ARTHUR SON OF BICOIR OF KINTYRE DISCOVERED

T627.6

Mongan son of Fiachna Lurgan, stricken with a stone by Artur son of Bicoir Britone died. Whence Bec Boirche said:

Cold is the wind over Islay;

There are warriors in Cantyre,

They will commit a cruel deed therefor,

They will kill Mongan son of Fiachna.

Thanks to my discussion with Professor Patrick Sims-Williams about the etymology of the Bicoir name, and its possible relationship to the Irish word for 'beekeeper' [1], I feel fairly confident in allowing for Arthur son of Bicoir, who is said in Tigernach to be in Kintyre, to be a son of either the beekeeper Beachaire or a son of the place-name in Kintyre - Beachaire/Beacharr - that was taken for the Irish bee-keeper word.

Note Beacharr is on the coast of Kintyre, facing Islay.  Hence the cold wind blowing over the latter island in the Annal entry.  

There is no need, therefore, to attempt to link this Arthur to the Beccurus name found on in stone in NW Wales.  Very difficult to account for a son from Gesail Cyfarch ending up in Kintyre.  

Instead, this son of Bicoir would be an Arthur named after the earlier Dalriadan one, son of Aedan or Conaing, as Kintyre was a part of Dalriada.  This Arthur may or may not have been a "Briton", but his name surely was.  

Bannerman (STUDIES IN THE HISTORY OF DALRIADA, pp. 112-113) says the forts of the Cenel nGabrain (a dynasty that included the earlier Arthur) were Dunaverty in southern Kintyre and Tarbert in the north.  Beacharr is directly between these two strongholds. 

There is a dun at Beacharr, as well as a rather famous chambered cairn and standing stone.

Dun Beachaire

Standing Stone

Plan of Chambered Cairn

https://canmore.org.uk/site/38560/beacharr

https://canmore.org.uk/search/site?SIMPLE_KEYWORD=Dun%20Beachaire

Brittonic place-name expert Alan James was kind enough to send me this on the Dun Beachaire site:

"I see that Beacharr(a) is apparently the scotticised name for the chambered cairn, which is located on the Gaelic-named Dùn Beachaire, with Allt Beachaire flowing by. As I said, I think if the name was used specifically for the cairn, then it was likely to be *Am Beachair in the sense of ‘beehive’. But if Dùn Beachaire was the primary name, then it could have been ‘beekeeper’s fort’.

 

The neighbouring  Beachmenach and North and South Beachmore add complication. My best guess would be that Beach- might be a contracted *Beachach, ‘abounding in bees’ used nominally for a ‘bee-place’ . If so, Beachmennach would be *Beachach (nam) manach’, ‘monks’ bee-place, monastic apiary’, which seems quite plausible given that this was probably a possession of the Saddell Abbey across the peninsula. And, if so, the beachair may have been the Cistercian bee-keeper: I think of my friend Fr Benedict of Pluscarden Abbey taking his beehives in summer to a rather similar location in Moray.

 

As for Lann Becuir/Bechaire, it would have helped if you’d explained where this is – both in your email and in your blog! I’ve managed to track it down thanks to Google, to Col. White’s 1905 article quoting Joyce – it was at Bremore, Balrothery, near Balbriggan, on the Irish Sea coast about 20 miles N of Dublin? So in the same Irish Sea zone as Kintyre.

 

But I would be reluctant, at least on a matter like this, to disagree with Patrick S-W, and indeed come to the same conclusion, that Becuir is unlikely to be Bechaire, though both it and Bicoir might be a personal name with the *bekk- ‘little’ root plus a suffix, and such a name could have suggested the ‘beekeeper’.

 

And it’s certainly interesting that St Molaga acquired that epithet.  St Moluag, though pretty surely not the same in origin (both saints are obscure, and probably amalgams of several Mo-Lugs) was a very important figure in Argyll – especially associated with Lismore, where he was regarded as the founder of the church there, and venerated at two Kilmoluags, in Kintyre and Knapdale, as well as having dedications in several of the southern Hebrides and Mann. But again, the cult of Moluag was very much promoted by the Cistercians, especially from Mellifont, ‘honey-spring’, mother-house of Saddell , whose founding abbot St Malachy seems to have played a part in promoting Moluag - though there doesn’t seem to be any evidence for the bee-keeping connection in the Scottish sources for Moluag.

 

Still, I’d agree that it’s possible that Dùn Beachaire was associated with Moluag, and so with Molaga and with bees and honey . But I think the origin of that association is to be found among the 12th century Cistercians, not necessarily any earlier."

St. Molaga is interesting in another way: his bees came from St. David's in Dyfed, Wales.  And he had, apparently visited St. David's.  See https://www.omniumsanctorumhiberniae.com/2014/01/saint-molagga-of-timoleague-january-20.html?m=1.  Arthur son of Petr of Dyfed has an estimated birthdate of 560.  

[1]

Patrick Sims-Williams in his “The Celtic Inscriptions of Britain: Phonology and Chronology, c. 400-1200″, provides a couple of etymologies for the name Beccurus.  His first is that the name comes from British *Bikkorix or “Little King”.  His alternate derivation would be a name from *bekko-, “beak”.  He does not, however, make the connection to an attested Irish noun, Becuir, found as a variant of Bechaire or “bee-keeper” in the church name Lann Becuir/Bechaire.  The “bee-keeper” references either St. Modomnoc or St. Molaga of this religious establishment.  The former brought his bees with him from Wales, where he had been educated under St. David (born c. 485?) at Mynyw/Menevia/St. David’s in Dyfed.  The latter had been to both Scotland and Wales (St. David’s again) and had obtained some bees from Modomnoc.

When I asked Professor Sims-Williams about the possiibility that Bicoir could be related to the Irish Becuir, he responded:

“I’m not sure that Becuir can be a variant of Bechaire. The place name Lann Bechaire could be a distortion/rationalisation of Lann Becuir, and the latter name may have nothing to do with bee-keeping, though it could be related to Bicoir.”

THE BATTLE-LEADER OF THE NORTH (Final Book)

Ironically, after many reiterations over the past several years, my final Arthur book ends up being a reinforced version of the argument I first offered at the Croatian Arthurian symposium in 2019.

https://www.amazon.com/Battle-Leader-North-Definitive-Identification-Legendary-ebook/dp/B0B5CG54RT/ref=sr_1_1?crid=13BGM4NFMXXTZ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Eq-AAIpUgOc7JPPNM39d1Q.9azT-jCV10f1QXiXMr3rC36OCJjehl755y3NdZ_ANm8&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+battle-leader+of+the+north+august+hunt&qid=1731541756&sprefix=the+battle-leader+of+the+north+august+hunt%2Caps%2C174&sr=8-1

Bicoir, Beccurus and Petuir/Petr: A Last Look at My Earlier Mistaken Identification of Two Arthurian Fathers

Gesail Cyfarch (under a dozen kilometers from Caer Dathal)

For quite a few years now, I have floated the idea that the Bicoir of the Irish Annals, father of an Arthur, may be the same as Petuir, a spelling for Petr, father of Arthur of Dyfed.

