by Mike Ashley
Depending on the location of Pen Rhionydd, this triad could be an accurate record of the three Arthurs. The Chief Prince of Mynyw was Arthur of Dyfed (though it is odd to see Maelgwyn of Gwynedd there). Arthur of Gwent ruled from Celliwig, and the third could relate to Arthur of the Pennines or Artúir of Dál Riata. The clue lies in identifying Gyrthmwl Wledig.
Although he appears in The Dream of Rhonabwy as one of Arthur’s counsellors, he is seldom referred to. He is mentioned in the “Stanzas of the Graves”, described as being “a chieftain of the North” but buried at Celli Frifael, which is in the Gower Peninsula in south Wales. His name appears in another triad as one of the “Three Bull Spectres” of Britain, suggesting that he had already passed into legend, and that there was some otherworld adventure involving his ghost. The mystery is not helped by his name, which was probably a melding of Gwyrth-Mael, or “Miracle Prince”.
Curiously, the name Gyrthmwl appears in a poem composed by Heledd, the sister of Cynddylan, written sometime in the mid-seventh century.
If Gyrthmwl were a woman, she would be weak today,
her wail would be loud:
she is whole, but her warriors are destroyed.
Ifor Williams has interpreted Gyrthmwl as a place name, and in fact it’s one we’ve already encountered as Garthmyl, in Powys, close by the Roman fort of The Gaer, near Welshpool. It is from near here that Arthur leads his army to the battle of Caer Faddon in The Dream of Rhonabwy. Could it be that the composer of the triad confused the name of one of Arthur’s strongholds with an individual? Or, more likely, was Garthmyl named after its lord? He may have been related to the Cadellings of Powys and commanded The Gaer on behalf of Arthur.
But how does this relate to “the North” and the parish of Kentigern? In his middle years, Kentigern allegedly moved to North Wales and founded a monastery at Llanelwy, now St. Asaph, in Gwynedd. This has since been rejected as a Norman fabrication, but the triad may have been repeating that fabrication, so that even though based on a false premise, the location may still be accurate. Twenty-five kilometres to the west of St. Asaph is Penrhyn. In The Keys to Avalon, Steve Blake and Scott Lloyd suggest that Pen Rhionydd (“Headland of the Maidens”) is related to another locale, Morfa Rhianedd (“Seastrand of the Maidens”), which runs between Llandudno and Conwy. Located here is Deganwy, one of the courts of Maelgwyn Gwynedd.
The “North” would then seem to mean North Wales. Since Deganwy was Maelgwyn’s stronghold, it seems odd to place him at Mynyw and Gyrthmwl at Deganwy. However, if we think back to Gildas’s commentary upon Maelgwyn, we know that he first came to the throne by murdering an uncle, repented and went into a monastery, and then returned to his murdering ways. He probably usurped Deganwy in his later years, in the 530s or 540s, after Arthur’s death. Near Borth is a stretch of shore called Traeth Maelgwyn where legend has it that Maelgwyn won his kingship.
This triad may be remembering, albeit awkwardly, a period when Arthur, as High King of Wales, appointed three sub-kings to govern Wales on his behalf. Maelgwyn took the west, Caradog the south and Gyrthmwl the east and north. This arrangement may not have lasted long because another triad, about the “Three Horse Burdens” of Britain, tells how Gyrthmwl’s sons avenged his death when they attacked Dinas Maelawr, in Ceredigion. This has been idenitified as the fort of Pendinas, in Aberystwyth, suggesting conflict between Maelgwyn and Gyrthmwl.
9. Three Chieftains of Arthur’s Court
Gobrwy son of Echel Mighty-thigh
Cadrieth Fine-Speech son of Porthawr Gadw
And Fleudur Fflam.
If ever there were three forgotten Arthurian names it must be these three. No legends have grown up around them, but they also appear in Culhwch and Olwen and The Dream of Rhonabwy as counsellors at Arthur’s court. Since they are otherwise unknown, in all likelihood this triad has remained true and they probably were amongst Arthur’s advisors. Cadrieth was also the name of one of the survivors of Catraeth, but there is no reason to presume they are the same person.
54. Three Unrestrained Ravagings of Britain
When Medrawd came to Arthur’s court at Celliwig in Cornwall.
When Arthur came to Medrawd’s court.
