Catigern ( cy, Cadeyrn Fendigaid) is a figure of

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

tradition, said to be a son of

Vortigern Vortigern (; owl, Guorthigirn, ; cy, Gwrtheyrn; ang, Wyrtgeorn; Old Breton: ''Gurdiern'', ''Gurthiern''; gle, Foirtchern; la, Vortigernus, , , etc.), also spelled Vortiger, Vortigan, Voertigern and Vortigen, was a 5th-century warlord in ...

, the tyrannical

King of the Britons The title King of the Britons ( cy, Brenin y Brythoniaid, la, Rex Britannorum) was used (often retrospectively) to refer to the most powerful ruler among the Celtic Britons, both before and after the period of Roman Britain up until the Norma ...

, and the brother of

Vortimer Vortimer (Old Welsh Guorthemir, cy, Gwerthefyr), also known as Saint Vortimer ( cy, Gwerthefyr Fendigaid, "Vortimer the Blessed"), is a figure in Matter of Britain, British tradition, a son of the 5th-century Britons (historical), Britonni ...

. A figure of this name also appears in the Welsh genealogies, though he is given different parentage. Catigern is nearly exclusively known for a tradition in which he fell in battle with the

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

Etymology

The

Old Welsh Old Welsh ( cy, Hen Gymraeg) is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic ...

personal name ''Catigirn'' (≈ ''Cattegirn'') means 'Battle-Prince'. It stems from a

Common Brittonic Common Brittonic ( cy, Brythoneg; kw, Brythonek; br, Predeneg), also known as British, Common Brythonic, or Proto-Brittonic, was a Celtic language spoken in Britain and Brittany. It is a form of Insular Celtic, descended from Proto-Celtic, a ...

form reconstructed as *''katu-tigernos'', formed with the root *''katu''- ('combat'; cf. Gaul. ''catu''- 'combat, battle', OIr. ''cath'' 'battle, troop') attached to ''tigernos'' ('lord, master'; c. Gaul. ''tigerno-'', Olr. ''tigern'', OW. ''tegyrned'', OBret. ''Tigern''). The name ''Catiherno'', borne by a Breton priest c. 509–521, may also be related.Sims-Williams (1990), p. 246.

History

The earliest mention of Catigern appears in the ''

Historia Brittonum ''The History of the Britons'' ( la, Historia Brittonum) is a purported history of the indigenous British (Brittonic) people that was written around 828 and survives in numerous recensions that date from after the 11th century. The ''Historia Bri ...

'', written in the 9th century and attributed to the monk

Nennius Nennius – or Nemnius or Nemnivus – was a Welsh monk of the 9th century. He has traditionally been attributed with the authorship of the ''Historia Brittonum'', based on the prologue affixed to that work. This attribution is widely considered ...

. Chapters 43–45 say that after the British king

had been appeasing the

, his son

rose against the enemy and engaged them in four battles. At the third of these, the Battle of Epsford ( Aylesford), Catigern fell, as did the Saxon leader

Horsa Hengist and Horsa are Germanic peoples, Germanic brothers said to have led the Angles, Saxons and Jutes in their invasion of Great Britain, Britain in the 5th century. Tradition lists Hengist as the first of the Jutish kings of Kingdom of Kent ...

. ''Historia Brittonum'', ch. 43–45. Chapter 48 also mentions Catigern, naming him as Vortigern's second son, after Vortimer and before

Pascent Vortigern (; owl, Guorthigirn, ; cy, Gwrtheyrn; ang, Wyrtgeorn; Old Breton: ''Gurdiern'', ''Gurthiern''; gle, Foirtchern; la, Vortigernus, , , etc.), also spelled Vortiger, Vortigan, Voertigern and Vortigen, was a 5th-century warlord in ...

and Faustus, and reiterates that he died in the same battle as Horsa. ''Historia Brittonum'', ch. 48. Neither mention is clear as to which side Catigern served on, but context implies he was fighting alongside his brother against the Saxons. The ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alf ...

