Cywryd Gwent, Father-in-Law of King Arthur
Cywryd Gwent is an extremely minor figure in the Arthurian legends, although he has the prominent role of being the father-in-law of King Arthur himself. He was the father of Gwenhwyfar, one of King Arthur’s queens. The situation is a little bit more complicated than it first appears, however. This article will examine which sources mention Cwyryd and will analyse what we really know about him.
Who Was Cywryd Gwent?
Cywryd Gwent appears in Welsh tradition as the father-in-law of King Arthur. However, he is actually one of three fathers-in-law. The other two were Gwythyr and Gogfran. Each one of them was the father of a queen recorded as ‘Gwenhwyfar’ (the Welsh form of the more familiar ‘Guinevere’).
Given the striking coincidence of having three wives with the same name, it is very likely that ‘Gwenhwyfar’ was actually a throne name.
The most prominent appearance of Cywryd Gwent was in the Welsh Triads, a collection of traditions mainly about the Arthurian period placed into groups of threes. The entry that mentioned Cywryd is a triad known as Arthur’s Three Great Queens. The entry begins:
“Gwenhwyfar daughter of Cywryd Gwent.”
According to this source, one of Arthur’s queens, Gwenhwyfar, was the daughter of a man named Cywryd Gwent. Nothing more is said about this figure in the Welsh Triads.
Name
One controversial aspect regarding this figure is his name. The various manuscripts of the Welsh Triads spell his name in a variety of different ways. For example, we see the following forms:
Kywryt
Gwryd
Gawryd
Gweryd
According to Rachel Bromwich, the use of the ‘G’ in the various manuscripts of this triad is nothing more than the result of the name coming after the word ‘ferch’ (meaning ‘daughter of’). Therefore, she says that the correct form is the spelling with a ‘K’, or a ‘C’ in modern Welsh.
Epithet
The epithet given to Cywryd in this triad is more controversial. In some versions, it appears as ‘Gwent’. In others, it is ‘Ceint’ (also spelled ‘Keint’ and ‘Geint’).
Gwent is an area of southeast Wales, corresponding to Monmouthshire. This was a prominent kingdom in the Arthurian period. On the other hand, Ceint was the name of the kingdom of Kent in southeast England. However, in this context, Bromwich suggests that the reference was to the River Caint in Anglesey, northwest Wales.
Textual Evidence
The manuscript evidence is, unfortunately, not completely clear on this point. The very earliest available manuscript containing this triad uses ‘Gwent’. Three other manuscripts also use it, giving a total of four textual witnesses in its favour.
On the other hand, ‘Ceint’ is favoured by just three manuscripts of this triad. On the basis of the number of manuscripts and the fact that one of them is the earliest one, ‘Gwent’ is best supported by the weight of textual evidence.
However, the matter is complicated by the fact that Cywryd also appears in Englynion y Clywaid, which is a collection of Welsh stanzas. Here, the epithet of Cywryd appears as ‘Keint’. The document containing these stanzas dates to c. 1350, exactly the same era as the earliest manuscript of the Welsh Triads in which mentions Cywryd (that is, the White Book of Rhydderch).
Therefore, both versions of the epithet have four textual witnesses each, and the earliest witnesses for both of them date back to exactly the same time.
Other Evidence
Thus, the manuscript evidence is really not clear at all as to which one is the true form. The only consideration which sways the matter in one direction is the fact that the form ‘Ceint’ would create alliteration with the name ‘Cywryd’, whereas ‘Gwent’ would not. Therefore, one could argue that the tendency of a poet (or perhaps any scribe) would be to write ‘Cywryd Ceint’ rather than ‘Cywryd Gwent’.
In other words, it would be easier for ‘Gwent’ to be corrupted into ‘Ceint’ than the other way around, on the basis of the alliteration that this would create in conjunction with the personal name of this figure.
In conclusion, although neither form is substantially more likely than the other, the balance of probability appears to favour the epithet ‘Gwent’ over the epithet ‘Ceint’.
When Did Cywryd Gwent Live?
When was this legendary figure supposed to have lived? Well, the most immediate observation is that he was the father-in-law of King Arthur. Therefore, we could automatically assume that he was of the generation above Arthur’s, born perhaps twenty years or more before the king.
