MABON, SERVANT OF UTHER PENDRAGON/ILLTUD, AND THE FORT OF ELAI

Gileston or Llanfabon-y-Fro in the Vale of Glamorgan

Gileston Between the Church of Illtud and Both the Dinas Powis and Caerau Hillforts

I've spent a few years now trying to figure out why Mabon son of Modron, servant of Uther Pendragon, was placed on the River Ely in Glamorgan. Unable to do so, I eventually despaired of providing a good reason and resorted in some desperation to seeking 'Elai' sites elsewhere in Britain.  None of my efforts were successful.  It was a weak link in my chain of argument that identified Uther Pendragon with St. Illtud, the terribilis miles, miles magnificus, magistum militum and princeps militum who had served under Pawl Penychen at either the Dinas Powis hillfort or the oppidum of the Silures at Caerau.

The other day I decided to make one more effort to find Mabon at or near these religious and military/civil sites. And I'm glad I did.  For I found an obscure reference to Gileston in Bro Morgannwg (Vale of Glamorgan) having originally been called LLANFABON-Y-FRO, the Church of Mabon of the Vale [of Glamorgan]. Having found this reference, I then confirmed it from several other respectavbe sources. For example:

https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/415537/

https://www.llanilltud.org.uk/Groups/374675/Gileston_St_Giles.aspx

https://www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/Documents/Living/Planning/Conservation/Appraisals/Gileston_CA_AMP_Sep_2009.pdf

Is the Church of Mabon in the Vale [of Glamorgan]. 

Dinas Powis is in the Vale of Glamorgan.

So is the Caerau fort.

As this is so, I now have no qualms whatsoever in declaring that - at least according to the PA GUR poem - Uther Pendragon = St. Illtud.  This is clearly what the poem says when it lists Mabon, the servant of Uther, as being one of the vytheint ("furious ones?" "birds of prey?") of Elai.  

So, now that I may finally set aside my doubt in regard to the Uther = Illtud equation, the only remaining question is whether Illtud was actually Arthur's father.

I don't think so.  Again, the Arthurian battles are in the North.  They all fit very well with a war-leader heralding from the Ribchester Roman fort.  Illtud is compared to the Biblical Samuel in Geoffrey of Monmouth, replaced by Sawyl Penuchel in the Life of St. Cadog in the monastery raid episode and, Uther is transformed by God into a 'second Sawyl' in the MARWNAT VTHYR PEN elegy (if we strictly follow poetic rules, and not allow one exception for the occurence of proest in the relevant line).  To this apparent "confusion" for Sawyl, we can add what I summarized recently here:

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2024/06/the-simple-argument-for-reconciling-my.html

It, therefore, seems entirely reasonable to me that Uther Pendragon, referred to metaphorically as Sawyl (Samuel), was wrongly taken as Arthur's father when, in reality, it was Sawyl Benisel of Ribchester who was the sire of the famous hero.