Person Page - 1641

     GAV-46 EDV-46 GKJ-47.

     GAV-47 EDV-47 GKJ-48.

; [Ashley, p. 718] OCTAVIUS or EUDAF (or EUDAV) A shadowy semi-legendary ruler who almost certainly has some base in reality but who, like ARTHUR, has merged mostly into myth and fantasy. He appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's unreliable History, where he usurps the throne after CON5TANTINE left England for Rome which, in Geoffrey's chronology, is about the year 308. Octavius was soon dethroned by the general Trahern and fled to Norway, but he returned with an army, defeated Trahern, and reigned thereafter for many years. Geoffrey suggests he reigned until the time of GRATIAN, but as that was a hundred years later we can rule that out. Even ruling until the time of Maximianus (see MAGNU5 MAXIMUS) is pushing matters, as that is a gap of seventy-five years. Nevertheless, Geoffrey clearly believed Octavius ruled for many years in the middle of the fourth century, and Welsh tradition has just such a king at that time: Eudes or Euidaf, who was descended from LUCIUS. Euidaf was known as the duke or warlord of the Gewisse. The Gewisse is a name that we encounter again, particularly in connection with CERDIC. Its meaning is not entirely clear, as in Cerdic's day it was used to mean a confederacy of tribes. It may have meant that in Euidaf's day, since he seems to have commanded the British tribes focused on his own territory in southern Wales, around Gwent. Almost all of the later rulers of southern Wales claim descent from Euidaf. Tradition states that he married a daughter of Carausius, the Roman commander of the Saxon Shore, and had at least four children. Helena or Elen married Magnus Maximus, whose daughter Severa married VORTIGERN. His eldest son, Erbin, seems to have ruled in Gwent and passed the kingdom on to his son ERB. Another of Euidaf's sons, CYNAN, became ruler of Dumnonia, whilst Cynan's grandson Cynan Meriadoc (whom Geoffrey calls Octavius's nephew) became the first king of Brittany. Euidaf is sufficiently entrenched in Welsh tradition to be regarded as a real individual who held power in southern and central Wales around the period 350-80 and possibly beyond. His sons and grandsons enter the dawn of recorded history at the start of the fifth century.¹

     Elen (?) married Magnus Maximus (?)²

     GAV-45 EDV-45.

