The Arthurian Place Names of Wales

Scott Lloyd

Description

This new book examines all of the available source materials, dating from the ninth century to the present, that have associated Arthur with sites in Wales. The material ranges from Medieval Latin chronicles, French romances and Welsh poetry through to the earliest printed works, antiquarian notebooks, periodicals, academic publications and finally books, written by both amateur and professional historians alike, in the modern period that have made various claims about the identity of Arthur and his kingdom. All of these sources are here placed in context, with the issues of dating and authorship discussed, and their impact and influence assessed. This book also contains a gazetteer of all the sites mentioned, including those yet to be identified, and traces their Arthurian associations back to their original source.

Sujets

• Arthurian
• Histoire
• Name
• Great Britain
• History
• Place
• Wales
• Europe

Informations

• Publié par: University of Wales Press
• Date de parution: 27 février 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781786830272
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

THE ARTHURIAN PLACE NAMES OF WALES
THE
ARTHURIAN PLACE NAMES OF WALES
SCOTT LLOYD
© Scott Lloyd, 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner. Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the University of Wales Press, 10 Columbus Walk, Brigantine Place, Cardiff CF10 4UP.
www.uwp.co.uk
British Library CIP Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-7868-3025-8
eISBN 978-1-7868-3027-2
The right of Scott Lloyd to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 79 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Published in cooperation with the Vinaver Trust.
The Vinaver Trust was established by the British Branch of the International Arthurian Society to commemorate a greatly respected colleague and distinguished scholar, Eugène Vinaver, editor of Malory’s Morte Darthur. The Trust aims to advance study of Arthurian literature in all languages by planning and encouraging research projects in the field, and by aiding publication of the resultant studies.
Cover design : Olwen Fowler
Cover image : Coetan Arthur,
St Davids Head © Joan
Gravell / Alamy Stock Photo
For Susie
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
List of Figures and Maps
Introduction
1 The Latin Texts
2 The French Arthurian Romances
3 The Welsh Texts
4 Humanists and Antiquarians
5 From Tourists to the Internet
Conclusion
Appendix 1 A Chronological List of the First Attestations of Arthurian Names in Wales
Appendix 2 A Gazetteer of Arthurian Sites in Wales
Anglesey
Breconshire
Caernarfonshire
Carmarthenshire
Ceredigion
Denbighshire
Flintshire
Glamorgan
Merionethshire
Monmouthshire
Montgomeryshire
Pembrokeshire
Radnorshire
Bibliography
Notes
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
T HIS PROJECT BEGAN over ten years ago and formed the basis for my MPhil thesis at Aberystwyth University in 2009. I would like to thank Michael Roberts and David Ceri Jones for their advice and supervision, and my examiner, Oliver Padel, for his constructive criticism. This book now supersedes that thesis. The two anonymous readers for University of Wales Press made many invaluable suggestions for improvement, and this book is all the better for them. The mistakes that remain are my responsibility alone. I would like to thank the Vinaver Trust for awarding a grant towards the publication of this book.
My time at Aberystwyth University was enhanced by the company of fellow postgraduates in the department, especially, Owen Collins and James Cooper. I am very grateful to everybody who came along to the Celtic Studies Reading Group in Aberystwyth and provided information on various lines of enquiry, in particular Simon Rodway who runs the group and has been generous with his advice, Barry Lewis for his in-depth discussions about many topics and Jenny Day for her help with medieval Welsh poetry. I have been a member of the International Arthurian Society since 2007 and was honoured to serve on the committee of the British Branch for a three-year term from 2010 to 2013. It is the most helpful, friendliest and encouraging group of scholars I know. David Dumville, P. J. C. Field, Marged Haycock, Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan, Marieke Meelen, Thea Summerfield and Alex Woolf have all provided invaluable information and references. I would also like to thank the staff at the National Library of Wales, Hugh Owen Library, Bangor University Archives, Grays Inn Library and the Bodleian Library for their help and advice and Jon Dollery for his help with GIS mapping.
I would like to thank my parents, my sister Fay and her husband Liam and my nephews Jake and Elliot for all of their support over the years. I would also like to thank the following: Lucille and David Strachan, whose kindness and caravan will for ever be appreciated; my fellow booksellers, Stephen Whitaker and the late Jane Wolfe and all the customers who made Gildas Books in Chester a pleasure to own and run; Janet Bord and Tristan Gray Hulse, who have always been generous with their time and advice; Arnold Bantzer, James Crane and John Williams, who have been good friends for a long time; and colleagues, past and present, at the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. The greatest gratitude goes to Gwilym and Ceinwen and, most importantly of all, Susie Fielding, without whom this book would never have been completed.
FIGURES AND MAPS
Figures
1 An aerial view of Carn Gafallt SW of Rhayader showing the numerous cairns on the summit, any one of which could be the heap of stones mentioned in the Mirabilia . ©Crown Copyright RCAHMW.
2 For her 1849 edition of the Mabinogion Lady Charlotte Guest ‘prevailed upon a gentleman to undertake a pilgrimage to the summit of Cefn Carn Cavall’. His account included this sketch of a stone, ‘two feet in length and not quite a foot wide’, which he thought might be the stone noted in the Mirabilia .
3 An illustration from L’Estoire del Saint Graal (written c .1220) in Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS fr. 105, f. 103 ( c .1320) showing Crudel, the king of Norgales (North Wales), imprisoning Joseph of Arimathea and his followers. This predates his association with Glastonbury by at least thirty years. © Bibliothèque Nationale de France.
4 A page from the Black Book of Carmarthen (written c .1250) showing a section of the poem about Arthur at Llongborth. His name can be seen two lines above the lacuna in the manuscript. By permission of Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / The National Library of Wales.
5 Aerial view of the Presceli Hills where Arthur hunted the Twrch Trwyth in Culhwch and Olwen. © Crown Copyright RCAHMW.
6 Maen Huail situated on the town square in Ruthin. A folktale preserved by Elis Gruffydd ( c .1550) relates how Arthur beheaded Huail on this stone. © Scott Lloyd.
7 The name Pikel Arthur, given to a standing stone near Ro Wen in Carnarfonshire, is first attested in NLW Peniarth 267, p. 40 written by John Jones of Gellilyfdy ( c .1635). By permission of Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / The National Library of Wales.
8 The hillfort of Moel Arthur in Flintshire. This is one of several Arthurian names first attested in the correspondence of Edward Lhwyd during his research for the 1695 edition of William Camden’s Britannia . © Crown Copyright RCAHMW.
9 Map of Bardsey Island from 1748 by Lewis Morris, including a note referring to a reef called Gorffrydiau Caswennan, where Arthur’s ship Gwennan was supposedly wrecked. By permission of Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / The National Library of Wales.
10 Carreg Carn March Arthur, a stone marking the border between Flintshire and Denbighshire, from an extra-illustrated edition of Thomas Pennant’s A Tour in Wales . By permission of Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / The National Library of Wales.
11 Maen Arthur, the name given to a rocking stone near Dolbenmaen, Caernarfonshire, from the unpublished ‘Celtic Antiquites of Snowdonia’ (1772) by the Rev. Richard Farrington (NLW 1118C, p. 180). By permission of Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / The National Library of Wales.
Maps
1 The distribution of Arthurian names first attested pre-1550
2 Arthurian names first attested by Edward Lhwyd and his correspondents 1693–7
3 The pre-1974 county boundaries of Wales used in the Gazetteer
4 The modern county boundaries of Wales
5 The Arthurian sites of north Wales
6 The Arthurian sites of south Wales
INTRODUCTION

