Prydein: Eponymous Cymric Frist Ruler of Britain

Synonyms:
Cym: Britain

Prydein is a figure almost entirely erased from Cymric mythos. However, because of this figure's survival in a number of early poems it is possible to reconstruct at least a portion of Prydein's mythos. Most people are aware of the tale told in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regium Brittonum that Britain was first settled by Brutus the Trojan and his followers (hence the name of Britain is derived from that of Brutus). This tale of Geoffrey's also made it into the Cymric Bruts and became part of the standard tale of the settlement of Britain. However, in comparison with the Irish Lebor Gabála Érenn (Book of the Invasions of Ireland) which names and exponds on the six (or seven if the Fomorians are counted) successive settlements and/or invasions of Ireland. It's true that much of the Lebor Gabála is pseudo-history, yet it does point to the way the insular Celts thought of their history and it seems surprising that no similar account existed for Britain.

Part of the reason for this lies with Geoffrey of Monmouth account which later became part of Cymric mythos meaning that many of the earlier traditions withered. However, it is essentially impossible to eliminate a tradition entirely and fragments of earlier tales still remain scattered through the ancient Cymric poems and genealogies. In his Historia Regium Geoffrey of Monmouth gives a list of the early kings of Britain. This king list has found its way into a number of the Cymric genealogies (the entire genalogy is given in full in the Jesus College MS 20 genealogies as enweu Brenhinoedd y Brytanyeit (The Names of the Kings of the Britons). The portion of interest lies 13 generations from Brutus in Geoffrey's genealogies. However, they do not all agree. Brut Dingestow, which is based on Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regium agrees with this latter text, but three other genealogies (derived from Peniarth MS 7's Ystoria Gruffudd ap Cynan, Peniarth 75 and Peniarth 131) all disagree as given below:

Comparison of Cymric Genealogies
Peniarth 75	Peniarth 131	Gryffudd ap Cynan	Brut Dingestow	Historia Regium
Seisyll	Seisill	Seiryoel	Seisill	Seisill
Antonius	Antonius	Antonius	Yago	Iago
Aedd Mawr	Aedd Mawr	Aedd Mawr	—	—
—	—	—	Kynuarch	Kinmarch
—	—	—	Goronwy–Dygu	Gorbodug
Prydein	Prydain	Prydein	Porrex	Porrex

The first three MSS give Prydein instead of Geoffrey's Porrex and miss-out Cynfarch and Goronwy substituting Aedd Mawr as either Prydein's father or his near ancestor. This begs the obvious question: if all these manuscripts are based on Geoffrey of Monmouth's work, why the discrepancies?

Peniarth 17 dates to about 1250 and, as a result is almost as old as the first version of the Bruts and may represent an older tradition, still preserved, where the tales of Prydein and Aedd Mawr were extant and thus these two figures were insterted for two others (as above) in Geoffrey of Monmouth's genealogies. One thing that the three Peniarth MSS above (and the six other manuscripts in which this alternate genealogy is written) have in common is that they can be considered 'bardic' volumes. That is, they were based on the antiquarian knowlege and poems of the Cymric bards. Do we have an example here of an earlier bardic tradition surviving into the later middle ages? It's certainly tempting to speculate that this is true. As keepers of the older oral traditions the bards would have been loath to let go of the ancient tales and thus they kept the older names even when trying to reconcile them with the king lists of Geoffrey of Monmouth.

In support of Prydein and Aedd Mawr belonging to an older native tradition is the poem Enweu Ynys Brydein yw Hynn (These are the Names of the Island of Britain) which comes from the Peniarth MS 5, the second half of the Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch; the first verso of which is:

Kyntaf hewv a uu ar yr Ynys Hon kyn no'e chael na'e chyuanhedu: (C)las Merdin
Ac vedy y chael a'e chyuanhedu, Y Vel Ynys
Ac wedy y goresgyn o Brydein vab Aed MAwr, y dodet arnei Ynys Brydein

The first name for this Islad, before it was taken and populated: Myrddin's Enclosure
And after it was taken and settled, the Island of Honey
And after it was conquered by Prydein, son of Aedd the Great it was termed the Island of Prydein.

This poem (the first in the list of the various names asssociated with Britain) strongly suggests that Britain is eponymously named after Prydein mad Aedd Mawr after Prydein conquers the island. This points to a conquest tale involving Prydein defeating Britain. Interestingly eight generations before Prydein we have Llŷr Lledieith in the genealogies. Llŷr may have been the leader of the Cymric giants who were opposed to the Cymric gods, the Plant Dôn (indeed, two generations after Prydein we have Beli in the genealogies. Thus we may have echoes here of three invasions of Britain: First by the Plant Llŷr, then by Prydein and then by the Plant Dôn which would point to there once having been tales of the 'Conquest of Britain' in which Prydein played a major part and in which the island itself was named in his honour.

We also have some information derived from a note maed by Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt, whose famous library was bequaethed to WWE Wynne of Peniarth and from there was purchased by the National Library of Wales. In his Notes to the Trioedd Ynys Prydein (NLW MS 7857D) where he states that though Prydein is not mentioned by Geoffrey of Monmouth 'yet this his [Prydein's] history is maintained by very good authority, as partly by the Triades, the ancient laws of the Britons [this seems to be an error, unless Vaughan had a MS of the Laws of Hywel Dda in his posession which is now lost] our old books of Pedigrees; he is mentioned in the life of Gr. ap Cynan, and by the Red Book of Hergest [this refers to the Enweu Ynys Prydein, above] and by another parchemnt manuscript of my own, of the same antiquity or very near it, als oby a fair British book written on vellum ... of the handwriting of Guttyn Owen, and by other both ancient and modern writers; whereby it may appear that it is not any new invention, but a very ancient historical tradition supported with grave authority extant long before the curiosity of later ages.' Thus it would seem that Robert Vaughan was in no doubt as to the veracity of the tradition concerning Prydein and he seems to have had manuscripts in his posession confirming this, but which are now lost to us.

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