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Urien

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For other uses, see Urien (disambiguation).

Urien Rheged
Arms of Rhys ap Thomas (d. 1525), attributed to Urien, with whom Rhys claimed kinship.[1]
King of Rheged?
Reignc. 550? – 572 x 592/after 597?[2]
PredecessorCynfarch Oer?
SuccessorOwain ab Urien?
Bornc. 520[3][4]
Diedc. 572 x 592/after 597?
Aber Lleu (Ross Low, Northumberland)[5]
Cause of deathAssassination
SpouseModron ferch Afallach (legendary)
Issue
DynastyCynferchyn (Coeling?)[6]
FatherCynfarch Oer ap Meirchion Gul
MotherNefyn ferch Brychan Brycheiniog (legendary)

Urien ap Cynfarch Oer or Urien Rheged (Welsh pronunciation: [ˈɨ̞riɛn ˈr̥ɛɡɛd], Old Welsh: Urbgen or Urbagen) was a powerful sixth-century Brittonic-speaking figure who was possibly the ruler of the territory or kingdom known as Rheged. He is probably the best-known and certainly the best documented of the British figures of the 'Old North' in the sixth century.[7][8] His kingdom was most likely centred around the Solway Firth.[9] The most secure evidence for his existence comes from a ninth-century Welsh history and eight praise-poems in Middle Welsh dedicated to him surviving in a fourteenth-century manuscript. Despite their being found in Middle Welsh orthography, the poems may possibly reflect earlier material, even material contemporaneous to Urien.[10] One of these poems is explicitly attributed to the famed poet Taliesin in the manuscript.[11] The early material paints Urien as a ferocious warrior and a major political figure in his time, conquering Picts, Anglo-Saxons, and Britons of the 'Old North' alike.[12] According to the Historia Brittonum, Urien, with three other kings confederate with him, nearly exterminated the newly-arrived Anglo-Saxons in Britain, though this campaign was brought to an abrupt end when Urien was murdered by one of his allies.[13] In addition to this earlier material, Urien and his family feature elsewhere in medieval literature from Wales. Outside of the historical Welsh context, he eventually was transformed in Arthurian legend into the figure of king Urien of Garlot or Gorre.[14] His most celebrated son, Owain, likewise gave his name to the Arthurian character of Ywain.[15]

Problems of interpretation

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As with almost all figures of the early Middle Ages in Britain, the greatest difficulty when attempting to reconstruct Urien's life and career is how to interpret and reconcile our varied, late, and sometimes obscure, corrupt, or confused sources.[16] The only place associated with him which can be located concretely is the place of his besieging of Theodric, which was Lindisfarne.[17][18][19] Nevertheless, the other places which appear in conjunction with him are generally identified with places in the north of England and south of Scotland.[20][21] Another difficulty with outlining Urien's career is that the source which may well be contemporaneous to his lifetime, the poetry contained in the Book of Taliesin, does not contain much in the way of narrative or readily usable information about Urien and his deeds; instead, it ambiguously recalls events and extols Urien's virtues, leaving scholars to piece together any kind of reconstruction of events.[22] Likewise, beyond a general dating of the late sixth century, Urien's date of death (not memorialised in surviving poetry) is very difficult to establish due to the garbled and corrupt nature of the text which synchronises his death to what has been interpreted to refer to a time as early as 572 AD to as late as after Augustine's mission to the Kingdom of Kent after 597.[23] Setting problems of the interpretation of the material concerning Urien aside, it is clear that he was (or at least was taken to be in later times) a very important figure of the late sixth century, but because of these difficulties, it is best to judge each surviving source concerning him individually rather than smooth over problems or contradictions with each to create a cohesive narrative combining them all.[24]

Early Welsh material

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Material found in Harley MS 3859

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The earliest material giving evidence of Urien is to be found in Harley MS 3859. This manuscript contains the 'Harleian Genealogies' as well as a copy of the Historia Brittonum (written in 829 in Gwynedd), the Annales Cambriae, and other material. It is generally agreed for reasons of palaeography that Harley 3859 was written around 1100, either in southern England, Normandy or the Low Countries.[25] It is likely that the exemplar for the three texts in the manuscript left Wales in the middle of the tenth century.[26] There is also evidence that earlier redactions of the Historia Brittonum, Annales Cambriae, and genealogies had accompanied one another since the middle of the ninth century.[27]

The evidence of the 'Harleian Genealogies'

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The earliest genealogy of Urien (in origin c. 850–950 AD) from Harley MS 3859 gives his patrilineal descent as 'Urien son of Cynfarch son of Meirchion son of Gwrwst son of Coel Hen.'[28] His earliest recorded ancestor, Coel Hen, functioned as an origin point for many of the northern Brythonic-speaking dynasties of the early Middle Ages in Britain.[29] In modern scholarship, it is not generally held that Coel was an important historic figure or truly the ancestor of all these dynasties, known collectively as the 'Coeling', especially those extraneous dynasties given descent from him in the much later fifteenth century genealogical tracts titled Bonedd Gwŷr y Gogledd.[30][31] Since the 'Coeling' first appear in genealogies together in Harley MS 3859 with the Historia Brittonum, which narrates the end of Urien's career, it is thought the compiler of the genealogies joined together the lineages of all the British (i.e. 'Welsh'-speaking) leaders mentioned in the Historia Brittonum to create a more coherent narrative.[32] Nothing reliable is known of Urien's father Cynfarch, even if he ruled over Rheged, though this may perhaps be assumed given that later material refers to the 'Cynferchyn', those claiming (or attributed) descent from him.[33]

The narrative in the Historia Brittonum

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Contra illum quattuor reges, Urbgen, et Riderchhen, et Guallauc, et Morcant, dimicaverunt. Deodric contra illum Urben cum filiis dimicabat fortiter. In illo autem tempore aliquando hostes, nunc cives vincebantur, et ipse conclusit eos tribus diebus et tribus noctibus in insula Metcaud et, dum erat in expeditione, jugulatus est, Morcanto destinante pro invidia, quia in ipso prae omnibus regibus virtus maxima erat instauratione belli.[34]

Against them [i.e. Hussa and his predecessors] four kings fought: Urien, and Rhydderch the Old, and Gwallawg, and Morgan. Theodric used to fight bravely against that Urien with his sons, yet at that time sometimes the enemies, sometimes the citizens used to be vanquished. And he [Urien] shut them [the enemies] up for three days and three nights in the island of Lindisfarne and, while he was on [this?] campaign, he was slain at the instigation of Morgan out of jealousy, because beyond all other kings he [Urien] had the greatest skill in renewing war.[35]

— 'Nennius', Historia Brittonum §63, translation by Patrick Sims-Williams.

