Eudaf Hen: a Cymric Mabinogi Hero (Lying Tongue, the Old)

Synonyms:
Cym: Lying Tongue, the Old

Eudaf Hen is known from the Mabinogion of Breuddwyd Macsen and the old Cymric genealogies. In the tale of The Dream of Maximus Magnus Maximus, emperor of Rome, has a dream where he sees a magnificent castle. Within the castle there is a great hall and in this hall two youths are playing gwyddbwyll using a silver board. Beside a pillar in the hall he saw a hoary-headed man sitting before a golden gwyddbwyll board and carving pieces with a file from a rod of gold. Before this man sat a maiden in a chair of ruddy gold. She was the fairest maiden that he had ever seen. Magnus Maximus instantly falls in love with the maiden and urged by his counsellors he sends messengers to seek her out. Finally she is found and Magnus Maximus assembles his host and ventures forth to gain her hand.

The wise men of Rome are brought and he tells them why he is sorrowful. They urge him to send messengers to all parts of the empire so that they may seek-out his dream. Eventually the messengers see the fleet and the castle and upon entering they meet the maiden of Macsen's dream. The maiden does not believe their tale and requests that if their tale be true the emperor should journey thence to seek her. Immidiately the messengers arrived the emperor set forth with his army. They journeyed towards Britain where he conquered the island from Beli mab Manogan and his sons, driving them into the sea. From there they journeyed to Arfon and the emperor immediately recognized the land. He went to the castle where he saw the two youths, Cynan mab Eudaf and Adeon mab Eudaf playing gwyddbwyll and he saw Eudaf mab Caradog sitting in his ivory chair carving chessmen. There he saw the maiden, (who was Elen daughter of Eudaf and hailed her. The next day she asked him for her maiden portion, which was the Island of Britain to be held by her father for her from the channel to the Irish Sea and she would have three castles made for her; the first and greatest in Arfon (which would become known as Caernarfon), the second Caerleon and the third at Caerfyrddin. Thus did Eudaf gain the kingship of Britain, though he held it in trust for Magnus Maximus. Thus Cynan, who is presented as Eudaf's son in this tale is disposessed and this is why he follows Maximus as he attempts to re-gain Rome. Cynan subsequently conquers and subdues Armorica, converting it to the realm of Llydaw (Brittany).

In Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae the cognate character is probably Octavius who purportedly reigned in Britain when Constantine the Great was emperor in Rome. Constantine was crowned king of the Britons in 306 CE (the coronation taking place in York). However, as Constantine's power-base grew he went to Rome to rule, leaving Britain the the charge of a proconsul. This course of events prompted Octavius, then Duke of Gewissei [Ariconium] to initiate a rebellion. Octavius murders the porconsul and his aides to take the crown of Britain as his own (there is an echo here of how Caswallon gained the throne of Britain in the Mabinogi of Branwen ferch Llŷr).

Constantine was forced to react and he sent his great-uncle Trahern at the head of three legions to do battle with Octavius. The legions landed at Caer Peris, capturing the fortresss and forcing Octavius to raise an army by conscription the whole of Britain. The legions and this army met outside Winchester where Octavius was victorious. Trahern fled to Albany (Scotland) and pillaged the land. Of necessity, Octavius pursued him and the two forces engaged in battle outside Westmorland. However, Octavius was defeated this time and was forced to flee to Norway whilst Trahern took the cronw as his own. In Norway Octavius sought the aid of King Gunbert. Meanwhile, in Britain, Octavius' supporters managed to ambush Trahern and they killed him allowing Octavius to return and regain the throne. Well into Octavius' rule he decided to marry his only daughter to the Roman emperor Maximianus (Magnus Maximus). As a result of this, and after a struggle with his nephew, Conan Meriadoc (Cynan Meriadog) Eudaf abdicated and the throne of Britain was given to Magnus Maximus. This being where Geoffrey of Monmouth's tale dovetails into the Mabinogion of Breuddwyd Macsen.

However, the situation is not nearly as clear-cut as Geoffrey would have us believe, as exemplified by this genealogy of Saint Cattog from the Jesus College MS 20 genealogy: Cattwg m Gwynlliw m Gliws M Ffilur M Nor m Owein m Maxen (Maxen Wledig king of the Britons, and after that emperor of Rome, and Cynan the king [of Britain] in his stead) Cynan m Eudaf m Custenin m Maxen m Maximianus m Constantinus m Custeint (Constantinus' mother was Eled Lluyddog, she who won the cross in Jerusalem a part of which she bore to Constantinople and another part she sent to the Britons and with her was Owein her son. Owein was also the son of Maxen by Ceindrech daughter of Rheiden). Rheiden m Eledi m Morddu m Meirchiawn m Caswallon (In the time of this Caswallon the Romans levied a tax on the Island of Britain) Caswallon m Beli Fawr m Anna (This Anna being she whom the men of Egypt said was a cousin of the virgin Mary). It is fairly obvious that many of the Roman characters are duplicated and Eudaf's daugher Elen Lluyddog is given as the mother of Constantinus, though the tale of a relationship between her and Magnus Maximus is maintained.

Eudaf's name can be derived from the Cymric components eu (lie, falsehood) and tafod (tongue) thus he is the 'Lying Tongue'. This is very derogatory in tone and strikes me as more an epithet rather than a personal name. Perhaps his full title was originally Octafiws Eudaf (Octavius Lying-tongue) which would link the Cymric genology with Geoffrey's tale. Another genealogy is that of the children of Cunedda which gives their mother as Gwawl daughter of Coel Hen. The wife of Coel Hen being the daughter of Gadeon son of Eudaf Hen. [This Eudaf Hen being the same personage as given above]. Thus it would seem that another epithet of Eudaf was 'Hen' (The Old). In he genealogies, however, the epithet 'Hen' may simply refer to the antiquity of the person named rather than being a true contemporary epithet.

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