Alas, I have been freed of that delusion!

Dr. Simon Rodway of The University of Wales was kind enough to treat of my idea, and as it turns out, there is nothing to it:

"'P and B' do not 'often substitute for each other' and neither do c and t. /p/ mutates to /b/ in neo-Brittonic languages under very specific grammatical circumstances, e.g. Middle Welsh penn 'head', y benn 'his head'. t is sometimes misread by scribes as c and vice versa. The two phenomena are completely different. The second could be relevant here, but the first certainly not - I know of no examples of a Brittonic / Latin word being adapted into Irish with B- instead of P-, neither do you find variation of P- ~ B- in Brittonic contexts. The mutation is irrelevant here.

At any rate, you do not account for the change e > i.

Therefore no."

Dr. Rodway is in agreement with the possibility that Bicoir could be the same name (although not necessarily the same person!) as the Beccurus found on the Gesail Cyfarch stone in NW Wales:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/cisp/database/stone/pmrfa_1.html

"Yes it could (with Irish raising of /e/ > /i/)."

In an article written years ago, I had the following for the etymology of Beccurus:

Patrick Sims-Williams in his “The Celtic Inscriptions of Britain: Phonology and Chronology, c. 400-1200″, provides a couple of etymologies for the name Beccurus.  His first is that the name comes from British *Bikkorix or “Little King”.  His alternate derivation would be a name from *bekko-, “beak”.  He does not, however, make the connection to an attested Irish noun, Becuir, found as a variant of Bechaire or “bee-keeper” in the church name Lann Becuir/Bechaire.  The “bee-keeper” references either St. Modomnoc or St. Molaga of this religious establishment.  The former brought his bees with him from Wales, where he had been educated under St. David (born c. 485?) at Mynyw/Menevia/St. David’s in Dyfed.  The latter had been to both Scotland and Wales (St. David’s again) and had obtained some bees from Modomnoc.

When I asked Professor Sims-Williams about the possiibility that Bicoir could be related to the Irish Becuir, he responded:

“I’m not sure that Becuir can be a variant of Bechaire. The place name Lann Bechaire could be a distortion/rationalisation of Lann Becuir, and the latter name may have nothing to do with bee-keeping, though it could be related to Bicoir.”

But whatever the etymology of the name, given that I've reestablished the connection in Welsh tradition of Uther and Arthur with Caer Dathal/Dinas Emrys, it is worth noting (see the map above) that the Beccurus stone and Dinas Emrys are under a dozen kilometers from each other.

Thus, there may be one of two things going on here.  In the first instance, a later Arthur son of Beccurus, whose origin lay at or near Gesail Cyfarch, may have been confused with the earlier, more famous Arthur, son of Uther.  Or... Beccurus = Uther Pendragon, despite the major problem of chronology when we take into account the chronology for Arthur son of Bicoir as found in the Irish Annals.  Arthur son of Bicoir is said to have killed Mongan (Annals of Tigernach) in 627.  Estimated birthdate for Arthur son of Petr is c. 560 (Bartrum), while that of Arthur son of Aedan (or Conaing) died c. 590.  The established dates for Arthur son of Uther are c. 516 and c. 537.

In the Gorchan of Tudfwlch, the hero – from Eifionydd in Gwynedd, an area in north-west Wales covering the south-eastern part of the Llŷn Peninsula from Porthmadog to just east of Pwllheli  – is called the serpent with a terrible sting, and his place of origin is alluded to as the snakes’ lair.  Eifionydd, named for Ebiaun son of Dunod son of Cunedda, is the northern half of the kingdom of Dunoding and is hard by Dinas Emrys in Arfon. In fact. Beddgelert the town was in Eifionydd, with Dinas Emrys is just on the other side of the border in Arfon.

As it happens, Gesail Cyfarch is in Eifionydd.

Arthur son of Bicoir is important, as he is claimed as the slayer of Mongan son of Fiachna. Mongan was begat on Caintigern (whose name in truncated form probably became Geoffrey of Monmouth's Igerna) by Manannan mac Lir, the sea god, in a transformation story that is exactly paralleled by that of the birth of Arthur son of Uther.

In my mind, none of this harms my theory that the earlier Arthur belonged in northern England, either at York or on the Wall.  These other Arthurs all post-date him.  However, if we allow for an Arthur son of Beccurus near Caer Dathal, then we may use that to explain the Welsh traditional association of Uther and Arthur with Caer Dathal. Or even if we merely allow for this Gwynedd Beccurus to have been misidentified with Bicoir father of Arthur we can still account for the Arthurian presence at Caer Dathal. The real Bicoir might well belong elsewhere.  After all, his son is said to be with warriors in Kintyre (Dalriada).

The Arthur who was in Gwynedd was not THE Arthur, but a subsequent one named, doubtless, like Arthur of Dyfed and Arthur of Dalriada, after the more famous one.  

Two Terrible Magister Militum Candidates and the Northern Battles: Or What is a Theorist to do?

Coin of the Usurper Constantine III

It is so easy to put oneself in a box when it comes to formulating Arthurian theory.

For some time now (years, actually - I'm ashamed to admit!), I've tried to decide on which terrible magister militum stood the best chance of being Uther Pendragon.  There are two candidates in the tradition for the latter.  In the first, as represented best by the Galfridian material, Uther Pendragon is the MM/MVM Gerontius of the early 5th century.  A Welsh tradition recorded in the PA GUR seems pretty specifically to identify Uther with Illtud, who is also a terrible soldier and a magister militum.

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2024/07/a-dumnonian-or-penychen-magister.html

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2024/10/after-one-last-review-of-galfridian.html

Neither man works.  The PA GUR equation almost certaintly was done simply because someone recognized an apparent or desired identification of Uther and Illtud.  Otherwise, the saint's life does not permit us to do anything with him that would suggest he actually was Uther.  Chronologically, he is better than our other alternative, Gerontius.

The latter is attractive because we can propose that the Uther Pendragon descriptor/rank that was originally applied to Gerontius came to be applied, either intentionally or accidentally, to a later Gereint.  We have some evidence that such a Gereint existed at the right time to be Arthur's father.

What is not to like about a Gereint whose forts are situated in the extremity of the Cornish peninsula?

Well, for starters, I'm quite sure the Arthurian battles belong in the North.  Decades of research has confirmed this, and I still offer the only good identifications for these battle-sites based on the best and more current place-name and language research.  If we opt for a Cornish Arthur who ends up fighting up and down Dere Street in the North, we would have to assume he was merely a mercenary being employed by rulers in that region.  Not an impossibility, but rather unlikely.  

