chapter thirteen summary

Author: * Walensis Volcae - 25 Posts on this thread out of 64 Posts sitewide.
Date: Jun 3, 2004 - 09:37

* We have examined evidence which indicates that Arthur was a Votadini Warrior who had assumed the battle title 'the Bear'. Not only is Arthur praised in a Votadini war poem, but Gildas himself mentions a warrior called the Bear. We reason that although Arthur may have originated in Gwynedd, his stronghold by the time of his leadership was in the Central kingdom Powys.

1. Cunedda and his warriors were not native to North Wales, but from an area around Edinburgh which formed the Morthern part of the kingdom of the Votadini tribe: a kingdom called Gododdin. This area was abandoned by the Romans in the later years of the Empire, which meant that the Votadini were essentially Picts, a Roman term referring to the British tribes that fell outside the limits of the Empire. They were British inasmuch as they inhabited the isle of Britain, but they were not Britons, the name for inhabitants of what is now England and Wales.

2. Gododdin had been part of the Roman Empire for well over a century before the legions pulled back behind Hadrians Wall in 200A.D. There were therefore good relations between the Votadini and the Empire. The Romans offered support against hostile northern tribes, and in return the Votadini helped police this buffer zone between occupied Britain and the unconquered Picts of the Scottish Highlands.

3. Soon after the Romans left Britain, the Votadini began to experience great difficulties. The Angles were raiding their coastline in the East, the Picts were marauding from the North, and the Irish were pushing ever closer ffrom the West. It would therefore have been easy for Ambrosius to persuade the Votadini to settle in North-West Wales. In return for their help, the warriors and their families would have a new home. Additionally, they had much in common with the imperialists of Gwynedd; no-one had greater reason for wanting the return of the legions than the people of Gododdin, who were facing annihiation on three fronts.

4. That the Votadini colonised North-West Wales in the 460s had been verified by Archaeology. Characteristic Votadini pottery has been discovered in Gwynedd dating from the second half of the fifth century. This is not only evidence for the arrival of Cunedda, but it also confirms the time of his arrival during the period of Ambrosius. In addition, the identifying family name affix 'Cun' 9or in Welsh 'Cyn') is found both on tombstones, and in the genealogies of Gwynedd- for example, in the name of Maglocunus and his cousin, Cuneglasus, whom Gildas also names.

5. If Arthur was the son of a Votadini king of Gwynedd, he would certainly have made an ideal commander-in-chief of the British forces. He came from a hardy warrior race, whose people had considerable first-hand experience fighting the Anglo-Saxons,the Irish and the Picts. More importantly, he would almost certainly have remained isolated from the political and religious wranglings that divided the Britons.

6. Firm evidence to support that Arthur was one of the Gwynedd Votadini comes from what may be the oldest of all Arthurian references, an ancient poem called the Gododdin which was first generally accepted to have been composed shortly after the end of the sixth century, and because the rhyme scheme using Arthur's name is in a sixth century dialect, the mention of Arthur is considered authentic. As its title suggests, the poem comes from the kingdom of the Votadini and concerns a band of warriors who set out to fight the Anglo-Saxons in the far North. In one passage the poet praises the courage of a hero, saying that althought he fought bravely 'he was no Arthur'. The fact that Arthur should be so esteemed in a Votadini war poem suggests that he had been a member of their tribe.

7. The Gododdin not only tends to confirm that Arthur was a Votadini, but it also attests to the links between Gododdin and Gwynedd. The poem relates how one of the bands leaders had come to Gododdin from Gwynedd, together with a large company of soldiers. This not only comfirms that Votadini warriors had settled in North Wales, but shows that powerful ties existed between the two kingdoms as late as 600A.D.

8. If Arthur was of the royal house of Gwynedd, way is his name not recorded in the genealogies? As with Vortigern, and Uther, the name Arthur may well have been a by-name or title. The first syllable, Arht in the British language, Brythonic, mean bear. It was common practice at the time for Celtic warlords to assume the battle-name of an animal. However, Arthur's title may have carries a special significance. Surviving inscriptions of the fifth century show that the nationalist kingdoms were using Brythonic, wereas the imperialist kingdoms continued to use Latin. For the leader of the divided Britons to personify unity, he may well have adopted a name coined from both languages; using the Brythonic word Arth, but also using the Latin word for bear, Ursus. His original title may therefore have been Arthursus, later shortened to Arthur.

9. If arthur means bear, then Gildas may mention him sfter all. During a tirade against Maglocunus' cousin, Cuneglasus, he calls him the charioteer of the 'Bear's stronghold'. As Cunegasus is clearly a king inhis own right by the time Gildas was writing (about 545), the passage implies that he was in command of what had once been the stronghold of the Bear. In other words, Cuneglasus' capital seems to have been Arthur's stronghold.

10. During Gildas' time, five kingdoms were powerful enough to have been Cuneglasus' kingdom. However, three of these can be dismissed, since Gildas leaves us with no doubt as to who ruled them. As one of these is Gwynedd, it may seem that although Arthur originated here, by the time he became leader of the Britons he had established his power base elsewhere. We are left, therefore, with Gwent or Powys as the kingdom of Cuneglasus. As Powys adjoins Maglocunus' kingdom Gwynedd, and inscriptions and genealogies from the period show that the Cunedda family were ruling there, it is by far the more feasible of the two. Powys as Arthur's stronghold makes historical sense; it had been the stronghold of the Vortigerns, presumably conquered by the forces of Gwynedd under Ambrosius' leadership.

# thank the Gods that chapters done. I dont ever want to see a keyboard again. I hope the remaining chapters arent that long. I might need two images for this one. I cant even be bothered proof reading it.