Maen Huail is a stone block at St Peter's Square, in the centre of Ruthin, Denbighshire, North Wales. A circular plaque next to it states "Maen Huail on which tradition states, King Arthur beheaded Huail, brother of

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 recounts ...

the historian". The stone was recorded in 1699 as being in the middle of the road, and now stands on a concrete plinth against the half-timbered wall of the Barclays Bank building, a 20th-century copy of the now mainly destroyed Exmewe Hall. The legend probably originated as an oral tradition, and is first recorded in the ''Chronicle of Six Ages of the World'' by

Elis Gruffydd Elis Gruffydd (1490–1552), sometimes known as "The soldier of Calais", was a Welsh chronicler, transcriber, and translator. He is known foremost for his massive chronicle ''Cronicl o Wech Oesoedd'' (''Chronicle of the Six Ages''), which cover ...

, dating to around 1550. The stone itself is thought more likely to be a market or civic stone, or a preaching stone. It is a craggy and heavily weathered limestone boulder, measuring long, and some high and wide.

References

Ruthin Buildings and structures in Denbighshire Scheduled monuments in Denbighshire Stones {{Denbighshire-struct-stub

See also

References