However, the Welsh Triads assigned Arthur with three queens. Presumably, he married each one at different points in his life. The fact that Arthurian tradition suggests that Arthur had some children born at three different stages of his life supports this conclusion. Each group of children can evidently be attributed to a different one of the three queens.
If we can work out when Arthur married the daughter of Cywryd, we can establish more or less when Cywryd lived.
Which Wife of Arthur’s Was the Daughter of Cywryd?
Fortunately, the evidence regarding when Arthur married each of his three wives is quite clear. The middle wife is the easiest. Welsh tradition firmly agrees that the wife who was wife Arthur from the Battle of Badon through to the Battle of Camlann was the daughter of Gogfran Gawr. She was evidently the mother of Llacheu, described as a youth when the Battle of Camlann was fought.
The basis for this, in part, is that the Welsh Triads refer to the Gwenhwyfar who was involved in the conflict resulting in that battle as being the daughter of Gogfran. Other evidence corroborates this.
The weight of Welsh tradition strongly suggests that Arthur’s reign continued for a few years after the Battle of Camlann, although that battle was evidently very damaging to his rule. It appears that all of his sons up until that point had died, meaning that he needed to marry again to secure an heir. The children recorded in Le Petit Bruit, such as Morgan, can be assigned to this final wife.
Scottish tradition supports the notion that Arthur’s final wife was the daughter of the king of France, although she gave birth to Arthur’s heir in Scotland. The only one of Arthur’s fathers-in-law from the Welsh Triads associated with both France and Scotland is Gwythyr.
Therefore, by process of elimination, we can see that the evidence clearly supports the conclusion that Cywryd’s daughter was Arthur’s first wife. Therefore, assuming that Arthur’s wife was probably of a similar age or a little bit younger than him, her father Cywryd would likely have been born approximately twenty years before Arthur.
Absolute Chronology for Cywryd
Now that we have established the relative chronology of Cywryd, what about the absolute dates for this figure? The earliest chronological information for Arthur comes from Gildas, who places the Battle of Badon forty-three years before the time in which he was writing.
Gildas’ Five Kings
Gildas mentions five kings who were still reigning at the time he was writing, and the overwhelming weight of evidence shows that they were reigning towards the end of the sixth century. The earliest chronological information concerning one of the kings, Maelgwn, makes him a late-sixth century king (as pointed out by Rachel Bromwich).
A Welsh poem mentioning Aircol, the father of one of the other kings (Vortipor), makes him a contemporary of Cynan Garwyn, a mid- to late-sixth century figure.
The earliest information available about the date of Constantine, another of the five kings mentioned by Gildas, makes him outlive Bishop David of Menevia, which was in c. 587.
This is just some of the evidence that points towards this conclusion. The point is that Gildas was most likely writing towards the end of the sixth century. The Battle of Badon occurred forty-three years earlier, or towards the middle of that century.
The Birth of Arthur and Cywryd
Since the Annales Cambriae places that battle in 516, this is evidently an example of the date being backdated by thirty-three years due to it being dated from the death of Jesus rather than his birth. Therefore, the corrected date would be 549, consistent with the evidence from Gildas.
The Battle of Camlann, therefore, would have occurred in c. 570. It is unlikely that Arthur was older than seventy at the time of that battle, but he also could not have been much younger, since Welsh tradition shows that he had an adult son (Gwydre) by the time of the Battle of Badon.
Thus, we can see that Arthur was probably born in approximately the year 500 or just after. That being so, the birth of Cwyryd can very likely be placed in about 480. His daughter, the first so-called Gwenhwyfar, can be placed in the first few years after 500.
Cywryd’s Family
What do we know about Cywryd’s family? The truth is that we know very little. However, we can work out a few likely facts from the few pieces of information that we do have. The first is the simple fact that, according to his epithet, he was apparently a man of Gwent.
The second is the fact that his daughter married King Arthur. Since Arthur’s dynasty was obviously important and powerful, it stands to reason that he would have married a princess from at least a relatively powerful royal family. It seems awfully unlikely that he would have married the daughter of an obscure lord, although we cannot rule out the possibility.
Based on this likelihood, the most obvious conclusion would be that Cywryd Gwent was from the main royal family ruling over Gwent. The king who ruled over the kingdom of Gwent in the latter half of the fifth century was known as Ynyr Gwent.