     Magnus Maximus (?) married Elen (?), daughter of Eudaf (?).¹

Magnus Maximus (?) died on 28 July 388.¹
     GAV-45 EDV-45. He was Emperor of Western Rome (Britain, Spain, Gaul): [Ashley, pp. 91-92] MAGNUS MAXIMUS or MACSEN WLEDIG (LEADER) or MAXIMIANUS Emperor of Western Rome (Britain, Spain, Gaul), 25 August 383-28 July 388. The period from 367 to 383 had been an unsettling one in Britain. The island became increasingly subject to attacks, both from Germanic tribes and from Picts and Irish. By 367 the problem was at such a height, with the death of the Roman duke, Fullofaudes, that the emperor Valentinian sent an army into Britain under the command of Theodosius the Elder, a Spanish general. Magnus Maximus, another Spanish soldier, accompanied Theodosius. Within two years Theodosius had brought matters under control and established a new administration. However, the British nobility now felt the poorer, and the strict rule of the young new emperor, Gratian, caused unrest in Britain. In 383 the Roman army in Britain declared Maximus emperor. Maximus had stayed on in Britain after Theodosius's campaign and had established himself with considerable authority and popularity. It is probable that he had attained the title of duke. In 382 he had achieved a strong victory over another uprising of Picts. Within months of the soldiers declaring Maximus emperor, he raised an army and sailed to France where he engaged Gratian in battle outside Paris. After five days Gratian fled. Soldiers caught and killed him at Lyons on 25 August 383, though not under the orders of Maximus. Maximus was rapidly accepted as emperor in the West, a position acknowledged by Theodosius the Younger, who was emperor in the East. Maximus held his court at Trier on the Moselle.
Maximus was clearly a popular emperor, despite the fact that he had to levy high taxes to sustain his army. He was Christian and was highly respected by the Church, though his strict catholic outlook led to him ordering the death of heretics, particularly the Gnostic Priscillianists in Spain. By 386 he became increasingly certain that he needed to move into Italy which nominally was still under the control of the youth Valentinian II. He prepared his way carefully and, by January 388, was successfully installed in Rome. Now feeling under threat Theodosius brought his better trained forces against Maximus who, after a few engagements, was defeated and captured. Although Theodosius was prepared to be lenient, Maximus was killed by a group of soldiers on 28 July 388. His son, Victor, whom he had made Caesar, was captured in Gaul and killed.
Maximus left a remarkable legacy in British folklore. He was readily adopted into the fabric of British history where he became Macsen Wledig, the latter a title reserved for a few leaders who emerged from the landed gentry. He is reputed to have married Elen, or Helen, the daughter of Eudaf (or Odes, or OCTAVIUS) the Ruler of the Gewisse in southern Wales, and his own daughter Servia or Severa, married VORTIGERN, the later high king of Britain. Through his children Macsen became credited as the father of the later rulers of Gwent and Glamorgan, including ERB and the fabled ARTHUR, and Britain's first high king, OWAIN. Such was the impact of Maximus's achievement in attaining the throne of Rome, that many British rulers endeavoured to claim descent from him. What is uncertain now is how many of these genealogies are rigged or whether there is some essence of truth. Maximus did live in Britain for sixteen years before being raised to the Purple, and he was evidently extremely popular.
The legacy of Maximus's campaign was, however, to weaken an already weakening Britain. Although he did not withdraw all the forces from the island, he certainly withdrew a substantial number. There is no doubt that as a seasoned campaigner he would not have left the island undefended, and this is probably where the origins of other royal families arose. It is probable that Maximus installed some strong commanders in the territory between the Hadrianic and Antonine Walls who became the forebears of later rulers. These would include Quintilius, or Cinhil, the grandfather of CERETIC of Alclud, and Padarn of the Red Cloak, grandfather of CUNEDDA. It is also possible that Maximus established the arrangement of a strong Irish leadership, under EOCHAID in Demetia (south-west Wales), and the colony of Britons in Armorica (Brittany) in Northern France. His period as emperor was brief, but his impact on the emerging kingships in Britain was considerable. between 25 August 383 and 28 July 388.¹

     Severa (?) married Vortigern (?)²

     GAV-44 EDV-44.

     Owain (?) died circa 425.²
     He was alleged High King of Britain [Ashley, p. 109] OWAIN Alleged High King of Britain, c41 1-c425. The very existence of Owain is dubious - he is known only from the Welsh Triads. Yet it seems necessary to bridge the gap between the withdrawal of Britain from the Roman Empire under its own last claimant to the imperial throne, CONSTANTINE III, and the rise to power of local kings COEL and VORTIGERN. Tradition has made Owain the son of MAGNUS MAXIMUS, and synonymous with EUGENIUS, a former claimant to the Roman purple who survived briefly between 392 and 394. Since Eugenius was dead by 411, he cannot be the same Owain that tradition states was elected as the first High King of Britain since the arrival of the Romans, but tradition may have confused fact with fancy and Eugenius is the most likely candidate for Owain. Even if he did not exist he is a convenient personification for government in Britain after the removal of Roman authority. There was a strong need for some form of continuing control. Not only was there the threat from the Germanic armies in Gaul, but the Picts posed a constant threat to the north and the Irish to the west. According to Gildas, it was a period of civil war and famine. Owain's period as governor, king or administrator was thus fraught with problems, and there is no evidence that he was able to tackle them successfully. He has been associated with AMBROSIUS. between 411 and 425.¹

