Manipulations in the Powysian lineage

It was shown, see Dating Vortigern, that Gwrtheyrn Gwrtheneu ruled in the 3rd quarter of the 5th c.

Pedigree list of Buellt and Gwerthrynion

Gen.	Gen. mid-date	HB Harl. 3859 49	JC 14	JC 15
-5	325	Gloiu		Gloyỽ Gỽalltir
-4	357	Guitolin		Gỽdoloeu
-3	389	Guitataul		Gwidaỽl
-2	421	Guorthigirn Guortheu	Gỽrtheyrn Gỽrthenev	Gỽrtheyrn Gỽrtheneu
-1	453	Pascent	Pascen
0	485	Briacat	Riagath
1	517	Mepurit	Idnerth
2	549	Paul	Paỽl
3	581	Edoc	[Eldog]
4	613	Eldat	Elaed
5	645	Moriud	Morvo
6	677	Gaidcant	Gwedgad
7	709	Pascent	Pascen Buellt
8	741	Teudubir	Gloud
9	773	Fernmail	y Vraustud
10	805		Rees
11	838		Howel
12	870		Ewein
13	902		Morgant

Fig. 1. The pedigree lists for Buellt and Gwerthrynion.

Fig.1 lists tell us that Gwrtheyrn had only one named son, Pasgen.

Pedigree list of Powys

The pedigree list for Powys is given in the oldest surviving list relating to the Welsh genealogies, the Harleian Genealogies, which accompany the Historia Brittonum in the manuscript Harley 3859 of c. 1100:

Gen,	Gen. mid-date	HG 22	HG 23	HG 24	HG 27
-12	101			Ecrin
-11	133			Ermic
-10	165			Cerennior
-9	197			[Carantmail]
-8	229			Bodug
-7	261			Guitgen
-6	293			Iouab
-5	325			[S]elim	Selemiaun
-4	357	Catel [Durnluc]	Catell		Catel
-3	389	Cattegirn	Cattegirn		Cattegir[n]
-2	421	Pascent	Brittu		Pascent
-1	453	Maucan[n]	Camuir		Maucant
0	485	Cincen	Millo		Cinan
1	517	Brocmayl	Cinnin		Brocmail
2	549	Cínan	Elbodgu		Cincen
3	581	[S]elim	Gurhaiern[n]		Eliud
4	613		[?]esselis		Eli
5	645				Guilauc
6	677				Elitet
7	709				Brocmayl
8	741				Catel
9	773				[C]incen

Fig. 2. The pedigree lists for Powys.

It is proposed that Selim of HG 24 is the same indiviidual as Selemiaun of HG 27 so that the former list gives us the rulers of Powys back to the early 2nd c. Bartrum correctly wrote of HG 24:

Also perhaps a royal line of Powys. Caranfael ( = Carantmail) ap Cynddylan ap Cyndrwyn was the name of a prince of Powys mentioned in the ‘Llywarch Hen’ poetry …

Bartrum p.c., 1966, 128.

The use of a biblical name, Selemiaun, is very early. In fact he would have lived during the reign of Constantine the Great.

Cadell Ddyrnllug of gen. -4 is introduced in the Historia Brittonum thus:

interea uenit unus de seruis regis e medio urbis et inclinauit se ante uirum dei.

In the meantime one of the king’ s servants [Cadell] came from inside the fortress and humbled himself before the man of God [Germanus].

Fitzpatrick-Matthews K.J., 2016, Harleian Recension, 9. Dumville d.n.,1975, 200.

After Germanus had destroyed the previous ruler’s fortress by fire in which the tyrant himself perished, Cadell was made the ruler of the kingdom:

iuxta uerba sancti germani rex de seruo factus est; et omnes filii eius reges facti sunt, et a semine illorum omnis regio pouisorum regitur usque in hodiernum diem.

In accordance with the words of Saint Germanus, a king was created from a servant; and all his sons became kings, and the whole country of the men of Powys is ruled by their line, even to the present day.

Fitzpatrick-Matthews K.J., 2016, Harleian Recension, 10. dumville d.n., 1975, 202, 204.

