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With
the expulsion of
Roman officials in AD 409 (see feature link),
Britain again became
independent of Rome and was not re-occupied. The fragmentation which
had begun to emerge towards the end of the fourth century now appears
to have accelerated, with minor princes, newly declared kings, and
Roman-style magistrates all vying for power and influence while also
facing the threat of extinction at the hands of the various barbarian
tribes which were encroaching from all sides.
In
the west, largely in what would become modern
Wales, this process
seems to have started earlier and taken place more quickly. Even by the
start of the fifth century it is apparent that several territories had
emerged here. The process seems to have been triggered by the
reorganisations of Magnus Maximus in the late fourth century (see
feature link), with what later tradition would claim as the creation
of the 'kingdoms' of
'North Wales',
'South Wales', and
'Mid-South Wales'.
Dogfeilion
was a minor sub-kingdom which was located inside the eastern border of
Venedotia (see feature
link). It was bordered to the south by the territory of the
Paganes (early
Powys), to the south-west
by Edeyrnion, and to
the west by Rhufoniog,
and formed part of early
Gwynedd's overall
domain. Upon the death of Cunedda Wledig, the traditional first ruler
of Gwynedd, his youngest son, Dogfael, gained his inheritance and the
land was named in his honour.
At
its height, Dogfeilion's territory seems to have extended much
farther east (see the map of Cymru via the link), but this was
largely lost to
English incursions.
The sub-kingdom's royal family, dominated in turn by Powys and Gwynedd,
managed to avoid total subjugation by gaining themselves territory in
the south of Britain in the form of the sub-kingdom of
Glastenning, which
Powys did not claim and into which Gwynedd could not easily ride.
Dogfeilion princes also controlled the sub-kingdom or territory of
Pengwern to the west.
As a result, they had two warbands, one across Dogfeilion and Pengwern
and one in Glastenning. This gave them the resources to be major players,
with family members in each area. They were able to gain a position of
strength in Powysian politics (probably through marriage) and eventually
became ruling princes there.
The '-ing' suffix which is sometimes seen in the Dogfeilion name is an
English interpretation (or misinterpretation), showing up as 'Dogfeiling'.
The equivalent Welsh suffix
is '-ion' and the two seem to have been an automatic translation between
the languages, with the Anglo-Saxons habitually substituted 'ing for
'-ion'.
The principality and its ruling dynasty should more properly be
'Dogfeilion', although Welsh consonant shifts always leave room for
uncertainty. The 'dog' in 'Dogfeil' refers to the deity Dagda (Dog/Dag
'the Good'). The '-feil' is altered '-mail' (mal) which means 'servant',
and is precisely the same word as '-fael' in Cynfael (there were no
regular spellings in early records which relate to this period). So
'Dogfeil' makes sense as 'servant of [the god] Dagda'.
The sub-kingdom's capital may have been at Ruthin. This name was coined
for a newly-built red sandstone castle on the site called Rhuthun, from
'rhudd' and 'din', meaning 'red tower', However, it is also known as
Castell Coch yng Ngwern-fôr (seemingly a more recent name), and
there seems to have been a wooden tower on the hill prior to the
construction of the red sandstone castle.
Prior to that a Roman-era fort was built on the hill to house a single
cohort of legionnaires. This, of course, would have been modified
during the subsequent Romano-British period to serve British cavalry,
with a tower as a refuge. It is highly likely that this fort would have
continued in use with the men of Dogfeilion, and may in part have been
the wooden tower which was replaced by a red sandstone castle.
