a fair degree of certainty that Uther Pendragon/Illtud was born in the Vale of Leadon and, doubtless, buried there. His connection with Brycheiniog is due solely to the presence there of a couple churches dedicated to the saint. If Defynnog does preserve a *Dobunnos name, reminiscent of the Dobunni tribal name, this may also have contributed to the relocation of Illtud from the Leadon to this part of Brycheiniog.]
As always, everything comes down to a place-name. In this case, that of Defynnog in Brecknockshire...
Readers of my blog will recall that I've struggled to decide on a "Llydaw" within or bordering on Wales. The location of this region is of critical importance, for Arthur's father Illtud/Uther Pendragon is said to hail from there. Evidence seemed pretty strongly to indicate the Vale of Leadon in Herefordshire. I discounted the area for two reasons: 1) Welsh tradition suggests that Llydaw was in Brycheiniog and 2) I've found it necessary to supply Arthur with an Irish or Hiberno-British ancestry.
Illtud is said to have been buried in Llydaw, but his grave is also situated in Defynnog parish in Brycheiniog. I did not take much stake in the latter claim, precisely because the Llanhamlach church near Brecon was dedicated to Illtud and a Neolithic barrow at Llanfrynach and a ringcairn (on Mynydd Illtud next to Llanilltyd) bear his name.
Unfortunately, I failed to investigate the etymology of Defynnog. According to the best sources at my disposal (see, for example, http://www.cpat.org.uk/ycom/bbnp/defynnog.pdf and Owen, H.W. & Morgan, R., 2007, 'Dictionary of the Place-names of Wales', Gomer Press, Ceredigion), the place-name means "the territory belonging to Dyfwn." Dyfwn, in turn, is known as the name of a daugher of Glywys. Glywys is an eponym for Glywysing, an ancient kingdom in Glamorgan. It means, literally, 'man of Glevensis' or man of Glevum/Gloucester. Gloucester was once within the tribal territory of the Dobunni. The name of Glywys' father - Solor (also spelled Filur) - is believed to represent the Silures tribe of southern Wales. He was "the Silurian."
P.C. Bartram in his A CLASSICAL WELSH DICTIONARY has the following to say about Dyfwn:
DYFWN ferch GLYWYS. See Meurig ab Enynny.
MEURIG ab ENYNNY. (470?)
In the Life of St.Cadog (§25) we are told that Rhain ap Brychan had invaded Gwynllŵg and had been defeated and besieged by the men of Gwynllŵg. Then Cadog evidently felt the need of a monarch who should defend the land. He therefore prayed to the Lord, ‘and Meurig son of Enhinti was given to him, and he gave to him his aunt, Dibunn, with all the country except Gwynllŵg’. Cadog said to Meurig, ‘Protect my country and inheritance of Gwynllŵg’, and Meurig entered into an agreement with him. Jesus College MS.20 (JC 5 in EWGT p.44) mentions among the children of Glywys Donwn, gwreic Meuric mab Emminni merch Kynvarch m. Meirchion, etc. Donwn would be the aunt of Cadog. The name should evidently be corrected to Douun and corresponds to Dibunn, while Emminni corresponds to Enhinti of the Life of Cadog. The modern forms of the names would be Dyfwn (OP II.323) and Enynny (ABT 15 in EWGT p.105).
To me, Dyfwn is pretty obviously an eponym for the Romano-British tribe the Dobunni. To make sure I was right about this, I asked Dr. Simon Rodway of the University of Wales, a noted expert in the Welsh language. He responded:
"Dyfwn could derive from singular *Dobunnos, but not from Dobunni which would give *dyfyn."
We have an inscribed stone from Tavistock, Devon, bearing the personal name Dobunnus. Interested parties can find the stone described here:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/cisp/database/
TVST3/1/2
Readings
Macalister, R.A.S. (1945): DOBVNN{I} | FABRIFILII | EN{A}B{A}RRI
Expansion:
DOBVNNI FABRI FILII ENABARRI
Macalister/1945 467--468 reading only
Thomas/1994 237, 265 reading only
Okasha, E. (1984): DOBVNN{I}[...] | FABRI[F]ILI[I] | [E]N{A}B{A}RRI[.]
Expansion:
DOBVNNI [--] FABRI [F]ILI[I] [E]NABARRI[.]
Translation:
[The stone] of Dobunnus (PN) the smith, son of Enabarrus (PN).
Okasha/1993 279--280 reading only
"Dobvnni (Language: Incomplete Information; Gender: male)
Okasha/1993, 280: `DOBVNNI is a Celtic name; it may also be a hypocoristic form, or the first element might be from Primitive Irish *dubu `black'. Thomas/1994, 267, sees the name as 'less obviously Irish' than that of his father. At note 25, however, he cites DOVVINIAS [BLTAG/2, but cf. BALIG/3] as a Primitve Irish parallel. Dark/1994, 110, takes DOBUNNI to be a 'tribal name � perhaps attesting the existence of the Dobunnic polity at, or near, the time of manufacture'. Rivet and Smith/1979, 339--40, discuss the British tribal name Dobunni, including citation of this example of the name, but state that the derivation of the name is uncertain."
