Amlawdd Wledig

Amlawdd Wledig (alternative spellings: Amlawd, Amlawt, Anlawdd, Anlawd, Amlodd, Amlwyd, Aflawdd, Anblaud; the title of Wledig, Gwledig, Gwledic, Guletic or Guleticus denotes royalty in the Welsh language and it is translated by some as 'prince') was a legendary Dark Age King of Great Britain said to have risen to power after the death of King Euther[ius], otherwise known as Uther Pendragon.

Location

At least two possible locations are suggested for Amlawdd Wledig:

Prior to becoming the King of Britain, Amlawdd is said to have served under Uther Pendragon, holding the titles of 'King of Cornwall' or 'Duke of Cornwall' and 'Count of the Saxon Shore'.^[1]

He is alternatively described as a king of 'some part of Wales, possibly on the border with Herefordshire'.^[2] If it is accepted that King Gwrfoddw of Ergyng (see below under children) is Amlawdd's son, there would be a logic to Amlawdd also having been a king in the Ergyng or Herefordshire area.

Accession, Rule and Death

The British Chronicles state:^[3]

“No one stood out as an obvious candidate to succeed Eutherius on his death, who was survived by nine daughters who were considered ineligible for the succession, which left the throne vacant and the succession wide open for none could decide who was the rightful heir to the throne. In the absence of a recognized heir, civil wars broke-out among the British island-lords, each hoping to obtain the British Crown for themselves, despite the threat of the barbarians at the gate. Votemachus, the British Primate (or Archbishop), negotiated a truce among the warring island-lords to unite against the foreign invaders, who renewed their attacks soon after learning of Euther’s death. The British nobles (came) together in a conference, resolve(d) their differences, and elect(ed) Amlawd “Wledic”, the king/duke of Cornwall, and “Count of the Saxon Shore”, as King of Britain, and Euther’s successor, however [he] was probably never formally crowned due to the on-going barbarian invasion. He, and his son, Natlod, were both generals under the late king, Euther, says the historian, Matthew Paris.

“The Britons, under the leadership of Amlawd “Wledic”, undertook a counter-offensive against the barbarians. The Britons gained some ground but the Saxons reinforced by their countrymen on the European continent retook what they had lost and began again to advance. It was during this period that the “Wansdyke”, a huge earthwork running from Andover, Hampshire to Portishead, Avon, was built by tremendous effort of the Britons as a defensive wall against the invaders. The Saxons, who thought the earthen wall to be superhuman, called it “Woden’s Dyke”. Behind it the Britons prepared to make a last stand against the Teutonic Horde which had overrun the Roman Empire on the European Continent. More battles were fought and Amlawd “Wledic” was able to temporarily hold the line against the invaders, however, was eventually overcome by the successive waves of the barbarians and fell in battle as the “Wansdyke” was overrun after which the Britons were in full-scale retreat. Many Britons fled to Armorica at this time. It was the second migration of the Britons to Armorica (Brittany) in North-West France. The Britons, utterly defeated in battle, were retreating on all fronts. Most of the British nobles (lay) dead on the battlefield along with the British King, Amlawd “Wledic”. These circumstances caused Votemachus, the British Primate (or Archbishop), to assume a leadership role in the time of national emergency and he rallied the Britons against the invaders.”

Family

Ancestry

At least three different genealogies are suggested for Amlawdd Wledig:

• The Bonedd yr Arwyr (Section 31) names Amlawdd as the son of Kynwal, son of Ffrewdwr, son of Gwarvawr/Gwdion, son of Kadif[en]/Kadien (Gadeon), son of Cynan, son of Eudaf, son of Caradoc, son of Brân, son of Llŷr.^[4]
• Peter Bartrum notes that a different genealogy for Amlawdd is present in Peniarth MS. 178, part 1, p. 1 (by Gruffudd Hiraethog, c. 1545), where his daughter Eigr (see below - otherwise known as Eigyr, Igraine, Ygerne) is listed as ferch ('daughter of') Aflawdd Wledig ap Lambor (or Lambord) ap Manael ap Carcelois ap Jossue ap Evgen chwaer Josep[h a Ar]mathia, explaining (p. 130) that around the year 1400 the lineage of the Grail Kings from the Vulgate Quest was adapted by the monks of Glastonbury from Enigeus (sister of Joseph of Arimathea) down to Lambor, father of the Maimed King, who in this account fathers an unnamed son who is in turn the father of Arthur’s mother Eigr or Ygerne; he points out that later Welsh texts adapted this genealogy, replacing the word filius (‘son’), which stood for the unnamed son, with Amlawdd Wledig.^[5][6]
• It has also been suggested that the name Amlawdd could be identical in origin to the name Amleth or Amlethus, which appears in Saxo Grammaticus' thirteenth century Gesta Danorum and is the origin of Shakespeare's character Hamlet. However, Amleth is described as a Jute (rather than a Dane) who marries the daughter of the British King on his first trip to Britain. In terms of the chronology, Amleth could be identical to Amlawdd Wledig. However, Amlawdd is not said to have been of Jutish or Saxon origin in the Welsh Arthurian texts.^[7]