'' describes this battle and the death of Horsa in the entry for 455, though it does not mention Catigern. A Catigern, here ''Cattegirn'' (Celtic ''cato-'' "battle", ''tigerno-'' "lord"), also appears in the

Harleian genealogies __NOTOC__ The Harleian genealogies are a collection of Old Welsh genealogies preserved in British Library, Harley MS 3859. Part of the Harleian Library, the manuscript, which also contains the ''Annales Cambriae'' (Recension A) and a version of th ...

. This Cattegirn is included towards the head of three of the pedigrees of rulers of

Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...

. In each of these, however, he is said to be the son not of Vortigern, but the legendary Powys ancestor figure

Cadell Ddyrnllwg Cadell Ddyrnllwg (Welsh for "Cadell of the Gleaming Hilt"; born c. AD 430) was a mid-5th century King of Powys. Cadell appears to have been driven out of his father Cadeyrn's kingdom by Irish pirates during the chaos of the Saxon insurrection i ...

. This Cadell is known from the ''Historia Brittonum'', which says that he had been a servant who was converted by Vortigern's enemy Saint

Germanus of Auxerre Germanus of Auxerre ( la, Germanus Antissiodorensis; cy, Garmon Sant; french: Saint Germain l'Auxerrois; 378 – c. 442–448 AD) was a western Roman clergyman who was bishop of Autissiodorum in Late Antique Gaul. He abandoned a career as a h ...

, and thereafter became a king whose descendants ruled Powys through the centuries. ''Historia Brittonum'', ch. 35. However, one of the

genealogies from Jesus College MS 20 The genealogies from Jesus College MS 20 are a medieval Welsh collection of genealogies preserved in a single manuscript, Oxford University, Bodleian Library, Jesus College, MS 20, folios 33r–41r. It presents the lineages of a number of medi ...

refers to a "Cadern" who is the father of Cadell and the son of Vortigern.

Later literature and legend

Catigern appears briefly in

Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth ( la, Galfridus Monemutensis, Galfridus Arturus, cy, Gruffudd ap Arthur, Sieffre o Fynwy; 1095 – 1155) was a British cleric from Monmouth, Wales and one of the major figures in the development of British historiograph ...

's chronicle ''

Historia Regum Britanniae ''Historia regum Britanniae'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called ''De gestis Britonum'' (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. I ...

'', in a section adapted from the ''Historia Brittonum'' account. Geoffrey adds the detail that Catigern and Horsa personally met in battle at Epsford and slew each other. Geoffrey's account spread widely through the Middle Ages and after, and Catigern has appeared in adaptations of Geoffrey, and occasionally, in other derivative works. His battle with Horsa is the subject of

John Lesslie Hall John Lesslie Hall (March 2, 1856 – February 23, 1928), also known as J. Lesslie Hall, was an American literary scholar and poet known for his translation of '' Beowulf''. Born in Richmond, Virginia, the son of Jacob Hall, Jr., Hall attended Ran ...

's poem "The Death of Horsa", and he appears as a minor character in

William Henry Ireland William Henry Ireland (1775–1835) was an English forger of would-be Shakespearean documents and plays. He is less well known as a poet, writer of gothic novels and histories. Although he was apparently christened William-Henry, he was known ...

's play ''

Vortigern and Rowena ''Vortigern and Rowena'', or ''Vortigern, an Historical Play'', is a play that was touted as a newly discovered work by William Shakespeare when it first appeared in 1796. It was eventually revealed to be a Shakespeare hoax, the product of promi ...

'', which was initially touted as a lost work by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. The

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

chamber tomb A chamber tomb is a tomb for burial used in many different cultures. In the case of individual burials, the chamber is thought to signify a higher status for the interred than a simple grave. Built from rock or sometimes wood, the chambers could ...

Kit's Coty House Kit's Coty House or Kit's Coty is a chambered long barrow near the village of Aylesford in the southeastern English county of Kent. Constructed ''circa'' 4000 BCE, during the Early Neolithic period of British prehistory, today it survives in a ...

, located near Aylesford, is identified with Catigern's tomb in local legend.Vermaat, Robert (2008)
The Grave of Catigern
Vortigern Studies. Retrieved December 14, 2009.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Geoffrey of Monmouth 5th-century Welsh monarchs Arthurian characters House of Gwertherion Monarchs of Powys