Manaw Gododdin was the narrow coastal region on the south side of the
Firth of Forth, part of the
Brythonic-speaking Kingdom of Gododdin in the
post-Roman Era. It is notable as the homeland of
Cunedda
Cunedda ap Edern, also called Cunedda ''Wledig'' ( 5th century), was an important early Welsh leader, and the progenitor of the Royal dynasty of Gwynedd, one of the very oldest of western Europe.
Name
The name ''Cunedda'' (spelled ''Cuneda ...
prior to his conquest of
North Wales
North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, ...
, and as the homeland of the heroic warriors in the literary epic ''
Y Gododdin''. Pressed by the
Picts expanding southward and the Northumbrians expanding northward, it was permanently destroyed in the 7th century and its territory absorbed into the then-ascendant
Kingdom of Northumbria.
The lands both south and north of the Firth of Forth were known as 'Manaw', but from the post-Roman Era forward, only the southern side is referred to as Manaw Gododdin, the Manaw associated with the people of Gododdin. Manaw Gododdin was adjacent to – and possibly included in –
Eidyn, the region surrounding modern
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
.
Though Manaw Gododdin was located within the territory of modern Scotland, as a part of ''
Yr 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 ...
'' ( en, The Old North) it is also an intrinsic part 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 peopl ...
history, as both the
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 peopl ...
and the Men of the North ( cy, Gwŷr y Gogledd) were self-perceived as a single people, collectively referred to as ''Cymry''. The arrival in Wales of Cunedda of Manaw Gododdin in c. 450 is traditionally considered to be the beginning of the
history of modern Wales.
The name appears in literature as both ''Mana
w Gododdin'' and ''Mana
u Gododdin''. The modern
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 peopl ...
form is spelled with a 'w'.
Sources of information
Background: confusion with the Isle of Man
The
Isle of Man
)
, anthem = " O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europ ...
is known in
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 peopl ...
as ''Ynys Manaw'', and this has introduced ambiguity in literary and historical references where Manaw (or Manau) was used without further elaboration, as to whether the reference was to Manaw Gododdin or to the Isle of Man.
A similar problem exists in
Irish, where both the northern Pictish Manaw and the southern Manaw Gododdin are referred to as ''Manann'' (or ''Manonn''). Certain forms of the Irish name for the Isle of Man produce the
genitive name ''Manann'' (or ''Manonn''). Either place can be inferred if the context is uncertain.
''Historia Brittonum''
In the ''
Historia Brittonum'',
Nennius says that "the great king Mailcun reigned among the Britons, i.e., in Gwynedd". He adds that Maelgwn's ancestor
Cunedda
Cunedda ap Edern, also called Cunedda ''Wledig'' ( 5th century), was an important early Welsh leader, and the progenitor of the Royal dynasty of Gwynedd, one of the very oldest of western Europe.
Name
The name ''Cunedda'' (spelled ''Cuneda ...
arrived in Gwynedd 146 years before Maelgwn's reign, coming from Manaw Gododdin, and expelled the Scots (i.e. the Gaels) with great slaughter.
In the chapters of the ''Historia Brittonum'' discussing the circumstances leading up to the death of
Penda of Mercia in 655,
Oswiu of Northumbria is besieged at "Iudeu" by Penda and his allies and offers up the wealth (i.e. the royal dignities) of that place, which had been recently captured by the Northumbrians (the "Restoration of Iudeu", so-called), as well as that which he held "as far as Manaw". In
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
the phrase is ''usque in manau pendae''. The
recensions are not all consistent on this point. There is also ''esque in manu pendae'' and ''esque in manum pendae'', which if reliable, would allow for a different interpretation, as ''manus'' (4th declension) is
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
for ''hand'' (as in ''into the hand
f Penda').
Welsh genealogies
The royal genealogies provide no information ''per se'' about Manaw Gododdin. However, as it was the homeland of
Cunedda
Cunedda ap Edern, also called Cunedda ''Wledig'' ( 5th century), was an important early Welsh leader, and the progenitor of the Royal dynasty of Gwynedd, one of the very oldest of western Europe.
Name
The name ''Cunedda'' (spelled ''Cuneda ...
and he was the progenitor of many
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 peopl ...
royal lines, he is prominent 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 ...
. Some of these genealogies reappear in
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 ...