     Vortigern (?) married Severa (?), daughter of Magnus Maximus (?) and Elen (?).¹

Vortigern (?) died circa 480.¹
     GAV-44 EDV-44. He was High King of Britain, [Ashley, pp. 109-110] VORTIGERN High King of Britain, c425-c466; c471-c480. Vortigern is a title, not a name, and means "High King". Its Welsh equivalent was Gwrtheyrn Gwrthenau, or Vortigern the Thin. It is possible that his real name was Vitalinus, or that this was his father's name, and evidence of his existence has been found in the archeological remains of a villa near Gloucester. Although the later literary tradition has blackened Vortigern's reputation, making him something of a traitor to the British, in the years after his death Welsh leaders were proud to claim their descent from him. It seems that his successors through PASCENT ruled mid-east Wales around Wroxeter, and four centuries after his death, CYNGEN AP CADELL of Powys claimed he was a direct descendant. It is difficult to extract the fact from fiction, but the essence is as follows. Vortigern came to power some time around the year -425. He was probably the first post-Roman ruler to be declared High King of Britain, though this title may also have been bestowed upon OWAIN the son of MAGNUS MAXIMUS or upon AMBROSIUS THE ELDER. Tradition states that Vortigern married a daughter of Magnus Maximus called Servia. For over twenty years Vortigern led the organization and defence of Britain. Some of this may have been in conjunction with COEL HEN of Northern Britain, who seems to have been his contemporary. Vortigern was probably the High King at the time of the visit of Germanus in 428 or 429, who came at the request of the British church to root out and destroy the followers of Pelagius. This was a period of continued civil war, famine and raids from the Picts, Irish and Saxons. The first significant Saxon raid is recorded as happening at about the same time as Germanus's visit, in 429. At some stage Vortigern seems to have caused the enmity of Ambrosius the Elder for the two clashed in battle at Guoloph or Wallop in Hampshire in 437. Vortigern's endeavours to defend Britain became increasingly difficult and eventually, around the year 449, he and his council of elders took the decision to buy the help of Saxon mercenaries who had been displaced from their lands in Jutland. These mercenaries, under HENGEST, helped the British drive back the Picts and, in return, Vortigern gave them the Isle of Thanet in which to settle. Over the next five years the Saxon settlement grew in power and in 455 they rebelled. Later tradition states that Vortigern had become infatuated with Hengest's daughter Rowena, and had been given her in marriage in exchange for more land. The British now feared the Saxon might. VORTIMER, Vortigern's son, overthrew his father and embarked upon a war with the Saxons. He was, however, killed in battle (though other sources say he was poisoned), and Vortigern returned to rule. He was, however, now an old man, and unable to wield the authority he did in earlier years. It is possible that this later Vortigern is a different king, the son or grandson of Vortigern I, who assumed the title of High King. Around the year 466 AMBROSIU5 AURELIANUS appears as rival warlord. He drove Vortigern into Wales where he remained a ruler around Powys (seepage 156).
In addition to Vortimer and Pascent, Vortigern was the father of Cattegirn, who was killed fighting the Saxons, and Faustus, who became a bishop in Gaul. Faustus was rumoured to be the child of an incestuous relationship between Vortigern and his daughter. There are many other legends associated with Vortigern, most notably his role in the discovery of Merlin, when he wanted to know why the fortress he was trying to build in Snowdonia kept collapsing. Merlin stated that it was built upon a site where two dragons fought and he predicted Vortigern's fate to be burned alive in his tower by Ambrosius. between 425 and 480.¹

     Gwawl (?) married Cunedda Wledig ab Edern, son of Edern ap Padarn Beisrudd.²

     GAV-43 EDV-43 GKJ-44.

     Llywarch ap Hyffaidd died in 904.¹
     GAV-30 EDV-30.

; Llywarch ap Hyfaidd, d. 904 [AC] [HG.2: " an unknown place oumarc map Himeyt" (see comment under #393)]
AU = The Annals of Ulster to A.D. 1131, edited by S. Mac Airt and G. Mac Niocaill (Dublin, 1984), also available (without English translation) at the CELT (Corpus of Electronic Texts) website (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/).
HG = Genealogies from Harleian MS. 3859, fo. 193r-195r, edited in EWGT, pp. 9-13 (a copy made ca. 1100 of genealogies compiled probably between 954 and 988.)² He was King of Dyfed - Llywarch was the last recorded ruler of Dyfed. He was deposed and ritually drowned by CADELL AP RHODRI of Gwynedd and his brother, RHODRI, who probably briefly proclaimed his kingship, was soon after beheaded. Llywarch's daughter Elen married HYWEL DDA, and through that marriage Hywel inherited the kingdom. Thereafter Dyfed was incorporated into Deheubarth (see page 330). circa 904.¹

