Urien ap Cynfarch Oer or Urien Rheged (Welsh pronunciation: [ˈɨ̞riɛn ˈr̥ɛɡɛd], Old Welsh: Urbgen or Urbagen) was a sixth-century figure who was possibly the ruler of the territory known as Rheged. The evidence for his existence comes from a ninth-century history and eight praise-poems dedicated to him possibly to be dated to his lifetime, attributed to the poet Taliesin. Urien features in medieval literature from Wales as one of the most celebrated figures of Welsh legend down to today. Outside of the Welsh context, he eventually was transformed in Arthurian legend into the figure of king Urien of Garlot or Gore.[3] His most celebrated son, Owain mab Urien, similarly gave his name to the character of Ywain.
| Urien Rheged | |
|---|---|
 | |
| King of Rheged | |
| Reign | c. 550? – c. 572 x 593 |
| Predecessor | Cynfarch Oer? |
| Successor | Owain ab Urien? |
| Died | c. 572 x 593 Aber Lleu[2] |
| Cause of death | Assassination |
| Spouse | Modron ferch Afallach (legendary) |
| Issue |
|
| Dynasty | Cynferching (Coeling) |
| Father | Cynfarch Oer |
| Mother | Nefyn ferch Brychan Brycheiniog (legendary) |
Life
Material found in Harley MS 3859
The earliest genealogy of Urien, found in Harley MS 3859 (c. 850–950 AD), gives his patrilineal descent as 'Urien son of Cynfarch son of Meirchion son of Gwrwst son of Coel Hen.'[4] His earliest recorded ancestor is Coel Hen, who functioned as an originator for many of the northern Brythonic-speaking dynasties of the early Middle Ages in England. In modern scholarship, it is not generally held that Coel was an important historic figure or even the ancestor of all these dynasties, known collectively as the 'Coeling', at all. Rather, the fact that he features as the origin of so many pedigrees of important figures from the sixth century is because it adds a greater sense of cohesion to the story of Urien's career.[5] Since the 'Coeling' first appear in genealogies together in Harley 3859 with the Historia Brittonum, the first historical reference to Urien, it is thought the compiler of the genealogies joined together the lineages of all the British (i.e. 'Welsh'-speaking) leaders mentioned in the narrative. Nevertheless, it is likely that Urien at least was descended from Coel, while the others may have been grafted on to this family. Nothing reliable is known of Urien's father Cynfarch, even if he ruled over Rheged, though this may be assumed given that later material refers to the 'Cynferching', those claiming (or attributed) descent from him.[6]
The Historia Brittonum, written in 829 AD in Gwynedd, hundreds of years after Urien's death, is our only historical record of Urien, though its usefulness for reconstructing history is a matter of academic debate.[7] The Historia Brittonum, based on Bede, synchronises Urien's life to the reign of Theodric of Bernicia (d. c. 579 x 593).[8] Interestingly, in a later prologue attached to the text, the author of the History Brittonum claims to have assembled his text based on the work of Rhun, Urien's son, who is also credited with baptising Edwin of Northumbria, together with Paulinus of York, though as with much of the Historia Brittonum, this is of uncertain historical value.[9] The narrative concerning Urien relates him as having taken hostile action against Theodric, together with Rhydderch Hen, Gwallog ap Llênog, and Morgan, all of whom are recorded as Coeling, Urien's distant relatives, according to the genealogies. Echoing Gildas, it is said that the conflict between the Britons and the Saxons was back and forth, but Urien and his allies eventually had the upper hand and besieged Theodric on Lindisfarne (Old Welsh: Medcaut). Urien, however, was killed at the instigation of Morgan, who the author of the Historia Brittonum says was jealous of Urien's martial ability.[10] As Morgan is supposed to have come from a nearby territory to Lindisfarne, it has been suggested that Morgan at that moment felt more as threatened by Urien's powerful presence near his home than by Theodric.[11]
Poetry to Urien attributed to Taliesin
Urien has the unique distinction of having many possibly contemporaneous poems surviving dedicated to him, attributed to his court poet Taliesin. Taliesin is mentioned in the Historia Brittonum as well, though his life is synchronised to the reign of Ida of Bernicia (c. 547 – 559), slightly before Urien's reign.[12] Much like many cultures in north-western Europe during Late Antiquity, medieval Welsh culture valued praise-poetry, that is, poems extolling the virtues of a ruler or leading figure in a society, very highly.[13] The poems which are attributed to Taliesin survive in the Book of Taliesin, a Middle Welsh manuscript of the early fourteenth century. Taliesin was very well known for his poetic skill in later medieval Wales, and all sorts of legends sprang up about him attributing to him magic powers, including many poems 'in character' attributed to him, and these poems form the bulk of this text.[14] The manuscript was given its title in the seventeenth century because of the preponderance of this material within it.