The Historia Brittonum first found in Harley MS 3859 (c. 829) is our only 'historical' record of Urien, though its usefulness for reconstructing history is often doubted, as it was compiled and adapted hundreds of years after Urien's death from various sources.[36] Interestingly, in a later prologue attached to the text, the author of the Historia Brittonum claims to have assembled his text based on the work of Rhun, Urien's son, who is also credited with baptising Edwin of Northumbria, together with Paulinus of York, though this attribution is spurious.[37][38][39] Based on Bede and various other sources, the text synchronises Urien's life to the reign of Theodric (d. c. 579) and Hussa of Bernicia (d. c. 592).[40]

The narrative concerning Urien relates him as having taken hostile action against Theodric, together with Rhydderch Hen, Gwallog ap Llênog, and Morgan, who are (excluding Rhydderch) all recorded as descendants of Coel in the genealogies contained in the same manuscript.[41] Echoing Gildas, it is said that the conflict between the Britons and the Saxons went back and forth, but Urien and his allies eventually gained the upper hand and besieged Theodric on Lindisfarne (Old Welsh: Medcaut).[42] Urien, however, was killed at the instigation of Morgan, who, according to the author of the Historia Brittonum, was jealous of Urien's martial ability.[43] As Morgan is supposed to have come from a nearby territory to Lindisfarne, it has been suggested that Morgan at that moment felt more as threatened by Urien's powerful presence near his home than by Theodric.[44]

However, Hussa (not just Theodric) is directly described as Urien's foe in a sentence with obscurities in the grammar.[45] Kenneth Jackson suggested this meant either that Urien fought against Theodric and Hussa before the latter's reign or that the chronology here is wrong and that the narrative refers to the reigns of Ida's sons in general.[46] Ian Lovecy understood the reference to Theodric as a long parenthesis indicating that formerly the struggle went both ways, but not in Urien's last campaign against Hussa.[47] David Dumville understood the text to refer to the warfare of all four British kings against the five English kings previously named with regnal dates besides Hussa, that is, from the reigns of Adda to Hussa.[48] The next king is Æthelfrith, who took the throne c. 593, and so Urien could even have died as late as this.[49] However, the section of the Historia Brittonum preceding the narrative of Urien's campaign records the Christianisation of Kent (occurring in 596-7) as occurring in the reign of Frithuwald (reigned 579-85), implying that Urien's campaigns could even have been after 597.[50] For this reason, Patrick Sims-Williams cast doubt on the reliability of the chronology concerning Urien and his campaigns against the Anglo-Saxons, leaving the date of Urien's death an open question.[51]

Poetry to Urien attributed to Taliesin from Peniarth MS 2

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Much like many cultures in north-western Europe during Late Antiquity, medieval Welsh culture valued praise-poetry, or poems extolling the virtues of a ruler or leading figure in a society.[52] Urien has the almost unique distinction of having a sizeable body of possibly contemporaneous poems dedicated to him in the Book of Taliesin (Peniarth MS 2), a Middle Welsh manuscript of the early fourteenth century, of which twelve poems are taken to be 'historical', that is, possibly reflecting genuine sixth-century material.[53] One poem of these twelve, 'Yspeil Taliessin', is explicitly attributed to Urien's court poet Taliesin in the manuscript, but since Taliesin was strongly associated with Urien in later medieval Welsh literature, and the bulk of the content of the manuscript is to do with Taliesin, the name has stuck.[54][55] Taliesin is mentioned in the Historia Brittonum as well, though his life is synchronised to the reign of Ida of Bernicia (c. 547 – 559), slightly before Urien's reign.[56] It is not that Taliesin would have been only active for twelve years, but this is when it is said he began to be famed for poetry.[57] Taliesin was very well known for his poetic skill in later medieval Wales, and all sorts of legends sprang up about him attributing to him magic powers, including many poems 'in character' attributed to him, and these poems form the bulk of the manuscript.[58]

There are eight poems in this manuscript attributed to Taliesin which are dedicated to Urien Rheged and devoid of supernatural or gnomic content. These are categorised as the 'historic' Taliesin poems, together with one poem to Cynan Garwyn, one to Owain ab Urien, and two to Gwallog ap Llênog.[59] The dating of these poems is still hotly debated between those who see the poems as reflecting early material, and those who favour a later date.[60]

These poems are in sometimes obscure language and do not offer very much in the way of clear biographical information about Urien, though fleeting references to Urien as 'lord of Catraeth' have led to much speculation about his involvement in the Battle of Catraeth.[61] Much of the place-name evidence of these poems is understood to refer to places in modern-day Cumbria, though Urien is also said to have led battle in the area of the River Ayr, in the Brythonic-speaking kingdom of Strathclyde, and perhaps against the Picts.[62] He is also recorded as fighting against the English, much like he is said to have done in the Historia Brittonum.[63] One poem mentions Urien and Owain as having fought one 'Fflamddwyn' (meaning 'flame-bearing'), which has been traditionally identified as a kenning referring to one of Ida's sons, perhaps even Theodric, since Owain ab Urien is praised for killing Fflanddwyn alongside a 'broad host of English' in another poem.[64] Nevertheless, Urien is far more often mentioned fighting other Britons or the Picts than the English. The two most technically accomplished poems in the corpus are generally taken to be 'Uryen yr echwyd', and 'Gweith argoet llwyfein'.[65] There is also one dadolwch, or reconciliation-poem, among these poems, implying that Taliesin ran afoul of Urien at some point and was obliged to get back into his good graces.[66]

Later Welsh material

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Saga poetry and Canu Urien

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Due to his appearance in early poetry and place in the narrative of the Historia Brittonum, Urien became a figure in the body of later Welsh literature concerning the 'Old North', which functioned as the setting for much medieval Welsh literature.[67] One such piece of literature concerning Urien, or more accurately Urien's sons, is fittingly called the 'Urien Rheged' cycle (Welsh: Canu Urien) by modern scholars, as the poems are concerned with the events in Rheged after the killing of Urien.[68] The poems survive mainly from two Middle Welsh manuscripts, the Black Book of Carmarthen (c. 1250) and the Red Book of Hergest (after 1382). Nevertheless, Canu Urien is generally understood to be a copy Old Welsh-period material, dated to around the same period of the Historia Brittonum.[69][70] This material is called 'saga poetry' by comparison with Icelandic sagas, both because like the Icelandic material, the Welsh poems are thought to have been taken from longer, partly prose (or oral) works, and because they both might reflect earlier history through a literary lens.[71]

Though one of Urien's allies in the narrative of the Historia Brittonum was Gwallog ap Llênog, he is recorded as having fought against Urien's son Elffin in another one of the poems in this cycle, "Dwy Blaid". Likewise, one Dunod fought with Owain, while Brân ab Ymellyrn and Morgan – the orderer of Urien's killing – fought the narrator.[72] The identification of the narrator of these poems has been the subject of some debate. Ifor Williams understood him to be Llywarch Hen, Urien's cousin and the subject of his own cycle of poems lamenting his old age.[73] However, Jenny Rowland thought he must be some other figure, perhaps one of Urien's nephews by his sister Efrddyl, since their grief may be emphasised due to their conflicting ties of kindred, and that Llywarch was not in her eyes a heroic figure.[74] In response to this, Patrick Sims-Williams put forth powerful arguments based on the text and its history to identify the narrator with Llywarch Hen after all, chief among them the fact that the narrator addresses Urien as keuynderw 'first cousin', and that the weight of evidence about Llywarch in the eyes of later medieval Welshmen suggests they viewed him as a great warrior, even as he suffered in old age.[75]

The most impactful and moving poems from this cycle are given the titles "Pen Urien" (Urien's Head) and "Celain Urien" (Urien's corpse) by modern scholarship.[76] They relate the immediate aftermath of Urien's killing, with the name of the assassin given in another poem as Llofan Llaw Ddifro.[77] In "Pen Urien" and "Celain Urien", the narrator was forced to finish Urien off and strike off his head, with the implication that it was unsafe to carry Urien's entire body home for burial. The narrator laments his fortune that he must leave the body of his caring lord behind and curses his hand for carrying out this grim task.