, though it focuses mainly on the ancient royalty of
South Wales. All of Cunedda's descendants claim a heritage from Manaw Gododdin.
''Annals of Ulster''
According to the ''
Annals of Ulster'',
Áedán mac Gabráin, king of
Dál Riata, was victor in a "bellum Manonn" ( en, Battle or War at Manonn) in 582 (his opponent is not given).
There is some scholarly disagreement as to the place meant, whether Manaw Gododdin or the Isle of Man. Both are plausible and have some supporting evidence, but lacking hard information, the issue probably will not be settled definitively. Both those favouring the Isle and those favouring Manaw Gododdin say so and include a footnote to the effect that the balance seems to be on one side or the other, with accompanying arguments.
''Annals of Ulster'', ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''
The ''Annals of Ulster'' say that in 711, the
Northumbrians defeated the Picts at the ''campus Manann'', the field of Manaw. The ''
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' gives the year as 710, saying that "Beorhtfrith the ealdorman fought against the Picts between Haefe and Caere".
This is assumed to be between the Rivers
Avon (Haefe) and
Carron (Caere).
William Forbes Skene first argues for it in ''The Four Ancient Books of Wales'' (1868), noting that the Avon rises in the place still known as
Slamannan Moor (i.e. ''Sliabhmannan'', the Moor of Manann). He repeats the conjecture in his ''Celtic Scotland'' (1886), and later historians have accepted his suggestion, citing him as the source.
[
]
Name survivals
The Gaelic
Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, an ...
form of the name is ''Manann''. Like ''Manaw'', its etymology is uncertain, with neither form necessarily owing a heritage to the other. In the Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
, Brythonic was replaced by Gaelic in the region of Manaw. It was common to retain original place-names, but to alter the pronunciation to be in accord with the language that was then current.
Manaw Gododdin
South of the Firth of Forth and River Forth the name survives in the name of Slamannan Moor and the village of Slamannan, in Falkirk.[ This is derived from ''Sliabh Manann'', 'Mount Manann'.][ It also appears in the name of Dalmeny, some 5 miles northwest of ]Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
. It was formerly known as Dumanyn, assumed to be derived from ''Dun Manann''.[
Pictish Manaw
North of the Forth it survives in the name of the burgh of Clackmannan and the eponymous county of Clackmannanshire.][, ''Celtic Britain'', The Picts and the Scots.] This is derived from ''Clach Manann'', the 'stone of Manann',[, ''Celtic Folklore'' Vol. II, Place-Name Stories.] referring to a monument stone located there.
Treatment by historians
With little known about Manaw Gododdin, there is little that can be said of it with any authority. Aside from parenthetical references to it as Cunedda
Cunedda ap Edern, also called Cunedda ''Wledig'' ( 5th century), was an important early Welsh leader, and the progenitor of the Royal dynasty of Gwynedd, one of the very oldest of western Europe.
Name
The name ''Cunedda'' (spelled ''Cuneda ...
's homeland, discussion is scant. William Forbes Skene (''The Four Ancient Books of Wales'', 1868) has a chapter on "Manau Gododdin and the Picts", and later historians either repeat him or cite him, but do not add more. Kenneth Jackson (''The Gododdin'', 1969) provides the same information as Skene, enhanced by his notice and commentary on some of the speculations and conjectures made by historians in the century since Skene published his work. He adds that the early Irish form of the name ''Gododdin'' is ''Fortudán''.
John Koch (''Celtic Culture'', 2005) incorporates some of Skene's material on Manaw (and credits Skene for it), including an independent view of the historical record (reaching the same general conclusions as Skene), but also asserting conjectures as though they were facts (e.g., asserting that the "Iudeu" mentioned in the ''Historia Brittonum'' was at Stirling).
John Rhys
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Seco ...
(''Celtic Britain'', 1904) both repeats and cites Skene, but adds nothing new. John Edward Lloyd (''History of Wales'', 1911) makes only a few comments about Manaw in passing, and John Davies (''History of Wales'', 1990) omits even that. Christopher Snyder
Christopher Allen Snyder is the Dean of Shackouls Honors College at Mississippi State University, in Starkville, Mississippi. He was previously a professor of European history and director of the Honors Program at Marymount University, in Arlin ...