When Aeddan the Wily came to the court of Rhydderch the Generous at Alclud.
It is unfortunate that the name of Medrawd’s court is not given but, in any case, the triad does no more than emphasise the rivalry between Arthur and Medrawd. The third line repeats a tradition that Aedan mac Gabhran, the future king of Dál Riata, took advantage of Rhydderch of Strathclyde. The legend recounts that Aedan incited a rebellion against Rhydderch, who was forced to flee to Ireland. Rhydderch returned, however, leading to the bloody battle of Arderydd in 574 (listed in the Welsh Annals under 575). The battle was between Rhydderch and Gwenddoleu, a renegade chieftain operating throughout Galloway and Rheged. Aedan allied himself with Gwenddoleu, whilst Rhydderch’s men formed part of a confederate army organised by Peredur of York and his brother Gwrgi. Arderydd, also known as Arthuret, was evidently one of the great showdowns in British history. Gwenddoleu was killed and, so legend has it, his bard Myrddin went mad with grief and ran wild in the Caledonian forest. Aedan fled back to Dál Riata, whilst Rhydderch regained Strathclyde and became one of the great kings of the North.
59. Three Unfortunate Counsels of Britain.
To give place for their horses’ fore-feet on the land to Julius Caesar and the men of Rome.
To allow Horsa and Hengist and Rhonwen into this Island.
The three-fold dividing by Arthur of his men with Medrawd at Camlan.
Here there may be a hint of memory of Arthur’s fatal battle at Camlann, where, perhaps, his battle tactics were flawed. There have been few references to Camlann in our trawl through fabled history, but its memory permeates the triads, which dwell on the futility of the battle. One such reference is in Triad 53, the “Three Harmful Blows” of Britain, where it says: “The blow Gwenhwyfach struck upon Gwenhwyfar: and for that cause there took place afterwards the action of the Battle of Camlan.” Gwenhwyfach, wife of Mordred, and her sister Gwenhwyfar/Guenevere quarrelled while collecting nuts. One sister struck the other and, from that, enmity arose between Mordred and Arthur, leading Mordred to abduct Guenevere and claim the kingdom, and to the final battle.
65. Three Unrestricted Guests of Arthur’s Court, and Three Wanderers
Llywarch the Old
Llemenig
Heledd
Llywarch was cousin to Urien of Rheged. The Men of the North fought amongst themselves and Llywarch found himself hounded out of Rheged and reduced to poverty with most of his sons killed. He eventually settled in Powys in the late sixth century, where he died at an advanced age, a sad and somewhat lonely man. In one of his poems, he confirms that, “They welcomed me in the taverns of Powys, paradise of Welshmen.” Llemenig is a shadowy character but one who might be a prototype of Lancelot (see Chapter 17). Heledd was the sister of Cynddylan, king of Powys in the mid-seventh century. This seems to suggest that Arthur’s court was in Powys. By the time of Llywarch, the ruler of Powys was either Brochwel of the Tusks or Cynan the Cruel. Nevertheless, the court may still have been remembered as Arthur’s.
73. Three Peers of Arthur’s Court.
Rahawd son of Morgant
Dalldaf son of Cunyn Cof
Drystan son of March
Here are two more names that have faded into obscurity. Rahawd appears in Triad 12 as one of the “Three Frivolous Bards” at Arthur’s court, along with Arthur himself! He also appears as one of Arthur’s counsellors in The Dream of Rhonabwy, but otherwise his name is not known, and may be a late Norman addition. Dalldaf is another of Arthur’s courtiers who appears in Culhwch and Olwen. Bartrum has suggested he may be the same as Doldavius, king of Gotland, whom we shall meet in Geoffrey’s History. Drystan is another matter, as he is the well-known figure of Tristan (see Chapter 13).
The majority of the triads which mention Arthur are amongst the most fanciful an
d least historic, suggesting that they were added later as Arthur’s legend grew. Elsewhere, triads in which one might expect to find Arthur in his role as High King do not mention him.
5. Three Pillars of Battle of Britain:
Dunawd son of Pabo, Pillar of Britain
Gwallawg son of Lleenawg
Cynfelyn the Leprous
We have encountered the first two in the battles in the North – indeed, Gwallawg is the nephew of Arthur of the Pennines who, had he really been a major force in the North, ought to feature in at least one triad. Cynfelyn the Leprous was also related, being a distant cousin, and may have earned the honour because of an unrecorded role at Arderydd. The following triad is similar.