In addition, we can easily account for the preservation of the name Artorius in the North, and in exactly the area where the battles are situated.  We cannot do so with an Arthur born in Cornwall.

So, this would seem to create an insoluable dilemma for us.  But does it, really?

To begin with, I think we can settle on Uther as Gerontius.  As I wrote once:

I have solved the Uther riddle once and for all.

My final clue came in the form of one of those nagging bits of place-name studies' results from Cornwall. I had noticed a couple of Gorlois names attached to Gereint sites. This made sense not within the body of any extant tradition, but only in my proposed identification of Uther Pendragon/gorlassar as the terrible MM/MVM Gerontius of the early 5th century. This famous, though ill-fated British general's military rank, so I had suggested, might have been assigned to a later Gereint, Arthur's actual father.

The whole idea came from the pseudo-history of Geoffrey of Monmouth. In that work, Vortigern the "superbus tyrannus" kills Constans, who was initially a monk. There's good reason for thinking that Vortigern was associated with Magnus Maximus "the tyrant". Hence the story of Vortigern and Ambrosius at Eryri - a reflection of Maximus and St. Ambrose at Aquileia.

This represents a strange conflation/confusion of history. For Constans I, who had actually gone to Britain, was killed by one Magnentius (a name based on the same root as Magnus). Magnentius is killed by a Constantius.

Constans II, the historical monk, is killed by Gerontius the magister militum and magister utriusque militiae. Gerontius is killed by another Constantius.

The vytheint elei Kysteint is Welsh for Constantius.

It has occurred to me that the problem has to do with the origin point of Gerontius.  I had become so fixated on the Cornish Gereints to the point where I neglected to consider that Gerontius probably came from Northern Britain.  

Anthony Birley had written the following about Constantine III:

"Sozomen gives no real explanation for the British soldiers’ action, except to

comment on Constantine, that they chose him, ‘thinking that as he had this

name, he would master the imperial power firmly [beba≤wß=constanter], since

it was for a reason such as this that they appear to have chosen the others for

usurpation as well’. The magic of the name of Constantine, in Britain above

all, needs no documentation. Orosius has a similar version: Constantine was

chosen ‘solely on account of the hope in his name’. Sozomen’s remark that

this applied to the others as well probably just means that the soldiers had

thought that Marcus and Gratian too ‘would master the imperial power

firmly’.¹³² Constantine’s appeal to the memory of Constantine the Great, who

had been proclaimed emperor in Britain almost exactly a century earlier, is

made even more obvious by his assumption of the names Flavius Claudius.

Further, his sons were called Constans, made Caesar in 408 and Augustus in

409 or 410, and Julian, who received the title nobilissimus.¹³³"

To address this problem, I approached Professor Roger Tomlin with the following query:

"Roger,

Your opinion on this idea...

We all know Constantius Chlorus died at York, and Constantine the Great was declared emperor there.

So, Constantine III was declared emperor in Britain in 407, and actually named sons after close relative of Constantine the Great. 

Is it reasonable, do you suppose, to assume that continuing with this line of propagandist presentation that the usurper in 407 would have had himself declared by the troops at York?"

And, furthermore, is it reasonable to assume Gerontius was drawn from the same region?"

His reply:

"I don't see that York would be chosen deliberately for the magic of its association with Constantine (if remembered!), but nonetheless it is likely to be where Constantine III was proclaimed, since it was capital of the northern province (Britannia Inferior and its successor(s)) and also a major military base, if not the military base. His army was probably based there, even if it was operating elsewhere at the time.

As for Gerontius, yes, York is quite credible."

Needless to say, this was a shocker to me.  It shouldn't have been, but it was. Any identification of Gerontius with a later supposed Cornish namesake would be mere spurious tradition,i.e. yet another instance of echoes of history being transferred away from areas long controlled by foreign powers to the Celtic Fringe.  

What this all means, of course, is that if we allow for Uther Pendragon (as depicted in the Galfridian tradition) to be Gerontius, while we can't float the latter as Arthur's father due to the chronology, we can allow for either the actual descent of Arthur from this Gerontius or a fanciful genealogy utilizing Gerontius being applied to Arthur's ancestry for the sake of added legitimacy.  There is nothing new about royal pedigrees being manipulated in our early British and Welsh sources.  We have evidence for such aplenty.

More importantly, the best place for the preservation of the Artorius name is York (or Carvoran and environs on Hadrian's Wall, where there was a Dalmatian garrison in the late Roman period).  L. Artorius Castus would have been fairly famous in certain circles.  A prefect of the Sixth at York who led legionary detachments to Armenia, one of the largest successful campaigns ever embarked on by Rome, who eventually became the procurator of the emergency-founded province of Liburnia with the right of the sword.  He may have been born in Dalmatia, but seems to have had other Dalmatian connections, in any case.  There were Artorii in Salona, Dalmatia, and we have a woman from Salona being buried at Carvoran.  As I've detailed before, there was also a Dalmatian unit in the late period at or hard by York.  

We can, then, suggest the following plausible portrait for an Arthur of the North:  a man born of the line of Gerontius (or who as assigned to that line for propgandist purposes) at York or on the Wall whose name could be traced back through a couple of centuries to Castus.

What I love about this idea, obviously, is that it allows us to retain a solid interpretation of tradition regarding Uther without sacrificing the Northern battles of Arthur.

I'm now offering a revised version of the following title, and this will represent my final work on a historical King Arthur:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0B5CG54RT/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ssLlRH4XKsFpxTcA60zrPe0mpAsZfRfu0bhKonOfVVDGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.VR-gpL-kaVMMXSAVlITfx3wBmmyU-AWDhkXoFUeizlU&qid=1731338640&sr=8-1

WHY ARCHAEOLOGY FORCES ARTHUR TO NORTHERN BRITAIN

The Arthurian Battles, Along with Banna, Magnis and Aballava

Many people (including myself) have tried to make the case for a Southern Arthur.  Unfortunately, none of us have properly taken the archaeological record into account when doing so.

The following three very helpful maps are taken from Nicholas Higham (King Arthur:Myth-Making and History).  They show the Saxon settlements as evinced by cemetaries for the entire Arthurian period.

When it comes to considering Arthur as a historical entity, we are confined chronologically to the only dates we are provided with for the hero - c. 516 for Badon and c. 537 for Camlann.  

If we opt for the South as the location for his battles, we must be able to define a frontier zone.  We must then be able to show that either this frontier was held for a significant period of time or the enemy was actually pushed back. Lastly, we must be able to make linguistically sound identifications of the battle sites that reflect those conditions and military theater.

As it turns out, we cannot.  Plain and simple.

