King Hoel (, "Hoel the Great"; ), also known as Sir Howel, Saint Hywel and Hywel the Great, was a late 5th- and early 6th-centuryFord, David Nash

at ''Early British Kingdoms''. 2001. Retrieved 1 December 2014. member of the ruling dynasty of

Cornouaille Cornouaille (; , ) is a historical region on the west coast of Brittany in West France. The name is cognate with Cornwall in neighbouring Great Britain. This can be explained by the settlement of Cornouaille by migrant princes from Cornwall ...

. He may have ruled Cornouaille jointly after the restoration of his father,

Budic II of Brittany Budic II (; or '; ), formerly known as Budick, was a king of Cornouaille in Brittany in the late 5th and early 6th centuries. He was father of Hoel as well as several Celtic saints. Life Budic II was born in Cornouaille to a member of its roy ...

, but he seems to have predeceased his father and left his young son, Tewdwr, as Budic's heir.Ford, David Nash
"Tewdwr Mawr"
at ''Early British Kingdoms''. 2001. Retrieved 1 December 2014. Hywel appears in

Welsh mythology Welsh mythology (also commonly known as ''Y Chwedlau'', meaning "The Legends") consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of t ...

and the

Matter of Britain The Matter of Britain (; ; ; ) is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the list of legendary kings of Britain, legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Art ...

as a "

king of Brittany The Kingdom of Brittany () was a short-lived vassal-state of the Frankish Empire that emerged during the Norse invasions. Its history begins in 851 with Erispoe's claim to kingship. In 856, Erispoe was murdered and succeeded by his cousin Sal ...

." A relative of

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

, he was one of his most loyal allies (or, sometimes, a

Knight of the Round Table The Knights of the Round Table (, , ) are the legendary knights of the fellowship of King Arthur that first appeared in the Matter of Britain literature in the mid-12th century. The Knights are a chivalric order dedicated to ensuring the peace ...

) and was said to have helped him conquer "

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

" (northern France).

Life

The historical Hywel was the son of Budic II, king of

in northwest

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

. For all or most of his childhood, a usurping cousin ruled in Budic's place and the family resided in exile with

Aergol Lawhir Aergol Longhand ( Modern Welsh: ''Aergol Lawhir''; c. 437 c. 515) was a legendary king of Dyfed and son and heir of King Triffyn Farfog. His name is the Welsh form of the Latin Agricola, just as his father's 'name' is the Cambrian form of "trib ...

, king of

Dyfed Dyfed () is a preserved county in southwestern Wales, covering the modern counties Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. It is mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel. Between 1974 and 1996, Dyfed w ...

sub-Roman Britain Sub-Roman Britain, also called post-Roman Britain or Dark Age Britain, is the period of late antiquity in Great Britain between the end of Roman rule and the founding of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. The term was originally used to describe archae ...

. He was credited with the foundation of Llanhowell (now in

Llanrhian Llanrhian is a small village, Community (Wales), community and parish in Pembrokeshire in west Wales, near the coast, south of Porthgain village. The community of Llanrhian includes the settlements of Llanhowell (), Croesgoch, Portheiddy, Porthga ...

) during this time and, as "Saint Hywel", was revered by a local

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

as its

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

. The family was eventually restored to their home in Cornouaille, where Hywel may have ruled jointly with his father. He died shortly before he would have inherited the throne, however, and Budic's attempts to enlist his neighbour Macliau's support for the succession of Hywel's son Tewdwr ended badly. After Budic's death, Macliau invaded and the boy was forced into exile in

Penwith Penwith (; ) is an area of Cornwall, England, located on the peninsula of the same name. It is also the name of a former Non-metropolitan district, local government district, whose council was based in Penzance. The area is named after one ...

Legend

While early Welsh sources say he was the son of Budic II, in later legend he evolves into the son of ''Emyr Llydaw'' and sometimes also the father of

Tudwal Saint Tudwal (died c. 564), also known as Tual, Tudgual, Tugdual, Tugual, Pabu, Papu, or Tugdualus (Latin), was a Breton monk, considered to be one of the seven founder saints of Brittany. Life Tudwal was said to be the son of Hoel Mawr (H ...

by Saint

Pompeia of Langoat Saint Pompeia (in Latin: ''Alma Pompeia'' or in Breton: ''Koupaia''), also known as Aspasia, is a legendary Breton saint who supposedly lived in the 6th century. Her feast day is celebrated on 2 January. Legendary biography According to th ...

. David Nash Ford was of the opinion that ''Emyr Llydaw'' was a title of Budic's—"emperor of Brittany"—eventually mistaken for a name in its own right.Ford, David Nash.
Budic II
at ''Early British Kingdoms''. 2001. Retrieved 1 December 2014. As a son of Budic, he was recorded as a nephew of Arthur. He was said to have visited Arthur's court during his early exile and to have returned to help Arthur against the

Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

after the family's restoration in Brittany. Landing at

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, his army was credited with assisting Arthur at the Battle of Dubglas, the Siege of Caer Ebrauc (i.e.

