Thread by @ActualAurochs

*Thread*
A few likely references to Coelings in the Anierin's late 6th century poem, Y Gododdin.

For those who are unfamiliar with Y Gododdin, it is a series of elegies supposedly composed by Anierin after the disastrous battle of Catraeth. The actual circumstances of this battle are up for interpretation, date, place, participants etc.

The Gododdin were at odd with the southern kingdoms controlled by Coel Hen and his descendants, and there is indeed a reference to this in the poem itself.

"In hosts, in hordes, they fought for the land
With Godebawg's sons, savage folk."

Godebawg (Godebog, Goutepauc) meaning protector or shelterer is an epithet Coel Hen was also known by, and this line references the near two-hundred year feud between Coel and his dynasty and the kingdom of Gododdin. This is not the only reference to this dynasty however.

An entire elegy is dedicated to "Ceidio's famous son"

"Fiercely he struck with his sword,
men of Gododdin, do not deny,

as a hero none outshone,
Ceidio's famous son."

This is almost certainly a reference to Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio, who was not only a Coeling, but also a king in his own right of his realm 'Caer Wenddoleu' and the lord of the historical Merlin, Myrddin ap Madog. Gwenddoleu however certainly didn't fight at Catraeth.

Gwenddoleu died during the Battle of Arfderydd in 573, and couldn't have been present at the later Battle of Catraeth. Ceidio is given two other sons Nudd and Chof, who possibly fought at Catraeth, dispossessed of their brother's kingdom by Catraeth.

The historicity of Nudd and Chof has been questioned before however because of very overt mythological links, and as such may be a later addition, euhemerized figures placed into a genealogy that they otherwise don't belong.

Regardless of whether this is a reference to Gwenddoleu Nudd or Chof, it is still strange to find a Coeling praised here in Y Gododdin, knowing the history between them. The references don't end there however.

Soldiers stormed, fired up by mead,
Mynyddawg’s men, as one they died.
Famous in the war, they paid
for all-night feasting with their lives.

Caradog, Madog, Pwll and Ieuan,
Gwgon, Gwiawn, Gwyn and Cynfan,
steel-armed Peredur,
Aeddan and Gwawrddur.

Here we have another likely reference to a Coeling prince, Peredur ap Ellifer. Peredur was actually on the opposing side of the battle of Arfderydd, and as such was also responsible for his cousin Gwenddoleu's death.

Peredur himself is said to have died at Caer Greu when his warband abanadoned he and his brother Gwrgi. Caer Greu is generally dated to 580, which with a traditional view of the Battle of Catraeth is roughly 20 years too early.

This could indicate that not all of the heroes mentioned in Y Gododdin were actually present, and that instead the Bard included famous figures in order to bolster the fame of others. There is an alternative interpretation however.

Caer Greu and Catraeth may be the same battle, and may have even been almost a civil war amongst the Coelings, with one side allied with the Gododdin, and the other with the Angles. This would have been a borderline apocalyptic battle for The Old North, leading to Angle supremacy

There is also a reference that may preserve the name of the man who slew Arthuis ap Mar.

"Son of Swyno, a seer foretold –
died for his honour, to be called a hero,
killed Athrwys and Affrai
with his own sword."

This is from the elegy of a man named Cydywal ap Swyno.

Athrwys and Affrai were certainly important people, worthy of mentioning in the elegy of the man who slew them. Athrwys as I have written about before is generally thought to be a later development of the name Arthwys or Arthuis.

While this is too early for the later Athrwys ap Meurig, it is also too late for it to be Arthuis ap Mar (unless the theory that Catraeth took place in 580 is correct, Cydywal may have been quite old at Catraeth, and quite young when he killed Arthuis, sometime around 537)

If this Cydywal was in fact the man to kill Arthuis ap Mar, this also gives us a veiled reference to another Coeling, as Arthuis is the great-grandson of Coel Hen as well.

The evidence here is quite interesting, and can possibly give us some insights into the power dynamics of the late 6th century in the Old North. The early Catraeth theory leads one to think of it as a civil war between cousins.

On one side Urien of Rheged (also a descendant of Coel) allied with the Angles, and the other Peredur and Gwrgi of Ebrauc allied with their grandfather Arthuis' old enemy the Gododdin. Peredur and Gwrgi may have felt that overlordship of their cousins was their birthright

This of course leads to them attacking their older cousin Urien, who they may have viewed as a usurper. This enmity was great enough that they fought alongside the man responsible for their grandfather's death.

If the elegy for Ceidio's son is referencing Nudd or Chof, dispossessed of their birthright (Urien seemed to benefit the most from Arfderydd, although he doesn't seem to have been present), also put aside their differences with Peredur and Gwrgi to fight Urien.

These possibilities give us some interesting insights to possibly help rebuild the shifting political dynamics of the late Old North. This brings me to the last reference. The Bard responsible for Y Gododdin, Aneirin, was himself a Coeling!

I believe that without such speculative exercises, this time period will lay stagnant with no new developments. Even if I am wrong on any of this, it is still important in my opinion to lay these ideas out, though proving any of it is nigh-impossible.

Thank you for reading, if you enjoyed this, please check out my substack at Aurochs.substack.com as well, including my latest article detailing the Dynasty of Coel Hen from 410-600AD