Illtud
If we accept that Arthur really did fight at the Liddington Badbury, and therefore was a southern figure, in the past I've had two principal candidates for that figure: a son of St. Illtud and Cerdic of Wessex son of Cunedda.
In this blog post I will briefly re-explore both military leaders, listing the pros and cons for each argument. The choice is an interesting one, as Arthur and Cerdic would appear, in one scenario at least, to have been opponents.
However, as I've conclusively shown that Cerdic was the son of the Irish chieftain Cunedda, and the Gewissei were federate mercenaries apparently fighting for a Welsh king based at Wroxeter, AND some historians (like Barbara Yorke) think Cerdic and the Gewissei were actually fighting for the British and were co-opted by the English conquerors, deciding between him and Illtud's son is made more difficult.
THE CASE FOR AND AGAINST ILLTUD AS FATHER OF ARTHUR
As I've described before, the PA GUR placement of Mabon servant of Uther Pendragon on the River Ely, etc., points to the military titles of St. Illtud (terribilis miles, magister militum, princeps militum) being the Latin equivalent of the Welsh Uther Pendragon. Illtud, prior to becoming a religious, was captain of the soldiers under Paul Penychen. I've demonstrated the the Bican father and Llydaw homeland of Illtud was, according to the hagiography, Bicknor and Lydbrook in what was the Kingdom of Ercing - but that these two place-names were also found at Liddington Castle in Wiltshire, the Badon of Arthur.
While Illtud seems like a perfect father of Arthur, there are some major problems with the identification. First, the saint's Life makes him out to be Arthur's cousin. Also, Illtud puts away his wife when he becomes a religious and is not said to have any children.
Finally, it is entirely possible that the author of the PA GUR (or his source), knowing the Latin military titles of Illtud, decided simply to identity him with Uther Pendragon (who was, originally, an entirely different personage). This would not be an unexpected development in the literary expression of heroic legend. If Illtud is rightly to be associated with the Liddington Badbury, when he would have been ripe for conflation with Uther.
Finally, Mabon is found just across the River Thaw at Gileston (Church of Mabon of the Vale) from Penychen, so his being one of the predatory birds of the Ely may be due only to proximity to that river and have nothing to do with Illtud.
An Illtud as Arthur's father does not provide us with any means by which to explain why all the subsequent Arthurs belonged to Irish-descended dynasties in Britain.
THE CASE FOR AND AGAINST CUNEDDA AS FATHER OF ARTHUR
There is much to be said in favor of Cerdic as Arthur. In fact, I once wrote an entire (rather convincing) book on the subject. That title has since lapsed from publication.
The main problem, of course, is that we are dealing with two separate and very different names. That in and of itself poses a significant problem. While not an insurmountable one (as we have evidence for people bearing mixed Celtic and Roman names), it would pretty much be doomed for failure were it not for one very important fact: Cerdic son of Cunedda's kingdom had at its center the Afon Arth, the 'Bear Water', and no fewer than three of his immediate descendents have *Arto-/"Bear"- names. The nature of their names points to some kind of regional bear cult and it is quite conceivable that the Latin Artorius (which became British Arthur) was chosen as a decknamen for Cerdic. Perhaps he was originally styled the Bear King (W. Erthyr, Ir. Artri).
Professor Roger Tomlin long ago pointed out to me that Artorius was "not an uncommon name", and did not believe the Dark Age war-leader need be connected in any way to a Roman officer at York. Especially as whatever fame L. Artorius Castus achieved was the result of his activity in Armenia - which took place after he departed Britain.
The second biggest problem has already been alluded to: according to English tradition, Cerdic and the Gewissei were fighting with the English against the British. If this is true, then clearly Cerdic wasn't Arthur. On the other hand, the Celtic names (Ceawlin/Coline, a byname of Cunedda, plus Cerdic and Cynric/Cunorix) gives us pause. Might Barbara Yorke's very tentative suggestion that these men were claimed as founders of Wessex by the victorious Saxons when, in reality, they were federate mercenaries on the side of the British, be valid?
It has always been strange that Arthur's floruit as presented to us by the ANNALES CAMBRIAE dates perfectly matches the floruit given for Cerdic of Wessex in the ANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLE. Despite chronological problems across the board for the Gewissei, is Arthur and Cerdic were contemporary, then they were either enemies or they are one and the same person.
HOW DO WE DECIDE BETWEEN THE TWO?
So, Illtud's son or Cunedda's son... which will it be?
Well, I keep coming back to the (by now!) dreaded MARWNAT VTHYR PEN elegy.
In that poem, the terms 'pen kawell' and 'eil kawyl' can be subjected to a few different interpretations or emendations.
Pen Kawell of 'Chief Basket', if taken literally, could well be a Welsh attempt at Ceawlin, father of Cerdic. Ceawl in AS in 'basket'. This reading is actually allowed by the editor of the poem herself, Professor Marged Haycock, and by other top Celticists.
Kawyl as a word does not exist. It must be emended. The most commonly accepted alteration is to propose that scribal eye-skip occurred from the previous k- in kawell and that the word should instead read 'sawyl', i.e. Sawyl or Samuel. Illtud does seem to be associated with both the Biblical Samuel and a Samuel saint in southern Wales. If kawyl is Sawyl, then kawell could be for cafell (as both words have the same origin), 'sanctuary'. Pen Kawell, 'Chief of the Sanctuary', would be an epithet for God, who appears to be mentioned in the same line.
Otherwise, we could look to kawyl as kanwyll, a 'candle in the gloom' to match the 'leader in the darkness' a few lines prior. Canwyll has the figurative sense of 'star' and I've wondered if this reading could have provided Geoffrey of Monmouth with his dragon-star. The same author converted the gorlassar epithet of Uther to the new character, Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall. Thus it would seem Geoffrey had knowledge of the elegy. In the HISTORY OF THE KINGS OF BRITAIN, the dragon-star is said to be Uther himself. An eil kanwyll in the elegy would mean that Uther had been transformed by God and was now 'like a candle/star.'
[It is also true that Pen Kawell could be an error for Pen Kanwyll, 'Chief Luminary', again a title.for God. Occam's Razor, however, favors either basket or sanctuary.]
Needless to say, we could retain kawell as 'basket', and then render kawyl as 'star.' That would make Ceawlin out to be Uther Pendragon.
As Cunedda was Irish, we can account for the Irish-descended Arthurs subsequent to the more famous war-leader.
Quite a dilemma!
Fortunately, I may have a way to resolve it. The evidence we need to make a decision lies here:
That article concentrates on geographically placing the other characters mentioned in the MARWNAT VYTHER PEN elegy. All four are pretty firmly associated with the North or with northern Wales, especially with Gwynedd.
As a side note, of the places mentioned in the elegy only one may be locatable: pen mynydd. This looks to be the place of that name on Anglesey, where a dragon story very much like the one on Dinas Emrys was preserved. See https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2021/10/uther-and-dragons-of-gwynedd.html. Dinas Emrys is the Caer Dathal of Uther's relatives (https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2021/01/dinas-emrys-as-caer-dathal-late.html).
For the sake of comparison with the Uther elegy, see my treatment of the Welsh Cunedda elegy here:
If the various references to personages and places in the Uther elegy all point to the North and/or to northern Wales, then the notion that the poem refers to Illtud must be held highly suspect or even utterely abandoned.
On the other hand, the elegy's content would support the contention that Uther is actually Cunedda/Ceawlin, the Pen Kawell of the poem.
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