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FOUNDATIONS
OF 'THE MEN OF THE NORTH' - PART 2
By
Darrell Wolcott
In the first part of this discussion [1], we followed the families who descend from Owain ap Afallach ap Aflech ap
Beli Mawr. In this part, we shall focus on the family which descended from Owain's brother, Euddolen.
Born c. 35 BC, we believe Euddolen ap Afallach married into the Brigantes tribe of Celts in Britain, possibly to a daughter
of its king. If so, his grandson, Eneid ap Eudos, would have been a cousin of Queen Cartimandua. We suggest either
he, or his son Eudeyrn, was named king following her reign and that of her consort. The Brigantes had not only declined
to oppose the Roman invasion of 43AD, but had become their staunch ally and enjoyed the benefits of Roman citizenship, with
none of the disruption suffered by the tribes who opposed Emperor Claudius.
Eudicant, the son of Eudeyrn, was born c. 90 and had two
sons:
90 Eudigant
________________l________________
l
l
120 Rydeyrn
125 Deheuwaint
The younger son, Deheuwaint,
married into the Cornovii tribe which bordered the Brigantes lands to the south west. His son, Rydeyrn ap Deheuwaint,
became king of that tribe c. 190 when its royal family daughtered-out. Rydeyrn's son, Gwrtheyrn, had a grandson, Rhuddfedel
Frych, born c. 250, who had two sons:
250
Rhuddfedel Frych
_________________l_________________
l
l
285 Brydw
280 Gloyw Gwallt Hir
The older son married a princess of the Hwicce tribe and resettled to Gloucester, this area taking its name from
Gloyw. This man was the great-grandfather of Gwrtheyrn ap Gwydol ap Guidolyn, a man born c. 385 who is better known
to history as Vortigern. [2]
Brydw ap Rhuddfedel Frych was the great-grandfather of Cadell ap Cadeyrn ap Pasgen who was styled "Cadell Ddyrnllwg,
King of Powys". [3]
Meanwhile, back in the land of the Brigantes, Rydeyrn ap Eudicant headed a list of single-son families which terminated with
the c. 340 Coel ap Tecfan:
120 Rydeyrn
l
155 Rhifedel
l
185 Gradd (probably Gratian)
l
215 Urban (probably Urbanus)
l
250 Telpwll
l
280 Deheuwaint
l
310 Tecfan (probably Tasciovanus)
l
340 Coel
During the two centuries in which this family held rule, the Brigantes absorbed a number of smaller neighboring tribes,
and Coel ap Tecfan inherited a kingdom which encompassed (1) all of northern Britain which lay south of Hadrian's wall, and
(2) much of the midlands once held by the Coritani tribe. When his life extended into his 70's, he became known as Coel
Hen or "Old King Cole". Note the Latin names of several men in the line leading down to Coel Hen, suggesting a close
association with the Roman military.
While there were undoubtedly many marriages which bound the Celt tribes together socially, almost none are cited in
extant manuscripts until the late 300's. Near 370, Coel married the daughter of Gaedon ap Cynan ap Eudaf Hen of Cernyw (later
called Gwynedd), a lady named Stradwel. [4] Their first daughter, Gwawl, married Edern ap Padern Beisrudd of Manaw Gododdin.
[5]
During the reign of Emperor Magnus Maximus, the Welsh "Maxen Wledig" (383-388), Coel served as dux Britannia, the senior
military general in Britain. He moved his seat of operations to Ebrauc (now called York) and, when the Romans withdrew from
Britain about 410, Coel Hen commanded the military operations of the new "overking" office created by the Britons. His
obit is not recorded, but he probably died early in the second decade of the 400's. He had 3 known sons:
340 Coel Hen
___________________l____________________
l
l
l
380 Ceneu 390 Dyfrwr
385 Garbanian
Since "dyfrwr" means "waterman", this was probably not a birth name. The nickname was applied to men who observed
very austere diets and habits. [6] Nothing more is known of this son, but he would have shunned such worldly pursuits as politics
or the military. Ceneu, the eldest son, was granted the bulk of his father's lands.