Principal author(s):Page created:Page last updated:
(Information by Peter Kessler and Edward Dawson, with additional
information by Mak Wilson, from The Landscape of King Arthur,
Geoffrey Ashe, from Roman Britain: A New History, Guy de la
Bédoyère, from History of the Kings of Britain,
Geoffrey of Monmouth, from the Historia Brittonum (The History
of the Britons), Nennius, and De Excidio Brittaniae et Conquestu
(On the Ruin of Britain), Gildas (both J A Giles, Ed & Trans, 1841,
published as part of Six Old English Chronicles (Henry G Bohn,
London, 1848)), from Marwnad Cynddylan (The Lament for
Cynddylan), from the Annales Cambriae, James Ingram (taken from
the Harleian manuscript, the earliest surviving version, London, Everyman
Press, 1912), from The Oxford History of England: Anglo-Saxon
England, Sir Frank Stenton, from Wales and the Britons, 350-1064,
T M Charles-Edwards (Oxford University Press, 2013), and from External
Link:
English Heritage.)
fl c.445
Dogfael ap Cunedag
Eighth son of Cunedda Wledig of
Venedotia. First prince.
Geoffrey of Monmouth's Bishop Eledenius is the little-known St Elidan, a
member of the British
Church who later has parish churches dedicated in his name in the Vale
of Clwyd. This places him firmly within Dogfeilion territory in western
Britain.
This map of Britain concentrates on British territories
and kingdoms which were established during the fourth and
fifth centuries AD, as the Saxons and Angles began their
settlement of the east coast (click or tap on map to view
full sized)
According to William of Malmesbury, Cyndrwyn Glas settles in
Glastenning with his
livestock after finding it deserted, migrating there from Luit Coyt (an early
connection to this place in
Pengwern which will later
become important to him and his offspring). His epithet, 'Glas', means 'blue',
a typical Welsh naming pun for
a redhead. Is this pun the origin of the name 'Glastenning' (and therefore
'Glastonbury')?
Cyndrwyn Glas appears to be a ruling prince or sub-king there, and a Cyndrwyn
Fawr also appears as a leader in Pengwern around AD 613. Given the links
between the Dogfeilion princes and Pengwern, this could also be Cyndrwyn
Glas.
The word 'fawr' means 'great' in Brythonic/Welsh, suggesting that he has
built a reputation for himself. Could he also be Cyndrwyn 'the Stubborn'
of South Powys, especially
given the Powysian dominance over Pengwern which provides direct link
between the two?
In terms of Cyndrwyn's personal name, the first part, 'cyn', is 'dog'.
This is a common naming form for
Celtic
leaders, appearing variously as 'cuno', or 'cune', or 'con'. The second
part, 'drwyn', is yet another typically Welsh/Celtic pun which is 'trwyn'
in modern Welsh,
meaning 'nose, snout, nozzle, proboscis'. In other words, Cyndrwyn means
'dog nose'.
The British fort at Caer Luit Coyt (Wall by Lichfield
in modern Staffordshire) had been an important staging
point on Watling Street, the Roman military road into
North Wales, and was inherited and used as a regional
capital by Romano-Britons
c.612
While Glastenning is
inherited by Morfael, son of Cyndrwyn, this point marks the first appearance
of the Dogfeilion in Powys and
Pengwern. Morfael is also
a sub-king within Pengwern, at
Caer Luit Coyt, while his
brother, Eiludd Powys, becomes ruler of Powys (which potentially remains
overlord of the Pengwern territory).
Given Welsh emphasis on ancestry
to qualify for a throne, it seems likely that a Dogfeilion leader (probably
Cyndrwyn Glas) had married a daughter of the ruling prince of Powys,
qualifying his descendants to rule Powys by the rules of descent of
Gwynedd (which had
been inherited from their ancestors, the
PictishVenicones).
Romans and
Romano-Britons use
primogeniture, but Pictish rules are that any descendant, regardless of
the form of that descent, is qualified to inherit (meaning that even
bastard sons of wayward daughters can show up and claim a piece of a
territory or even a kingship). The fact that the Dogfeilion are accepted
as rulers of Powys (and that part of Powys which is known as Pengwern) is
very telling. There has to be a valid claim of descent.
In one of the bloodiest and hardest fought battles of its time, several
British kings form a
coalition to halt Æthelfrith of
Bernicia at the Battle
of Caer Legion (Chester). Cearl of the
Mercians could also
be involved on the British side (according to scholarly theory).