     Hyffaidd ap Bledri died in 893.¹
     GAV-31 EDV-31. He was King of Dyfed, [Ashley, p. 139] HYFAIDD AP BLEDRI Dyfed, fl 880s-893. Hyfaidd emerges as one of the kings of south Wales mentioned by Asser in his life of King Alfred. It seems that Hyfaidd, threatened by the sons of RHODRI THE GREAT, sought the help of ALFRED THE GREAT. Doubt has since been cast on Asser's biography, although there is no reason to doubt the existence of Hyfaidd and the general thrust of the narrative. Hyfaidd is the first named king of Dyfed since the death of TRYFFIN (II) in 814. Whether Dyfed was overrun by Vikings in the intervening sixty or seventy years, or whether their raids destroyed all records of Hyfaidd's predecessors is not clear. It seems that Hyfaidd claimed the Demetian kingdom through his descent from OWAIN AP MAREDUDD, whose daughter was Hyfaidd's mother. The continued Viking threat would have led the Welsh princes and Alfred to unite against a common foe, and the increasing threat of Anarawd and his brothers (particularly CADELL) may have added to the need for an alliance. Hyfaidd's death is recorded in 893. He was succeeded by his son LLYWARCH. between 880 and 893.¹

     Rhodri ap Hyffaidd died circa 905.¹

     Bledri (?) married Tangwystyl ferch Owain, daughter of Owain ap Maredudd.¹

     GAV-32 EDV-32 GKJ-33.

     Tangwystyl ferch Owain married Bledri (?)¹

     GAV-32 EDV-32.

     Owain ap Maredudd died in 811.¹
     GAV-33 EDV-33.

; Leo van de Pas cites: Annales Cambriae.² He was King of Dyfed, [Ashley, p. 138] OWAIN AP MAREDUDD Dyfed, 808-811. There are no details about Owain's brief rule in Dyfed, but it is likely the country became subject to increasing Viking raids and that Owain was killed. He was succeeded by his nephew, TRYFFIN (II). between 808 and 811.¹

     Maredudd ap Tewdws died circa 797.¹
     GAV-34 EDV-34. He was King of Dyfed, [Ashley, p. 137] MAREDUDD AP TEWDWS Dyfed, ? -c797. Little is known of Maredudd's reign. His death is recorded in the Cambrian Annals in 796 or 797. This coincides with a raid upon Dyfed by the Mercians and he may well have been killed in the conflict. He was succeeded by his eldest son RHAIN. before 797.¹

     Rhain II ap Maredudd died in 808.¹
     He was King of Dyfed, [Ashley, pp. 137-138] RHAIN (II) Dyfed, c797-808. Rhain was ruler at a particularly difficult time. Power struggles to the north in Gwynedd and to the east in Gwent, made Dyfed's borders vulnerable, and the coast was becoming increasingly subject to Viking raids. It is likely that the reason both for the short reigns of Rhain's successors and for the lack of information is destruction caused by the Vikings, who in fact may have briefly overrun the kingdom. Rhain was succeeded by his brother OWAIN. between 797 and 808.¹

     Tryffin (?) King of Dyfed died in 814.¹
     He was King of Dyfed, [Ashley, p. 138] TRYFFIN (II) Dyfed, 811-814. The last recorded ruler of Dyfed before a brief hiatus. It is likely that the Vikings raided Dyfed during this period and Tryffin may have been killed in one such raid. No other king is recorded until the time of HYFAIDD AP BLEDRI. between 811 and 814.¹

     GAV-35 EDV-35. Tewdws (Tewdwr) ap Rhain was living in 770; [Ashley, p. 137] TEWDWS or TEWDWR Dyfed, fl 770s. Little is known of his reign. There is a record of the invasion of Dyfed by OFFA of Mercia in 778, and Tewdws may have been killed during that raid. He was succeeded by his son MAREDUDD. It is possible he is the same Tewdws ap Rhain who claimed sovereignty over part of the kingdom of Brycheiniog in rivalry to his kinsman ELWYSTI AB AWST and who subsequently murdered Elwysti. This may account for the confusion over the territory known as Rheinwg between Dyfed and Brycheiniog.¹