Canu Urien §§7–27, 'Pen Urien' and 'Celain Urien' (Jesus MS 111)[78]
"Pen Urien" (Welsh) English translation "Celain Urien" (Welsh) English translation
Penn a borthaf ar [uyn] tu.
bu kyrchynat rwng deulu.
mab kynuarch balch bieiuu.		 I carry a head on my side:
he was an attacker between two hosts,
the proud son of Cynfarch is he whose it was.		 Y gelein veinwen a oloir hediw.
a dan brid a mein.
gwae vy llaw llad tat owein.		 The slender white corpse is being buried today
under soil and stones.
Alas, my hand, for the killing of Owain's father.
Penn a borthaf ar vyn tu.
penn uryen llary llywei llu.
ac ar y vronn wenn vran du.		 I carry a head on my side,
the head of generous Urien – he used to lead a host.
And on his white breast is a black raven.		 Y gelein ueinwen a oloir hediw.
ymplith prid a derw.
gwae vy llaw llad vyg keuynderw.		 The slender white corpse is being buried today
in soil and an oak coffin.
Alas, my hand, for the killing of my cousin.
Penn a borthaf mywn vyg crys.
penn vryen llary llywyei llys.
ac ar y vronn wen vrein ae hys.		 I carry a head on my belt,
the head of generous Urien – he used to rule a court.
And ravens on his white breast consume him.		 Y gelein ueinwenn a oloir [hediw]
a dan vein a edewit.
gwae vy llaw llam rym tynghit.		 The slender white corpse is being buried today –
under stones it has been left.
Alas, my hand, for the fate which was fated for me.
Penn a borthaf ym nedeir.
yr yrechwyd oed uugeil.
teyrnvron treulyat gennweir.		 I carry a head in my hand.
He was shepherd over Erechwydd,
lord and soldier, a spender of spears.		 Y gelein veinwen a oloir [hediw]
ymplith prid a thywarch
gwae vy llaw llad mab kynuarch.		 The slender white corpse is being buried today
amidst soil and sods.
Alas, my hand, for the killing of the son of Cynfarch.
Penn a borthaf tu mordwyt.
oed ysgwyt ar wlat. oed olwyn yg kat.
oed cledyr cat kywlat rwyt.		 I carry a head on the side of my thigh.
He was a shield over the country, a wheel in battle,
he was a prop in war, a snare of the enemy.		 Y gelein ueinwenn a oloir hediw.
dan weryt ac arwyd.
gwae vy llaw llad vy arglwyd.		 The slender white corpse is being buried today
under earth and a standard.
Alas, my hand, for the killing of my lord.
Penn a borthaf ar vyg kled.
gwell y vyw nogyt y ued.
oed dinas y henwred.		 I carry a head on my right side –
better he alive than in his grave.
He was a fortress for the aged.		 Y gelein ueinwen aoloir hediw
a dan brid athywawt
gwae vy llaw llam rym daerawt.		 The slender white corpse is being buried today
under soil and sand.
Alas, my hand, for the fate which has befallen me.
Penn a borthaf o godir.
penawc pellynnyawc y luyd
[penn] vryen geiryawe glotryd.		 I carry a head from the region of Pennawg –
his hosts were far-travelling –
the head of eloquent and celebrated Urien.		 Y gelein veinwenn a oloir hediw.
a dan brid a dynat.
gwae vy llaw llam rym gallat.		 The slender white corpse is being buried today
under soil and nettles.
Alas, my hand, for the fate which has been brought about for me.
Penn a borthaf ar vy ysgwyd.
nym aruollei waratwyd.
gwae vy llaw llad vy arglwyd.		 I carry a head on my shoulder –
shame did not use to receive me –
alas, my hand, (for) the striking of my lord.		 Y gelein veinwen aoloir hediw
a dan brid a mein glas.
gwae vy llaw llam rym gallas.		 The slender white corpse is being buried today
under soil and grey stones.
Alas, my hand – it caused my fate.
Penn a borthaf ar vym breich.
neus goruc o dir bryneich.
gwedy gawr gelorawr veich.		 I carry a head on my arm.
He made of the Bernicians
after battle a burden for biers.
Pen a borthaf o dv Paul
pen vrien udd dragonawl
a chyd del dydd brawd ni'm tawr		 I carry a head from the side of a post,
the head of Urien, a warlike lord,
and though Judgment Day were to come I do not care.
Penn a borthaf yn aghat vy llaw.
llary ud llywyei wlat.
penn post prydein ry allat.		 I carry a head in the grasp of my hand
of a generous lord - he used to lead a country.
The chief support of Britain has been carried off.
Penn a borthaf am porthes.
neut atwen nat yr vylles.
gwae vy law llym digones.		 I carry a head which cared for me.
I know it is not for my good.
Alas, my hand, it performed harshly.
Penn a borthaf o du riw.
[ar] y eneu ewynvriw.
gwaet gwae reget o hediw.		 I carry a head from the side of the hill
and on his lips is a fine foam
of blood. Woe to Rheged because of this day.
[Ry] thyrvis vym breich ry gardwys vy eis.
vyg callon neur dorres
penn a borthaf am porthes.		 It has wrenched my arm, it has crushed my ribs,
it has broken my heart.
I carry a head which cared for me.

Urien in other medieval Welsh literature

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Urien is mentioned in passing in the Llywarch Hen cycle, poems about the sufferings of his cousin Llywarch and written with the poet speaking from Llywarch's point of view. They are, like Canu Urien, certainly later than Llywarch and Urien's time. Urien is recorded as supplying Llywarch's last surviving son Gwên with a horn which Llywarch advises Gwên to blow if he needs aid while on guard at night.[79]

In the mnemonic devices known as the Welsh Triads, intended for poets to recall traditional stories, Urien is mentioned repeatedly. These mostly agree with the testimony of the Historia Brittonum and the other early sources, though there are some references to the later traditions.[80] Urien is one of the 'Three Armoured Warriors', 'Three battle-rulers', and 'Three Holy Womb-burdens'. The latter gives his mother as Nefyn ferch Brychan Brycheiniog, and his wife as Modron ferch Afallach. Likewise, his killing at the hands of Llofan Llaw Ddifo is one of the 'Three Unfortunate Slaughters'.[81] There are chronological impossibilities with associating his wife with a daughter of Brychan, however, and Modron is a purely legendary figure, whose first association with Urien is in this triad.[82] Nevertheless, these show the enduring interest in Urien in the later Middle Ages, and the invention of tradition to satisfy continued regard for his life and deeds.[83]

As well as Taliesin, Urien was supposed to have employed a poet named Tristfardd (literally 'sad poet'), as recorded in another triad, which calls Tristfardd one of the 'Three Red-Speared Bards'.[84] Three englynion preserved in a very late manuscript record a story recounting how this Tristfardd secretly courted Urien's wife, and, not recognising the king, sent a disguised Urien to send a message to her. Urien slew Tristfardd for this offence at 'Rhyd Tristfardd', supposed to be in Radnorshire.[85] This is a late tradition, and runs contrary to the association of Urien with Taliesin and the very strong association of Urien with the North, though it seems probable that this story was affixed to the name of Trisfardd even later than his appearance in the Triads.[86]

