Bieda and Mægla

Under the year 501, the Anglo-Saxon chronicle states:

Her cuom Port on Bretene 7 his .ii. suna Bieda 7 Mægla mid .ii. scipum on þære stowe þe is gecueden Portesmuþa 7 ofslogon anne giongne brettiscmonnan, swiþe ęþelne monnan.

Here Port and his 2 sons, Bieda and Mægla, came with 2 ships to Britain at the place which is called Portsmouth, and killed a certain young British man – a very noble man.

jebson t., 2007, asc a. swanton, m., 2000,14.

As explained in The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Arthur’s death, this event would have taken place in the year 539 and refers to the battle of Camlan. It is proposed that the Briton referred to was Arthur.

Bieda

The Germanic name Bieda survives in the Portsmouth area in the placename Bedhampton.

Norden J., 1595.

It is mentioned in the Domesday Book with the name Betametone:

It was originally a village but is now a suburb of the Borough of Havant. The name appears in the placename Biedanheafde (Bieda’s Head) in the ASC under the year 675 when the West Saxon king Æscwine defeated the Mercian invasion by Wulfhere.

Mægla

Swanton maintains Mægla is probably a British name citing the names Coinmægl and Farinmægl that appear in the ASC entry for year 577. Mægla may be identified with Gildas’s tyrant Maglocunus, that is Maelgwn of Gwynedd, whose death is recorded in the Annales Cambriae under the year 547:

AC A text	AC B text
[a103] annus . Mortalitas magna inqua pausat mailcun rex genedotœ .	[b575] Anus mortalitas magna fuit ín brítannia mailguin · guíneth · obiit· vnde dicitur hir hun wailgun en llís Ros · tunc fuít lallwelen

Gough-Cooper, H.W., 2015, Annales Cambriae.

Gildas’s refers to Maelgwn’s aggression:

Quid tu enim, insularis draco, multorum tyrannorum depulsor tam regno quam etiam vita supra dictorum, …

And thou, the island dragon, who hast driven many of the tyrants mentioned previously, as well from life as from kingdom, …

WILLIAMS H., 1899, 76,77.

The first poem in the Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin (Black Book of Carmarthen), entitled Ymddiddan Myrtin a Talyessin (The Dialogue of Myrddin and Taliesin), informs us that Maelgwn made an attack on Dyfed:

Skene W.F., 1868, Ymddiddan Myrtin a Talyessin.

Triad 1a indicates the Demetian Arthur was a contemporary of Maelgwn:

Arthur in Pen Teyrned ym Mynyw, a Dewi yn Pen Esgyb, a Maelgwn Gwyned yn Pen Hyneif;

Arthur as Chief of Princes in Mynyw (St David’s), and Dewi as Chief of Bishops, and Maelgwn Gwynedd as Chief of Elders.

Bromwich R., 2006, 1.

Culhwch, on meeting Arthur, addresses him as Pen Teyrned yr Ynys hon (Chief of Princes of this Island). However, according to the V. Cadoci:

In diebus itaque illius rex quidam, nomine Mailgunus, in tota Brittannia regnabat, …

In his (St Cadog’s) days a certain king, Maelgwn by name, was reigning over all Britannia (Wales), …

wade-evans a.w., Lloyd s. (ed.), 2013,72, 73.

Perhaps, Maelgwn’s attack on Arthur’s Dyfed was not entirely successful and that later, with Saxon help, he achieved Arthur’s demise in Dumnonia at Camlan, thus achieving supremacy over the whole of Wales. Perhaps as a celebration of this victory, three places in Gwynedd bear the name Camlan as indicated by the red markers in the map below.

Camlan placenames in Gwynedd. OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2024.

Wihtgar

Wihtgar. Cambridge, CCC MS 173: The Parker Chronicle, (ASC A), f. 5v. Click image to enlarge.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle makes a number of references to a Wihtgar under the years 514, 534 and 544:

Her cuomon Westseaxe in Bretene mid .iii. scipum in þa stowe þe is gecueden Cerdicesora, Stuf 7 Wihtgar, 7 fuhton wiþ Brettas 7 hie gefliemdon.

Her Cerdic forþferde, 7 Cynric his sunu ricsode forþ .xxvi. wintra; 7 hie saldon hiera tuæm nefum Stufe 7 Wihtgare ^eall Wiehte ealond.

Her Uuihtgar forþferde, 7 hiene mon bebyrgde on Wihtgarabyrg.

Here the West Saxons Stuf and Wihtgar came to Britain with 3 ships in the place which is called Cerdic’s Shore and fought against the Britons and put them to flight.

Here Cerdic passed away, and his son Cynric continued to rule 26 years. And they gave all Wight to their two nephews Stuf and Wihtgar.

Here Wihtgar passed away and they buried him at Wihtgar’s stronghold.

jebson t., 2007. swanton m., 2000, 14, 16 (adapted). asc A.

There is a further reference to Wihtgar’s stronghold under the year 530:

Her Cerdic 7 Cynric genamon Wihte ealond 7 ofslogon fea^la men on Wihtgarabyrg.

Here Cerdic and Cynric took the Isle of Wight and killed a few men at Wihtgar’s stronghold.

jebson t., 2007. swanton m., 2000, 16 (adapted). asc A.

Swanton says that the most obvious location for the stronghold is Carisbrooke Castle where a cemetery of this period contained a high status male grave. It is proposed his name appears in various forms, namely Wicgr, Wicker and Wicor on old maps, one of which is shown below:

The Cams and Wicgr Marsh. Surveyed: 1856, Published: 1870. CC-BY NLS. Click image to enlarge.

The letter ⟨t⟩ can become a ⟨c⟩, as seen in the name Wihtgar to Wicgr. The map shows Wicgr Marsh to the east of Cams Bay and several places named Wicor along the northern bank of Portsmouth Harbour, including Wicor Path that leads towards Portchester castle.

Speculations

Was Wicor Path the route the Saxons took from their stronghold of Portchester castle to do battle with Arthur? Could they have sealed off the Cams, the proposed location of Camlan, where Arthur was encamped? It is an area enclosed on three sides by the river Wallington. Its name derives from that of the village where the river enters Portsmouth Harbour and means ‘settlement of the Welsh’.