     GAV-36 EDV-36. Rhain ap Cadwgon Trydelig was living in 730; RHAIN Dyfed, fl 730s. Fourteenth in descent from EOCHAID and ruler of the Gaelic settlement of Dyfed, Rhain suffered repeated attacks from the rulers of Ceredigion, particularly CLYDOG and his son SEISYLL. Early in his reign, probably in the 730s, it seems that Seisyll succeeded in conquering the territory later known as Ystrad Tywi which thereby came under his rulership as part of the newly named Seisyllwg. Likewise Rhain's reduced kingdom was named, in comparison, as Rheinwg, but the name does not appear to have superseded the more common Dyfed.¹

     GAV-37 EDV-37. Cadwgan Trydelis ap Cathen was living in 700.¹

     GAV-38 EDV-38. Cathen ap Gwlyddien was living in 670; [Ashley, p. 137] It was during the reign of Cathen that ARTGLYS began to establish himself in Ceredigion and we can imagine that some conflict occurred between the two kingdoms that continued throughout the reign of his son Cadwgan to his grandson, RHAIN.¹

     GAV-39 EDV-39. Gwlyddien ap Nowy was living in 640; [Ashley, p. 137] GWLYDDIEN Dyfed, fl 640s. The successor of NOWY. It was during his reign that the Welsh annals record "the hammering of the region of Dyfed" in the year 645. This was probably an onslaught from ARTGLYS of Ceredigion who may have been assisted by the ambitious MORGAN AP ARTHWYR of Gwent, seeking to regain his father's kingdom. Gwlyddien's reign may, therefore, have been short. He was succeeded by CATHEN.¹

     GAV-37 EDV-37. Nowy (Noe) ab Arthwyr was living in 610; [Ashley, p. 137] NOWY or NOE Dyfed, fl 610s. The king-lists of Dyfed show that ARTHWYR was succeeded by Nowy, or Noah. The legendary ARTHUR also had a son called Nowy who died fighting in the West. Nowy was a strongly religious king; he bestowed much land to the church. The exact length of his reign is uncertain, but it is possible he survived well into the 600s. His daughter, Sanan, was the mother of ELISEDD of Powys, who lived in the early 700s.¹

     GAV-38 EDV-38 GKJ-38. Arthwyr ap Pedr was living in 590; [Ashley, p. 136] ARTHWYR Dyfed, fl 590s. The successor of PEDR, Arthwyr is listed amongst the genealogy of Dyfed. The timing would make him a contemporary of ARTHWYR of Gwent and it is possible (though unlikely) that the two were one and the same, and that Arthwyr (one of the candidates for the real King ARTHUR) had extended his kingdom to cover all of South Wales and into Dyfed. If this were so he would have displaced the dynasty of Eochaid, and this is not recorded. Moreover the Arthwyr of Gwent is firmly recorded as the son of MEURIG. Arthwyr of Dyfed was a tyrannical ruler and it is memories of him that created the darker side of the legendary Arthur.¹

     GAV-39 EDV-39. Pedr (?) was living in 570; [Ashley, p. 136] PEDR Dyfed, fl 570s. Successor of CYNGAR. Nothing is known of his reign, but he was a contemporary of RHUN of Gwynedd and may have been a vassal to Rhun's all-powerful kingdom. He would also have faced attack by MEURIG AP TEWDRIG of Gwent who is recorded as having eventually overthrown the Demetian overlordship in southern Wales. If so, then Meurig may have deposed Pedr and installed his own son, ARTHWYR, as ruler.¹

     GAV-40 EDV-40. Cyngar (?) was living in 550; [Ashley, p. 136] CYNGAR Dyfed, fl 550s. The son and successor of VORTEPOR. No other details are known, though it is certain that he would have faced conflict from the sons of MAELGWYN who endeavoured to expand the power of Gwynedd at this time.¹