Literature about Urien, whether reflecting early material or not, seems to have circulated in more channels than survive to the present. This can be evidenced by the twelfth-century poet Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr's attribution of the 'wrath of Urien' to his patron Owain Cyfeiliog, using the form Urfoën (Middle Welsh: Uruoen).[87] This reflects an older form of the name *Urbogen which retained the composition vowel also reflected in weakened form in a rendition of Urien's name in the Historia Brittonum, Urbagen.[88] Kenneth Jackson dated the loss of this vowel to the sixth century in Welsh, and Ifor Williams went so far as to say the trisyllabic form must be reinserted in one of the Taliesin poems to rectify a defect in the metre in a line in one poem.[89] Assuming Cynddelw did not independently create this form so that he might fill the metre of this line in his own poem, this gives the tantalising suggestion that he was reading sources about Urien which do not survive to us, or that this name survived in a fossilised spoken form as a part of bardic lore.[90]

The rebellion of Rhys 'FitzUryen' ap Gruffydd

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Like many other figures of the Early Middle Ages in Welsh tradition, Urien captured interest well into a millennium after his death. In the sixteenth century, Rhys ap Gruffydd, a grandson of Rhys ap Thomas who greatly aided Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth Field, was disinherited from his grandfather's estates by order of Henry VIII, who instead gave these lands to Walter Devereux. This greatly incensed Rhys, who began a long feud with Devereux, ultimately culminating in the execution of Rhys on charges of treason. Like Henry Tudor, Rhys tried to weaponise political prophecy to gather support for his cause, and he was accused of going by the name 'FitzUryen' (son of Urien) and attempting to gain support to make himself Prince of Wales independent of Henry with the help of James V of Scotland.[91] Rhys claimed to be a member of the house of Dinefwr, which originated with Rhodri Mawr's son Cadell. Rhodri's ancestry claims an origin from Llywarch Hen, which would make Rhys ap Gruffydd a distant relative of Urien.[92] As Urien was remembered for his battles against the English, the authorities feared he would be able to capitalise on anti-English sentiment in Wales. Urien's son Owain was associated with ravens in later Welsh literature, and Rhys ap Gruffydd, together with his grandfather Rhys ap Thomas, bore three ravens on their coat of arms, which were called the 'ravens of Urien' by contemporaneous poets such as Guto'r Glyn and Lewys Glyn Cothi.[93][94][95]

Urien in Arthurian literature

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Geoffrey of Monmouth, drawing on Welsh sources and his own imagination, adapted Urien into Arthurian legend, and made him known across Europe with the explosive popularity of his Historia Regum Britanniae. In Geoffrey's telling, taken on by many following him, Urien is one of three brothers who ruled Scotland before the Saxon invasion – the others being Lot of Lothian, and Augusel. After freeing Scotland, Arthur restored the throne of Alba to Augusel, and made Urien king of Mureif (perhaps Monreith, or Moray). Urien's son Eventus later succeeds Augusel as king of Alba.[96]

Romances

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Urience slain by his own wife Morgane (succeeding here unlike in medieval tellings) in Eric Pape's illustration for Madison Cawein's 1889 poem "Accolon of Gaul"

In the 13th-century Arthurian chivalric romances, the location of his kingdom is transferred to either the Otherworldly and magical Kingdom of Gorre or Garloth. During the reign of Uther Pendragon, Arthur's father, Urien (or Uriens) marries a sister or half-sister of the young Arthur. She is either Morgan or one of the others, such as Hermesan in the Livre d'Artus and Blasine in Of Arthour and of Merlin.[97] Urien, like the kings of several other lands, initially opposes Arthur's accession to the throne after Uther's death. He and the others rebel against the young monarch (with Urien even briefly kidnapping Arthur's wife Guinevere in the Livre d'Artus).[98] Upon their defeat, he is among the rebel leaders become Arthur's allies and vassals. His marriage to Morgan is not portrayed as a happy one, however, as in a popular version from the Post-Vulgate Cycle (later included in Thomas Malory's influential Le Morte d'Arthur) Morgan plots to use Excalibur to kill both Urien and Arthur and place herself and her lover Accolon on the throne. Morgan fails in both parts of that plan, foiled by their own son and by the Lady of the Lake, respectively.[99]

Urien is usually said to be the father of Ywain (Owain) by Morgan, but many texts also give him a second son, Ywain the Bastard, fathered on his seneschal's wife. Welsh tradition further attributes to him a daughter named Morfydd, daughter of Modron.[100]

According to Roger Sherman Loomis, the name and character of another Arthurian king, Nentres of Garlot (in Malory, the husband of Arthur's sister Elaine), could have been derived from that of Urien.[101] Malory spells Urien's name as Urience of Gorre, which has led some later authors (e.g. Alfred Tennyson) to identify him with Arthur's relentless rival King Rience.[102]

Arms from 15th century France attributed to the Arthurian figure of Urien: Azure, a lion Or, armed and langed Gules.

In the Didot-Perceval manuscript of the Perceval en prose (c. 1200), Perceval fights Urbain, son of the Queen of the Black Thorn (Reine de la Noire Espine) and defender of a ford and an invisible castle. Following Urbain's defeat, a flock of monstrous ravens attacks Perceval, who manages to wound one of them which immediately transforms into a beautiful young girl, soon carried off by the other birds to Avalon. Urbain explains that she is the sister of his fairy mistress and her attendants. According to Loomis, the story's Urbain corresponds to Urien, father of Owain (Yvain) and husband of Morgen (Morgan), the latter being the equivalent of the Welsh Modron and the Irish Morrígan ("Great Queen").[103][104] Note, however, that modern scholarship in the field of Celtic Studies strongly disapproves of this and other mythologising and equation of Welsh and Irish material haphazardly.[105][106]