On the other hand, what was going on in the North perfectly dovetails with the best possible (and in some cases ONLY possible) battle-site identifications. Any attempts to distort/contort or creatively etymologize place-names (through language-match substitutions, "looks like" or "sounds like" comparisons, etc.) are doomed.  Trust me; I know this by sobering and often bitter experience. 

I would urge my readers to consult the work of Dr. Ken Dark, who has argued convincingly for the necessary presence in the North of a sub-Roman dux Brittanniarum-like figure.  Such a personage would have been based either at York or on Hadrian's Wall.  

Arthur's battles, as I have laid them out in the North, nicely track along the Roman Dere Street, defining an obvious boundary between the invading Saxons to the east and the Britons to the west.  Badon at Buxton (referred to by the early Saxons as Bathum, as indicated by the existence of the Batham Gate Roman road) fits well with such an arrangement of battles, and Camlann can be allowed to stand for Camboglanna/Castlesteads on the Wall.  

Survival of the Artorius name can also be demonstrated in the North.  The same cannot be said for the South.  

What this all means, of course, is that archaeology forces Arthur to Northern Britain.  I predict that any future attempts to place him in the South will, ultimately, fail.  The only way out of this predicament is to propose much earlier dates for Arthur in the South, and I don't see how we can justify doing that given the current state of our knowledge of things Arthurian.

Campus Elleti and Arelate: How Ambrosius Came to be in Southern Wales

Coliseum at Arles

For years now, I have made a case for how and why Ambrosius ended up in Britain.  

The association of this saint (who might well have been confused/conflated with his father, a prefect of Gaul) with Eryri in Wales is simple to account for.  The story of Dinas Emrys, featuring Vortigern and Ambrosius (= W. Emrys), is merely a folk reflection of the meeting of Magnus Maximus (Maximus the Tyrant) and St. Ambrose at Aquileia.

But the occurrence of Emrys at Campus Elleti in Glamorgan, known as Palud or 'swamp, marsh' of Elleti in the Book of Llandaf, is harder to account for.  I have pointed out the fact that the motif of the ballgame at Elleti and Emrys's being called a bastard is echoed in the story of the Irish god Aengus Mac Og at Bri Leith.  I've also reminded everyone that the Welsh counterpart of Mac Og - Mabon - is found at Gileston, the earlier Church of Mabon of the Vale, just across the River Thaw from the location of Campus/Pauld Elleti.  This "coincidence" suggests that Ambrosius, a Latin name meaning 'the divine or immortal one', may have been associated with the youthful god Mabon.

However, I then went on to wonder if Campus Elleti, which might have been Maes Elleti in Welsh, could have represented a fanciful relocation of the River Moselle, the location of Trier, the favored birthplace of St. Ambrose.  Yet this seemed a stretch and I did not push the argument.

I'm now thinking that Palud Elleti, the Marsh of Elleti, holds the clue to explaining why Ambrose was situated in Glamorgan.  

"In 395 CE, Arelate became the seat of the Praetorian Prefecture of the Gauls and in 408 CE was designated as his capital by Constantine III shortly after he was declared emperor in 407 CE."

Prior to Arles being the seat of the Gallic Prefecture, Trier had held that honor.  Most scholars now thin that St. Ambrose was born at Trier, but there is a tradition that he was born at Arles.

http://www.roamintheempire.com/index.php/2019/08/28/arelate-part-i/

St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, lived from 374 to 397.  There are traditions that he was born probably 340 at Trier, Arles, or Lyons and he died 4 April, 397.

https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01383c.htm 

The toponym Arelate is a Latinized form of the Gaulish *Are-lati, meaning 'by or in front of the marsh'. [Delamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental.]

As for the story of Ambrosius at Wallop fighting the grandfather of Vortigern (proof positive of the chronological shift involving Ambrosius, showing him to be 4th century and not a later figure), I have shown how this came about:

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2024/08/the-battle-of-ambrosius-and-vitalinus.html

It is yet another folktale and not a historical episode.

RESTORING DINAS EMRYS TO ARFON: THE CAER DATHAL = DINAS EMRYS EQUATION SEEMS TO BE CORRECT

Years ago now - in fact, as long ago as 2021 - I had made what I thought to be an important discovery regarding the location of Caer Dathal:

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2021/01/dinas-emrys-as-caer-dathal-late.html

Unfortunately, I was told that this could not be right by an expert at the Historic Place-Names of Wales project with the RCAHMW.  According to this person, Dinas Emrys was never in Arfon, but had been in Dunoding or, more precisely, the Eifionydd portion of Dunoding.

As a result of this information, I abandoned the idea and instead pursued a somewhat satisfactory argument to prove Caer Engan in Nantlle was Caer Dathal.  I was particularly happy with the idea, as it Dathal be from Irish Tuathal, who had somehow been corrupted, despite the Welsh cognate Tudwal being present in the St. Engan context.  Still, it was better than nothing, and made some sense of the movements of the primary characters of MATH SON OF MATHONWY to and from Caer Dathal.

Well, I never completely let go of my Caer Dathal = Dinas Emrys theory.  And only recently I had another go at making sure the latter fort was never in Arfon.

As it turns out, it was.  While it is true Beddgelert parish spread through several cantrefs and commotes, the fort itself was definitely within the cantref of Arfon.

https://cy-m-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/Arfon_Is_Gwyrfai?_x_tr_sl=cy&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc

https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arfon_Is_Gwyrfai

"The main military center of the comwd was Dolbadarn Castle , which defended Nant Peris at the foot of Yr Wyddfa . In Nant Gwynant in the south-east stood the old defense of Dinas Emrys which is associated with Myrddin , king Gwrtheyrn and the history of the Red Dragon and the White Dragon."

I have had this confirmed by several good sources, maps and personal correspondence from Welsh experts in historical and political geography.

What does this mean for my Arthurian research?  Well, pretty much EVERYTHING.

Firstly, it helps us relate the two apparent pre-Galfridian references to Uther's locations found in the PA GUR, CULHWCH AND OLWEN and the HANESYN HEN.  

The PA GUR seems to relate Uther, via Mabon son of Modron, his servant, to the Ely River in Glamorgan.  I have shown that Gileston just the other side of the River Thaw from the old kingdom of Penychen, which included the Dinas Powys and Caerau forts, had been called the Church of Mabon of the Vale.   And that between that church and the Penychen forts was to be found Elleti, the place of Ambrosius/Emrys.

CULHWCH AND OLWEN tells is that Uther had relatives at Caer Dathal.

The HANESYN HEN tract adds that Gwyn Godybrion of the Ely was a son of Iaen from Caer Dathal.

It also tells us Arthur took a wife from Caer Dathal.

A couple of other sources may also be important in localizing Uther and Arthur in NW Wales.

A Stanza of the Grave puts the tomb of Mabon in Nantlle, not far from Dinas Emrys.

