THE DISAPPOINTING TRUTH ABOUT UTHER PENDRAGON

Ambrosius Aurelianus

Years ago I proposed that Uther Pendragon, the 'Terrible/Horrible Chief-warrior', was merely a title for Ambrosius Aurelianus.  The idea came from the later Arthurian romances, where Ambrosius disappears entirely, being replaced by 'Pendragon.'

I resisted the identification.  Why?  Because I did not want to admit that Uther was merely a "filler" character, conjured out of a man who was actually of the 4th century.  But all along there was something right in front of me I did not wish to see:  a second Llanilid in southern Wales.

Why is that so earth-shattering?  Well, before I answer that question, let me quickly provide my "evidence" for Uther as Ambrosius from a very old post:

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Having covered the sources dealing with a supposed pre-Galfridian Uther, we must now treat of the epithet itself.  In Geoffrey of Monmouth’s account of the comet that appears on the death of Aurelius Ambrosius (the Ambrosius Aurelianus of Gildas), Merlin tells Uther that the dragon star signifies himself.  This is NOT in accord with the prevailing medieval view.  Simply expressed, a comet heralded the death of the king – something that Geoffrey does start out saying in his account.  But such a star DID NOT represent, in any way, the dead king’s successor.

Uther had nothing to do with the dragons of Dinas Emrys (a relocation of the Vespasian’s Fort at Amesbury and nearby Stonehenge; see my book “The Mysteries of Avalon”). Beginning with the account of Emrys Guletic (Ambrosius the Prince) in Nennius, it is ONLY Aurelius who has to do with the dragons.  In Geoffrey’s History, Merlin is intruded and here wrongly identified with Ambrosius.  Uther is placed in charge of obtaining the stones from Ireland with Merlin Ambrosius’s help, but all this is done by order by Aurelius.  In the original Dinas Emrys story it was Emrys/Ambrosius who revealed the dragons under the fort and who was then given the site to rule from by Vortigern.  In fact, we are told Vortigern “gave him [Emrys] the fortress, with all the kingdoms of the western part of Britain.”  This is omitted, of course, when Geoffrey divides the Dinas Emrys episode from the Amesbury/Stonehenge one.

One more point is important here.  According to Nennius (Chapter 31), Vortigern was in FEAR or DREAD (timore in the Latin text) of Ambrosius, who is called the “great king” (rex magnus) “among all the kings of the British nation”.  This title is a Latin rendering for his Welsh rank of guletic.  In Welsh, uthr is an adjective and has the meanings of ‘FEARFUL, DREADFUL’ (see the Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru).  Thus the great king who was the terror of Vortigern could have become, quite naturally, the Terrible Dragon/Pen.  Uther Dragon/Pen would then merely be a doublet for Ambrosius. This possibility may gain support from the fact that the late French Vulgate refers to Ambrosius as Pendragon.

Before anyone gets too excited about the notion that Uther Dragon, Arthur’s father, is actually Ambrosius Aurelianus, I would remind everyone of the fact that Ambrosius himself has been anachronistically placed in the 5th century when he actually belongs in the 4th.  He is the Roman governor of Gaul of this name.  While a contemporary of the Constans who went to Britain to deal with troubles there in 343 (a Constans confused with Constans II, who is the Constans of Geoffrey's account), it is unlikely he ever set foot in Britain.  His name was wrongly attached to Amesbury by Stonehenge, and Gaulish place-names associated with Ambrosius and his son. St. Ambrose (see https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-ghost-ambrosius-or-why-arthurs.html and https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2020/05/why-ambrosius-aurelianus-was-put-in.html) may have been fancifully related to ones in Britain.

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There is more, but hopefully that will suffice.

Now onto the Llanilid place-name and its significance for the true identity of Uther Pendragon.

In two recent posts, I have tried my best to associate the Welsh place-name Elei not with the Ely River in southern Wales, but with a northern site.  My efforts have proven unsuccessful.  And for good reason. It really does represent the Ely!  

The PA GUR tells us that Mabon is one of the predatory birds of Elei.  He is at the same time the servant of Uther Pendragon.  This reference to Uther is considered quite important, as it is almost certainly the earliest occurrence of his name in the extant sources.  I've always felt that if Mabon belonged to the Ely Valley, and he was the servant of Uther, then Uther himself may have belonged there.  It is, at least, a reasonable assumption.

Llanilid is a place well west of the Ely. The place-name is to be related to the Campus Elleti in the HISTORIA BRITTONUM, the legendary point of origin of Ambrosius. There is an old castle site there.

However, there is a second Llanilid on Nant Llanilid - a tributary stream of the Ely!

Thus Ambrosius as the Terrible/Horrible Chief-warrior is, after all, on the Ely.  

And why is Mabon there as well?  Why is Mabon his servant?

Well, it could be because Llanfabon, the Church of Mabon, is not too far distant.  But it is more likely because Ambrosius, the 'Divine/Immortal One' who appears as a boy at Campus Elleti/Llanilid, had come to be identified with Mabon/Apollo Maponus.  I had already proposed this and in a couple of recent posts more fully explored the possibility:

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2020/05/was-dinas-emrys-fort-of-mabonmaponus.html

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2020/05/st-curig-at-dinas-emrys-proof-positive.html

I'm now personally satisfied that Uther has been identified.  Does the knowledge make me happy?  Well, yes and no.  I will be returning to my earlier theory on Arthur = Ceidio son of Arthwys, and such a placement in terms of geography is a great relief to me.  However, having to rely on Ceidio, a known short form of a Cumbric 'battle-leader' style name, as Arthur the dux bellorum, whose father Arthwys is nothing more than the *Artenses or 'People of the Bear' of the Irthing Valley, does not allow us to have an actual father for our hero.  And that part is disappointing.  Not devastating, but the ambiguity is rather unwelcome.  

Still, the problem I had with an Arthur based or at least born at Ribchester was how to account for his activity in the Irthing Valley (at Camboglanna/Camlan/Castlesteads).  And it was difficult to ignore that apparent correspondence between the perceived meaning of the Arthur name and Arthwys.  An Arthur who ruled from the western part of Hadrian's Wall fit perfectly with an Arthur who was fighting up and down Dere Street.  Avalon as his traditional burial place accords so well with the presence of the Aballava/Avalana Roman fort at Burgh-By-Sands, with its Dea Latis/Goddess of the Lake, that it seems to be too much of a coincidence.  It was a strain to suggest that an Arthur from Ribchester would have been buried at 'Avalon.'

The word dragon in Welsh poetic usage means warrior or chieftain (Koch, Bromwich, GPC, etc.). Geoffrey of Monmouth’s false reading of Pen-dragon as ‘Dragon’s head’ has, unfortunately, received much currency in the popular consciousness.  Its actual meaning, wholly determined by the element order in the epithet (Dr. Simon Rodway, personal communication), is ‘Chief warrior/chieftain.’

Thus anyone seeking to associate Uther with the draco standard, based upon the Galfridian claim that a dragon-headed star was symbolized by the draco, is subscribing to a purely imaginative literary motif. There is no justification whatsoever to seek in the draco a connection with the Roman army or even with early steppe peoples like the Sarmatians who introduced the draco into that army.