References

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  1. ^ Flood, Victoria (2016). "Political Prophecy and the Trial of Rhys ap Gruffydd, 1530–31". Studia Celtica. L. University of Wales Press: 133-150 (138-141). doi:10.16922/SC.50.8.
  2. ^ See Sims-Williams, Patrick (1996). "The Death of Urien". Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies. 32. CMCS Publications: 25–56.
  3. ^ Rowland, Jenny, ed. (1990). Early Welsh Saga Poetry: A Study and Edition of the Englynion. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer. p. 91, note 57. ISBN 0-85991-275-2.
  4. ^ Jackson, Kenneth (1963). "On the Northern British Section in Nennius". In Chadwick, Nora K. (ed.). Celt and Saxon: studies in the early British border. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 41–2. ISBN 0-52104-602-5.
  5. ^ One 'Aber Lleu' (mouth of the river Lleu) is mentioned as the spot where Urien is murdered in some of the later material concerning the man. Jenny Rowland rejects Ifor William's identification of Aber Lleu with Ross Low opposite Lindisfarne, citing the dialectical English word low meaning 'a shallow pool left in the sand by the receding tide'. This place-name element occurs repeatedly in other Northumbrian place-names. See Rowland, Jenny, ed. (1990). Early Welsh Saga Poetry: A Study and Edition of the Englynion. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer. p. 91, n. 62 for discussion on the name, p. 423, 'Efrddyl' §30–31 for mention of the place in the text. ISBN 0-85991-275-2. However, Patrick Sims-Williams finds this argument unconvincing, as it is 'too much to be coincidence, especially considering that the poet's Early Old Welsh form of Lleu would presumably have been Lou.' Instead, Sims-Williams derives the 'Low' in Ross Low from the Brittonic word behind Welsh llwch, Old Welsh luch 'lake, pool, stagnant water, marsh,' which is loaned into the very English of that area in the Lindisfarne Gospels as luh glossing Latin fretum 'strait, sound, channel' and stagnum 'pond, swamp, fen, pool.' The loss of final -ch from Welsh to English is due to the fact that Old English would have weakened the sound to -h and then lost it entirely. See Sims-Williams, Patrick (1996). "The Death of Urien". Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies. 32. CMCS Publications: 39–41.
  6. ^ The name of Urien's kindred is variously spelt as Cynferchyn, Cynferching, or Cynfeirching depending on the source. Cynfeirching reflects 'double i-affection', with the vowel -e- changed to -ei- because of the -i- following it, while Cynferchyn/Cynferching does not, and is more common. However, none of these are wrong. For examples of these names, see Rowland, Jenny, ed. (1990). Early Welsh Saga Poetry: A Study and Edition of the Englynion. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer. pp. 93, 94, 98, 587 for 'Cynferchyn', but 119, 238 for 'Cynfeirching'. ISBN 0-85991-275-2. Guy, Ben (2020). Medieval Welsh Genealogy: an Introduction and Textual Study. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. p. 483. ISBN 978-1-78327-513-7. Ben Guy uses 'Cynferchyn', but the editors of Cyfres Beirdd y Tywysogion (following Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr) use 'Cynferching'. See Jones, Nerys Ann; Parry Owen, Ann, eds. (1991). Gwaith Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr (in Welsh). Vol. 1. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 61, poem 5, line 66. ISBN 0-7083-1086-9. On 'double affection', see Jackson, Kenneth (1953). Language and History in Early Britain. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 591–2. ISBN 1-85182-140-6. On the Welsh dynastic suffix -in/-yn/-yng, either derived from a native Proto-Celtic *-icn- or from Old English -ingas, see Sims-Williams, Patrick (2003). The Celtic Inscriptions of Britain: Phonology and Chronology, c. 400-1200. Oxford: Philological Society. pp. 157–8. ISBN 1-4051-0903-3.
  7. ^ Koch, John T., ed. (2006). "Urien of Rheged". Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. pp. 1721–2. ISBN 1-85109-440-7.
  8. ^ Yr Hen Ogledd or 'the Old North' is a term coined by modern scholarship to refer to the formerly British Celtic-speaking regions in what is today the north of England and south of Scotland, which loomed large in the literature of later medieval Wales and stories about which helped to form Welsh self-conceptions of identity in the Middle Ages. Marged Haycock says: "[t]he term gained currency from the late 1960s: ‘the old North’ is used by J. E. Caerwyn Williams [in 1968]... but neither this nor the Welsh phrase was used by Ifor Williams in the original Welsh edition in 1960. Elsewhere, Ifor Williams used Gogledd Coll (the Lost North) [in 1938]... [t]he term ‘British North’ used in the first edition of the triads in 1961 is replaced by yr Hen Ogledd and ‘Old North’ in subsequent editions." See Haycock, Marged (2020). "The Old North in Medieval Wales". In Plumb, Oisín; Sanmark, Alexandra; Heddle, Donna (eds.). What is North? Imagining and Representing the North from Ancient Times to the Present Day. Turnhout: Brepols. p. 54, note 9. ISBN 978-2-503-58502-4.
  9. ^ This is based upon an off-hand remark in a poem by Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd to an imaginary journey to '[C]aer Lliwelyt' in 'Reged' and an obscure reference to the 'Merin Reget' in a thirteenth-century prophecy attributed to Taliesin. See Charles-Edwards, Thomas (2013). Wales and the Britons, 350-1064. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-19-821731-2. The reference in the latter poem is Dydyccawt eniwet / tra Merin Reget; / perif perchen ket / gwledychawt yn Eluet; / hael hydyr y dylif, / goruawr y gynnif. / Wrth awyr volif / Katwaladyr gweith heinif. 'He will carry suffering beyond the Firth of Rheged; a lord (who is the) owner of gift(s) shall rule in Elfed; a generous one, strong his strategy, mighty his struggle. To the skies shall I praise Cadwaladr, energetic in battle.'Haycock, Marged (2013). Prophecies from the Book of Taliesin. Aberystwyth: CMCS Publications. p. 158-9, poem 8, lines 79-86. ISBN 978-0-9557182-7-4. In a different paper, Haycock suggests that 'merin Rheged' is paralleled in the mention of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth going 'tra merin' in a poem by Elidir Sais, which may perhaps be an oblique reference to his joining a campaign of King John of England (Llywelyn's overlord and eventual father-in-law) against the Scots in 1209. See Haycock, Marged (2013). "Beyond the Gododdin: Dark Age Scotland in Medieval Wales". In Woolf, Alex (ed.). Beyond the Gododdin: Dark Age Scotland in Medieval Wales. St Andrews: Committee for Dark Ages Studies. p. 9-40, note 32. ISBN 978-0-9557182-7-4. The former reference to Rheged by Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd is as follows: Arglwyt nef a llaỽr, Gwaỽr Gwyndodyt, / Mor bell o Geri Gaer Lliwelyt! / Esgynneis ar uelyn o Uaelyenyt / Hyd y nhir Reged rỽg nos a dyt. 'Lord of heaven and earth, Prince of the men of Gwynedd, how far from Ceri [is] Carlisle! I rode on a yellow [horse] from Maelienydd until the land of Rheged, between night and day.' See Bramley, Kathleen Anne; Owen, Morfydd E., eds. (1994). Gwaith Llewelyn Fardd I ac eraill o feirdd y ddeuddegfed ganrif (in Welsh). Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 119, poem 6, lines 34-37. ISBN 0-7083-1214-4.
  10. ^ Rodway, Simon (2013). Dating Medieval Welsh Literature: Evidence from the Verbal System. Aberystwyth: CMCS Publications. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-9557182-5-0.