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

), and the Battle of Cat Celidon Coit. It was then bottled up and besieged in turn at

Dumbarton Castle Dumbarton Castle (, ; ) has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Scotland. It sits on a volcanic plug of basalt known as Dumbarton Rock which is high and overlooks the Scottish town of Dumbarton. History Dumbarton Rock was forme ...

("Caer-Brithon"). Hoel was also said to have been at the

Battle of Badon The Battle of Badon, also known as the Battle of Mons Badonicus, was purportedly fought between Britons and Anglo-Saxons in Post-Roman Britain during the late 5th or early 6th century. It was credited as a major victory for the Britons, st ...

before conquering France for Arthur, who then moved his court to Paris. Finally returning to

, he was aided by

Tristram of Lyonesse ''Tristram of Lyonesse'' is a long epic poem written by the British poet Algernon Charles Swinburne, that recounts in grand fashion the famous medieval story of the ill-fated lovers Tristan and Isolde (Tristram and Iseult in Swinburne's version ...

in suppressing a civil war. Hywel was eventually turned into "Sir Howel" of the

Round Table The Round Table (; ; ; ) is King Arthur's famed table (furniture), table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status, unlike co ...

. He appears thus in

medieval Welsh Middle Welsh (, ) is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh (). Literature and history Middle Welsh is ...

sources like ''

The Dream of Rhonabwy ''The Dream of Rhonabwy'' () is a Middle Welsh prose tale. Set during the reign of Madog ap Maredudd, prince of Powys (died 1160), its composition is typically dated to somewhere between the late 12th through the late 14th century. It survives in ...

'', ''

Geraint and Enid Geraint ( ) is a character from Welsh folklore and Arthurian legend, a valiant warrior possibly related to the historical Geraint, an early 8th-century king of Dumnonia. It is also the name of a 6th-century Dumnonian saint king from Briton h ...

'', and ''

Peredur son of Efrawg ''Peredur son of Efrawg'' is one of the Three Welsh Romances associated with the '' Mabinogion''. It tells a story roughly analogous to Chrétien de Troyes' unfinished romance '' Perceval, the Story of the Grail'', but it contains many strikin ...

''. A conflation of the two appears prominently in

Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth (; ; ) was a Catholic cleric from Monmouth, Wales, and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur. He is best known for his chronicle '' The History of ...

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 pseudoh ...

Historia Regum Britanniae (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a fictitious account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the List of legendary kings o ...

'', where Hywel comes from Brittany to help suppress the revolts which arise after Arthur's coronation. A respected ruler and capable general, his relationship with Arthur is uncertain: he first appears as the son of

who married a sister of

Ambrosius Aurelianus Ambrosius Aurelianus (; Anglicised as Ambrose Aurelian and called Aurelius Ambrosius in the ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' and elsewhere) was a war leader of the Romano-British who won an important battle against the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th c ...

and

Uther Pendragon Uther Pendragon ( ; the Brittonic languages, Brittonic name; , or ), also known as King Uther (or Uter), was a List of legendary kings of Britain, legendary King of the Britons and father of King Arthur. A few minor references to Uther appe ...

, making him Arthur's

first cousin A cousin is a relative who is the child of a parent's sibling; this is more specifically referred to as a first cousin. A parent of a first cousin is an aunt or uncle. More generally, in the lineal kinship, kinship system used in the English-s ...

, but appears later as the son of Budic and Arthur's sister

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna of East Anglia, King (died c.654) * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th c ...

, making him Arthur's nephew. (This confusion reappears in

Wace Wace ( 1110 – after 1174), sometimes referred to as Robert Wace, was a Medieval Norman poet, who was born in Jersey and brought up in mainland Normandy (he tells us in the ''Roman de Rou'' that he was taken as a child to Caen), ending his car ...

and

Layamon Layamon or Laghamon (, ; ) – spelled Laȝamon or Laȝamonn in his time, occasionally written Lawman – was an English poet of the late 12th/early 13th century and author of the ''Brut'', a notable work that was the first to present the legend ...

but most later sources make him Arthur's "cousin".) In Geoffrey, Hywel's niece is raped and killed by the Giant of

Mont Saint-Michel Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island lies approximately off France's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is i ...

; Arthur sets off to slay him with

Sir Kay In Arthurian legend, Kay (, Middle Welsh ''Kei'' or ''Cei''; ; French: ''Keu''; Old French: ''Kès'' or ''Kex'') is King Arthur's foster brother and later seneschal, as well as one of the first Knights of the Round Table. In later literature h ...

and

Bedivere Bedivere ( or ; ; ; , also Bedevere and other spellings) is one of the earliest characters to be featured in the legend of King Arthur, originally described in several Welsh texts as the one-handed great warrior named Bedwyr Bedrydant. Arthurian ...