His lineage is unknown, but some manuscripts claim that he was married to a woman named Madrun, the daughter of Vortimer, son of the infamous Vortigern. In any case, Ynyr Gwent is believed to have been born in approximately 450. He is thus perfectly placed to have been the father of Cywryd, born in c. 480.
Furthermore, the fact that both Ynyr and Cywryd are recorded with the epithet ‘Gwent’ lends support to the idea that they were father and son.
In summary, the evidence from the time and place in which he lived, as well as his epithet and his evident importance, suggests that Cywryd Gwent was most likely the son of Ynyr Gwent.
Was Cywryd a Real Person?
What can we say regarding the historicity of Cywryd? He is a far more obscure figure than the other two fathers-in-law of King Arthur. Aside from the single reference him in the Welsh Triads, it appears that the only other place he is mentioned is in the aforementioned Englynion y Clywaid.
In that poetic source, he is referred to as “Kywryt Keint, who suffered much sickness”.
As we saw earlier, this source dates to the same time as the Welsh Triads. While this is not an earlier source, it is an independent source, showing that he was not simply invented for the Welsh Triads. Rather, he was evidently an existing figure in Welsh tradition at that time.
There is no clear evidence for how far back his tradition goes, since there are no other sources that definitely mention him.
Another Cywryd
It is possible that we can identify him with another figure named Cywryd who appears elsewhere in Welsh records. He is mentioned in a poem by Gwilym Ddu of Arfon (fourteenth century) as the bard of a certain Dunawt, or Dunod. From the vague reference by Gwilym, it is understood that Cywryd wrote an elegy – that is, a grave song – for his patron.
While this would indeed place Cywryd in the sixth century, about the same time as Arthur’s father-in-law, the chronology has some issues. The key issue is that the Dunod in question is usually identified as Dunod Fwr, a king of the Yorkshire area in the sixth century. He died in 595 according to the Annales Cambriae.
Supporting this is the fact that Welsh poetry shows that he outlived Urien, who died in c. 590. Therefore, if Cywryd wrote a grave song for Dunod Fwr, Cywryd must have lived beyond 595. This rules out the idea that this Cywryd was the father-in-law of Arthur.
Alternatively, we could suggest that the Dunod in question was not Dunod Fwr. Perhaps it was an earlier king by that name. Is there an earlier Dunod in the records?
The Earlier Dunod
Based on Peter Bartrum’s A Welsh Classical Dictionary, it would appear that the only earlier Dunod was the son of Cunedda Wledig. This places the earlier Dunod’s career firmly in the fifth century. He was likely dead by the time Cyrwyd the father-in-law of King Arthur was even born.
Therefore, the evidence shows that Arthur’s father-in-law cannot have been the bard of this earlier Dunod.
There was also a figure named Dunwyd, recorded as a saint in the time of Cadog, which would place him in the sixth century. However, it would not make sense for a religious figure to have had a bard.
In summary, it appears that we cannot identify Cywryd the father-in-law of King Arthur with Cywryd the purported bard of Dunod. Most likely, the standard understanding that Dunod’s bard was a different Cywryd is correct. The Dunod in question was likely the most famous one, Dunod Fwr of Powys, as commonly understood.
Possible Connection
Nonetheless, this does not necessarily mean there was no connection between the two figures. Cywryd the bard was evidently born several decades later than Arthur’s father-in-law. Perhaps, then, the younger one was named after the elder one.
The southern border of Powys formed the northern border of Gwent. This would easily facilitate someone from southern Powys, the territory of Dunod Fwr, being named after some from Gwent.
Hence, it is entirely possible that Cywryd the bard of Dunod Fwr was named after Cywryd the father-in-law of King Arthur. Of course, this is only speculation. Nonetheless, the fact that it is not a common name lends some credence to this suggestion.
Conclusion
In conclusion, very little is known about Cywryd Gwent. The main detail from the sources is that he was the father-in-law of King Arthur. Many manuscripts favour his epithet being ‘Ceint’, but the evidence for it being ‘Gwent’ is slightly stronger. This suggests that he was from Gwent. Nonetheless, nothing is known about the family connections of this figure, such as which dynasty he was from.
What we can say is that he was evidently the first of Arthur’s three main fathers-in-law, and that he was probably born in approximately 480.
Sources
Bartrum, Peter, A Welsh Classical Dictionary, 1993
Bromwich, Rachel, Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain, 2014
Howells, Caleb, King Arthur: The Man Who Conquered Europe, 2019