  11. ^ This poem is 'Yspeil Taliessin', see Gwenogvryn Evans, John (1910). Facsimile and Text of the Book of Taliesin. Llanbedrog: to subscribers only. pp. 62·16, 63·16. Note that Gwenogvryn's notes and 'translation' are hopelessly speculative, and were very negatively received by subsequent scholars, with John Morris-Jones even describing his interpretation as 'one huge mistake'. See Morris-Jones, John (1918). "Taliesin". Y Cymmrodor. 28. The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion: 1-290 (149). Nevertheless, despite the deficiencies in Gwenogvryn Evans' translation and notes, his is the only published facsimile of the Book of Taliesin (and it is a good edition, too), but his notes and interpretation should not at all be regarded as reliable. See Williams, Ifor (1968). The Poems of Taliesin. Translated by Williams, J. E. Caerwyn. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. p. xv.
  12. ^ Williams, Ifor (1968). The Poems of Taliesin. Translated by Williams, J. E. Caerwyn. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. pp. xlv–xlviii.
  13. ^ Morris, John, ed. (1980). Nennius: British History and The Welsh Annals. London: Phillimore. p. 79, §63. ISBN 0-85033-298-2.
  14. ^ Bruce, Christopher W. (1999). "Urien". The Arthurian Name Dictionary. New York: Garland. p. 481. ISBN 0-8153-2865-6.
  15. ^ Bruce, Christopher W. (1999). "Yvain1". The Arthurian Name Dictionary. New York: Garland. pp. 502–3. ISBN 0-8153-2865-6.
  16. ^ Haycock, Marged (2020). "The Old North in Medieval Wales". In Plumb, Oisín; Sanmark, Alexandra; Heddle, Donna (eds.). What is North? Imagining and Representing the North from Ancient Times to the Present Day. Turnhout: Brepols. pp. 53–70. ISBN 978-2-503-58502-4.
  17. ^ This is because the name the Historia Brittonum gives the place where Theodric was besieged is the same as where it records Cuthbert as dying, who was bishop of Lindisfarne, though in reality Cuthbert did not die there but rather on Inner Farne. See Morris, John, ed. (1980). Nennius: British History and The Welsh Annals. London: Phillimore. pp. 79–80, §63, 65. ISBN 0-85033-298-2.
  18. ^ For an overview of place-names in the Urien material, see Haycock, Marged (2020). "The Old North in Medieval Wales". In Plumb, Oisín; Sanmark, Alexandra; Heddle, Donna (eds.). What is North? Imagining and Representing the North from Ancient Times to the Present Day. Turnhout: Brepols. pp. 54–59. ISBN 978-2-503-58502-4.
  19. ^ For problems with the place-name 'Yrechwydd' (apparently a core region of Urien's) specifically, see Russell, Paul (2020). "Three notes on Canu Urien". North American Journal of Celtic Studies. 4 (1). Ohio State University Press: 48–78. doi:10.1353/cel.2020.a781249. Archived from the original on 6 January 2025.
  20. ^ Williams, Ifor (1968). The Poems of Taliesin. Translated by Williams, J. E. Caerwyn. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. pp. xxxvii–xlvii.
  21. ^ See again Haycock, Marged (2020). "The Old North in Medieval Wales". In Plumb, Oisín; Sanmark, Alexandra; Heddle, Donna (eds.). What is North? Imagining and Representing the North from Ancient Times to the Present Day. Turnhout: Brepols. pp. 54–59. ISBN 978-2-503-58502-4.
  22. ^ Williams, Ifor (1968). The Poems of Taliesin. Translated by Williams, J. E. Caerwyn. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. pp. ix–xiv.
  23. ^ Sims-Williams, Patrick (1996). "The Death of Urien". Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies. 32. CMCS Publications: 25–56.
  24. ^ Haycock, Marged (2020). "The Old North in Medieval Wales". In Plumb, Oisín; Sanmark, Alexandra; Heddle, Donna (eds.). What is North? Imagining and Representing the North from Ancient Times to the Present Day. Turnhout: Brepols. pp. 66–7. ISBN 978-2-503-58502-4.
  25. ^ Dumville, David, ed. (2002). Annales Cambriae, A.D. 682-954: Texts A–C in Parallel. Cambridge: Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, University of Cambridge. p. vii. ISBN 0-9543186-2-5.
  26. ^ Guy, Ben (2015). "The Origins of the Compilation of Welsh Historical Texts in Harley 3859". Studia Celtica. XLIX. University of Wales Press: 21–56.
  27. ^ Guy, Ben (2015). "The Origins of the Compilation of Welsh Historical Texts in Harley 3859". Studia Celtica. XLIX. University of Wales Press: 55.
  28. ^ HG[§8] [U]rbgen map Cinmarc map Meirchia[un] map Gurgust map Coil Hen. On this, see Guy, Ben (2020). Medieval Welsh Genealogy: an Introduction and Textual Study. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. p. 335 for Urien's patriline just cited, and chapter 2 for the dating of the genealogies. ISBN 978-1-78327-513-7.
  29. ^ Koch, John T., ed. (2006). "Coel Hen". Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. pp. 458–9. ISBN 1-85109-440-7.
  30. ^ Guy, Ben (2020). Medieval Welsh Genealogy: an Introduction and Textual Study. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. p. 427. ISBN 978-1-78327-513-7.
  31. ^ Koch, John T., ed. (2006). "Urien of Rheged". Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. pp. 1721–2. ISBN 1-85109-440-7.
  32. ^ Guy, Ben (2020). Medieval Welsh Genealogy: an Introduction and Textual Study. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. pp. 66–7. ISBN 978-1-78327-513-7.
  33. ^ See Jones, Nerys Ann; Parry Owen, Ann, eds. (1991). Gwaith Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr (in Welsh). Vol. 1. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. pp. 61, poem 5, line 66, and 298, poem 24, line 153. ISBN 0-7083-1086-9. It has been asserted that Urien was a (possibly Pictish!) interloper, therefore, Cynferch may never have ruled. See Parker, Will (2022). "The Coeling: Narrative and Identity in North Britain and Wales AD 580–950". Northern History. 59. Taylor & Francis: 17–21. doi:10.1080/0078172X.2022.2031049.
  34. ^ Morris, John, ed. (1980). Nennius: British History and The Welsh Annals. London: Phillimore. p. 79, §63. ISBN 0-85033-298-2.
  35. ^ Sims-Williams, Patrick (1996). "The Death of Urien". Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies. 32. CMCS Publications: 33.
  36. ^ See the essays (especially I and II) in Dumville, David (1990). Histories and pseudo-histories of the insular Middle Ages. Aldershot: Variorum. ISBN 0-86078-264-6. For a recent speculative critical assessment of the Historia Brittonum, see Parker, Will (2022). "The Coeling: Narrative and Identity in North Britain and Wales AD 580–950". Northern History. 59. Taylor & Francis: 2–27. doi:10.1080/0078172X.2022.2031049.
  37. ^ Morris, John, ed. (1980). Nennius: British History and The Welsh Annals. London: Phillimore. p. 79, §63. ISBN 0-85033-298-2.
  38. ^ Jackson, Kenneth (1963). "On the Northern British Section in Nennius". In Chadwick, Nora K. (ed.). Celt and Saxon: studies in the early British border. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 33. ISBN 0-52104-602-5.
  39. ^ On the invalidity of attributing the text to 'Nennius', see Dumville, David (1990). "'Nennius' and the Historia Brittonum". Histories and pseudo-histories of the insular Middle Ages. Aldershot: Variorum. pp. 78–95. ISBN 0-86078-264-6.
  40. ^ Morris, John, ed. (1980). Nennius: British History and The Welsh Annals. London: Phillimore. p. 79, §63. ISBN 0-85033-298-2.
  41. ^ Guy, Ben (2020). Medieval Welsh Genealogy: an Introduction and Textual Study. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. pp. 66–7. ISBN 978-1-78327-513-7.
  42. ^ Sims-Williams, Patrick (1996). "The Death of Urien". Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies. 32. CMCS Publications: 34–5.