There are eight poems in this manuscript attributed to Taliesin which are dedicated to Urien Rheged and devoid of supernatural or gnomic content, and so these are, together with one poem to Cynan Garwyn, one to Owain ab Urien, and two to Gwallog ap Llênog, together, these are categorised as the 'historic' Taliesin poems.[15] Only one poem of these twelve, called 'Yspeil Taliessin', is explicitly attributed to Taliesin in the manuscript, but since Taliesin was strongly associated with Urien in later medieval Welsh literature, and the bulk of the content of the manuscript is to do with Taliesin, the attribution has stuck.[16] The dating of these poems is still hotly debated between those who see the poems as reflecting early material, and those who favour a later date.[17]
These poems are in sometimes obscure language and do not offer very much in the way of clear biographical information about Urien, though fleeting references to Urien as 'lord of Catraeth' have led to much speculation about his involvement in the Battle of Catraeth.[18] Much of the place-name evidence of these poems is understood to refer to places in modern-day Cumbria, though Urien is also said to have led battle in the area of the River Ayr, in the Brythonic-speaking kingdom of Strathclyde, and perhaps against the Picts.[19] He is also recorded as fighting against the English, much like he is said to have done in the Historia Brittonum.[20] One poem mentions Urien and Owain as having fought one 'Fflamddwyn' (meaning 'flame-bearing'), which has been traditionally identified as a kenning referring to one of Ida's sons, perhaps even Theodric, since Owain ab Urien is praised for killing Fflanddwyn alongside a 'broad host of English' in another poem.[21] Nevertheless, Urien is far more often mentioned fighting other Britons or the Picts than the English. The two most technically accomplished poems in the corpus are generally taken to be 'Uryen yr echwyd', and 'Gweith argoet llwyfein'.[22] There is also one dadolwch, or reconciliation-poem, among these poems, implying that Taliesin ran afoul of Urien at some point and was obliged to get back into his good graces.[23]
Later material
Saga Poetry and Canu Urien
Due to his appearance in early poetry and place in the narrative of the Historia Brittonum, Urien became a figure in the later Welsh literature concerning the 'Old North', which functioned as the setting for a great deal of medieval Welsh literature. One such piece of literature concerning Urien, or more accurately Urien's sons, is fittingly called the 'Urien Rheged' cycle (Welsh: Canu Urien) by modern scholars, as the poems are concerned with the events in Rheged after the killing of Urien. The poems survive mainly from two Middle Welsh manuscripts, the Black Book of Carmarthen (c. 1250) and the Red Book of Hergest (after 1382). Nevertheless, Canu Urien is traditionally understood to be a copy Old Welsh-period material, dated to around the same period of the Historia Brittonum.[24] This material is called 'saga poetry' by comparison with Icelandic sagas, both because like the Icelandic material, the Welsh poems are thought to have been taken from longer, partly prose (or oral) works, and because they both might reflect earlier history through a literary lens.
