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:

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2020/04/geoffrey-of-monmouths-gorloisstar.html

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