THE COELING
The family of Garbanian ap Coel Hen is anciently cited [7] as:
385 Garbanian
l
420
Dyfnwal Moelmud
__________l____________
l
l
455 Cyngar
450 Bran Hen
l
490 Morcant Bwlch
l
520 Clydog
l
550 Morgan [8]
Garbanian was likely borne by a different mother than the other sons of Coel Hen [9], and his inheritance was
the territory to the north of York called Bryneich (later Bernicia). Dyfnwal Moelmud (bald and mute) composed a
system of laws to govern the relationships between the various Cymric societies which remained after Rome's withdrawal from
Britain. [10] His grandson, Morcant Bwlch, was ruling Bryneich when Ida of the Angles arose, renamed his stronghold around
Bamburgh "Bernicia", proclaimed himself its king in 547, and drove out the resident Celts. [11] Morcant's
son, Clydog, had a son named Morgan who was born c. 550. Virtually all historians identify the slayer of Urien Rheged
(510-575) as Morgan Bwlch, but he would have been a frail old man by then (if still alive), so we suggest he has been confused
with his grandson, also named Morgan. [12] The warband of this family was called
the "Coeling".
THE CYNFARCHION
Ceneu had 2 sons who shared most of his lands, and a third
son, Pappo, whose line appears to have become extinct only 3 generations later. Peter Bartrum and others conflate Pappo
with the c. 480 Pabo Post Prydain, likely because both had sons named Dunod, and because a copyist added "p.priten" to his
name in the extant version of Harleian Ms 3859. This Pappo was the ancestor of St Deinol (c. 510-584) and the daughter ferch
Samuel Penisel, who married Maelgwn Hir of Gwynedd. [13]
380 Ceneu ap Coel Hen
________________________l_______________________
l
l
l
415 Gwrwst Ledlum
415 Pappo
415 Mar
Gwrwst "Half-bare" inherited the lands called Rheged, which
lay between the Pennines and the western coast, extending south as far as Chester. His son, Meirchion Gul, passed along
Rheged to his son, Cynfarch Oer. The younger brother of Cynfarch was Elidyr Lydanwyn (wide and fair) whose lands are
not known, but his son, Llywarch Hen, appears to have become the "warrior bard" at the court of his cousin, Urien Rheged.
This Llywarch was the paternal ancestor of Rhodri Mawr and Cynddelw Gam, having fled to Powys later in his life. He
was not called "Hen" due to old age, but merely to distinguish him from a son also named Llywarch. He had several sons who
died in battle, but not nearly as many children as most lists would suggest. [14]
Cynfarch Oer was the father of Urien, king of Rheged, who was born c. 510. Urien's
wide reputation as the finest battle leader in Britain ultimately induced an envious younger kinsman, Morgan ap Clydog, to
hire his beheading c. 575. The warband of this branch of Coel Hen's family was called the "Cynfarchion".
THE CYNWYDION
Mar (also called Maeswig Gloff), the younger brother of Gwrwst Ledlum,
inherited the lands of the Pennine mountains, together with the family's base at York and the kingdom of Elmet directly south
of Ebrauc. At his death, these lands were divided among 3 sons:
415 Mar
_______________________l_________________________
l
l
l
450 Athrwys
455 Enion
450 Llynnog
Einion, the youngest son, received the paternal
manor at York, but his line daughtered-out after two more generations, with his grand-daughter, Perwar, who married Rhun ap
Maelgwn of Gwynedd. [15] Llynnog, the middle son, inheirited Elmet. His only son, Gwylog or Guallauc, was born c. 485,
and was probably the grandfather of Gwylog Marchog Trin ap Llynnog, cited as the leader of a warband which battled the encroaching
Angles in the 6th century. [16]
Athrwys ap Mar is believed by many to have been the
historical King Arthur, mainly because they misspell his name as "Arthwys", and secondly because they ignore chronology.
This "king of the Pennines" was born a generation too early to have been the legendary King Arthur. He had 4 sons:
450 Athrwys
______________________l_____________________________
l
l
l
l
480 Pabo Post Prydian 485 Ceido 490
Eliffer Gosgord 480 Cynfelyn
Fawr
Little is known of Ceido other than he had a son, Gwendoleu, for
whom Caer Guendoleu was named. This tract of land was carved out for him, and lies between north Rheged and Hadrian's
wall. No issue is cited for him.