Though one of Urien's allies in the narrative of the Historia Brittonum was Gwallog ap Llênog, he is recorded as having fought against Urien's son Elffin in another one of the poems in this cycle, 'Dwy Blaid'. Likewise, one Dunod fought with Owain, while Brân ab Ymellyrn and Morgan – the orderer of Urien's killing – fought the narrator.[25]
The most impactful and moving poems from this cycle are given the titles 'Pen Urien' (Urien's Head) and 'Celain Urien' (Urien's corpse) by modern scholarship. They relate the immediate aftermath of Urien's killing, with the name of the assassin given in another poem as Llofan Llaw Ddifro.[26] In 'Pen Urien' and 'Celain Urien', it is an unnamed companion and relative of Urien who was forced to finish Urien off and strike off his head, with the implication that it was unsafe to carry Urien's entire body home for burial. The narrator laments his fortune and curses his hand and that he must leave the body of his caring lord behind.
| 'Pen Urien' (Welsh) | English translation | 'Celain Urien' (Welsh) | English translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penn a borthaf ar [uyn] tu. bu kyrchynat rwng deulu. mab kynuarch balch bieiuu. | I carry a head on my side: he was an attacker between two hosts, the proud son of Cynfarch is he whose it was. | Y gelein veinwen a oloir hediw. a dan brid a mein. gwae vy llaw llad tat owein. | The slender white corpse is being buried today under soil and stones. Alas, my hand, for the killing of Owain's father. |
| Penn a borthaf ar vyn tu. penn uryen llary llywei llu. ac ar y vronn wenn vran du. | I carry a head on my side, the head of generous Urien – he used to lead a host. And on his white breast is a black raven. | Y gelein ueinwen a oloir hediw. ymplith prid a derw. gwae vy llaw llad vyg keuynderw. | The slender white corpse is being buried today in soil and an oak coffin. Alas, my hand, for the killing of my cousin. |
| Penn a borthaf mywn vyg crys. penn vryen llary llywyei llys. ac ar y vronn wen vrein ae hys. | I carry a head on my belt, the head of generous Urien – he used to rule a court. And ravens on his white breast consume him. | Y gelein ueinwenn a oloir [hediw] a dan vein a edewit. gwae vy llaw llam rym tynghit. | The slender white corpse is being buried today – under stones it has been left. Alas, my hand, for the fate which was fated for me. |
| Penn a borthaf ym nedeir. yr yrechwyd oed uugeil. teyrnvron treulyat gennweir. | I carry a head in my hand. He was shepherd over Erechwydd, lord and soldier, a spender of spears. | Y gelein veinwen a oloir [hediw] ymplith prid a thywarch gwae vy llaw llad mab kynuarch. | The slender white corpse is being buried today amidst soil and sods. Alas, my hand, for the killing of the son of Cynfarch. |
| Penn a borthaf tu mordwyt. oed ysgwyt ar wlat. oed olwyn yg kat. oed cledyr cat kywlat rwyt. | I carry a head on the side of my thigh. He was a shield over the country, a wheel in battle, he was a prop in war, a snare of the enemy. | Y gelein ueinwenn a oloir hediw. dan weryt ac arwyd. gwae vy llaw llad vy arglwyd. | The slender white corpse is being buried today under earth and a standard. Alas, my hand, for the killing of my lord. |
| Penn a borthaf ar vyg kled. gwell y vyw nogyt y ued. oed dinas y henwred. | I carry a head on my right side – better he alive than in his grave. He was a fortress for the aged. | Y gelein ueinwen aoloir hediw a dan brid athywawt gwae vy llaw llam rym daerawt. | The slender white corpse is being buried today under soil and sand. Alas, my hand, for the fate which has befallen me. |
| Penn a borthaf o godir. penawc pellynnyawc y luyd [penn] vryen geiryawe glotryd. | I carry a head from the region of Pennawg – his hosts were far-travelling – the head of eloquent and celebrated Urien. | Y gelein veinwenn a oloir hediw. a dan brid a dynat. gwae vy llaw llam rym gallat. | The slender white corpse is being buried today under soil and nettles. Alas, my hand, for the fate which has been brought about for me. |
| Penn a borthaf ar vy ysgwyd. nym aruollei waratwyd. gwae vy llaw llad vy arglwyd. | I carry a head on my shoulder – shame did not use to receive me – alas, my hand, (for) the striking of my lord. | Y gelein veinwen aoloir hediw a dan brid a mein glas. gwae vy llaw llam rym gallas. | The slender white corpse is being buried today under soil and grey stones. Alas, my hand – it caused my fate. |
| Penn a borthaf ar vym breich. neus goruc o dir bryneich. gwedy gawr gelorawr veich. | I carry a head on my arm. He made of the Bernicians after battle a burden for biers. | ||
| Pen a borthaf o dv Paul pen vrien udd dragonawl a chyd del dydd brawd ni'm tawr | I carry a head from the side of a post, the head of Urien, a warlike lord, and though Judgment Day were to come I do not care. | ||
| Penn a borthaf yn aghat vy llaw. llary ud llywyei wlat. penn post prydein ry allat. | I carry a head in the grasp of my hand of a generous lord - he used to lead a country. The chief support of Britain has been carried off. | ||
| Penn a borthaf am porthes. neut atwen nat yr vylles. gwae vy law llym digones. | I carry a head which cared for me. I know it is not for my good. Alas, my hand, it performed harshly. | ||
| Penn a borthaf o du riw. [ar] y eneu ewynvriw. gwaet gwae reget o hediw. | I carry a head from the side of the hill and on his lips is a fine foam of blood. Woe to Rheged because of this day. | ||
| [Ry] thyrvis vym breich ry gardwys vy eis. vyg callon neur dorres penn a borthaf am porthes. | It has wrenched my arm, it has crushed my ribs, it has broken my heart. I carry a head which cared for me. |
Urien in other medieval Welsh literature
Urien is mentioned in passing in the Llywarch Hen cycle, poems about the sufferings of his kinsman Llywarch and written in his voice. They are, like Canu Urien, certainly later than Llywarch and Urien's time. Urien is recorded as supplying Llywarch's last surviving son Gwên with a horn which Llywarch advises Gwên to blow if he needs aid while on guard at night.[28]
In the mnemonic devices known as the Welsh Triads, intended for poets to recall traditional stories, Urien is mentioned repeatedly. These mostly agree with the testimony of the Historia Brittonum and the other early sources, though there are some references to the later traditions.[29] Urien is one of the 'Three Armoured Warriors', 'Three battle-rulers', and 'Three Holy Womb-burdens'. The latter gives his mother as Nefyn ferch Brychan Brycheiniog, and his wife as Modron ferch Afallach. Likewise, his killing at the hands of Llofan Llaw Ddifo is one of the 'Three Unfortunate Slaughters'.[30] There are chronological impossibilities with associating his wife with a daughter of Brychan, however, and Modron is a purely legendary figure, whose first association with Urien is in this triad.[31] Nevertheless, these show the enduring interest in Urien in the later Middle Ages, and the invention of tradition to satisfy continued regard for his life and deeds.[32]
As well as Taliesin, Urien was supposed to have employed a poet named Tristfardd (literally 'sad poet'), as recorded in another triad, which calls Tristfardd one of the 'Three Red-Speared Bards'.[33] Three englynion preserved in a very late manuscript record a story recounting how this Tristfardd secretly courted Urien's wife, and, not recognising the king, sent a disguised Urien to send a message to her. Urien slew Tristfardd for this offence at 'Rhyd Tristfardd', supposed to be in Radnorshire.[34] This is a late tradition, and runs contrary to the association of Urien with Taliesin and the very strong association of Urien with the North, though it seems probable that this story was affixed to the name of Trisfardd later than his appearance in the Triads.