  43. ^ Morris, John, ed. (1980). Nennius: British History and The Welsh Annals. London: Phillimore. p. 79, §63. ISBN 0-85033-298-2.
  44. ^ Parker, Will (2022). "The Coeling: Narrative and Identity in North Britain and Wales AD 580–950". Northern History. 59. Taylor & Francis: 19–20. doi:10.1080/0078172X.2022.2031049.
  45. ^ Lovecy, Ian (1976). "The end of Celtic Britain: a sixth-century battle near Lindisfarne". Archaeologia Aeliana. 5 (4). Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle: 33. doi:10.5284/1060643.
  46. ^ See Jackson, Kenneth (1953). Language and History in Early Britain. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 707–8. ISBN 1-85182-140-6.
  47. ^ Lovecy, Ian (1976). "The end of Celtic Britain: a sixth-century battle near Lindisfarne". Archaeologia Aeliana. 5 (4). Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle: 31–45. doi:10.5284/1060643.
  48. ^ Dumville, David (20 May 1978). ‎. Cylch yr Hengerdd. Oxford.
  49. ^ Rowland, Jenny, ed. (1990). Early Welsh Saga Poetry: A Study and Edition of the Englynion. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer. pp. 90–1. ISBN 0-85991-275-2.
  50. ^ Morris, John, ed. (1980). Nennius: British History and The Welsh Annals. London: Phillimore. pp. 79–80, §63. ISBN 0-85033-298-2.
  51. ^ Sims-Williams, Patrick (1996). "The Death of Urien". Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies. 32. CMCS Publications: 27–31.
  52. ^ While associated with the Romantic idea of the 'bard' for many hundreds of years now, one finds this occupation among Romans as well, e.g. Sidonius Apollinaris' panegyric to Avitus, or Venantius Fortunatus' praise-poems to various Merovingian dynasts, all in Latin. See Sims-Williams, Patrick (1984). "Gildas and vernacular poetry". In Dumville, David N.; Lapidge, Michael (eds.). Gildas: New Approaches. Cambridge: Boydell Press. pp. 169–192. ISBN 0-85115-403-4.
  53. ^ Williams, Ifor (1968). The Poems of Taliesin. Translated by Williams, J. E. Caerwyn. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. p. xiv-xvi.
  54. ^ Williams, Ifor (1968). The Poems of Taliesin. Translated by Williams, J. E. Caerwyn. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. p. xxv.
  55. ^ For the enduring association of Taliesin with Urien, see, e.g. the reference to them made by Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr in the twelfth century: Ny bu warthlef kert Kynuerching werin / O benn Talyessin, bartrin beirtrig 'The verse of the host of the Cynferching was not derisive from the mouth of Taleisin, [who had] the poetic learning of the company of bards'. The 'Cynferching' were the descendants of Cynfarch Oer, Urien's father, so this is an allusion to Urien. See Jones, Nerys Ann; Parry Owen, Ann, eds. (1991). Gwaith Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr (in Welsh). Vol. 1. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 298, poem 24, line 153-4n. ISBN 0-7083-1086-9.
  56. ^ Morris, John, ed. (1980). Nennius: British History and The Welsh Annals. London: Phillimore. pp. 79, §62. ISBN 0-85033-298-2.
  57. ^ Sims-Williams, Patrick (1996). "The Death of Urien". Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies. 32. CMCS Publications: 28.
  58. ^ For an edition and translation of the legendary poetry, see Haycock, Marged (2007). Legendary Poems from the Book of Taliesin. Aberystwyth: CMCS Publications. ISBN 0-95571-828-7. For the prophecies in the voice of Taliesin, see Haycock, Marged (2013). Prophecies from the Book of Taliesin. Aberystwyth: CMCS Publications. ISBN 0-95571-827-9. Urien is not the focus of any of the legendary poetry.
  59. ^ Williams, Ifor (1968). The Poems of Taliesin. Translated by Williams, J. E. Caerwyn. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. p. xiv-xxiii.
  60. ^ For an overview of the different positions on these poems, see Rodway, Simon (2013). Dating Medieval Welsh Literature: Evidence from the Verbal System. Aberystwyth: CMCS Publications. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-9557182-5-0. Only the poems edited by Ifor Williams as numbers II and VI have been rejected as authentic to an early period on linguistic grounds, though not without objections.
  61. ^ Williams, Ifor (1968). The Poems of Taliesin. Translated by Williams, J. E. Caerwyn. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. pp. 2, poem II, lines 1–2, p. 9, poem VIII, l. 9. For the implications of this, see, Koch, John, T. (1997). The Gododdin of Aneirin: Text and Context from Dark-Age North Britain. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. pp. xiv–vi, xxv–xxxiv, and throughout. ISBN 0-7083-1374-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Koch argues that Urien was the leader of the opposing force to those memorialised in Y Gododdin, together with Gwallog.
  62. ^ Williams, Ifor (1968). The Poems of Taliesin. Translated by Williams, J. E. Caerwyn. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. pp. 2, poem II, line 6n, p. 7, poem VII, line 12, p. 8, poem VIII, line 22.
  63. ^ Williams, Ifor (1968). The Poems of Taliesin. Translated by Williams, J. E. Caerwyn. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. p. 3, poem III, line 9.
  64. ^ Williams, Ifor (1968). The Poems of Taliesin. Translated by Williams, J. E. Caerwyn. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. pp. 6–7, poem VI, lines 3-19, p. 11 poem IX, lines 11-14. For the identification of Fflamddwyn with a son of Ida, see p. lxi.
  65. ^ Williams, Ifor (1968). The Poems of Taliesin. Translated by Williams, J. E. Caerwyn. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. pp. 3–4, poem III, pp. 67, poem VI.
  66. ^ Williams, Ifor (1968). The Poems of Taliesin. Translated by Williams, J. E. Caerwyn. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. p. 11, poem IX. The dadolwch was practiced by Welsh poets who offended their patrons well into the late Middle Ages, where one may find plenty of examples.
  67. ^ Rowland, Jenny, ed. (1990). Early Welsh Saga Poetry: A Study and Edition of the Englynion. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer. pp. 7–8. ISBN 0-85991-275-2.
  68. ^ Rowland, Jenny, ed. (1990). Early Welsh Saga Poetry: A Study and Edition of the Englynion. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer. p. 75. ISBN 0-85991-275-2.
  69. ^ Rowland, Jenny, ed. (1990). Early Welsh Saga Poetry: A Study and Edition of the Englynion. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer. pp. 388–9. ISBN 0-85991-275-2.
  70. ^ Sims-Williams, Patrick (1996). "The Death of Urien". Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies. 32. CMCS Publications: 38.
  71. ^ Rowland, Jenny, ed. (1990). Early Welsh Saga Poetry: A Study and Edition of the Englynion. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer. pp. 1–3. ISBN 0-85991-275-2.
  72. ^ Rowland, Jenny, ed. (1990). Early Welsh Saga Poetry: A Study and Edition of the Englynion. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer. p. 425, 'Dwy Blaid'. ISBN 0-85991-275-2.
  73. ^ Williams, Ifor, ed. (1935). Canu Llywarch Hen (in Welsh). Cardiff: University of Wales Press. pp. 12–13, 'Pen Urien', pp. xi-xii, 'Celain Urien'.
  74. ^ Rowland, Jenny, ed. (1990). Early Welsh Saga Poetry: A Study and Edition of the Englynion. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer. pp. 82–84, 111–4. ISBN 0-85991-275-2.
  75. ^ Sims-Williams, Patrick (1996). "The Death of Urien". Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies. 32. CMCS Publications: 49–56.