Eliffer "Oliver with the large warband" married a daughter of Cynfarch
Oer of Rheged [17] and had, beside a daughter named Ceindrech, two sons: Peredur and Gwrgi. Those brothers won
the 573 Battle of Arfderfydd against their cousin, Gwendoleu ap Ceido, who was killed. The brothers both died in 580,
with no known heirs.
Pabo Post Prydain "the pillar of Britain" received an unknown portion
of the Pennines territory. His daughter, Arddun, was the wife of Brochwel Ysgithrog of Powys. [18] His son, Dunawt,
married a lady named Dwywei and is believed to have been the father of the bard, Aneirin. [19] Pabo is said to
have retired to Gwynedd in Wales
in his old age.
Cynfelyn seems to have inherited the bulk of his father's lands in
the Pennines. His son, Cynwyd, was the father of Cadrod Calchynydd. From this line came the 10th century Marchudd ap
Cynan and the 13th century Ednyfed Fychan. The warband of this extended family was called the "Cynwydion".
SUMMARY
A citation in the 13th century "Bonedd Gwyr y Gogled" (pedigrees
of the Men of the North) says:
"The three hundred swords of the Cynfarchion, and the three hundred shields of the Cynwydion, and the three hundred
spears of the Coeling: on whatever expedition they might go together, they would never fail."
We suggest the description refers to the period between 547 and 600 when the Bernicians battled the Cymry of north Britain.
NOTES:
[1]
See "Part 1" of this paper at the following link:
[2]
See our paper "Ancient Powys: at the link below:
[3]
See the paper on Cadell Ddrynllwg at the following link:
[4] Bonedd y Arwyr 27(a)
[5] ByA 27(b)
[6] The noted Welsh St. David,
whom they called "Dewi", also bore the nickname "dyfrwr". It is possible this son of Coel Hen was also a saint, but any record
of him would be under his unknown birth name
[7] Harl 3859, 10
[8] The name is spelled Morcant
in some sources, and Morgan in others. Simply to distinguish this man from his grandfather, we choose to call him "Morgan"
and his grandfather "Morcant"
[9] ByA 27(a) says Stradwel, the wife of Coel Hen, was
the mother of Dyfrwr and Ceneu, but does not mention Garbanian
[10] Geoffrey of Monmouth appropriated the name of Dyfnwal Moelmud and made him the lawgiver
of the people who migrated to Britain after the Battle of Troy, many centuries BC.
[11] A large settlement of Angles resided in Bryneich, having
been first invited as foedorati to protect the coast of Britian and help battle the Picts. Now, 100 years later, Ida
named himself their king
[12] Morgan ap Clydog, Rhydderch
Hen of Alt Clud, Gwylog Marchog Trin of Elmet and Owain ap Urien Rheged, separately and together fought the Bernician descendants
of Ida, under the generalship of the ageing Urien. When Morgan hired the assassination of Urien Rheged about 575, some
say the tide quickly turned to favor the Bernicians. Unless you believe 18 years is "quickly", that claim is false
[13] Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies,
vol 18, p.57
[14] ByA 5 lists
25 children and other sources add even more. Those children may have all had a father named Llywarch, but not any single
man of that name. Only 2 sons of Llywarch Hen have known descendants, Dwc and Llywarch the younger.
[15] ByA 28(c)
[16] The Gwylog ap Llynnog ap Mar cited in JC 20, 36 was born
c. 485 and had two daughters. He could not be the same man as the Gwylog ap Llynnog who is mentioned in TyP p. 375 as
"Marchog Trin" nor the Gwylog who was father to Ceredic, the last king of Elmet who was deposed by Edwin of Deira c. 620
[17] Plant Brychan, 3(a)
[18] ByS 33
[19] Aneirin himself called his
mother "Dwywei". The lady of that name who married Dunawt was born c. 520 to the first Gwylog ap Llwnnog and fits well with
an Aneirin of c. 535. Most, however, would identify Aneirin, the bard who wrote the classic "Y Gododdin" as a brother
of Gildas and son of Caw of Twrcelyn in Anglesey, based on a list of sons in ByA 3. Gildas was born c. 501 so we would
reject this identity of Aneirin.
MAP:
The
following map shows the relative position of the north Britain kingdoms in the late 6th century; the areas labeled D and P
were known as "the Pennines", the name of the mountain range they contain:
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