Finally, the "Dialogue of Arthur of the Eagle"'s Eliwlad son of Madog son of Uther is patterned after Lleu of Nantlle, and there is even an identical placename involved (Cutmadoc in Cornwall, Coed Madoc in Nantlle) which would appear to suggest that the character has been relocated from the north to the south.

As we know, Ambrosius and Uther were closely associated in the Galfridian tradition.  So much so that both kings are buried at Stonehenge hard by Amesbury, a place-name linked to the personal name Ambrosius.  The two urns at Dinas Emrys contained 'dragons' originally in the sense of the cremated remains of two great warrior chieftains.  We thus have a linking in story of Dinas Emrys with the Burg of Ambrius.

Now, it is not my purpose in this short blog piece to delve once again into the identities of Ambrosius and Uther (who might even be the same mythological person - although there are other possibilities).  But what I can say is that it makes a great deal of sense to identify the Caer Dathal of Uther with the Dinas Emrys of Ambrosius.  And, in fact, knowing as I do now that Dinas Emrys was in Arfon, I consider the mystery of the whereabouts of the lost fort of Dathal solved.  

THE WELSH AND CORNISH FICTIONS CONCERNING UTHER PENDRAGON: DISPENSING WITH ILLTUD AND GEREINT

Hadrian's Wall, Showing Castlesteads (Camboglanna/Camlann), Burgh By Sands (Aballava/Avalana/"Avalon") and Drumburgh (Concavata, a word equivalent to "Grail") in Relation to Birdoswald/Banna and Carvoran/Magnis

Dea Latis ('Lake Goddess') from Burgh By Sands

Dea Latis from Birdoswald

Arthurian Battles Along with Hadrian Wall Forts Of Magnis, Banna, Camboglanna and Aballava

It is with a degree of sadness that I've decided to drop the Welsh and Cornish identifications of Uther Pendragon with the terrible magister militums Illtud and Gerontius (later Gereint).

I've come to the conclusion, after reviewing my huge body of earlier work on the probable presence of Arthur on the Wall, that the various strands of tradition that sought to restrict him to the Celtic Fringe in the South are not reliable indicators of sound historical nuclei.  

This has been a very difficult decision for me to make.  But the earliest sources (HISTORIA BRITTONUM and the ANNALES CAMBRIAE), when combined with archaeology and place-name studies, in addition to what little can be gleaned from (admittedly, manipulated and sometimes wholly manufactured) genealogies, has led me to the conclusion that the REAL Arthur belongs at Banna, although his maternal line may be traceable to neighboring Carvoran.  

The full argument in support of all this will be reissued in a final version of my book THE BATTLE-LEADER OF THE NORTH.  There I discuss the presence at Carvoran of a late Roman period Dalmatian garrison.  L. Artorius Castus had major Dalmatian connections and it is even possible he was born there.  After taking three legionary vexillations to Armenia under Statius Priscus, he was made procurator with the right of the sword over Liburnia, a new province carved out of Dalmatia on an emergency basis in the face of the Marcomannic Wars. We have evidence of Artorii in Salona, and a woman from that city was buried at Carvoran.  Another late Dalmatian unit served at York, where Castus had been stationed as prefect of the Sixth Legion.

Banna was manned in the late period by a Dacian unit whose ethnic distinctiveness is proven by the presence on stones there of the Dacian falx, their peculiar scythe-like sword.  I have written extensively on the Dacian wolf-headed draco, proving from an early archaeological find that this draco did possess a scaled body.  I have also demonstrated that there is not one shred of evidence for the draco among the Sarmatians.  While some such standard might be assumed, the sources - literary and archaeological - do not provide us with the means to show that they did possess a draco.  Experts on the Sarmatians have reluctantly confirmed this fact for me.  An oblique reference in a Classical source to Scythians with the draco refers not to Sarmatians, but to Alans.  

I've also suggested (and received significant positive feedback from professionals on the idea) that the dragon referred to on the Staffordshire Moors Cup is a reference to Banna of the Aelian Dacians, who may have been noted for their special fondness for the draco.  A Terrible Chief-dragon or Chief of dragons at Banna would be a good title for their leader.  We also know of a late Roman rank of magister draconum for the leader of the draco-bearers and it is not impossible that this rank is the origin of the Pendragon epithet.

I realize there will be a lot of Arthurian fans who are displeased with my jettisoning of the Southern Arthur.  After all, the Welsh and Cornish Arthurs are what we have gotten used to, and are what we have come to expect.  But it doesn't follow that either of them represent the historical Arthur.  And it has always been this last whom I have been most interested in finding.  

Gerontius/Uther and an Arthur at York

The other day I reluctantly admitted that the best historical candidate for Uther Pendragon was a Dumnonian Geraint who had "inherited" the descriptors/ranks of the great British general Gerontius:

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2024/10/after-one-last-review-of-galfridian.html?m=1

While I find myself unable to deny the idea, I still dislike immensely. 

Why? 

Because it does not permit me to retain the northern battles sites for Arthur. Or relate the name Arthur to L. Artorius Castus.

However, I may be getting myself stuck in a box again. 

How so?

Because we need not assume that a 5th-6th century Geraint in Dumnonia was necessarily descended from Gerontius. We can't even know if such a Geraint had been named for Gerontius (although it is reasonable speculation). It's not even known if there was a Geraint in Arthur's time. He may have been later (see the ongoing debate about the date of Gerant's Llongborth battle).

Now, hypothetically, suppose Gerontius hailed from the North, and the whole mess got shifted to the Celtic Fringe of Cornwall partly because there was a Geraint there?

To find out if such a relocation of tradition could allowed, I had to look into Constantine III himself in more detail. For it was this usurping emperor who had appointed Gerontius his MM and MVM.

From Anthony Birley's THE ROMAN GOVERNMENT OF BRITAIN:

Sozomen gives no real explanation for the British soldiers’ action, except to

comment on Constantine, that they chose him, ‘thinking that as he had this name, he would master the imperial power firmly, since it was for a reason such as this that they appear to have chosen the others for

usurpation as well’. The magic of the name of Constantine, in Britain above

all, needs no documentation. Orosius has a similar version: Constantine was

chosen ‘solely on account of the hope in his name’. Sozomen’s remark that

this applied to the others as well probably just means that the soldiers had thought that Marcus and Gratian too ‘would master the imperial power

firmly’. Constantine’s appeal to the memory of Constantine the Great, who

had been proclaimed emperor in Britain almost exactly a century earlier, is made even more obvious by his assumption of the names Flavius Claudius. Further, his sons were called Constans, made Caesar in 408 and Augustus in 409 or 410, and Julian, who received the title nobilissimus.

