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.

What no one appears to have noticed is that there is a Capel Curig (W. Curig = Cyricus - whether the saint we are discussing or another, purely Celtic one is unknown) in Eryri.  This is where Dinas Emrys is located.  Very near this Capel Curig on the Afon Llugwy is Caer Llugwy, a Roman fort. See https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/95274/details/caer-llugwy-bryn-y-gefeiliau-roman-site.

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.