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FOUNDATIONS OF 'THE MEN OF THE NORTH' - PART 1
By
Darrell Wolcott
We have used our research papers to acquaint modern families of Welsh ancestry, with the
people, and their deeds, found in your pedigrees. In this paper, we shall probe the ancestors of those 10th to 13th
century ancestors you already know about. No doubt you've wondered why the men of ancient Wales often spoke of the "Gwyr
y Gogledd" or "Men of the North". This was "where they came from" just as they are "where you came from".[1]
The specific men to be discussed here will be the inhabitants who ruled or resided in the
area of northern Britain which lies between the two great Roman walls, with our time period being prior to 500AD. By that
date, there were two kingdoms which occupied this area: Alt Clut was the western part while Manaw Gododdin was the eastern
half.
In the old pedigrees [2], Afallach ap Aflech ap Beli Mawr was born c. 70BC as the brother
of Tasciovanus. The latter was king of the Catuvellauni tribe whose descendants resisted the Roman invasions of the
Isle of Britain, and who remained in the area just south of London. They are not associated with Welsh genealogies,
but Afallach was the father of two sons who did relocate elsewhere in Britain:
70
BC Afallach
_________________l________________
l l
35 BC Euddolen 40BC
Owain
Euddolen seems to have married a princess of the Brigantes tribe and resettled north of the Humber
River. His
descendants included (1) Coel Hen and (2) the old Powys dynasty; we will discuss that family branch in another paper.
Owain ap Afallach probably married into the Votadini tribe and relocated to the lands just below
the Firth of Forth. His son, Bryddgwyn, was living when Emperor Claudius claimed lower Britain for the Roman empire. The Votadini,
together with the other Celt tribes located north of the Solway Firth, were not initially "conquered" by the Romans but existed
as client-states under peace agreements. The grandson of Bryddgwyn, Onwedd ap Dubun, was living when the Romans constructed
a masonry barrier (Hadrian's Wall) in the 120's. Originally, this marked the northern border of the Roman empire in Britain,
but in the next generation, Anwerydd ap Onwedd, saw the Romans extend the empire to include them by constructing an earthen
barrier between the Votadini lands and the Caledonian Picts of the far north highlands.
The grandson of Amwerydd, Dwfyn ap Amgolydd, was living when his tribe merged with their neighbors to
the west, the Damnonii tribe. It is not known at what point this family first attained the kingship of the Votadini,
but Rome had long since abandoned the desire to hold the far north of Britain, and were happy to have the friendly Votadini
serve as a buffer between the civilized folks of Britian and the barbarians of the Caledonians.
About the year 200, Dwfyn died and the land between the Roman walls was divided between his sons.
140 Dwfyn
__________________l___________________
l
l
170 Doli
175 Deheuwaint
The elder son, Doli, became the new ruler of the Votadini, while Deheuwaint served as his
regional governor residing at Din Eidon, later to be called Edinburgh. Doli resided at the manor of his father at Traprain
Law, where he had two sons:
170
Doli ap Dwfyn
______________l__________________
l
l
200
Confer 205
Cein
About 230, Doli sent Confer to govern the western portion of his lands at Alt Clud, established his nephew, Cynfyn
ap Deheuwaint, as governor of the eastern part at Din Eidon, and gave his youngest son, Cein, the manor at Traprain Law. The
family's relationship with the Romans remained cordial and their lifestyle was little affected by their overlords.
THE DIN EIDON FAMILY:
It
would appear that the family of Cynfyn ap Deheuwaint had a single line of sons. In the 3rd generation after Cynfyn, we believe
Llew Hen ap Gwyddion ap Caradog ap Cynfyn, born c. 310, secured a family relationship with his Roman overlords by marrying
a daughter of Constantine the Great. [3] His son bears a striking Latin name, Cinis Scaplaut (with the shoulders), probably
meaning he wore Roman military epaulets. His son and successor was Decion, born c. 375, whose reign at Din Eidon saw
the Roman Legions withdraw from Britain after nearly 400 years. By the year 495, Llawdden Llyddog ap Cadleu ap Cadell
ap Decion, was the acknowledged ruler of the kingdom renamed Lothian, the Latin form of his name.