When I asked Professor Roger Tomlin about the likelihood of Constantine III being raised to the purple at York, he replied:

"I don't see that York would be chosen deliberately for the magic of its association with Constantine (if remembered!), but nonetheless it is likely to be where Constantine III was proclaimed, since it was capital of the northern province (Britannia Inferior and its successor(s)) and also a major military base, if not the military base. His army was probably based there, even if it was operating elsewere at the time."

What that tells me is that Gerontius would have been at York as well. The same York where Castus had been prefect of the Sixth Legion. 

Castus also had strong Dalmatian connections. I've written about his possible birth there. After following Statius Priscus, then Roman governor of Britain, to Armenia, Castus was made the first procurator of the new Dalmatian province of Liburnia. Members of his family show up in Salona, and we have a woman from that city being buried at the Dalmatian-garrisoned fort of Carvoran on Hadrian's Wall just a short distance from the Camboglanna fort at Castlesteads. 

Another Dalmatian unit appears to have been stationed at York in the late period:

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2020/12/carvoran-and-york-of-roman-dalmatian.html?m=1

Let us suppose an Arthur descended from Gerontius at York or at least an Arthur based at York or Carvoran who laid claim to such descent from Gerontius for the sake of legitimacy is our great hero. 

Does this work?

Well, the Welsh Eliffer or Eleutherius of the Great Retinue (a memory of the Sixth Legion) almost certainly belongs at York. His name, like Gerontius, derives from the Greek. Eleuthereos, meaning "the Liberator", was used of Constantine the Great, who had been proclaimed emperor at York. Given that in all likliehood Constantine III had been made emperor in that city as well, there may have been a sort of Dark Age relic of a cult of Constantine at York.

While Celticists have recently preferred *Pritorix for Eliffer's son Peredur, I think we are safe on still taking this name to represent Latin praetor.

Peredur died fighting at Caer Greu, which I've demonstrated to be tge Carrawburgh fort on Hadrian's Wall.

In Geoffrey of Monmouth, Uther's first battle as king occurs at York. Gorlois (a character created from Uther's epithet gorlassar) makes his first appearance after a York defeat at The Roaches, a site in the Staffordshire Peak District. 

I've elsewhere discussed the corrupt Welsh Triad which has a certain Arthur Penuchel be fathered by Eliffer of York.

In any case, Gerontius need not be confined to Dumnonia. And if I'm right and this man is being claimed as Arthur's father Uther, we should not feel forced to attach our hero to a Gereint who belongs in the remotest corner of Cornwall.

Of course, it is true that Gerontius the Terrible Chief of Warriors as Arthur's father may merely be another folklore or literary fiction, no different than the anachronistic Ambrosius or any number of other early legendary characters found embedded in the Arthurian tradition. A place-holder was needed for chronological reasons and Uther fit the bill.

AFTER ONE LAST REVIEW OF THE GALFRIDIAN TRADITION AND MY RESPONSE TO IT...

Coin of the British Usurper Constantine III

I have solved the Uther riddle once and for all.

My final clue came in the form of one of those nagging bits of place-name studies' results from Cornwall. I had noticed a couple of Gorlois names attached to Gereint sites. This made sense not within the body of any extant tradition, but only in my proposed identification of Uther Pendragon/gorlassar as the terrible MM/MVM Gerontius of the early 5th century. This famous, though ill-fated British general's military rank, so I had suggested, might have been assigned to a later Gereint, Arthur's actual father.

The whole idea came from the pseudo-history of Geoffrey of Monmouth. In that work, Vortigern the "superbus tyrannus" kills Constans, who was initially a monk. There's good reason for thinking that Vortigern was associated with Magnus Maximus "the tyrant". Hence the story of Vortigern and Ambrosius at Eryri - a reflection of Maximus and St. Ambrose at Aquileia.

This represents a strange conflation/confusion of history. For Constans I, who had actually gone to Britain, was killed by one Magnentius (a name based on the same root as Magnus). Magnentius is killed by a Constantius.

Constans II, the historical monk, is killed by Gerontius the magister militum and magister utriusque militiae. Gerontius is killed by another Constantius.

The vytheint elei Kysteint is Welsh for Constantius.

When I realized what was going on here, I got very excited.

That excitement didn't last. For my analysis of the vytheint elei phrase of the PA GUR poem made me realize that the tradition on Uther in that source had applied the Uther Pendragon name/epithet to similar descriptors and ranks belonging to St. Illtud.

Yet Illtud was said to be Arthur's cousin by marriage. The hagiography and genealogies made it plain he was not Arthur's father. Because of that, I wasted a tremendous amount of time and effort trying to foist a Sawyl reading on the MARWNAT VTHYR PEN elegy so that I could put Arthur at Ribchester in the North.

Well, I feel I can now put this all to rest in a simple and satisfying way.

Arthur's father was a Gereint of Dumnonia who was called after the ranks/descriptors that had belonged to his earlier namesake Gerontius. This helps account for the claim in the Uther elegy that he had fought alongside Gwythur, i.e. Withur of Leon in Brittanny. I suspect Henben or Old Chief (perhaps rather than Old Head) is for Gereint or Gerontius, a name meaning the Old One. Dathal of Arfon need not detain us anymore, either, as St. Tudual ended up in Domnonee, the Breton part of British Dumnonia. AND there was a Tudwal in the early portion of the Dumnonian royal pedigree.

The tradition embedded in the PA GUR, therefore, is merely wrong. It may represent an honest mistake or it may be an attempt to shift Uther from Dumnonia to southern Wales. In any case, as Gereint accords quite well for the father of an Arthur of Cornwall and the "West Country", I see no need to attach our hero to Glamorgan. While his mother could belong to Ercing, my study of Ygerna as deriving from the Carne name at St. Dennis, itself possibly transferred there from earlier carn place-names at Gereint sites, cast doubt on the veracity of Eigr as the original form of Arthur's mother's name.

What this means for me now is that I'm faced with writing an entirely new book based on a Dumnonian Arthur. Complete with a reexamination of Arthur's battles and of traditional southern sites like South Cadbury Castle, Glastonbury and Brent Knoll. 

It should be fun!

Uther, Illtud and Withur of Domnonee: Yet Another Reason the Terrible Magister Militum May Well = the Saint

Brittany

Neur ordyfneis-i waet am Wythur,

I was used to blood[shed] around Gwythur,

- MARWNAT VTHYR PEN

On the personal name Gwythur, see §15.31. Am ‘for, around’,

perhaps here meaning that the speaker was in Gwythur’s entourage.

- Note, Marged Haycock, editor/translator

Who was the Victor (Gwythur/Gwythyr) of the elegy of Uther Pendragon?

In the past, I'd written about Flavius Victor, son of Magnus Maximus.  No way to make him work due to chronology.  

