A NEW IDENTIFICATION FOR ARTHUR'S MOUNT AGNED BATTLE SITE

Final Update (4-5-2023):

The consensus among the scholars I have queried is that my emendation of Agned to Agued, an early and rare Welsh word used in the GODODDIN to describe the host at Catterick, is a very good reading, and quite probably correct.  The word could have been used of Breguoin/Bremenium/High Rochester, but it could have been used because Arthur is mentioned in the GODODDIN poem.  As Breguoin is the Brewyn of Urien of Rheged, both battles may be imports into the Arthurian list.  On the other hand, Arthur could well have fought at one or both places prior to the battles fought in the next generation.  I will include this conclusion in the final version of my book THE BATTLE-LEADER OF RIBCHESTER.  

11. in monte qui dicitur Agned. So HK; MN qui nominatur breguoin (N breuoin) .... quem nos cat bregion appellamus; P agned cat bregomion; Q agned tha bregomion; CDGL agned cath regomion.

- from Once Again Arthur's Battles by Kenneth Jackson

Modern Philology, Vol. 43, No. 1 (Aug., 1945), pp. 44-57

A new idea here for Arthur's Mount Agned battle - and one I am pretty sure is correct.

I had only recently worked on Guinnion, and found myself agreeing with Anscombe, who proposed that the second n in the name might be for a u.  That small and perfectly plausible emendation allows us to identify castello Guinnion with Vinovia/Binchester.

This acceptance of Guinnion as Guinuion allowed me to look at Agned with new eyes.  Suppose, I thought to myself, Agned stood for an original spelling Agued?  

Other place-name scholars had attempted similar emendations.  Andrew Breeze (Pennango Near Hawick and Welsh Angau ‘Death’. 2002, Northern History 39) sought to alter Agned to *angued, and then proceeded to W. angau, 'death.'  I myself looked at W. angwedd, a rare word meaning 'straits, distress', found used of Catterick in the GODODDIN.  

Agued for Agned is, however, much simpler to defend.  The W. agwedd is from a- + gwedd and meant 'appearance'.  Gwedd itself also meant 'appearance.'  If we go only a short distance up from Bremenium/Breguoin along Dere Street we come to the next Roman fort at Chew Green.  This fort is on the River Coquet, called anciently Coccuveda.  The word is preserved in W. as cochwedd, 'red appearance', a reference to the red porphyritic detritus washed down from the Cheviots.  

I am, therefore, going to propose that Agned is Agwedd, and that this was a reference to the Coch-[g]wedd Roman fort.

The process could have come about thusly: the Coccu-/Coch- element was at some point wrongly taken for English cocc, 'hillock', which yielded the monte of the HB.  It was then a simple matter, over time, to add a- to gwedd to produce Agwedd, Agued, Agned.

To be honest, I am more than a bit embarrassed that I did not see this before.  But place-names are notoriously difficult to deal with, and I hope my readers will forgive me my aimless wanderings.  Think of this as more of an adventure than a quest!

NOTE:  If we go simply by the MSS. variants for this place-name, we see that it was combined with Breguoin.  That may be an error, an attempt to reconcile the appearance of one of the other name in different MSS.  However, if it reflects actual tradition, then I would again mention my first idea for Agned, i.e. it represents the name of the Roman governor who rebuilt the Bremenium fort - EGNATIUS.  This has been allowed by the Celtic linguists, even if it does not superficially appear to be a perfect solution to the problem. 

I have written to Professor Dr. Peter Schrijver about Agned being from EGNAT and will report back here on what he has to say.

I do not think we can support any longer the notion that Agned is for Latin agnetis.  That is certainly what Geoffrey of Monmouth thought, as Agnes the virgin saint led him to look for a Maiden Castle.  See 

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2023/04/agned-agnetis-and-bremeniumhigh.html.