SHOULD WE PAY ATTENTION TO CAER DATHAL AS A POSSIBLE WELSH MODEL FOR THE GALFRIDIAN TINTAGEL?

Nantlle Valley

Over the past week, I have made my case for Caer Dathal being the fort of Arthur's birth or, at least, the point of origin for his father, Uther (https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2022/06/notes-on-cornish-place-name-tintagel.html).  Geoffrey of Monmouth's Tintagel is a relocation of the site.  Eliwlad, a sort of Lleu avatar in the guise of an eagle in an oak tree, the grandson of Uther, and his father, Madog, son of Uther, both belong at Coed Madog in Nantlle, not Cutmadoc in Cornwall (see

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2020/05/a-shocking-discovery-real-location-of.html). I've succeeded in identifying Caer Dathal with Dinas Emrys (see https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2021/01/dinas-emrys-as-caer-dathal-late.html). 

Here I wish to examine the validity of the primary meaning given to the phrase concerning the kindred of Arthur at Caer Dathal.  The question is an important one, for other than Caer Dathal and Tintagel, we possess not a single shred of evidence, literary or otherwise, for the 6th century Arthur's early home. 

In his entry on Iaen in A CLASSICAL WELSH DICTIONATY, P.C. Bartram says "and they are said to be men of Caer Dathal, kindred to Arthur on his father's side, or perhaps ‘on their father's side’." 

Bartram is wrong here.  'Gwyr kaer tathal oed- ynt kenedyl y arthur o bleit y dat.' plainly says

"on the side of his father", so, "on his father's side"

I have confirmed this with Dr. Simon Rodway, who answered merely "No, it can't [mean "on their father's side"].  It is on HIS father's side, as is perfectly obvious from the mutation [y dat]."  Dr. Rodway also added that Iaen "is a personal name."  He is not bothered with the fact that it technically means 'a piece of ice.'  

The word kenedyl implies a close relationship.  Here is the listing from the GPC.  Note the cognate word in Irish, cenel, which is often used to designate a tribal group (see https://celt.ucc.ie//published/E900000-003.html). 

H. Grn. kinethel, gl. generatio, H. Wydd. cenél: < Clt. *kenetl- o’r gwr. *ken- ‘tarddu, hanfod’] 

eb. ll. cenhedloedd, cenhedlau, hen l. cenhedlawr.

a  Cymdeithas o bobl yn byw fel rheol dan yr un llywodraeth mewn gwlad arbennig ac a gysylltir ynghyd yn aml gan undod hanes a thraddodiad ac iaith, nasiwn; Cyfr. llwyth, gwelygordd, tylwyth neu deulu hyd y nawfed ach; cenhedlaeth; Beibl. (yn y ff. Cenhedloedd) pobl heb fod yn Iddewon; gwŷr Llychlyn; rhywogaeth, rhyw, math:

nation; tribe, clan, kindred; generation; gentile (in bible); Norsemen; sort, species, kind, sex.

What this means is that we seem to have a very straight-forward statement regarding Arthur's kinship through his father with the men of Caer Dathal.  That Arthur is also said to have begotten a child on Eleirch, daughter of Iaen, may be further proof of the importance of this fort when it comes to trying to pin down a historical candidate for our hero.