Book
VI: Vortigern: legends and history
This
is the longest and most complex book in the
study. It argues that the historical figure known
to us as Vortigern became the protagonist of at
least three separate legend-cycles, partly due to
the fact that he was claimed as ancestor by at
least two separate and distinct royal families
(the Vortigernid-Pascentiads, first in the North
and then in Gwrtheyrnion, and the
Vortigernid-Brituids of Powys), with different
mythologies and even different narrative
cultures. From the analysis, deconstruction and
reconstruction of the legends, a great deal may
be learned about culture and politics in the
Welsh dark ages.
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This argues that
the man who became Vortigern became a subject of
legend by being confronted with Ambrosius as a
pair of The Proud (Vortigern) and The Modest
(Ambrosius), in which the "pride" of
Vortigern reflected the wealth and splendour -
remembered, but hopelessly lost - of pre-442
Roman Britain. In later ages, his image was
progressively darkened by the increasing
importance of the Saxons, which he had admitted.
Analysis of the
legend of Vortigern told by Nennius and by
Geoffrey of Monmouth. The two writers tell
separate and incompatible versions of the story,
which are both two stages removed from a
sixth-century original which represented the
family legend of a dynasty claiming descent from
Vortigern. I argue that the original tone of the
legend was decidedly favourable to him.
Analysis of the
Irish legend of Conn Hundred-Battles, which is
known to have a great many parallels with that of
Vortigern and Vortimer; deepening and extending
the comparison, it sheds more light on the Celtic
royal ideology already investigated in Book I,
proposes some hypotheses about the origin of the
Vortigern legend and its significance in
sixth-century Britain; and, incidentally,
proposes some possibilities about Irish
prehistory.
The characters
of Hengist and Horsa are separated from that of
Ronwein, arguing that Ronwein is part of a Welsh
legend cycle, but Hengist and Horsa are Kentish
legendary figures whose importance has been
artificially raised by the Oiscing dynasty of
Kent, and whose connection with the legends of
Ronwein and Vortigern is very late indeed. It
also makes some suggestions about the early
history of English Kent, and tries to show that
the Nennian notice about King Urien is not
history but legend.
Vortigern’s
actual name was Vitalinus. He was not killed by
the Saxons, but kept in power as a puppet ruler;
it was Ambrosius who killed him. Further analysis
of Nennian and Galfridian legend finds among
other things that the Vortigernids of
Gwrtheyrnion used a small number of annalistic
data to build another legend of Vortigern and
St.Germanus; that Nennius, who was from
Gwrtheyrnion himself, was favourable to
Vortigern, while Geoffrey was hostile; and
Geoffrey never read Nennius, since in all the
stories they share Geoffrey follows versions
incompatible with those of Nennius.
The part of
Geoffrey’s Vortigern legend which has no
counterpart in Nennius, and has to do with his
relationship with the house of Constantine and
Ambrosius, is shown to depend on a quite separate
set of legends, originated among the
Vortigernid-Brituids of Powys, which Geoffrey
himself harmonized with the legend of the
fortress and the dragons. This story, in turn, is
shown to be the rewriting of a previous account.
A number of historical conclusions are drawn.
Further study of
Geoffrey’s Vortigern legends shows that he
had, directly or indirectly, some sort of
credible chronological framework for the British
fifth century; and that the other Vortigern
legend was probably written in Powys in the
period of Cadwallon of Gwynedd (the 630s). The
Powysian Vortigern legend, in turn, is shown to
include an anti-Vortigern sixth-century legend
and a possibly historical account of
Ambrosius’ Saxon victories. Another source
is identified, a later story of St.Illtyd and his
supposed brother Eldol, meant to connect the
legend of Hengist with that of Ambrosius.
A curious Breton
cult of Vortigern as a penitent saint is
analyzed, and shown to have a popular origin and
some possible correspondences in Nennius. Some
further conclusions about sixth- and
seventh-century Britain are reached.
A word-by-word
analysis of Nennius’ chapters 31-50,
intended to identify all their separate sources
and possible allusions, followed by an analysis
of the identified sources.
History
of Britain, 407-597 is copyright © 2002, Fabio
P. Barbieri. Used with permission.
Comments
to: Fabio P.
Barbieri
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