I know something about place-names: it is one of my research interests. But Arthurian place names! On Arthurian place-names I have no expertise whatsoever. Neither has anyone else, as far as I can discover. I know of no scholarly discussion on the subject […] it needs to be done for Britain […] It would help to suppress a whole lot of nonsense. 1
T HE INTERNATIONAL APPEAL of the Arthurian legend plays a prominent role in popular culture, being the subject of Hollywood films, best-selling novels, documentaries, video games, musicals, works of art and thousands of websites. Wales has long had a prominent association with the legend. It is where the earliest sources were written, and the legend, in varying degrees, has played a role in the national identity of Wales since the medieval period. The Welsh landscape contains more sites with an Arthurian association than anywhere else, and many of these continue to attract both curious visitors and the attention of scholars. Surprisingly, despite this interest, no comprehensive study of these sites and names exists. What is the earliest notice of an Arthurian place name? Did the site have an earlier name? Who first recorded the association? These are the questions that this work will examine. By surveying all the available sources it is possible to show how interest in the legend has ebbed and flowed over the centuries and how fashions in antiquarian and academic thought have combined to give us the Arthurian landscape we see today.
The academic study of the Arthurian legend falls broadly into two schools: the study of medieval literatures from the twelfth to the sixteenth century from across Europe; and the study of Arthur as a potential historical figure who flourished in the early sixth century and fought against the Saxons. The first school produces most of the published work, and university language departments all over the world run courses on Arthurian literature while important authors such as Chrétien de Troyes and Thomas Malory have become academic fields in their own right. Paradoxically, the smaller second school is better known to the public at large and attempts to prove, or disprove, the h