The Name and Battle of Arfderydd, near Carlisle

The battle of Arfderydd, fought near Carlisle in 573 (or perhaps 575), appears in many accounts of North Britain. Yet more can perhaps be said on its location and the meaning of its name. This paper thus has two functions: it reviews what has been written on the conflict between 1860 to 2009, and then sets out a new etymology for Arfderydd, with implications for where the action took place

The Arthurian Battle of Badon and Braydon Forest, Wiltshire

No abstract

Some Welsh and Irish Translations

Much Welsh and Irish literature consists of translation. Amongst the earliest records of the Celtic languages are glosses on Latin; at a later date we have religious and historical texts translated from Latin, and romances translated from French and (in the fifteenth century) English; in the sixteenth century Welsh and Irish first appear in print with translations of Protestant and Catholic texts; while from about 1800 appear various works conveniently described as 'modern'. There is also a long tradition of translation from Welsh and Irish as well as into them. Early examples described in Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages, ed. R. S. Loomis (Oxford, 1959). include the lost Welsh sources tor the legends of King Arthur and Tristan and Isolde, and the Irish Fled Bricreen which provided the beheading theme for Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; while in recent years translations from Celtic have moved further afield, including Spanish versions of the Welsh Mabinogion and Irish Lebor Gabál

British Places and Rauf de Boun\u27s Bruit

Considers place names in Le Petit Bruit, a short prose chronicle of the early fourteenth century

Caer Brythwch and Brythach and Nerthach in \u27Culhwch and Olwen\u27

No abstract

Who Was King Arthur’s Sir Modred?

Sir Modred was nephew to the King Arthur of legend; Medrawd was loyal comrade to the Arthur of history. In legend, Modred is a traitor and rebel who kills his uncle. In history, Medrawd was a warrior who fell (with Arthur) in 537 CE at «Camlan» (identified as the fort of Castlesteads, near Carlisle, northern England). Welsh bards long remembered Medrawd as a hero; Spanish readers have known Modred as a traitor since the Middle Ages. So this paper has three purposes. First, to reveal Medrawd as a historical character, a sixthcentury hero of North Britain, like Arthur himself. Second, to show how Medrawd’s reputation was permanently blackened in the twelfth century by Geoffrey of Monmouth. Third, to provide an etymology for Medrawd, a British form unrelated to the Cornish ‘Modred’ clamped upon the warrior by Geoffrey, with his usual cavalier attitude to history.Sir Modred fue sobrino del rey Arturo de la leyenda; Medrawd fue un leal camarada del Arturo histórico. En la leyenda, Modred es un traidor y rebelde que mata a su tío. En la historia, Medrawd fue un guerrero que cayó (junto a Arturo) en el año 537 d.C. en «Camlan» (identificado como la fortificación de Castlesteads, cerca de Carlisle, en el norte de Inglaterra). Los bardos galeses recordaron a Medrawd largo tiempo como un héroe, mientras que los lectores españoles han conocido a Modred como un traidor desde la Edad Media. Así pues, este trabajo tiene tres objetivos. Primero, mostrar a Medrawd como un personaje histórico, un héroe del norte de Inglaterra en el siglo VI, como fue el propio Arturo. Segundo, exponer cómo la reputación de Medrawd quedó ensombrecida para siempre en el siglo XII por obra de Godofredo de Monmouth. Tercero, proponer una etimología para Medrawd, que es una forma británica no relacionada con la córnica Modred que Godofredo aplicó al guerrero, con su habitual desdén hacia la historia.