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                                       ANWN DYNOD AP MAXEN WLEDIG
                                                 By Darrell Wolcott
 
          The early Welsh pedigrees[1] cite a "Dimet map Maxim gulecic" and a "Anthun map Maxim gulecic", while medieval manuscripts refer to a "Antoni ap Maxen"[2] and a "Dunawt ap Maxen Wledig".[3]  Each of these citations refer to a man whose Latin name was Antonius Donatus Gregorus whom the Welsh called Anwn Dynod.  As discussed elsewhere on this site[4], the Maxen in his pedigree was born two generations prior to the Maxen Wledic named Magnus Maximus who was killed in 388.  A birthdate near 300 is suggested for Anwn and he was probably the son of Elen ferch Eudaf Hen.[5]
 
          A single son of Anwn Dynod is named in his various pedigrees, variously called Nimet, Eidinet, Ednyued, Edneuet and Nyfedd, a name whose standardized spelling is Ednyfed. The medieval genealogists realized that those families which descended from him contained a couple too many early generations to match up with the known floruit of Magnus Maximus, and many manuscripts of that era deleted Anwn Dynod and assumed very short generational gaps between the early men.[6]  But that "Maxen Wledig" had no son named Ednyfed; the man of that name in their pedigrees was contemporary with Magnus Maximus and probably 10/15 years older.  
 
         Three known sons are identified for Ednyfed: Clydwyn (which occurs as Glotguin and Gletwin), Tudwal (cited as Tutagual and Tutwawl) and Dyfnwal.  We shall defer our discussion of Dyfnwal for a moment to trace the descendants of his brothers.  Clydwyn had no identified sons, and the marriage matches made by his two daughters have been shown previously.[4]
 
         Tudwal ap Ednyfed, born c. 355, was the ancester of the family who lived on, and probably ruled, the Isle of Man until it failed in the male line in the eighth century.  It's princess, Celenion ferch Tudwal ap Anarawd, married Sandde ap Alcwn of the lineage of Llywarch Hen and was the great-grandmother of Merfyn Frych.[7] According to the traditional lore, Tudwal's ancestors had been forced from their homelands in northwest Britain in the fifth century and resettled on the Isle of Man. 
 
         The final son of Ednyfed ap Anwn Dynod was Dyfnwal; some of his citations add the epithet "Hen"[8]  This has made for much confusion with a wholly different man called Dyfnwal Hen who lived about three generations later.[9]  It is necessary to determine the probable era of the man in a given citation to know which Dyfnwal was meant.  We shall begin with a chart constructed from the data found in Bonedd y Saint, #18 and Buchedd Llawddog:
 
                                 279  Maxen Wledig (not Magnus Maximus)
                                             l
                                 302  Antonius Donatus (Anwn Dynod)
                                             l
                                 330  Ednyfed
                                             l
                                 360  Dyfnwal (Hen)
                                             l
                                 390   Cedic
                                             l
                                 425   Senyllt
                                             l
                                 455  Nudd hael                 Lawdden LLydog 465
                                             l                                   l
                                 490 Dyngad===========Thenoi 500
                                                            l
                                            525  St Llawddog (Lleuddad)
 
This is a composite chart; ByS 18 omits Antonius while Buchedd Llawdog omits Cedic
 
 
          The pedigrees place Dyngad in Brynn Buga (Usk in Gwent) and St. Llawddog in Enlli (Bardsey Island off the Lleyn peninsula); the latter is said to have succeeded St Cadfan as abbot on Enlli.[10] Both men flourished in the mid-sixth century.  The dates of the men at the bottom of our chart is further confirmed by a look at the sisters of Thenoi ferch Llawdden Llydog: 
 
                                  465  Llawdden Llydog of Dinas Eidyn
                        __________________l______________
                        l                            l                            l
           495  Pherferen        500  Thenoi            505  Denyw
                       =                                                        l
          480   St Bugi                                   520  St Kentigern
 
         The obit of St Kentigern is recorded in 612 in Annales Cambriae;
his twelfth century biographer[11] claims he was born of a young unmarried daughter of Lleuddun Luyddog of Dinas Eiddyn (Edinburgh) named Denw, a sister of Beren (called Pherferen in other sources) who married St. Bugi. The latter occurs as a great-grandson of Cadell Ddyrnllwg born c. 380.[12]   As all three sisters appear to belong to the beginning of the sixth century, the Dyfnwal ap Ednyfed of our first chart, whether or not also called Hen, belongs to c. 360. 
 
