Alain II Hir, "Alain II the tall", (c. 630 690), also known as Alan Hir was a king of

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 ...

who succeeded his father Iudicael as King 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 ...

; not to be confused with the contemporary Judicael, the King of Domnonee who was son of Iudhael, King of Domnonee. He was the grandson of Hoel III, King of Brittany and descended from Aldroen, grandson of Conan Meriadoc of the Welsh tale Breuddwyd Macsen Wledig via his son Gwereg, the historical "

Erec 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 ...

" from the Breton Romance

Erec et Enide ''Erec and Enide'' () is the first of Chrétien de Troyes' five Romance (heroic literature), romance poems, completed around 1170. It is one of three completed works by the author. ''Erec and Enide'' tells the story of the marriage of the titula ...

. He was the father of a supposed figure named Ifor who ruled Cornwall after reconquering it from the West Saxons and then left it to his nephew either Idwal Iwrch, King of Gwynedd or his son Rhodri Molwynog, King of the Britons as versions of the story vary, and his daughter, who in welsh genealogical manuscripts is either the mother or wife of Idwal Iwrch and possible mother of the aforementioned Rhodri Molwynog. According to Welsh tradition he was a 4th great nephew 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 ...

by the marriage of Arthur's sister Elen (sometimes mistaken as her other sisters in later Romance as Anna or Gwyar) to Hoel II of Brittany.

Cadwaladr

According to

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 ...

, Cadwaladr fled from Britain during a devastating plague. He sought help from Alain to restore the British to power in their homeland, but he then received an angelic visitation which told him that he must renounce his crown and go to Rome as a penitent. If he did so the British people (Welsh and Bretons) would be reunited in the future and the English (Anglo-Saxons) expelled from the land. King Alain then consults books of prophesies written by the Sybils and by

Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...

, discovering that "these and other prophecies accorded to the divine answer that Cadwaladr had heard" (in the version reported in ''The Chronicles of England''). Alain assures Cadwaladr that he must do as the heavenly voice commanded.Rutter, Russell, "Printing, Prophecy and the Foundation of the Tudor Dynasty", ''Prophet Margins: The Medieval Vatic Impulse and Social Stability'', pp.123-149.

References

External links

*The History Files
Princes of Domnonia
*The History Files

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alain 02 Hir 630s births 690 deaths 7th-century monarchs of Brittany Monarchs of Brittany Year of birth uncertain Place of birth unknown Angelic visionaries