I then looked to the Gwythyr son of Greidawl of CULHCH AND OLWEN, said to be involved with a contest with Gwyn son of Nudd in the Pictish North for Creiddylad, a personification of the Hill of Belief (https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2020/04/creiddylad-not-goddess-welsh.html). Nothing came of that exploration, either.

Well, a third man had come to my attention - and, alas, I rather quickly dismissed his possible importance.  This was the count or duke Withur in Brittany.  Having looked at him more closely, and with a more open mind, it is apparent that he may, in fact, be Uther's Gwythur.  In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb at the outset of this article and claim that I think Withur is the elegy's Gwythur.  

My readers will find posted below biographies of St. Paul of Leon and St. Tudual of Treguier.  But before I ask you to wade through those (paying attention to the highlights passages), I wish to first set out why I believe it is now within my ability to set out a clear explanation for Uther's apparent association with both Elei in the PA GUR and Caer Dathal in CULHWCH AND OLWEN.

As it turns out, the Tudwal who left his name (through the Irish form Tuathal) at Caer Engan in Nantlle was a student of St. Illtud.  Tudwal or Tudual eventually made his way to Brittany, where he became bishop of Treguier.  Furthermore, Paul Aurelian was also a student of Illtud.  He became bishop of Leon. 

At this point we should recall that Illtud, prior to becoming a religious, has served as master of the soldiers for Paul of Penychen.  Yes - the same Penychen where Paul Aurelian was born. 

Now, while I have argued for Illtud's Llydaw/Brittany and father Bican being a location in SE Wales or even Wiltshire.  However, what if Illtud really did come from Brittany?  Breton bihan is the cognate of Welsh bychan.  The former is found in place-names, but I have not yet had time to explore the word as a Breton personal name.  I did find the following, though, in 

https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=0472a7d99e55d4c3c7c9a9501a28812d80a2527e:

"Christian name + Bihan = son

When both a father and son share the same Christian name, another subsystem is used in the

spoken language whereby the term Bihan (small) is used to designate ‘son of’

Type-4 names: physical characteristics

Type-4 names are given according to one’s physical or moral characteristics, normally defects

or flaws. Le Bihan (‘small’, W. bychan; the Anglicised form is Vaughan; Cornish Bain, Bean)"

The point is that if Illtud came to Wales from Brittany as a soldier, seeking a prince to serve, he may well have first fought in Brittany for Withur.  

The association of Uther with Caer Dathal in Arfon might be due to his having been the teacher of Tudual of Brittany and a Breton himself who might well have hailed from the region of Treguier.

There is actually a Pleubian (Pleuvihan) just a little northeast of Tudwal's Treguier.  This was originally a bihan place-name.  See https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleuvihan.

Please understand this is all VERY PRELIMINARY.  I'm pretty much just throwing out some random ideas that have occurred to me.  With that caveat out of the way, I can conclude this: a connection between the Breton soldier Illtud, prior to his move to Wales, with Victor of Leon makes a lot more sense than trying to establish a link between Uther and nonhistorical, purely legendary Victors whose origins cannot be traced.

There's only one other possible Uther candidate that fits with Withur of Leon and Tudual of Treguier (Domnonee): a Dark Age Geraint of Dumnonia.  I once wrote a great deal about this chieftain, as he may have been named for the fear-inspiring Gerontius, magister militum and magister utriusque militiae in the early 5th century.  There were a number of interesting place-name markers pointing to a Geraint as Gorlois, for example.  Of course, a Geraint cannot be linked to the 'vytheint elei' of the PA GUR poem; he could be linked (wrongly) to Caer Dathal through a supposed relationship with Tudual.   

Both of these men - Illtud and a Geraint (who, we would have to presume, had been given or had taken the military title of Gerontius) - could be the Terrible Chief of warriors.  When I have time, I will go back through my material on Gerontius and see if there is anything I missed. 

As threatened above, here are the entries for the relevant saints from Bartrum and Butler:

https://www.library.wales/discover/digital-gallery/printed-material/a-welsh-classical-dictionary

PAUL, ST., of Léon. (480) The ‘Fleury’ MS. of the Life was published in the Revue Celtique, V (1883) pp.413-460. Handwriting of 10th century. Some gaps can be made good by another MS. of c.1100 (Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, MS. Latin 12,942), ed. Dom Plaine in Analecta Bollandiana, 1 (1882) pp.208ff. The author gives his name as Wrmonoc, and says that he finished his work in the year 884.  