The River Dee probably formed the border between
northern Powys and south-western Rheged during
the sixth century AD, and until the fall of the
latter in the early seventh century
Iago of Gwynedd and
Selyf of Powys are both killed,
and the battle is a disastrous British defeat. However, Æthelfrith
does not occupy the territory around Chester. Just who does is unknown,
and the entire history of this region from the
post-Roman
period to the tenth century is extremely sketchy.
One possibility is that the line of the River Dee is successfully defended
by the people living just to the west of it - the Dogfeilion - who are able
to claim great prestige from being the victorious defenders of the western
Britons. Another possibility is that groups of
Angles
who are not under Bernicia's control settle the region to the east of the
Dee, and are later subsumed within
Mercia.
Bledric ap Custennin, king of
Dumnonia, dies at the Battle
of Bangor-is-Coed, which follows very soon afterwards. A certain Brochfael
is named as the commander of Caer Legion at this time, and may be one of
the sons of Powys' Brochfael, potentially the first ruling prince of
Pengwern.
After
this, the Dogfeilion kings appear to move in on Pengwern (perhaps due to
their theoretical defence of the Dee). The monks of Bangor-is-Coed are
present at the battle to pray for divine support, but they too are
slaughtered. The act is seen as divine retribution for their refusal to
help evangelise the
English in 603 (see one
of Geoffrey of Monmouth's more accurate entries about this campaign via
the feature link).
The Glastonbury region seems to have experienced a power
vacuum in the mid-fifth century which allowed the
Dogfeilion to walk in and take over - or be appointed
there, perhaps
c.642 - ?
Elaed ap Eiludd
Son. Ruler of Dogfeilion.
652 - 658
Two West Seaxe victories in
652 and 658 see them occupy the entire Glastonbury region, and the
sub-kingdom of Glastenning
ceases to exist, allowing the
Somersaete to heavily
infiltrate this region. Its overlord,
Dumnonia, also suffers
extensive loss of territory in the remaining parts of Somerset and in
Dorset.
The fate of Morgan Glas, Elaed's cousin in Glastenning, is unknown. The
Dogfeilion kings also lose
Pengwern in 656, and
already seem to have lost control of Pengwern's master,
Powys, so now they are cut
back to their ancestral territory of Dogfeilion.
c.660
Marwnad Cynddylan (The Lament for Cynddylan) laments the death
of Cynddylan, ruler of Powys, at
the hands of the ruling prince of Dogfeilion, marking a resurgence for the
Dogfeilion side of the feud. It refers to Cynddylan and his side of the feud
as 'the Cadelling', meaning that they are the descendants of Cadell Ddyrnllwg,
ruler of the Paganes of the
mid-fifth century.
Cynddylan is 'the battle leader', meaning (in the poet's eyes) the rightful
ruler, and is given a full royal retinue of seven hundred chosen soldiers,
the same number to have been defeated by Oswiu of
Northumbria
in his 656 defeat of
Pengwern.
Even by 2013 the Somerset Levels was still prone to
excessive flooding, but in the post-Roman and early
medieval periods this flooding would have been a
regular seasonal feature of the region
Whether Cynddylan himself really has that number of men is questionable
given the fractured nature of Powysian politics at this time and the
very recent catastrophic loss of Pengwern. It could instead be down to
poetic largess, as a lament of this nature would clearly be written for
the court of the dead prince, a court which is still resisting Dogfeilion
opposition.
fl c.670
Meurig ap Elaed
Son. No known heir, so the territory could revert to
Gwynedd.
c.700
This branch of Cunedda's descendants ends with Meurig, a ruling prince who is
not known to have any offspring. As a consequence, Dogfeilion is very probably
brought back under the direct control of
Gwynedd, while the remaining
Dogfeilion line fights on in Powys
to achieve supremacy by around 710-730.