6. Three Bull-Protectors of Britain.
Cynfawr Host-Protector
Gwenddoleu son of Ceidiaw
And Urien son of Cynfarch
These are also all Men of the North. Urien and Gwenddolau we have met. Cynfawr was the brother of Cynfelyn the Leprous, and although he is otherwise all but unknown, his epithet of “Host Protector”, as identified by Bartrum, is similar to the Irish title “of the hundred battles”, applied to the near legendary High King Conn. This suggests that Cynfawr, and no doubt Cynfelyn, were survivors of many battles in the North.
Yet Arthur is not amongst them, and if he had been such a Protector of the North, surely he would feature somewhere. Neither does he appear in the “Three Chief Officers” of Britain (Triad 13), who are Caradawg, Cawrdaf and Owain. He is not one of the “Three Battle Horsemen” (Triad 18), who include Caradog Vreichfras, or the “Three Enemy Subduers” (Triad 19), of whom one is Drystan/Tristan. Arthur is not even one of the “Three Battle Leaders” of Britain (Triad 25), who are Selyf ap Cynan, Urien of Rheged and, surprisingly, Addaon, the son of Taliesin, whom we met in The Dream of Rhonabwy.
Whenever you expect to find Arthur in a triad, he isn’t there, and when he does appear, it is usually as an echo of some aspect of his legend. Rather than the triads supporting the existence of Arthur, they tend to underscore the development of the legend in later years. Only three of them tell us anything pertinent about Arthur. Triad 1 shows how his administration was divided and where his three main courts were, Triad 65 suggests that he had a court in Powys, and Triad 59 reveals how he mismanaged his tactics at Camlann.
9. The Irish Annals
The Irish Annals are considerably more extensive than the Welsh, and it is strongly suspected that some of the Welsh Annals were rebuilt from the Irish ones many years later. The Irish Annals have little bearing on Arthurian history. They deal primarily with Irish history, and, although they do make occasional references to significant events in Britain, they are of little help in our deliberations.
Except, that is, for the following. There are six primary Irish Annals, starting with the Annals of Inisfallen, which survives from the eleventh century. The others are the Annals of Ulster, the Annals of Clonmacnoise, the Annals of Tigernach, the Chronicum Scotorum and the wonderfully named Annals of the Four Masters. Four of these have the following entry variously dated from the year 620AD (Four Masters), to 625/6 (Scotorum and Inisfallen). The most complete version is that in the Annals of Clonmacnoise (624):
Mongan mac Fiaghna, a well-spoken man and much given to the wooing of women, was killed by Artúir ap Bicor, a Briton, with a stone.
A brief entry, but an intriguing one, which makes the point that Artúir was a Briton (sometimes translated as a Welshman), and therefore not Irish. Mongan is an historically recognized king, so there is no reason to presume his death from Arthur’s missile is fabricated. That makes this Arthur very real, but we are in the period 620–626, a hundred years later than the events of Badon and Camlann.
The tale behind this Arthur takes us to one of the more famous legendary exploits of the Irish. Perhaps the best known of all of the Irish seafarers was Brendan, also known as Bran, the founding abbot of Clonfert. Brendan lived throughout the Arthurian period, around 486–575, and became immortalised through his travels, particularly the one recorded in the ninth-century poem, The Voyage of Bran. This includes an episode in which Bran meets Manannan mac Lir. Manannan tells Bran that his destiny is taking him to Ireland, where he will father a son, the future hero Mongan, with the wife of the king, Fiachna. The poem includes some predictions about Mongan, including the following quatrain:
‘He will be - his time will be short -
Fifty years in this world:
A dragonstone from the sea will kill him
In the fight at Senlabor.
This prophecy was, of course, compiled by the bards many years after Mongan’s death, but one wonders how significant the word “dragonstone” is. Did they mean a stone of the Pendragon?
The Voyage of Bran continues:
He will be throughout long ages
An hundred years in fair kingship,
He will cut down battalions, a lasting grave –
He will redden fields, a wheel around the track.
It will be about kings with a champion
That he will be known as a valiant hero,
Into the strongholds of a land on a height
I shall send an appointed end from Islay.