The following analysis is taken from that given by G.H.Doble in The Saints of Cornwall, I. 11- 28. §1. Paul, surnamed Aurelian, was son of a certain count Perphirius, who came from Penn Ohen, in Latin Caput Boum, [Penychen]. This man had eight brothers who all lived in Brehant Dincat, in Latin Guttur receptaculi pugnae [Gullet of the place of refuge from battle (1)], and three sisters. Those named are: brothers, Notolius and Potolius, and a sister, Sitofolla. Paul consecrated himself to the service of God. 2. Iltutus lived at an island called Pyrus [Ynys Byr = Caldy Island] and had many disciples. Paul was handed over by his parents to Iltutus. 3. Among Iltut's disciples were Paul, Devius [Dewi] called ‘Aquaticus’, Samson and Gildas. 7. Paul, aged 16, departed for the seclusion of the desert. He built an oratory which now bears the names of his brothers [?Llanddeusant in Ystrad Tywi]. Here he was ordained priest by the bishop. 8. His fame reached the ears of king Marc, quem alio nomine Quonomorium vocant, ‘whom others call by the name Quonomorius’, a powerful monarch, under whose rule lived peoples of four different languages. Marc desired Paul to settle firmly the foundations of the Christian faith which had recently been laid in that country. Paul went to Villa Bannhedos (Caer Banhed, Villa Benhedos in  the Paris MS.) where the bones of Marc now rest. He remained some time instructing the people. Marc wished him to accept the office of bishop over the country, but Paul declined and decided to leave. 9. He set out and arrived at the house of his sister, aforementioned, who was living in the furthest recesses of that country, on the shores of the British Sea, having become a nun. 10. Paul set sail and landed at an island named Ossa [Ushant]. 11. Twelve presbyters came with him under their master (To-)Quonocus, and Decanus, a deacon, namely: Iahoevius, Tigernomalus, Toseocus Siteredus, Woednovius also called Towoedocus, Gellocus, Bretowennus, Boius, Winniavus, Lowenanus, Toetheus also called Tochicus, Chielus, and Hercanus also called Herculanus. All these had memorials and basilicas built in their honour. 12. He set out again and came to pagus Achniensis [Ach] which they call Telmedovia [Ploudalmézeau] in the west of Domnonia. 15. Paul learnt that the lord of the land was Withur. He came to the city (oppidum) which is now called by his name [i.e. Saint-Pol-de-Léon]. 16. Paul came to Battham insulam [Isle of Batz] where Withur often came for quietude. 17. Paul met Count Withur who was his cousin. 18. Paul spent the rest of his days in that island and in the oppidum [St.Pol-de-Léon]. 19. Withur and the people wished to make Paul bishop, but knowing that he would object, and perhaps leave, decided on the stratagem of sending Paul to king Philibert [Childebert, 511-558], secretly asking him to have him made bishop, even against his will. So he was consecrated by three bishops. 20. Worn out with age Paul ordained one of his disciples, Iahoevius, to exercise the episcopal office in his place, but after a year Iahoevius died, and Paul appointed Tigernomalus, who also died after a year. So Paul himself resumed duties again, then chose Cetomerinus. On the very day of consecration, Iudual Candidus, the noble duke of a great part of Domnonia, said to be a cousin of St.Samson, had come to see Paul, and made him a grant of land. Paul departed to the Isle of Batz, where he lived some years, very frail, till he died at the age of 104 or over. 22. He died on March 12. NOTES ON THE LIFE §1. The cognomen Aurelianus may be due to the fact that his remains were removed to Fleury near Orleans (Aureliani) in the 10th century (DNB). Paul is often called Paulinus in Brittany (Doble pp.32, 36). The author took ‘brehant’ to be Welsh breuant, ‘throat’ or ‘windpipe’ and mistranslated the personal name Dincat. Doble pointed to Llandingad the parish of Llandovery which has a chapel, Capel Peulin, dedicated to St.Paulinus [of Wales] (Doble pp.33-34). See further note to §7. Penn Ohen [Penychen] was perhaps suggested by the name Pawl Penychen (q.v.). 2. The author of the Life knew that Paul studied under St.Illtud with St.Samson. He got ‘Pyrus’ from the Life of Samson (Doble p.29), but Paul more probably studied under Illtud at Llanilltud Fawr as implied in the Life of Illtud. 3. This list of Illtud's pupils agrees with that in the Life of Illtud (§11) except for the order and the fact that the latter has Paulinus instead of Paul. A.W.Wade-Evans assumed that Paulinus here stood for Paul (VSB index s.n.Paulinus). 7. For the identification with Llanddeusant see Doble p.34. The festival there was on October 10 which is the day of St.Paulinus of York, but was also appropriated to the Welsh Paulinus (q.v.) mentioned in the Life of St.David, etc. Doble believed that Wrmonoc was mistakenly drawing here from a lost Life or tradition of this Paulinus (pp.33-34). 8. On the much discussed identification of Marc with Quonomorius, see s.nn. Conmor, March ap Meirchion. Although the Life is quite vague about the locality of Marc, and Caer Banhed has not been identified, Doble does not doubt that St.Paul is now in Cornwall, although he could be anywhere between Morgannwg and Brittany (TYP p.445-6). 9. Sitofolla is not the same as Sativola or Sidwell (q.v.), pace LBS. Doble thinks that the most probable site of Sitofolla's convent was on Mount's Bay near that part called Gwavas Lake. This is not far from Paul near Penzance which is probably a foundation of Paul although officially dedicated to Paulinus with parish feast on October 10. The site fits the description in the Life, and would be an ideal place from which to sail for Ushant (Doble pp.40-42, 59). 11. For identifications of many of these presbyters see Doble pp.43-46. In particular Iahoevius = Iaoua or Ioevin of whom there is a late Life, in which he is said to be son of a sister of Paul. See LBS III.333-4. There was a little monastery of Lampaul on Ushant [Île d'Ouessant] (Doble p.43). 15. Withur was probably a very local ‘lord’ (PCB). The name = Victor (Doble p.49), Welsh Gwythur or Gwythyr. The ‘count’ of Léon at the time was probably Conmor (q.v.), whence Quonomorius of §8, followed by Iudual (q.v.) of Domnonée (PCB). 19. Philibert (also mentioned in §15) wrongly for Childebert, king of Paris, 511-558, is similarly called Philibert in the Life of St.Malo. See s.n. Malo §6. ____________________ In the Vie de S.Guevroc ou Kirecq, Albert Le Grand says that when Guevroc was in solitude at Ploudaniel in Léon, St.Paul paid him a visit and persuaded him to acompany him to his monastery of Occismor where he worked under St.Paul for many years (LBS II.197). Albert le Grand also brings S.Tanguy into contact with Paul (Doble p.53; LBS I.187). St.Paul also enters into the Life of the Breton saint Tudual (q.v.).

TUDUAL. Breton Saint. (480) Three Lives were edited by Arthur le Moyne de la Borderie in Mémoires de la Soc. Archéol. des Côtes-du-Nord, Second Series, II.77-122. ‘His mother was called Pompaia, the sister of count Rigual [Riwal] who was the first of the Britons to come from beyond the sea’. Pompaia is thought to be the same as Alma Pompa, the mother of Leonorius (LBS I.299). In the Life of St.Brioc he is said to be nephew of Brioc. He is also mentioned in the Life of St. Briac. He was born in Wales and educated under St.Illtud. He crossed over to Brittany and founded the monastery of Tréguier on the Jaudy on land granted to him by Deroch son of Rigual. St.Paul was then at Léon. See LBS I.263, 296-7, IV.271-4; G.H.Doble, The Saints of Cornwall, IV.92-93 and n.30. November 30 is the commonest date given for his commemoration (LBS IV.273). John of Glastonbury (Chronica, ed. Thomas Hearne, p.450) says that at Glastonbury was preserved ‘a bone of St.Rumon, brother of St.Tidwal’ (G.H.Doble, The Saints of Cornwall, II.125).  

From

 

https://books.google.com/books?id=u32OUS4-yd0C&dq=Tudwal&pg=PA5#v=onepage&q=Tudwal&f=false:

(1)

The "gullet" interpretation is interesting, as the tagel of the Galfridian Tintagel is the Cornish form of Welsh tagell.  From the GPC:

tagell 

[tag1+-ell, Llyd. Diw. tagell ‘magl, byddag; coler’; ?cf. yr e. lle Crn. Tintagel] 

eb. ll. tagellau, tagelli, tegyll.

Plyg llac o groen sy’n hongian o dan wddf tarw, &c., plyg tebyg o dan wddf anifail arall, neu aderyn, neu berson, hefyd yn dros.; organ anadlu mewn pysgod, &c., sef meinwe fasgwlar sy’n cymryd ocsigen o’r dŵr sy’n llifo drosti, cragen, crogen; unrhyw un o’r ffurfiannau rheiddiol tebyg i ddail a geir o dan gap madarchen ac sy’n cynhyrchu sborau; (corn) gwddf; adfach, magl:

dewlap, jowl, wattle, double chin, also transf.; gill (in fish, &c., and in fungi); throat, windpipe; barb, snare.

In the past, I had made the case for Geoffrey of Monmouth's Tintagel being a relocation of Caer Dathal.