Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio (died c. 573) or Gwenddolau was a

Brython The Britons ( *''Pritanī'', , ), also known as Celtic Britons or Ancient Britons, were the Celtic people who inhabited Great Britain from at least the British Iron Age until the High Middle Ages, at which point they diverged into the Welsh, ...

ic king who ruled in Arfderydd (now Arthuret). This is in what is now south-west Scotland and north-west England in the area around Hadrian's Wall and Carlisle during the sub-Roman period in Britain. Carwinley, near Longtown, north of Carlisle, possibly derives from

Cumbric Cumbric is an extinct Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North", in Northern England and the southern Scottish Lowlands. It was closely related to Old Welsh and the ot ...

''Caer Wenddolau'' or ''Gwenddolau's Fort''. The earthworks at Liddel Strength is also another contender for ''Caer Wenddolau''.

Men of the North

'' Bonedd Gwŷr y Gogledd'' records Gwenddoleu as one of the Men of the North and thus the genealogies claim that the legendary figure 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 Britain, Ro ...

is Gwenddoleu's great-great-great-grandfather. Coel Hen was a semi-historical figure and legend often attributes much of southern Scotland to his kingdom. These genealogies also record the names of his two brothers, Nudd and Chof.

Early life

Gwenddoleu's father was Ceidio ap Arthwys and he had two brothers, Nudd and Chof. Little is known of Chof (sometimes spelt Cof); however, parallels are often drawn between Nudd and the legendary figure of Lludd Llaw Eraint, father of Gwyn ap Nudd. Ceidio's brother, Eliffer Gosgorddfawr was presumed to have been a king of Ebrauc, believed to be the old Roman stronghold of Eburacum. Eliffer had two sons called Gwrgi and Peredur (however, it may have been as many as twelve). It is unknown when Arfderydd was founded or whether it was founded by Gwenddoleu, his father or another person all-together.

Reign

Little is known of his reign, but it ended when, as described in the ''

Annales Cambriae The (Latin for ''Annals of Wales'') is the title given to a complex of Latin chronicles compiled or derived from diverse sources at St David's in Dyfed, Wales. The earliest is a 12th-century presumed copy of a mid-10th-century original; later ...

'', the sons of Eliffer, Peredur and Gwrgi, the joint kings of Efrog, killed him at the Battle of Arfderydd in 573. It is possible he was succeeded by one of his brothers. This was one of many battles fought between Brythonic kings who led the various fractured successor states that took over the Roman province of Brittania following the Roman withdrawal. In Welsh mythology, he is the owner of one of the Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain: a magical chessboard / gwyddbwyll board. If the pieces were set, they would play by themselves. The board was of gold, and the men of silver. Although Gwenddoleu plays no part in Arthurian legend, his court adviser Myrddin formed part of the basis for the later Arthurian legends concerning the wizard

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 ...

. 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 ...

's ''

Vita Merlini , or ''The Life of Merlin'', is a Latin poem in 1,529 hexameter lines written around the year 1150. Though doubts have in the past been raised about its authorship it is now widely believed to be by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It tells the story of Me ...

'', Myrddin (Merlinus) is said to have been driven mad with grief following the death of Gwenddoleu and to have fled into the Caledonian forest. The memory of both Gwenddoleu and Myrddin was preserved in

Welsh literature Welsh literature is any literature originating from Wales or by Welsh writers: *Welsh-language literature Welsh-language literature () has been produced continuously since the emergence of Welsh from Brythonic as a distinct language in a ...

References

* Bromwich, Rachel (ed.). ''Trioedd Ynys Prydein'' (University of Wales Press, new ed. 1991). {{DEFAULTSORT:Gwenddoleu Ap Ceidio 570s deaths Northern Brythonic monarchs 6th-century English monarchs 6th-century Scottish monarchs Year of birth unknown