Dyfnwal Moelmud ( Welsh for "Dyfnwal the Bald and Silent"; la, Dunvallo Molmutius; ) was accounted as an early king and lawmaker among the Welsh, credited with the codification of their standard units of measure. He also figures as a

legendary king A mythological king is an archetype in mythology. A king is considered a "mythological king" if he is included and described in the culture's mythology. Unlike a fictional king, aspects of their lives may have been real and legendary, or that th ...

of the

Britons British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mod ...

in Geoffrey of Monmouth's

pseudohistorical Pseudohistory is a form of pseudoscholarship that attempts to distort or misrepresent the historical record, often by employing methods resembling those used in scholarly historical research. The related term cryptohistory is applied to pseudohis ...

History of the Kings of the Britons ''Historia regum Britanniae'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called ''De gestis Britonum'' (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. ...

''.

History

Only two known historical documents mention Dyfnwal. A tenth-century genealogy in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

(Harley MS 3859) identifies him as the grandson of

Coel Hen Coel (Old Welsh: ''Coil''), also called ''Coel Hen'' (Coel the Old) and King Cole, is a figure prominent in Welsh literature and legend since the Middle Ages. Early Welsh tradition knew of a Coel Hen, a 4th-century leader in Roman or Sub-Roman ...

, and ancestor of

Morcant Bulc Morcant Bulc was a Brythonic prince, probably a king, from Northern Britain, during the period between the end of the Roman Empire and the establishment of an English state during the early Middle Ages. Morcant appears in a line of ''Men of the ...

. A fifteenth-century genealogy in

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship S ...

(MS 20) also identifies him in the same way.

Legend

In Geoffrey's account, Dyfnwal was the son of Cloten, the King of Cornwall, and he restored order after the "Civil War of the Five Kings". His family was a

cadet branch In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets—realm, titles ...

of the dynasty of

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...

, the dominant line having ended with

Porrex I Porrex I was a legendary king of the Britons as accounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He was the son of Gorboduc and his death began a dynastic civil war. In the final years of Gorboduc's life, Porrex waged war with his brother, Ferrex. He planned ...

before the civil war. The ''

Book of Baglan The Book of Baglan (''Llyfr Baglan'' in Welsh) is a collection of old Welsh manuscripts, containing much genealogical data, compiled by John Williams from several sources between 1600 and 1607. It was transcribed from the original manuscript preser ...

'' expands on this by making Dyfnwal descend directly through the male line of Camber via his eldest son, Gorbonian. Dyfnwal was the King of Cornwall during the war created in the power vacuum left by

. He was braver and more courageous than all the other kings in the war. He defeated

Pinner Pinner is a London suburb in the London borough of Harrow, Greater London, England, northwest of Charing Cross, close to the border with Hillingdon, historically in the county of Middlesex. The population was 31,130 in 2011. Originally a med ...

, the king of

Loegria Logres (among various other forms and spellings) is King Arthur's realm in the Matter of Britain. It derives from the medieval Welsh word '' Lloegyr'', a name of uncertain origin referring to South and Eastern England (''Lloegr'' in modern Wel ...

. In response, Rudaucus, king of

Cambria Cambria is a name for Wales, being the Latinised form of the Welsh name for the country, . The term was not in use during the Roman period (when Wales had not come into existence as a distinct entity). It emerged later, in the medieval period ...

, and Staterius, king of Albany, allied together and destroyed much of Dyfnwal's land. The two sides met in battle and were stalemated. Dyfnwal then took 600 of his men and himself and dressed themselves in the armour of the dead enemies. They led a charge deep into enemy lines where they killed the two kings. After this battle, Dyfnwal destroyed the remaining defences of the kings and pillaged their lands. Following the defeat of the rival kings, Dyfnwal created a crown like that of his predecessors and claimed the throne of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. He created a set of rules for the kingdom called the

Molmutine Laws The Molmutine Laws were the laws said to have been instituted over the Britons by Dyfnwal Moelmud. Very little remains known of these laws, with surviving Welsh codes simply noting that Dyfnwal's laws were largely superseded by the new codes insti ...

, which nearly ended robbery within his kingdom and lasted for many centuries. The ''Book of Baglan'' also makes him the founder of

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. He reigned in peace and prosperity for forty years then died and was buried in the Temple of Concord, a tribute to his laws, which resided in Trinovantum. His death sparked another civil war between his two sons,

Belinus Belinus the Great was a legendary king of the Britons, as recounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He was the son of Dunvallo Molmutius and brother of Brennius. He was probably named after the ancient god Belenus. Earning the crown In an effort ...

and

Brennius Brennius was a legendary king of Northumberland and Allobroges, as recounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He was the son of Dunvallo Molmutius and brother of Belinus, probably based upon one or both of the historical Brenni. Claimant to the throne o ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * {{Geoffrey of Monmouth Legendary British kings

History

Legend

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography