Eldol was Consul or Count of

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

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 circa 1136 work ''

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 ...

'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain''). In this pseudohistory he was the sole British leader to escape from the massacre of Salisbury, to which

Hengist Hengist and Horsa are Germanic brothers said to have led the Angles, Saxons and Jutes in their invasion of Britain in the 5th century. Tradition lists Hengist as the first of the Jutish kings of Kent. Most modern scholarly consensus now rega ...

had invited all of the British Leaders to a peace treaty. When all of the leaders were there, about 460 in number, Hengest ordered his men to draw their long knives and kill every leader.

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 ...

was spared, but every other ruler was slain, save Eldol, who grabbed a stick up off the ground and killed 70 men in his escape. After the massacre, Eldol was a key supporter of

Aurelius Ambrosius Ambrosius Aurelianus ( cy, Emrys Wledig; Anglicised as Ambrose Aurelian and called Aurelius Ambrosius in the ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' and elsewhere) was a war leader of the Romano-British who won an important battle against the Anglo-Sax ...

and helped him defeat the Saxons. Eldol defeated Hengist in hand-to-hand combat at the battle at Kaerconan/Cunungeburc, which may be the town of

Conisbrough Conisbrough () is a town within the City of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, England. It is roughly midway between Doncaster and Rotherham, and is built alongside the River Don at . It has a ward population (Conisbrough and Denaby) of 14,333. ...

, and beheaded him. He was also at the siege of Vortigern's tower. Eldad, Bishop of Gloucester, was his brother.

Thomas Rudge Thomas Rudge (baptised 1753 – 1825) was an English churchman, topographer and antiquarian, Archdeacon of Gloucester from 1814, and chancellor of the diocese of Hereford from 1817. Life The son of Thomas Rudge of Gloucester, Thomas Rudge the youn ...

gives an account in his 1811 ''The History and Antiquities of Gloucester'':

Eldol, or Edel, a Briton, is said to have been Earl of Gloucester in 461; he was, according to the account of Robert of Gloucester, and other historians, a knight of great prowess. He attended King Vortigern at the treaty of Ambresbury in Wiltshire, to which they were invited by Hengist, the Saxon, with the express stipulation that neither party should go thither armed; but the Saxons having, contrary to their engagement, concealed long knives under their clothes, murdered great numbers of the Britons. Eldol is said at this time to have exerted himself so powerfully with a stake he happened to find, as to slay no less than seventy of the Saxons, and after having disabled many more, he escaped to Gloucester, his own city. He is also said to have behaved with uncommon courage, in a subsequent battle between Ambrosius, King of the Britons, and Hengist, when ... he rushed through the Pagan army, took Hengist prisoner, and cut off his head.

It is not stated whether Morvid, Consul of Gloucester during

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 ...

's reign in the ''Historia Regum Britanniae'', is related to Eldol. In later Welsh legend, Eldol became Eidol or Eidiol 'Gadarn' ('Mighty'), recorded as one of the three strong men of Britain, having, at the meeting on Salisbury plain, slain 660 Saxons with a billet of wood. There was a Welsh hero Eidiol mentioned in ''The

Gododdin The Gododdin () were a Brittonic people of north-eastern Britannia, the area known as the Hen Ogledd or Old North (modern south-east Scotland and north-east England), in the sub-Roman period. Descendants of the Votadini, they are best known a ...

'' who may have inspired the use of the name in Geoffrey's work. He should not be confused with King

Eldol Eldol () is a legendary king of Britain in Geoffrey of Monmouth's c. 1136 work ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' ("The History of the Kings of Britain"). A 6th century hero called Eidol is mentioned in ''The Gododdin The Gododdin () were a Britto ...

who lives generations earlier in Geoffrey's work.

In popular culture

Eldol and Eldad have minor roles in the 1970 novel ''

The Crystal Cave ''The Crystal Cave'' is a 1970 fantasy novel by Mary Stewart. The first in a quintet of novels covering the Arthurian legend, it is followed by '' The Hollow Hills''. Plot introduction The protagonist of this story is a boy named Myrddin Emrys ...

'' by Mary Stewart. After the battle with Hengist, one of Ambrosius's men says to

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

, "... old Eldad laid about him .e., fought wellwith the best of them. Did you see him?" Merlin replies wryly, "I heard him."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eldol, Consul of Gloucester British traditional history People from Gloucester Year of birth missing Year of death missing