         The other Dyfnwal Hen appears in the early sources[13] as the father of three sons.  His consolidated pedigree looks like this:
 
                                       390  Ceretic guletic
                                                    l
                                       420    Cinuit
                                                    l
                                        450  Dumgual Hen
                 ___________________l_________________
                 l                                 l                               l
     480  Guipno                480  Clinog               485  Cimbelim
                 l                                  l                              l
    510  Neithon                510  Tutagual           515   Clinog
                 l                                  l
     545    Beli                 540  Rhydderch Hen  
 
           A letter which St. Patrick wrote to Coroticus protesting his treatment of young Christians kidnapped from Ireland[14] is believed to have been addressed to the Ceretic Wledig of this pedigree. St. Patrick is usually dated to the era 390-461; this would place the floruit of Ceretic in the mid-fifth century, perhaps born near the end of the fourth.  Rhydderch Hen is described as a patron of St. Kentigern (c.520-612) and further is mentioned by Nennius[15] as a contemporary of the Anglican rulers, Adda, Aethelic and Theodoric, sons of Ida (obit 559).   Our estimate for Rhydderch Hen's birth c. 540 cannot be too far from the mark.  Both historical notices appear to point to c. 450 for this Dyfnwal Hen, some 90 years and three generations later than Dyfnwal ap Ednyfed. 
 
         A look at another group of families cited as having descended from a Dyfnwal Hen will show why the two men are often confused with each other, these from Bonedd Gwyr y Gogledd, a 13th century manuscript citing the pedigrees of The Men of the North:
 
                                            Dyfnwal Hen
                                                   l
                                               Cedic
                      ________________l________________
                      l                         l                               l
                 Senyllt           Tudwal Tudclyd              Seruan
                      l                         l                               l
                Nudd hael        Rhydderch hael           Mordaf hael
 
Senyllt is absent from this manuscript and is taken from the pedigrees in our first chart above.  Mordaf is not called "hael" in this citation, but all three cousins are celebrated in Welsh Triad 2 as Three Most Generous Men of the Island of Britain and each called "Hael" or generous.[16]
 
         
             You will notice one family claimed to descend from each of the separate Dyfnwal Hens contains a similar string of names:  "Rhydderch Hen ap Tudwal ap Clinog ap Dyfnwal Hen" and "Rhydderch Hael ap Tudwal Tudclyd ap Cedic ap Dyfnwal Hen."  Virtually all modern scholars merge the two, make Cedic and Clinog variations of the same name, identify Rhydderch Hen as also called Hael and place the floruit of the Hael cousins in the mid to late sixth century.  They cite a tale from the Chirk Codex[17] in which the Hael cousins supposedly came from the North to revenge the killing of their kinsman, Elidyr Mwynfawr, by Rhun ap Maelgwn Gwynedd.  Elidyr was married to the eldest daughter of Maelgwn and supposedly contested Rhun for the kingship after Maelgwn died c. 547.  The pedigeees make Elidyr a first cousin of the Tudwal who was father to Rhydderch Hen; this relationship and his floruit in the sixth century are consistent with the revenge tale, especially if we can assume it did not occur before 565/570.  But was the inclusion of the Hael cousins in the tale simply a poetic device or does it "prove" Rhydderch Hen and Rhydderch Hael were the same man? 
 
          An inscribed stone found at Yarrowkirk, Selkirkshire (located in the ancient territory once called Gododdin) marks the tomb of "Nudus and Dumnogenus, the two sons of Liberalis".[18]  Scholars are divided as to whether "Liberalis" was Senyllt Hael[19] and the tomb that of Nudd Hael, or if it identified two sons of Nudd Hael.  But since all authorities agree the stone dates from the early sixth century, Rachel Bromwich[20] asserts "it is clearly impossible on chronological grounds that it could commemorate two sons of Nudd Hael...or Nudd Hael himself".  But Bromwich assumes Nudd Hael was a cousin of Rhydderch Hen born c. 540; the Nudd Hael  cited as a cousin of Rhydderch Hael lived nearly 100 years earlier.  His death probably occurred in the early sixth century and his chronology is wholly consistent with the age of the stone.  We shall cite one more pedigree which seems to place the Hael cousins in the family descended from Anwn Dynod and not the later one descended from Ceretic Wledig:
                                              