. Arthur returns to fight his traitorous nephew

Mordred Mordred or Modred ( or ; Welsh: ''Medraut'' or ''Medrawt'') is a major figure in the legend of King Arthur. The earliest known mention of a possibly historical Medraut is in the Welsh chronicle ''Annales Cambriae'', wherein he and Arthur are a ...

and leaves Hywel in charge of "Gaul". Hywel later joins the Round Table and leaves his nephew Joseph in charge of his kingdom. Hywel was later attached to the

Tristan and Iseult Tristan and Iseult, also known as Tristan and Isolde and other names, is a medieval chivalric romance told in numerous variations since the 12th century. Of disputed source, usually assumed to be primarily Celtic nations, Celtic, the tale is a ...

legend by such poets as

Béroul Béroul (or Beroul; Norman ) was a Norman or Breton poet of the mid-to-late 12th century. He is usually credited with the authorship of ''Tristran'' (sometimes called ''Tristan''), a Norman language version of the legend of Tristan and Iseult, o ...

and

Thomas of Britain Thomas of Britain (also known as Thomas of England) was a poet of the 12th century. He is known for his Old French poem ''Tristan">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, w ...

. In these stories, Hywel is

duke of Brittany This is a list of rulers of Brittany. In different epochs the rulers of Brittany were kings, princes, and dukes. The Breton ruler was sometimes elected, sometimes attained the position by conquest or intrigue, or by hereditary right. Hereditary ...

and the father of Tristan's unloved wife,

Iseult Iseult ( ), alternatively Isolde ( ) and other spellings, is the name of several characters in the legend of Tristan and Iseult. The most prominent is Iseult the Blonde, or Iseult of Ireland, the wife of Mark of Cornwall and the lover of Trista ...

of the White Hands (Iseut aux Blanches Mains). Hywel takes Tristan in when the young knight has been banished from the kingdom of king

Mark of Cornwall Mark of Cornwall (, , , ) was a sixth-century King of History of Cornwall, Kernow (Cornwall), possibly identical with King Conomor. As Mark or Marc (''Marc'h''), he is best known for his appearance in King Arthur, Arthurian legend as the uncle o ...

, and Tristan later helps him in battle and becomes fast friends with his son

Kahedin Sir Kahedin (variantly spelled Kahadin, Kahedrin, Kaherdin, Kehenis, Kehidius; possibly the Welsh character Kae Hir) is brother to Iseult of Brittany and the son of King Hoel of Brittany in Arthurian legend. The story of his affair with Brangaine ...

and his daughter Iseult. Tristan convinces himself to marry this second Iseult, mostly because she shares the name of his first love,

Iseult of Ireland Iseult ( ), alternatively Isolde ( ) and other spellings, is the name of several characters in the legend of Tristan and Iseult. The most prominent is Iseult the Blonde, or Iseult of Ireland, the wife of Mark of Cornwall and the lover of Trista ...

. In early versions of the story, Tristan remains in Hywel's land until he dies of poison minutes before Iseult of Ireland, a great healer, arrives to cure him. The Prose ''Tristan'' has the hero returning to Britain and to his first love, never to see his wife again. This version was followed by the

Post-Vulgate Cycle The Post-Vulgate Cycle, also known as the Post-Vulgate Arthuriad, the Post-Vulgate ''Roman du Graal'' (''Romance of the Grail'') or the Pseudo-Robert de Boron Cycle, is one of the major Old French -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at wh ...

and by

Thomas Malory Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources. The most popular version of ''Le Morte d'A ...

's '' Death of Arthur''.

Legacy

Eglwys Llanhywel- Llanhowell church - geograph

Llanhowell in

, Pembrokeshire, Wales, is named in his honour. Llanllowell in Monmouthshire originally was as well, although it is now considered dedicated to Saint Llywel.Baring-Gould, Sabine & al
''The Lives of the British Saints: The Saints of Wales and Cornwall and Such Irish Saints as Have Dedications in Britain'', Vol. III, pp. 288 f
Chas. Clark (London), 1908. Hosted at Archive.org. Retrieved 2 December 2014. The present

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

at Llanhowell (') was largely refurbished in the 1890s but includes sections dating as early as the 12th century. It is listed as a Grade II* protected building.British Listed Buildings
"Church of St Hywel, Llanhowell, Llanrhian"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:HOEL MAWR Breton mythology and folklore Knights of the Round Table Monarchs of Brittany Arthurian characters Tristan and Iseult Welsh mythology Welsh royal saints 6th-century Christian saints Medieval Breton saints 5th-century Breton people 6th-century Breton people an:Choel

Life

Legend

Legacy

See also

References