Celtic Kingdoms of the British Isles

Rheged / Recet (Romano-Britons)

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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.

The songs of Taliesin the bard remember Rheged's mighty leader, Urien. Outside of that, little hard historical evidence exists to pin down the kingdom until Nennius wrote his Historia Brittonum. The image of the kingdom is that it was a comparatively large one which covered the whole of modern north-western England, roughly incorporating the counties of Cumbria and Lancashire, and possibly Cheshire.

At its greatest extent it likely stretched from Hadrian's Wall above Caer Ligualid (modern Carlisle), perhaps all the way down to Campodunom (Celtic Loidis, modern Leeds) in the Midlands, and west to Caer Legion (Chester).

According to tradition, the kingdom was initially part of Coel Hen's 'Kingdom of Northern Britain', the northern half of Britain which had evolved from the former Roman military zone (see feature link). According to the scant written sources available, upon the death of Coel Hen's son, St Ceneu ap Coel, 'Northern Britain' was subdivided, creating Ebrauc to the east of the Pennines and Rheged to the west. The latter's northern capital was Caer Ligualid.

The name 'Rheged' seems to derive from the confederation of Celtic tribes which occupied almost the whole of the north below Hadrian's Wall, the Brigantes. Pre-Roman Celtic tribal names seem in places to have survived the period of empire and were occasionally reused from the fourth and fifth centuries onwards.

Formed at a time in which the Celtic language was undergoing rapid change due to the speed of the Anglo-Saxon advance and the panicked westwards migration of large numbers of Romano-Britons (of the nobility at least), the pre-Roman 'Brigant' seems to have become 'Breged' and then Rheged. The use of 'Recet' seems to be later still, perhaps due to further language change or poor records-keeping.

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(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Edward Dawson, from History of the Kings of Britain, Geoffrey of Monmouth, from The Oxford History of England: The English Settlements, J N L Meyers, from the Historia Brittonum (The History of the Britons), Nennius (J A Giles, Ed & Trans, 1841, published as part of Six Old English Chronicles (Henry G Bohn, London, 1848)), from The Oxford History of England: Anglo-Saxon England, Sir Frank Stenton, from The Anglo-Saxon Age c.400-1042, D J V Fisher, from Rheged: An Early Historic Kingdom near the Solway, Mike McCarthy, from The Cambridge Historical Encyclopaedia of Great Britain and Ireland, Christopher Haigh (Ed), from The Oxford History of England: Roman Britain, Peter Salway, from A History of the English Church and People, The Venerable Bede (Leo Sherley-Price translation - revised by R E Latham), and from External Link: The Realm of Rheged (Heavenfield).)

c.450 - c.490

Son of Ceneu of 'Northern Britain'. First king. Born 422.

c.450

Gwrast inherits a land from the 'Kingdom of Northern Britain' which contains existing Christian activities of the British Church during - at least - the fourth and fifth centuries AD.

One such area of activity is around Hadrian's Wall, with possible churches and epigraphy which should include the Papias stone from Carlisle and the Brigomaglos stone, along with a stone from Vindolanda which has been incised with a cross.

'Gwrast' is the Welsh form of this king's name and is therefore probably later, despite the Cumbric dialect spoken in Rheged being closely related to Old Welsh. He is more probably known as Gurgustus, the Latin form of the name (Fergus is its modern form).

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)

c.470

Gwrast's eldest son, Meirchion Gul, is his confirmed successor to the throne of Rheged. His younger son, Mascuid, is granted the region of Elmet, which until now seems likely to have been under Rheged's direct control.

This event seems to coincide with the death of Mor ap Ceneu, 'King of Northern Britain', and the subsequent division of his north-eastern British territory into Ebrauc to the east of Elmet and the 'Kingdom of the Pennines' to the west. This would probably leave Elmet permanently cut off from Rheged and perhaps even in danger of annexation, so it is in Gwrast's interests to ensure that one of his sons commands there.

c.490 - 535

Son. Mentioned in a Middle Welsh genealogy.

Brother. Granted Elmet.

c.490

Gawain appears to rule Guotodin from a distance, being found first in Rheged and then in Wales (although his appearance in the latter region may only be attributed to him by bards who bring the stories of the 'Men of the North' with them to Mervyn Frach's new court at Gwynedd in 825).

He is also the hero of the medieval tale Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. His apparent absence either allows Bran Hen of Bernaccia to take control, or he hands the care of the kingdom to Bran.

Vindolanda, roughly at the centre-point in Hadrian's Wall, may well have fallen under the influence of Rheged after the primary division of the 'Kingdom of Northern Britain' around AD 450

c.500 - 525

One site in Rheged which is of interest is Papcastle, on the north bank of the River Derwent about nine kilometres along the Roman road from the coast at Maryport in Cumbria. It had been an important Roman site, and it also lies close to the later site of a minster at Brigham, which possibly has British Church activity dating from the fourth or fifth century.

Papcastle derives its name from Pabo, the name of the king of the Pennines in this period. Although it is speculation to wonder whether it is possible that Pabo has a holding at the site, even though it is within Rheged?

He would be Meirchion's first cousin once removed, so the family ties are doubtless still close, and possibly all of the interrelated kings of the north hold pockets of territory or estates across the region.

535

Upon Meirchion's death tradition states that the kingdom is divided between his sons to form North Rheged and South Rheged. The practice of division is typical practice with Celtic peoples, but in a tumultuous post-Roman setting it usually serves to weaken the state.

This iron axe head was found in Denton Holme on the banks of the River Caldew, now a suburb of Carlisle but formerly an important city within the borders of Rheged