(''An Age of Tyrants'', 1998) mentions Manaw twice in passing, saying nothing about it there or in his references to the literary '' Y Gododdin''. D. P. Kirby (''The Earliest English Kings'', 1991) mentions Manaw several times, but only in passing and with no information about it. Alistair Moffat (''Before Scotland'', 2005) makes several passing references to Manaw Gododdin and Gododdin.
In general, there is as much information about Manaw to be found in literary discussions as in historical ones and often more, though it is not more than Skene provided. For example, John Morris-Jones, in his comprehensive discussion of works attributed to Taliesin (''Y Cymmrodor'' XXVIII, 1918), repeats and cites the information provided by Skene that is typically omitted in historical works.
Regional history
The earliest reliable information on the region of the Firth of Forth during the time when Manaw Gododdin existed is from the archaeology of Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...
. The homeland of the Votadini, like those of the Damnonii and Novantae, was not planted with forts, suggesting (but not confirming) that the peoples of these regions had reached an amicable understanding with the Romans (such as an unequal alliance), and consequently these tribes or kingdoms continued to exist throughout the Roman Era
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
. There is no indication that the Romans ever waged war against any of these peoples.
However, the Romans were frequently at war with the more northerly peoples now known as Picts, and their military lines of communication (i.e. their roads) were well-fortified. This includes the road through Manaw Gododdin, the northern end of Dere Street.
The earliest reliable historical reference to the peoples of Northern Britain is from the '' Geography'' of Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
in c. AD 150. He says that this was the territory of the Otadini (i.e. the Votadini),[, ''Geographia'' 2.2, Albion Island of Britannia.] a people later known as the Kingdom of Gododdin (i.e. the Kingdom of the Votadini). Their lands were along the coast of south-eastern Scotland and north-eastern 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 ...
, and included the lands along the Firth of Forth, both north and south of it.
Ptolemy says that in 150 both the Damnonii and the Otadini possessed the land north of the Firth of Forth and south of the Firth of Tay. The Picts were constantly pressing southward, and by the early 3rd century the Roman Emperor Severus ineffectively campaigned against them. Known then as the Maeatae, the local Picts would ultimately push south to the Firth of Forth and beyond, and by the 7th century the Votadini were being squeezed between them and the Anglian Bernicia
Bernicia ( ang, Bernice, Bryneich, Beornice; la, Bernicia) was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England.
The Anglian territory of Bernicia was ap ...
ns, who were expanding northward.
Neither Gododdin nor Manaw Gododdin could have existed as a kingdom beyond the 7th century. The Kingdom of Northumbria was ascendant, and it would conquer all of Scotland south of the Firths of Clyde and Forth
Forth or FORTH may refer to:
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* ''forth'' magazine, an Internet magazine
* ''Forth'' (album), by The Verve, 2008
* ''Forth'', a 2011 album by Proto-Kaw
* Radio Forth, a group of independent local radio stations in Scotla ...
. The definitive years were the middle of the 7th century, when Penda of Mercia led an alliance of Mercians, Cymry (both from the north and from Gwynedd), East Anglians, and Deirans against Bernicia
Bernicia ( ang, Bernice, Bryneich, Beornice; la, Bernicia) was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England.
The Anglian territory of Bernicia was ap ...
. Penda was defeated and killed at the Battle of Winwaed
The Battle of the Winwaed ( Welsh: ''Maes Gai''; lat-med, Strages Gai Campi) was fought on 15 November 655 between King Penda of Mercia and Oswiu of Bernicia, ending in the Mercians' defeat and Penda's death. According to Bede, the batt ...
in 655, ending the alliance and cementing Bernician control over all of Britain between the English Midlands
The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the ...
and the Scottish firths. Bernicia was again united with Deira to form Northumbria as the premier military power of the era. Alt Clut soon re-established its independence, but all other Brythonic
Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to:
*Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain
*Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic
*Britons (Celtic people)
The Br ...
kingdoms north of the Solway and Tyne Tyne may refer to:
__NOTOC__ Geography
*River Tyne, England
*Port of Tyne, the commercial docks in and around the River Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England
*River Tyne, Scotland
*River Tyne, a tributary of the South Esk River, Tasmania, Australia
People ...
were gone.
Citations
References
*
*
*
* — English translation
* — in Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{Wales topics, state=collapsed
Hen Ogledd