King Caw or Cawn ( fl. 495–501 AD) was a semi-legendary

king of ''King Of...'' is a British comedy panel show that aired on Channel 4 from 17 June to 8 July 2011 and hosted by Claudia Winkleman Claudia Anne Irena Winkleman (born 15 January 1972) is an English television presenter, radio personality, fi ...

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Gaelic, meaning "strath (valley) of the River Clyde") was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government et ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Very little hard fact is known of him. He

flourished ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

in the ''

Hen Ogledd Yr Hen Ogledd (), in English the Old North, is the historical region which is now Northern England and the southern Scottish Lowlands that was inhabited by the Brittonic people of sub-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages. Its population spo ...

'' Period of

Sub-Roman Britain Sub-Roman Britain is the period of late antiquity in Great Britain between the end of Roman rule and the Anglo-Saxon settlement. The term was originally used to describe archaeological remains found in 5th- and 6th-century AD sites that hint ...

and ruled from a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

at ''Alt Clut''. Legend holds he fought

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

. He came to power in 495 AD by deposing King Tutagual, but only managed to remain in power for six years before being removed from power himself. This was a very turbulent time and coincided with the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

invasion of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The Kingdom of Strathclyde
. Following this he fled to

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Children

He was the father to many children, many of whom were

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

s. The most well known was

Gildas Gildas ( Breton: ''Gweltaz''; c. 450/500 – c. 570) — also known as Gildas the Wise or ''Gildas Sapiens'' — was a 6th-century British monk best known for his scathing religious polemic ''De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae'', which recount ...

, which possibly accounts for the poor presentation of King Arthur (and also

Constantin Constantin is an Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian and Romanian male given name. It can also be a surname. For a list of notable people called Constantin, see Constantine (name). See also * Constantine (name) * Konstantin The first name Konsta ...

e) in Gildas' writing. His children are reputed to include: *

Hywel Hywel (), sometimes anglicised as Howel or Howell, is a Welsh masculine given name. It may refer to: * Saint Hywel, a sixth-century disciple of Saint Teilo and the king of Brittany in the Arthurian legend. *Hywel ap Rhodri Molwynog, 9th-century kin ...

* Ane * Aneurin *

Saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

Caffo * Ceidio * Aeddan Foeddog *

Cwyllog Saint Cwyllog (or Cywyllog)Baring-Gould, p. 279. was a Christian holy woman who was active in Anglesey, Wales, in the early 6th century. The daughter, sister and niece of saints, she is said to have founded St Cwyllog's Church, Llangwyllog, in the ...

* Dirynig *

Cain * Saint Eigrad * Samson of York * Saint Eigron * Gwenafwy * Gallo *

Peirio *

Cewydd Saint Cewydd was a pre-congregational saint of Wales in the Early Middle Ages (6th century). He is known as the Welsh 'Rain Saint', like Medard in France, Gildas in Brittany and Swithin in England. It would appear that a pre-Christian rain da ...

Maelog Maelog was a 6th-century pre-congregational saint of Wales and a child of King Caw of Strathclyde. He was the patron Saint of Llanfaelog,J Douglas Davies, Saint Maelog: A Brief Long Life. (J Douglas Davies, 1995). where he built Church of Saint ...

* Meilig * Gwrddelw * Gwrhai * Huail mab caw

References

{{authority control Year of birth unknown Welsh royalty Legendary rulers