And as I made clear in an earlier post here, the Vale of Leadon - my first and best choice for Illtud's Llydaw - was in Dobunni territory. The River Leadon empties into the Severn at Glywys' Gloucester. The Silures of Glywys' son Solor held territory in Monmouthshire, their capital being Caerwent not far to the southwest of Gloucester across the Severn.
So what appears to have happened is this: Illtud came from the Vale of Leadon, and was also buried there. But in the course of the usual legend-making, this 'Llydaw' was transferred to Brycheiniog, where a Defynnog place-name preserved an eponym of the Dobunni, The English, after all, had conquered the Vale of Leadon, so the famous saint could not very well be left there! This kind of relocation of heroic figures happened all the time. We need only look at his more famous son Arthur to understand how such a process worked.
I am now confident that the Leadon region, still a part of the Dobunni tribal territory in the sub-Roman period, was the homeland of Illtud.
While this is an exciting development, it also creates a serious problem. For if Arthur descends from the Dobunni, he is not Irish. And then we are once more faced with an inability to account for why all subsequent Arthurs belonged to Irish-descended dynasties in Britain. It was this problem that caused me to originally shy away from Illtud as Arthur's father and to consign the Uther Pendragon parentage to Galfridian fiction.
What we are left with, ultimately, is a choice: accept the Galfridian Uther of the Dobunni as Arthur's father and lose the Irish connection we require to prove a viable historical candidate, or go with my earlier theory that Arthur is actually Ceredig son of Cunedda of the Ciannachta. A "middle road" would be to find a way to explain why an Arthur of mostly Dobunnic descent would have lent his name to the Irish settlers in Britain. To date, I've not been able to do this.
The only tentative link, found in a genealogy which itself is suspect, would be Gwen, daughter of Cunedda of the Ciannachta, who is said to be the wife of Amlawdd of Ercing. Amlawdd is claimed as the father of Arthur's mother Eigyr/Igerna. Amlawdd's name is found in an earlier spelling as Anblaud, which is proper Welsh, not Irish. Gwen herself may have been half British (assuming her mother was such), so an Arthur belonging to this postulated line would have at least some Irish blood. For Cunedda to have given a daughter to a king of Ercing we must assume an alliance between the former and the latter against the Ui Liathain, whom Cunedda is credited with chasing out of south Wales. All in all, I don't find any of this very convincing.
Readers of my blog will recall that I've struggled to decide on a "Llydaw" within or bordering on Wales. The location of this region is of critical importance, for Arthur's father Illtud/Uther Pendragon is said to hail from there. Evidence seemed pretty strongly to indicate the Vale of Leadon in Herefordshire. I discounted the area for two reasons: 1) Welsh tradition suggests that Llydaw was in Brycheiniog and 2) I've found it necessary to supply Arthur with an Irish or Hiberno-British ancestry.
Illtud is said to have been buried in Llydaw, but his grave is also situated in Defynnog parish in Brycheiniog. I did not take much stake in the latter claim, precisely because the Llanhamlach church near Brecon was dedicated to Illtud and a Neolithic barrow at Llanfrynach and a ringcairn (on Mynydd Illtud next to Llanilltyd) bear his name.
Unfortunately, I failed to investigate the etymology of Defynnog. According to the best sources at my disposal (see, for example, http://www.cpat.org.uk/ycom/bbnp/defynnog.pdf and Owen, H.W. & Morgan, R., 2007, 'Dictionary of the Place-names of Wales', Gomer Press, Ceredigion), the place-name means "the territory belonging to Dyfwn." Dyfwn, in turn, is known as the name of a daugher of Glywys. Glywys is an eponym for Glywysing, an ancient kingdom in Glamorgan. It means, literally, 'man of Glevensis' or man of Glevum/Gloucester. Gloucester was once within the tribal territory of the Dobunni. The name of Glywys' father - Solor (also spelled Filur) - is believed to represent the Silures tribe of southern Wales. He was "the Silurian."
P.C. Bartram in his A CLASSICAL WELSH DICTIONARY has the following to say about Dyfwn:
DYFWN ferch GLYWYS. See Meurig ab Enynny.
MEURIG ab ENYNNY. (470?)