THE ALT CLUD FAMILY:
Little
is known of this family during the 3rd and 4th centuries beyond the names in their king list. Cynloyp ap Cinhil ap Cluim
ap Cursalem ap Fer ap Confer was born c. 355 and may have lived long enough to see the Romans withdraw from Britain.
When the native Britons were forced to arrange their own defense against raiders from all sides of the isle, the office of
"overking" was established to coordinate the activities of the various individual tribal warbands. Among the regional
military commanders, appointed about the year 415, was Ceretic ap Cynlop of Alt Clud. This Ceretic Wledig is mentioned
in the Life of St. Colomba.
Dyfnwal
Hen ap Cinuit ap Ceretic Wledig was born c. 450. He has been confused with another man of this name who was born 90
years earlier and who was descended from Anwn Dynod, the son of Elen ferch Eudaf Hen by a "Maxen" from Rome.[4] But
the Dyfnwal Hen of Alt Clud (later called Strathclyde) was followed by his son, Clinoch, the son of that man, Tudwal, and
finally by Rhydderch Hen ap Tudwal of c. 540. It was this Rhydderch who performed almost all of the deeds which historians
usually ascribe to Rhydderch Hael, a great-grandson of that earlier Dyfnwal Hen. Rhydderch Hen died in 612 and the Strathclyde
kingship was continued by Neithon ap Cynan of a cousin line.
THE TRAPRAIN LAW FAMILY
Cein
ap Doli was followed by his son, Gwyndog, born c. 235. That man's grandson, Tegid ap Iago, actually bore the Latin name,
Tacitus. We believe this non-kingly line consisted of men who served as junior officers in the Roman legions.
The son of Tegid was called Padarn Beisrudd, the Brythonic Celt version of Paternus with the Red Cloak. In the next
generation, Edern was actually born Eternus. Born c. 355, he was living when the Romans left Britain. We suggest
Edern was an early addition to the military officers assembled by Britain's new government, with a sufficiently elevated rank
that he married a daughter of Coel Hen, the dux Britannia, and acknowledged king of all north Britain below Hadrian's Wall.
By c. 410, their son, Cunedda, was given Wledig rank.
A NON-NATIVE FAMILY ALSO
FOUND "BETWEEN THE ROMAN WALLS"
In the final years of Roman rule in Britain, there was a hybrid family headed by Anwn Dynod [4], whose father was the son
of the Roman Emperor and whose mother was the daughter of the king of north Wales. One grandson of Anwn had relocated
to Dyfed and intermarried with the Deisi tribe. Another, Dyfnwal Hen ap Ednyfed, was assigned by the Roman army to a
post in the far north of Britain as their ambassador to the tribes who resided in Manaw Gododdin. Born c. 360, this
man's family intermarried with the men of those lands, both before and after the Romans finally left Britain.
There are no ancient sources which cite any such marriages, but we suggest they became inter-twined with the Manaw Gododdin
families in a manner similar to this:
325 Padern
330 Ednyfed
344 Cinis
l
l
_________l___________
l
l
l
l
355 Edern
360 Dyfnwal Hen======daughter 375
375 Decion
l
_________l________
l
l
l
l
l
385 Cunedda===========daughter
400 390 Cedic 405 Cadell
l
l
l
9 sons [5]
420 Tudwal Tudclyd 435 Cadleu
l
l
450 Rhydderch Hael
465 Llawdden
Llyddog
RELOCATED TO WALES STAYED IN GODODDIN KINGS OF LOTHIAN
NOTES:
{1] The families in
Gwynedd, Powys and Ceredigion mostly descend from Beli Mawr, but those in Morgannwg call their patriarch Llyr Llediath.
Those old families are discussed in the paper at the link below:
[3] This marriage explains
why Constantina, daughter of Constantine, was inserted into this family's pedigree in Harl 3859, 16
[4] See our paper on
the family of Anwn Dynod at the link below:
[5] For a discussion
of the sons of Cunedda who moved to Wales with their father, click the link below:
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