Something I Missed: Riotimus/Vortimer and Uther Pendragon?

Map Courtesy http://darkagehistory.blogspot.com/2011/08/riotimus-and-visigoths.html

Sometimes I make the mistake of prematurely patting myself on the back for supposed ingenuity.  The other day I was going over all the various candidates for Uther Pendragon, just to make sure I hadn't missed a potential candidate.  And I was more than a little shocked with what I found...

We all know about Riothamus, who for many years was championed by the late Geoffrey Ashe as his historical Arthur.  But I had failed to take into account that a spelling of his name was 'Riotimus.'  Why might this be significant?

Well, if we allow a good Latinist to view Riotimus, and assume he knows little or no British, he might well decide to interpret the second element of the name as being related to L. timeo.

https://www.latin-is-simple.com/en/vocabulary/verb/102/

Timeo, of course, means to fear, to in dread of, and the like.  It yields timore, fear, dread.  Welsh uthr means 'fearful, dreadful.'  Long ago I pointed out that 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”.  That observation was, obviously, followed by a suggestion that Uther might = Ambrosius, something that seemed to born out by the treatment of these two kings in the post-Galfridian material.  Ambrosius was also associated with dragons, a fact that reminded us of the Pendragon epithet. 

Now, this interpretation of Riotimus through a Latinist's eyes may seem a fanciful connection.  Still, the problem with Uther all along as a name is that it is actually an adjective.  Many have called into question whether it should properly be seen as a name at all.  Instead, the whole phrase Uther Pendragon could be rendered simply 'the fearful/dreadful chief warrior or chief of warriors.'

We might be tempted not to make too much of this idea were it not for the fact that Riothamus' floruit perfectly matches what we would expect from Arthur's father: he was active in the 470s.  Arthur's established dates at 516 and 537.  

In the past, I once made a case for Riothamus being the same as the famous Vortimer who is styled a son of Vortigern.  I drew this tentative conclusion because two elements of the names were the same and their dates were roughly coterminous.  

Rig    o    tamos

King        most

Vor    tamo    rix

Over  most    king

Needless to say, -timer could also very easily lend itself to a false etymology akin to L. timere.

Whether there is any true relationship between Riothamus and Vortimer is unimportant for the moment.  Instead, we must ask a more pressing question: what would it mean for Arthurian Studies if the great Arthur were the son of either (or both) of these kings?

Quite a lot, actually.  Our conception of the main Arthurian stronghold would shift, and we would likely have to replot his battles as they are found in the HISTORIA BRITTONUM.  Finally, we would have to come to grips with what is actually said in that source, i.e. Arthur is said to have fought against "them" when the new Saxon king comes down to Kent.  The battles of Vortimer were in Kent.

When I have time, I will explore this possible scenario in more depth.  For right now, I can't really defend the idea.  It is true that there is nothing inherently wrong with it; certainly, it is equal in validity to any other similar attempt to translate Uther into another name so that he can be properly historiicized. But it needs to make sense in other ways as well, and we need to fit into such a proposed scenario other aspects of the Arthurian tradition.  

NOTE:

It is perhaps significant that the British historical sources do not mention Riothamus.

We do have a man of that name belonging to Brittany in a later period.  Christopher Gwinn (http://christophergwinn.com/arthuriana/arthurs-pedigree/) discusses this chieftain of Brittany thusly:

GENEALOGIA SANCTI WINNOCI – 11TH C. – BRETON GENEALOGY OF ST. WINNOC

[LATIN TEXT]

Pedigree of St Winnoch

Pedigree of St Winnoc

Riwalus Britanniae Dux filius fuit Derochi, filii Witholi filii Urbieni filii Cathovi, filii Gerentonis. Hic autem Rivalus a transmarinis veniens Britanniis cum multitudine navium totam minorem Britanniam tempore Chlotarii Regis Francorum, qui Chlodovei Regis filius extitit.

Hic Riwalus genuit filium nomine Derochum, Derochus genuit Riatham & Riatha[m] genuit Ionam, Jonas genuit Judwalum & Judwalus genuit Juthaelum, Juthaelus autem genuit sanctum Judicahelum Regem & sanctum Judocum & Winnochum, Eochum, Eumaelum, Docwalum, Gozelum, Largelum, Riwas, Riwaldum, Judgozethum, Helom, Ludon, Quenmaelum. Idem autem Juthaelus genuit filias quarum sunt nomina sancta Curiela, Onnenna, Bredequen, Cleor, Prust.

“Riwal, duke of the Britains, was son of Deroch, son of Withol, son of Urbien, son of Cathou, son of Gerento. This Riwal went across the sea from Britain with many ships all at once to Brittany in the time of Clothar king of the Franks [c. 497-561 AD], who was son of King Clovis.”

“This Riwal sired a son named Deroch; Deroch sired Riatham and Riatham sired Ionas. Ionas sired Iudwal and Iudwal sired Iuthael. Moreover, Iuthael sired saint Iudichael, king and saint Iudoc, and Winnoch, Eoch, Eumael, Docwal, Gozel, Largel, Riwas, Riwald, Iudgo(r)eth, H[a]elon, [I]udon, Cenmael.

Notes: If Catou(i)us and Gerento in this pedigree (which is of dubious origins) are derived from Welsh Cadwy son of Gereint (son of Erbin), then we have here references to cousins of Arthur (See JESUS COLLEGE MS 20.10 and VITA CANTOCI below). Riatham is the Old Breton cognate of the Latinized British name Riothamus, though this Riatham and Riothamus are likely not the same person for chronological reasons. 

P.C.  Bartrum (A CLASSICAL WELSH DICTIONARY) mentions another source for this particular Riatham:

RIATHAM son of DEROCH. He appears in the genealogy of St. Iudichael given in the Life of that saint by Ingomar (11th century, whose works are lost) quoted by Pierre le Baud, Histoire de Bretagne, 1638, pp.64-82, but actually written c.1508 (LBS I.298 n.1). According to this he was the son of Deroch and father of Ionas, princes of Domnonée in Brittany. Similarly in the 12th century Life of St.Winnoc (Bollandists, Acta Sanctorum, Nov.III p.268); also in the Chronicon Briocense, (Ed. Dom Pierre H. Morice, Preuves, 1742, I Col.15). See s.n. Riwal. Arthur le Moyne de la Borderie in his Histoire de Bretagne, 1896, I.400 says that Deroch was succeeded by Ionas and that the insertion of Riatham in the pedigree is absolument impossible. He concluded that Ionas was the son of Deroch and that Riatham was perhaps another son of Deroch, who died young (note 3). See also I.351 note. Compare Riothamus.