As can be seen from fig. 2, this ‘prediction’ is historically accurate. The Hen Lwythau Gwynedd a’r Mars under the title Llwythau y Mars, a reference to the March, the northern border between Wales and England, tells us the descendants of Cadell are referred to as Cadelling:

… Kadell dyrnllug, y gwr y gelwir Kadelling oe henw.

Bartrum p.c., 1966, 119.

Selyf Sarffgadau (gen. 3) , with the epithet Serpent of Battles, died at the battle of Chester:in 613:

AC A	AC B	AC C
[a170] anus Gueith cair legion .et ibi cecidit selim filíí cinan.41 Et iacob filíí beli dormitatio.	[b641] Anus bellum Kairlion in quo Seysil filius chinan et Iago filius beli moriuntur cum multis aliis.	[cw130] … Bellum cair legion, in quo silla filius kenan cecidit. Cadwallo filius caduani regnauit in britannia.

Fig. 3. Gough-Cooper, H.W., 2016, Annales Cambriae A, B and C in parallel, 12.

After his death the main line of Powys continued with the son of Selyf’s brother, Eiludd, as indicated in HG 27. The Buchedd Beuno alludes to this. It tells us that Selyf’s father, Cynan Garwyn, gave Beuno land at Gwyddelwern:

Ac yno y gwnaeth Beuno eglwys hyt yr amser y doeth nyeint Kynan o hely ar Veuno y erchi bwyt idaw gann trigyaw yno yn wastat.

And there Beuno made a church till the time the grandsons of Cynan came from hunting upon Beuno to request food of him, while dwelling there continuously.

Wade-evans A.W., lloyd s. (ed.), 2013, 17, 339.

Meat was put in a pot which was placed over a fire. However, the water in the pot would not warm. Beuno then said to the sons of Selyf:

‘Y peth a rodes ych teit chwi y Duw yn ryd, a vynnwch chwitheu rodi mal ar ardreth, a cheithiwet arnnaw? Ys rodho Duw y mi, ac ys gwnel yrof y gwr yr wyf vi yn gwassannaethu idaw, na medo ych etiued chwi byth euo, ach distryw chwitheu or teyrnnas honn a teyrnnas rac llaw.’ Ac yno val yd erchis Beuno yn y wedi y cauas.

“What your grandfather gave to God free, will you give it as with revenue, and restraint on it? May God grant me, and may he whom I serve, act for me, that your offspring never own it, and that yourselves be destroyed from this kingdom and a kingdom hereafter.” And there as Beuno asked in his prayer, he got.

wade-evans a.w., lloyd S. (ed.), 2013, 18, 339.

The manipulation

Fig. 4. Pillar of Eliseg. Rhys J., Cy. XXI, 40-41. Click image to enlarge.

By the time the Pillar of Eliseg was erected by Cyngen ap Cadell ap Brochwel it was felt that Cadell Ddyrnllug was too humble an individual to be asserted as the founder of line of descent of the kingdom of Powys. So, to shift the individual from Cadell’s gen. -4 to Gwrtheyrn’s gen. -2, the sons, grandsons and great-grandsons of Cadell, namely Cateyrn, Pasgen, Brydw and Mawgan (see fig. 2) were made to be sons of Gwrtheyrn. This can be seen in lines 21 to 23 in figs. 4.

line 21 [CATEGIR]NN PASCEN[T] MAU[G]ANNAN
line 22 [+] BRITU A[U]T[E]M FILIUS GUARTHI
line 23 [GIRN] QUE[m] BENED[IXIT] GERMANUS QUE[m]
line 24 [QU]E PEPERIT EI SE[V]IRA FILIA MAXIMI
line 25 [RE]GIS QUI OCCIDIT REGEM ROMANO
line 26 RUM [+] …

Cateyrn, Pasgen, Mawgan [+] Brydw, moreover, (was) the son of Gwrtheyrn, whom Germanus blessed and whom Severa bore to him, the daughter of Maximus the king who slew the king of the Romans [+] …

Note, this proposal for some of the names in line 21 differs from the generally accepted ones of CONCENN and MAUN together with ANNAN. The problem with the latter proposal is no genealogies give those names as offsprings of Gwrtheyrn.