  76. ^ See Williams, Ifor, ed. (1935). Canu Llywarch Hen (in Welsh). Cardiff: University of Wales Press. pp. 12–13, 'Pen Urien', pp. 14-15, 'Celain Urien'.
  77. ^ Rowland, Jenny, ed. (1990). Early Welsh Saga Poetry: A Study and Edition of the Englynion. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer. pp. 422–3, Canu Urien §45. ISBN 0-85991-275-2..
  78. ^ Text and translation taken from Rowland, Jenny, ed. (1990). Early Welsh Saga Poetry: A Study and Edition of the Englynion. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer. pp. 420–22, 477–478. ISBN 0-85991-275-2.
  79. ^ Rowland, Jenny, ed. (1990). Early Welsh Saga Poetry: A Study and Edition of the Englynion. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer. pp. 404–6, 'Gwên and Llywarch', §10. ISBN 0-85991-275-2.
  80. ^ Bromwich, Rachel, ed. (2014). Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain (4th ed.). Cardiff: University of Wales Press. pp. 12, §6, p. 48, §25, p. 195 §70. ISBN 978-1-78316-145-4.
  81. ^ Bromwich, Rachel, ed. (2014). Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain (4th ed.). Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 75, §33. ISBN 978-1-78316-145-4.
  82. ^ Bromwich, Rachel, ed. (2014). Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain (4th ed.). Cardiff: University of Wales Press. pp. 197–8. ISBN 978-1-78316-145-4.
  83. ^ Despite what one might find in earlier scholarship, and reams of sources online, there is no good reason to claim that these stories about character such as Modron reflect some kind of older, pagan connection, as the names which appear to be survivals from pre-Christian religion do not necessarily bear any relation to their pagan forebears. Take, for example, the name Llywelyn, which is *Lugu-belinos, two pagan gods smashed together, but a name given to perfectly ordinary and historic men, and devoted Christians, too. See Rodway, Simon (2018). "The Mabinogi and the shadow of Celtic mythology" (PDF). Studia Celtica. LII. University of Wales Press: 67–85. doi:10.16922/SC.52.4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2024. For the derivation of Llywelyn, see Jackson, Kenneth (1953). Language and History in Early Britain. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 414. ISBN 1-85182-140-6. In the Middle Ages, it appears that people just associated these names with great antiquity, and so recycled them for use in stories about their legendary past, of which Urien plays a part.
  84. ^ Bromwich, Rachel, ed. (2014). Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain (4th ed.). Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 20, §11. ISBN 978-1-78316-145-4.
  85. ^ Bromwich, Rachel, ed. (2014). Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain (4th ed.). Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 507. ISBN 978-1-78316-145-4.
  86. ^ Bromwich, Rachel, ed. (2014). Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain (4th ed.). Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 508. ISBN 978-1-78316-145-4.
  87. ^ Jones, Nerys Ann; Parry Owen, Ann, eds. (1991). Gwaith Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr (in Welsh). Vol. 1. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 192, poem 16, line 97. ISBN 0-7083-1086-9.
  88. ^ Morris, John, ed. (1980). Nennius: British History and The Welsh Annals. London: Phillimore. p. 50, †Praefatio†. ISBN 0-85033-298-2.
  89. ^ Jackson, Kenneth (1953). Language and History in Early Britain. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 647–8. ISBN 1-85182-140-6. Williams, Ifor (1968). The Poems of Taliesin. Translated by Williams, J. E. Caerwyn. Dublin: Institute for Advanced Studies. p. 2, poem II, l. 32n, p. xxxvii.
  90. ^ Andrews, Celeste L. (2019). "What Did Cynddelw Know About the Old North?". Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium. 39. Harvard University Press: 39–52 (43–44).
  91. ^ Flood, Victoria (2016). "Political Prophecy and the Trial of Rhys ap Gruffydd, 1530–31". Studia Celtica. L. University of Wales Press: 133-150 (138-141). doi:10.16922/SC.50.8.
  92. ^ However, it appears that Rhys claimed direct descent from Urien, perhaps a confusion on the part of later tradition. Note that other, similarly late medieval families claimed descent from Urien's sons, see Bartrum, Peter, ed. (1974). Welsh genealogies AD 300–1400. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. pp. 11, 51, etc. ISBN 0-7083-0561-X.
  93. ^ Bromwich, Rachel, ed. (2014). Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain (4th ed.). Cardiff: University of Wales Press. pp. 468–70, 512. ISBN 978-1-78316-145-4.
  94. ^ Williams, Ifor, ed. (1961). Gwaith Guto'r Glyn (in Welsh). Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 264, poem 101, line 34. ISBN 0-7083-0240-8.
  95. ^ Johnston, Dafydd (1995). Gwaith Lewys Glyn Cothi (in Welsh). Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 261, poem 115, line 50. ISBN 0-7083-1253-5.
  96. ^ Bromwich, Rachel, ed. (2014). Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain (4th ed.). Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 511. ISBN 978-1-78316-145-4.
  97. ^ Bruce, Christopher W. (1999). "Urien". The Arthurian Name Dictionary. New York: Garland. p. 481. ISBN 0-8153-2865-6.
  98. ^ Bruce, Christopher W. (1999). "Urien". The Arthurian Name Dictionary. New York: Garland. p. 481. ISBN 0-8153-2865-6.
  99. ^ Bruce, Christopher W. (1999). "Urien". The Arthurian Name Dictionary. New York: Garland. p. 481. ISBN 0-8153-2865-6.
  100. ^ Bruce, Christopher W. (1999). "Urien". The Arthurian Name Dictionary. New York: Garland. p. 481. ISBN 0-8153-2865-6.
  101. ^ Loomis, Roger Sherman (1930). "Some Names in Arthurian Romance". Proceedings of the Modern Language Association. 45 (2). Cambridge University Press: 416–443. doi:10.2307/457801. "A king whose name appears in the Vulgate Cycle frequently as Uentres or Nentres was derived from the name Urien, borne originally by a king of the Britons of Strathclyde in the seventh century. Besides the test of an established transmission that derivation can be supported by two other tests: a community of relationships between Urien and Uentres, and an explanation of the latter corrupt form. According to the Huth Merlin, Morgain is given in marriage to Urien of Garlot; according to the English Merlin, Morgan, a bastard daughter of Ygerne, is given to Neutre of Sorhaut. (...) Urien is king of Garlot in the Huth Merlin, and of Gorre in Malory, but Sorhaut is a city within his borders. So marked an equation of Urien and Uentres as husbands of Morgain and as lords of Garlot and Sorhaut should suggest a confusion between the names."
  102. ^ Tennyson, Alfred (1983). Idylls of the King. London: Penguin. p. 22, line 36, p. 24, line 111, see note 36 on p. 306. ISBN 978-0-140-42253-5.
  103. ^ Loomis, Roger Sherman (1930). "More Celtic Elements in Gawain and the Green Knight". The Journal of English and Germanic Philology. 42 (2). University of Illinois Press: 149-184 (173-4).
  104. ^ Loomis, Roger Sherman (1930). "The Combat at the Ford in the Didot Perceval". Modern Philology. 43 (1). University of Chicago Press: 63–71.
  105. ^ Irslinger, Britta (2017). "Medb 'the intoxicating one'? (Re-)constructing the past through etymology". Ulidia. 4. Four Courts Press: 38–94.
  106. ^ Rodway, Simon (2018). "The Mabinogi and the shadow of Celtic mythology" (PDF). Studia Celtica. LII. University of Wales Press: 67–85. doi:10.16922/SC.52.4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2024.
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