Wives

Amlawdd is said to have been the husband of Gwen, the daughter of Cunedda Wledig, the legendary northern king said either to have migrated^[8] or to have been sent south by Vortigern to drive Irish invaders from the Kingdom of Gwynedd.

The British Chronicle lists five wives of Amlawdd:^[9]

• Dwywn
• Gwenwyn - presumably this is Gwen ferch ('daughter of') Cunedda, although this assumes that the use of the name ending 'wyn' (male) rather than 'wen' (female) is a typographical mistake
• Eglise
• Scotnoe
• Denyw

Children

A number of figures from the Arthurian legends are suggested (with varying levels of plausibility) to have been the children of Amlawdd, including:

• Eigyr, Igraine, Ygerne the mother of King Arthur^[10]
• Rieingulid, the mother of St Illtud^[11]
• Goleuddydd, the mother of Culhwch^[12]
• Danhadlwen, the wife of Meirchion Gul^[13]
• Tywanwedd, Tywynwedd or Dwywanedd, the wife of Hawystl Gloff and the mother of Caradawc Vreichvras, Gwyn ab Nudd, Gwallawc ab Lleenawg, and Tyfrydog or Tyvrydog. (Source: Bonedd y Saint)^[14] Tyfrydog was a saint who flourished in the sixth century.^[15]
• Cywed, the mother of 'Cerdic'^[16]
• Enfeidas, the mother of three daughters - 'Dame' Leone, the 'Lady of Briestoc' and 'Belle' - also see Llygadrudd Emys, below^[17]
• Two unnamed daughters, sisters to Enfeidas, by Amlawdd's fifth wife Denyw (see Wives, above)
• Gwyar, argued by some to be the mother of Gwalchmai or Gawain; however, it should be noted that others argue that Gwyar is a male name and that Gwyar is therefore the name of Gwalchmai's father^[18]
• Natlod or Natanleod^[19] - however, it has been pointed out that Natlod or Natanleod may be a Soubriquet like 'Pendragon', so that it could be argued that the name Natlod has been listed as a son in error and may in fact refer to Ambrosius Aurelianus, Uther Pendragon or to Amlawdd himself.^[20] However, where Bruce quotes Hector Boece as saying that Natanleod 'had no military experience, that Uther was mentally ill when he appointed Natanleod commander of his armies, and that Natanleod's incompetence led to much of Britain falling to the Saxons'^[21] it seems implausible that it is Ambrosius, Uther or Amlawdd who is being described.
• King Gwrfoddw or Gwrfoddw Hen of Ergyng, who is listed as one of two brothers of Arthur's unnamed mother in Culhwch and Olwen^[22]
• Llydadrudd or Llygadrudd Emys (‘Red-eyed Steed’), who is listed as one of two brothers of Arthur's unnamed mother in Culhwch and Olwen; however, the British Chronicles list Llygadrudd as the husband of Amlawdd's daughter, Enfeidas, and he may therefore be Amlawdd's son-in-law^[23]
• Twins Gweir Paladr Hir ('Long Staff') and Gweir Gwrhyd Ennwir ('False Valour'), listed as 'uncles of Arthur, his mother’s brothers' in the Arthurian court lists of the Mabinogion

Relationship to King Arthur and debated historicity

Amlawdd Wledig is named in many sources to have been the maternal grandfather of King Arthur,^[24] while others suggest he is a genealogical construct, created in order to justify the kinship connections referred to in the Welsh prose tale of Culhwch and Olwen between King Arthur, Culhwch, St Illtud and Goreu fab Custennin.^[25] Amlawdd does not appear in the list of Kings of Britain given by Geoffrey of Monmouth.

References

External References

• Rees, Rice (1836). "An Essay on the Welsh Saints". London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longman, Rees.