Literature about Urien, whether reflecting early material or not, seems to have circulated in more channels than survive to us. This can be evidenced by the twelfth-century poet Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr's attribution of the 'wrath of Urien' to his patron Owain Cyfeiliog, using the form Urfoën (Middle Welsh: Uruoen).[35] This reflects an older form of the name *Urbogen which retained the composition vowel also reflected in weakened form in a rendition of Urien's name in the Historia Brittonum, Urbagen.[36] Kenneth Jackson dated the loss of this vowel to the sixth century in Welsh, and Ifor Williams went so far as to say the trisyllabic form must be reinserted in one of the Taliesin poems to rectify a defect in the metre in a line in one poem.[37] Assuming Cynddelw did not independently create this form so that he might fill the metre of this line in his own poem, this gives the tantalising suggestion that he was reading sources about Urien which do not survive to us, or that this name survived in a fossilised spoken form as a part of bardic lore.[38]
Rhys 'FitzUryen' ap Gruffydd
Like many other figures of the Early Middle Ages in Welsh tradition, Urien captured interest well into a millennium after his death. In the sixteenth century, Rhys ap Gruffydd, a grandson of Rhys ap Thomas who greatly aided Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth Field, was disinherited from his grandfather's estates by order of Henry VIII, who instead gave these lands to Walter Devereux. This greatly incensed Rhys, who began a long feud with Devereux, ultimately culminating in the execution of Rhys on charges of treason. Like Henry Tudor, Rhys tried to weaponise political prophecy to gather support for his cause, and he was accused of going by the name 'FitzUryen' (son of Urien) and attempting to gain support to make himself Prince of Wales independent of Henry with the help of James V of Scotland.[39] Rhys claimed to be a member of the house of Dinefwr, which originated with Rhodri Mawr's son Cadell. Rhodri's ancestry claims an origin from Llywarch Hen, which would make Rhys ap Gruffydd a distant relative of Urien.[40] As Urien was remembered for his battles against the English, the authorities feared he would be able to capitalise on anti-English sentiment in Wales. Urien's son Owain was associated with ravens in later Welsh literature, and Rhys ap Gruffydd, together with his grandfather Rhys ap Thomas, bore three ravens on their coat of arms, which were called the 'ravens of Urien' by contemporaneous poets.[41]
Urien in Arthurian literature
Geoffrey of Monmouth, drawing on Welsh sources and his own imagination, adapted Urien into Arthurian legend, and made him known across Europe with the explosive popularity of his Historia Regum Britanniae. In Geoffrey's telling, taken on by many following him, Urien is one of three brothers who ruled Scotland before the Saxon invasion – the others being Lot of Lothian, and Augusel. After freeing Scotland, Arthur restored the throne of Alba to Augusel, and made Urien king of Mureif (perhaps Monreith, or Moray). Urien's son Eventus later succeeds Augusel as king of Alba.[42]
In Arthurian chivalric romances, the location of his kingdom is transferred to either the Otherworldly and magical Kingdom of Gorre (Gore) or a much less fantastic Garlot (Garloth). During the reign of Uther Pendragon (Arthur's father), Urien marries a sister or half-sister of the young Arthur, Morgan (sometimes another of Arthur's sisters is named as Urien's wife, such as Hermesan in the Livre d'Artus and Blasine in Of Arthour and of Merlin). Urien, like the kings of several other lands, initially opposes Arthur's accession to the throne after Uther's death. He and the others rebel against the young monarch (with Urien even briefly kidnapping Arthur's wife Guinevere in the Livre d'Artus), but upon their defeat, he is among the rebel leaders become Arthur's allies and vassals. His marriage to Morgan is not portrayed as a happy one, however, as in a popular version from the Post-Vulgate Cycle (also included in Thomas Malory's influential Le Morte d'Arthur) Morgan plots to use Excalibur to kill both Urien and Arthur and place herself and her lover Accolon on the throne. Morgan fails in all parts of that plan, being foiled by their own son and by the Lady of the Lake.
Urien is usually said to be the father of Ywain (Owain) by Morgan but many texts also give him a second son, Ywain the Bastard, fathered on his seneschal's wife. Welsh tradition further attributes to him a daughter named Morfydd, daughter of Modron.
According to Roger Sherman Loomis, the name and character of another Arthurian king, Nentres of Garlot (husband of Arthur's sister Elaine), could have been derived from that of Urien.[43] Malory also sometimes spells Urien's name as Urience, which has led some later authors (e.g. Alfred Tennyson) to identify him with Arthur's relentless rival King Rience.
In popular culture
- The [c]awraidd freichiau Urien 'giant arms of Urien' are mentioned in the 1917 awdl 'Yr Arwr' by Hedd Wyn, for which he was awarded the Bardic Chair posthumously in the 1917 National Eisteddfod.
- He is a minor character in Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy.
- He appears as Uryens in John Boorman's film Excalibur (1981), depicted as an enemy lord who becomes Arthur's ally and is the one to knight him.
- He is one of the key characters in Melvyn Bragg's novel Credo (1996) (reprinted as The Sword and the Miracle in the USA), a celebration of the Celtic tradition and its fight against the Northumbrian and Roman (Catholic) incursions.
References
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