High shall I place him with princes,
He will be overcome by a son of error;
Moninnan, the son of Ler,
Will be his father, his tutor.
Does the “son of error” mean that Artúir ap Bicor was illegitimate? The poem also suggests that Mongan’s killer would come from Islay. A later lament on the death of Mongan, attributed to the Ulster king Becc Boirche, also says:
Cold is the wind across Islay,
Warriors of Cantire are coming,
They will commit a ruthless deed,
They will kill Mongan son of Fiachna.
Islay was part of the kingdom of Dál Riata, carved out in Argyll and Kintyre (“Cantire”) by the Irish from their own kingdom of Dál Riata, in Ulster. At the time of Mongan’s death in 620–626, the king of the Kintyre Dál Riata was Eochaid Buide (“the Fair”), the youngest son of Aedan mac Gabhran. Eochaid’s inheritance of the kingship was foretold by St Columba, when Aedan asked the missionary which of his four sons would succeed him. Columba declared that three of them, Artúir, Eochaid Find and Domangart, would pre-decease Aedan. It was the youngest, Eochaid Buide, who would succeed.
Artúir mac Aedan’s name appears in the genealogies of the History of the Men of Scotland and, more significantly, his death is recorded in the Annals of Tigernach. Tigernach was the Abbot of Clonmacnoise in Ireland who died in 1088, but it is believed that he continued a set of annals maintained at the abbey since the year 544, when it was founded. They record the deaths of Artúir and Eochaid Find in 596 in a battle against the Mæatae north of the Antonine Wall, and therefore close to the territory of the Manau Gododdin. Their main fortress was at Dunmyat, in what became Clackmannanshire. Aedan of Dál Riata was expanding his regime and encountering conflicts on all sides. Although he was victorious over the Mæatae, it was at the cost of his sons Artúir and Eochaid Find.
The campaigns of Aedan hold some other tempting morsels. Though he was king of Dál Riata in Britain, Aedan was still subject to his Irish overlord in Ulster, Baetan mac Cairill, the most powerful king in Ireland at that time, who came to power in 572 and rapidly exerted his authority over the Dál Riatan settlement in Britain. Aedan was determined to keep his independence and, in 575, met Baetan in battle at Dun Baetan in Ulster. Aedan was defeated, and forced to pay homage to Baetan at Islandmagee, near Carrickfergus. Aedan’s young son Artúir was present at Dun Baetan. Laurence Gardner, in Bloodline of the Holy Grail, tells us that this was the second battle at Dun Baetan (see Chapter 7). The first, in 516, had been between Aedan’s father Gabhran, who augmented his troops with those of Ambrosius Aurelianus, and Baetan’s father Cairill. The result was a remarkable victory for the Scots. Gardner believes it was this battle that Gildas recalls in De Excidio. The 574 battle is the one recalled by Nenn
ius, but over time memories of the two have merged.
Aedan continued to do battle against the Ulster overlord. In 577, Baetan captured the Isle of Man, but was forced to retreat the following year. Baetan died, somewhat mysteriously, in 581, and in 582 Aedan, and presumably Artúir who would now have been aged about 23, succeeded in driving the remaining Irish out of Man and taking control of the island. Aedan remained a powerful ruler in the north throughout the rest of the sixth century, but met his match in 603 when he set out to teach Athelfrith of Northumbria a lesson. He was soundly defeated at Degsastan (probably Dawston, in Liddesdale). Bede records that he “took to flight with a few survivors while almost his entire army was cut down.”
If Artúir mac Aedan died in battle in the year 596, he cannot be the Artúir who killed Mongan in 620. It would, in any case, be difficult to equate Artúir’s father Aedan with Bicor. The implication of the reference to Islay and Kintyre is that Artúir ap Bicor was one of the Scottish Dál Riata, but would an Irish annalist refer to him as British? By this time we are four generations removed from Fergus, whose son Domangart was also born in Ireland, so we are at best only talking of grandchildren of settlers.
However, there had been Irish settlers in Kintyre for over a hundred years before Fergus established his separate kingdom, and these settlers would have interbred, and may well have been regarded as British by the Irish. If so, then we can go no further in our quest for Artúir ap Bicor. In all probability, he was a warrior in the army of Eochaid the Fair, who had been given his name in honour of Aedan’s heroic son, and who in turn had his five minutes of fame.