                                                    Ednyfed
                                           ________l_______
                                           l                          l
                                      Morhen             Dyfnwal Hen
                                           l                          l
                                      Peredur                 Cedic
                                           l                          l                       
                                      Elufed=======Tudwal Tudclyd
                                                      l
                                            Rhydderch Hael
 
          While this pedigree[21] makes Ednyfed the son of Maxen Wledig by omitting Anwn Dynod, it does provide an inter-family marriage which seems to identify Tudwal Tudclyd as belonging to the earlier Dyfnwal Hen, not the Tudwal ap Clinog of the family descended from Ceretic Wledig.  Accordingly, we must conclude that Rhydderch Hael lived about 90 years earlier than Rhydderch Hen and cannot be alternate names for one man. And we would reject the conclusion that "Maxen Wledig" was improperly inserted into the Hael cousin's pedigree in place of "Ceretic Wledig"; we do, however, believe this Maxen Wledig was not the one known as Magnus Maximus, but the earlier Roman Emperor who had a child by Elen ferch Eudaf Hen.
 
          The association of Anwn Dynod and his son, Ednyfed, with the kingdom of Dyfed seems to be based on no more evidence than the marriage of Clotri ferch Clydwyn to the Irish family which later produced Vortepir.  Other branches of his family appear in the north of Britain, on the Isle of Man and in Gwent.  It is the latter area which seems to have the better claim as Anwn's residence.
 
          Some internet websites derive Marchell, the mother of Brychan Brychieniog, from Anwn Dynod by equating him to the "Annhun rex Grecorum" of De Situ Brecheniauc and "Annwn du, vrenhin Groec" of Jesus College Ms 20, 1.  None of the sources which mention the Annun, King of Greece also name his father.  His son is called Tathal or Teudfal which some may associate with Tudwal ap Ednyfed ap Anwn Dynod, but the chronology is wrong if we accept a birthdate near c. 400 for Brychan.  The Annwn du in the pedigree of his mother would occur c. 230/240.  We tentatively reject this as another family descended from Anwn Dynod ap Maxen, but will revisit the subject if it can be shown that Brychan's birthdate should be moved forward about 50 years.     

NOTES:
 
[1] Harleian Ms 3859, 2 & 4
[2] Buchedd Llewddoc Sant in Llanstephan Ms 34
[3] Jesus College Ms 20, 19
[4] See the paper on this site entitled "Maxen Wledig and the Welsh Genealogies" for the pedigrees of two men called Maxen or Maxim, at the link below:
[5] The tale of Elen is discussed in the paper entitled "Maxen Wledig and the Welsh Legends" at the link below:
[6] P.C. Bartrum: "Early Welsh Genealogical Tracts", 1966, Cardiff, pp 133
[7] Jesus College Ms 20, 19 and ABT 6(l)
[8] These include Bonedd y Saint, 18
[9] Harleian Ms 3859, 5, 6 & 7
[10] Baring-Gould & Fisher: "Lives of the British Saints" under St Lleuddad ab Dingad
[11] Fragment of the Life of St Kentigern in British Museum Cotton Ms Titus A xix
[12] Given correctly as Bugi vab Gwynlliw vab Tegit vab Kadell drynlluc in Buchedd Bueno in Jesus College Ms 119, and corruptly in Bonedd y Saint, 30
[13] ibid note 9
[14] ibid note 10 under St Patrick
[15] Historia Brittonum, ch 63
[16] Rachel Bromwich: "Trioedd Ynys Prydein", 1961, Cardiff, pp 5
[17] Aneurin Owen: "Ancient Laws and Institutes of Wales", 1841, London, vol i, pp 105  Also see the paper "Elidyr Mwynfawr Contests Rhun ap Maelgwn For Gwynedd" at the link below:
[18] ibid pp 476/477
[19] The probability that the father of Nudd Hael was called Senyllt Hael is discussed in Bartrum's note  to Jesus College Ms 20, 19 in "Early Welsh Genealogical Tracts," pp 140
[20] ibid note 18
[21] Dwnn ii, 98