In the Life of St.Cadog (§25) we are told that Rhain ap Brychan had invaded Gwynllŵg and had been defeated and besieged by the men of Gwynllŵg. Then Cadog evidently felt the need of a monarch who should defend the land. He therefore prayed to the Lord, ‘and Meurig son of Enhinti was given to him, and he gave to him his aunt, Dibunn, with all the country except Gwynllŵg’. Cadog said to Meurig, ‘Protect my country and inheritance of Gwynllŵg’, and Meurig entered into an agreement with him. Jesus College MS.20 (JC 5 in EWGT p.44) mentions among the children of Glywys Donwn, gwreic Meuric mab Emminni merch Kynvarch m. Meirchion, etc. Donwn would be the aunt of Cadog. The name should evidently be corrected to Douun and corresponds to Dibunn, while Emminni corresponds to Enhinti of the Life of Cadog. The modern forms of the names would be Dyfwn (OP II.323) and Enynny (ABT 15 in EWGT p.105).
To me, Dyfwn is pretty obviously an eponym for the Romano-British tribe the Dobunni. To make sure I was right about this, I asked Dr. Simon Rodway of the University of Wales, a noted expert in the Welsh language. He responded:
"Dyfwn could derive from singular *Dobunnos, but not from Dobunni which would give *dyfyn."
We have an inscribed stone from Tavistock, Devon, bearing the personal name Dobunnus. Interested parties can find the stone described here:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/cisp/database/
TVST3/1/2
Readings
Macalister, R.A.S. (1945): DOBVNN{I} | FABRIFILII | EN{A}B{A}RRI
Expansion:
DOBVNNI FABRI FILII ENABARRI
Macalister/1945 467--468 reading only
Thomas/1994 237, 265 reading only
Okasha, E. (1984): DOBVNN{I}[...] | FABRI[F]ILI[I] | [E]N{A}B{A}RRI[.]
Expansion:
DOBVNNI [--] FABRI [F]ILI[I] [E]NABARRI[.]
Translation:
[The stone] of Dobunnus (PN) the smith, son of Enabarrus (PN).
Okasha/1993 279--280 reading only
"Dobvnni (Language: Incomplete Information; Gender: male)
Okasha/1993, 280: `DOBVNNI is a Celtic name; it may also be a hypocoristic form, or the first element might be from Primitive Irish *dubu `black'. Thomas/1994, 267, sees the name as 'less obviously Irish' than that of his father. At note 25, however, he cites DOVVINIAS [BLTAG/2, but cf. BALIG/3] as a Primitve Irish parallel. Dark/1994, 110, takes DOBUNNI to be a 'tribal name � perhaps attesting the existence of the Dobunnic polity at, or near, the time of manufacture'. Rivet and Smith/1979, 339--40, discuss the British tribal name Dobunni, including citation of this example of the name, but state that the derivation of the name is uncertain."
And as I made clear in an earlier post here, the Vale of Leadon - my first and best choice for Illtud's Llydaw - was in Dobunni territory. The River Leadon empties into the Severn at Glywys' Gloucester. The Silures of Glywys' son Solor held territory in Monmouthshire, their capital being Caerwent not far to the southwest of Gloucester across the Severn.
So what appears to have happened is this: Illtud came from the Vale of Leadon, and was also buried there. But in the course of the usual legend-making, this 'Llydaw' was transferred to Brycheiniog, where a Defynnog place-name preserved an eponym of the Dobunni, The English, after all, had conquered the Vale of Leadon, so the famous saint could not very well be left there! This kind of relocation of heroic figures happened all the time. We need only look at his more famous son Arthur to understand how such a process worked.
I am now confident that the Leadon region, still a part of the Dobunni tribal territory in the sub-Roman period, was the homeland of Illtud.
While this is an exciting development, it also creates a serious problem. For if Arthur descends from the Dobunni, he is not Irish. And then we are once more faced with an inability to account for why all subsequent Arthurs belonged to Irish-descended dynasties in Britain. It was this problem that caused me to originally shy away from Illtud as Arthur's father and to consign the Uther Pendragon parentage to Galfridian fiction.
What we are left with, ultimately, is a choice: accept the Galfridian Uther of the Dobunni as Arthur's father and lose the Irish connection we require to prove a viable historical candidate, or go with my earlier theory that Arthur is actually Ceredig son of Cunedda of the Ciannachta. A "middle road" would be to find a way to explain why an Arthur of mostly Dobunnic descent would have lent his name to the Irish settlers in Britain. To date, I've not been able to do this.
The only tentative link, found in a genealogy which itself is suspect, would be Gwen, daughter of Cunedda of the Ciannachta, who is said to be the wife of Amlawdd of Ercing. Amlawdd is claimed as the father of Arthur's mother Eigyr/Igerna. Amlawdd's name is found in an earlier spelling as Anblaud, which is proper Welsh, not Irish. Gwen herself may have been half British (assuming her mother was such), so an Arthur belonging to this postulated line would have at least some Irish blood. For Cunedda to have given a daughter to a king of Ercing we must assume an alliance between the former and the latter against the Ui Liathain, whom Cunedda is credited with chasing out of south Wales. All in all, I don't find any of this very convincing.
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