King Gwrfoddw (, died c. 619) was the King of

Ergyng Ergyng (or Erging) was a Brittonic kingdom of the sub-Roman and early medieval period, between the 5th and 7th centuries. It was later referred to by the English as ''Archenfield''. Location The kingdom lay mostly in what is now western Herefor ...

, a south-east Welsh kingdom of the

early medieval The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Middle Ages of Europ ...

period. He usurped the throne from Gwrgan ap

Cynfyn King Cynfyn (; died c. 615) was the King of Ergyng, a kingdom of south-east Wales in the early medieval period. He was the son of Peibio Clafrog Peibo Clafrog (alternatively, Pepiau Glavorawc, or in Latin, Pepianus Spumosus), was King o ...

Life

According to the

Book of Llandaff The Book of Llandaff (; , ', or '), is the cartulary of the cathedral of Llandaff, a 12th-century compilation of documents relating to the history of the diocese of Llandaff in Wales. It is written primarily in Latin but also contains a signific ...

, Gwrfoddw was victorious against the

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

and granted lands on the Wye to the Bishops of Ergyng in thanks. Dr. Wendy Davies calculates his reign to have taken place between about 615 and 619. His son, Erfig, was ousted upon his death in favour of King Cynfyn's son,

Gwrgan Fawr Gwrgan Fawr (meaning ''Gwrgan the Great''; also, in Latin language, Latin, Gurgantius; English language, English Fergus; died c. 645) was a king of Ergyng, a South Wales, south-east Welsh kingdom of the Early Middle Ages. He was the son of Cynf ...

Gwrbothu Hen

Scholars

Rachel Bromwich Rachel Bromwich (30 July 1915 – 15 December 2010), born Rachel Sheldon Amos, was a British scholar. Her focus was on medieval Welsh literature, and she taught Celtic Languages and Literature in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic ...

and D. Simon Evans note that Gwrbothu Hen, a brother of

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

mother A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

who was killed by

Twrch Trwyth Twrch Trwyth (; also ), is a fabulous wild boar from the Legend of King Arthur, of which a richly elaborate account of its hunt described in the Welsh prose romance '' Culhwch and Olwen'', probably written around 1100. Its hunt involved King ...

in the 11th/12th century Welsh text ''

Culhwch and Olwen ''Culhwch and Olwen'' () is a Welsh tale that survives in only two manuscripts about a hero connected with Arthur and his warriors: a complete version in the Red Book of Hergest, , and a fragmented version in the White Book of Rhydderch, . It ...

'', may refer to Gwrfoddw. Later legendary genealogies fix him and his brothers Llygadrudd Emys, Gweir Paladr Hir, and Gweir Gwrhyd Ennwir as sons of

Amlawdd Wledig Amlawdd Wledig (Middle Welsh and other alternative spellings present in relevant sources include Amlawd, Amlawt, Anlawdd, Anlawd, Amlodd, Amlwyd, Aflawdd and Anblaud) was a legendary king of sub-Roman Britain. The Welsh title '' ledig'', archaica ...

. The Arthurian legends are generally set in the late 5th or early 6th century, some time before Gwrfoddw, though medieval stories are not always precise with their chronology. Gwrbothu's epithet ('the old' or 'the elder') is sometimes known to denote an ancestor or dynastic forebear, which provides the possibility that Gwrbothu Hen was a forefather or predecessor of Gwrfoddw.

References

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External links

Britannia EBK Biographies: Gwrfoddw Hen
One interpretation of the evidence 7th-century deaths Monarchs of Ergyng 7th-century Welsh monarchs Year of birth unknown