That Brydw was in reality a grandson of Cadell Ddyrnllug indicates he belonged to gen. -2 and thus born c. 421. This explains why Gwrtheryrn is incorrectly identified with Germanus of Auxerre who visited Britain c. 429.

As often occurs with manipulations, they show up in inconsistencies. It is unlikely that a Gwrtheryrn, supposedly reigning in the 2nd quarter of the 5th c., would have had a wife who was a daughter of Magnus Maximus (obit 388). If Severa had married a British royal it is chronologically more likely to have been with Cadell Ddyrnllug.

As to the question why Gwrtheyrn, in particular, was chosen as the founder of the Powysian lineage one possible reason may have been that he did indeed have a son named Pasgen.

Later developments of the manipulation

The Jesus 20 genealogies survive in a manuscript dated to c. 1400. Although some of its lists are derived from a common source with the HG it also made use of other sources. Whereas, as shown in fig. 1., JC 14 and 15 show the correct line of descent from Gwrtheyrn, JC 16 (not shown) and 18 demonstrate manipulated versions:

Gen.	Gen. mid -date	HG 27	JC 18	LIIG 19 (ABT 6k)
-6	293		Gỽrtheyrn Gỽrth[en]eu		Gortheyrn Gortheneu
-5	325	Selemiaun	Cadern		Kyndeyrn
-4	357	Catel	Cadell Deyrlloch		Rudfedel
-3	389	Cattegir[n]	[Cateyrn]		<Brydw>
-2	421	Pascent	Pascen		Pasgen
-1	453	Maucant	Manogan		Kadell Dehyrnllug
0	485	Cinan	[Cyngen Glodrydd]		Kyngen Klotryd
1	517	Brocmail	Brochuael Yscithraỽc		Brochwel Ysgithrawg
2	549	Cincen	Kynan Garwin		Kynan Garwyn
3	581	Eliud	Seliph	Eilud	Selyf Saryf Gadau
4	613	Eli	Beli	Beli
5	645	Guilauc	Coledaỽc	<Kynllaw>
6	677	Elitet	Elisse	<Elisse>
7	709	Brocmayl	Brochuael	Brochwal
8	741	Catel	Cadell Pywys	Gadell
9	773	[C]incen	Nest	Nest
10	805		Rodri Maỽr

Fig. 5. Later manipulations.

Fig 5. repeats HG 27 from fig. 2. in order to compare it with JC 18. It can thus be seen that Selevan (gen. -5) has been replaced by Cyndeyrn ap Gwrtheyrn Gwrtheneu. Ben Guy argued that the JC genealogies took elements from a posited Pseudo-Rhodri Mawr recension that emphasised the primacy of Rhodri Mawr (gen. 10). It is here postulated that this would require a founding of the Powysian lineage from Gwrtheyrn himself and not a lowly Cadell Ddyrnllug.

A further downgrading of Cadell occurs in the Llywelyn ab Iorwerth genealogies (LlIG 19). Gen. -4 is now occupied by a Rhuddfedel and Cadell now appears in gen. -1, replacing Mawgan. Brydw occupies the position originally held by his father Cateyrn as shown in fig. 1.

Gen.	Gen. mid-date	LlIG (GO) 73a
-2	421	Gwrtheyrn Gwrthenav
-1	453	Kadeyrn
0	485	Ruddvedel Vrych
1	517	Rydw
2	549	Pasgen
3	581	Kadell Dyrnllvg
4	613	Gwynvyw
5	645	Gwynnan
6	677	Gwriawn
7	709	Biortherch
8	741	Bywynn
9	773	<Gwaeddgar>
10	805	Gwernen
11	838	Kadvarch
12	870	Ynyr
13	902	Tudur Trevor

Fig. 6. Gutun Owain Recension.

Curiously, in fig. 6, the Gutun Owain Recension of the Llywelyn ab Iorwerth genealogies places Gwyrtheyrn in the correct generation but maintains the sequence up to Cadell as in LlIG 19.