Owain Danwyn (
fl.
''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 ...
440) was a king of
Rhos in
Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...
, Wales, in the mid-5th century. He was the son of
Einion Yrth and the father of
Cynlas Goch
Cuneglasus ( fl. 540) was a prince of Rhos in Gwynedd, Wales, in the late 5th or early 6th century. He was castigated for various sins by Gildas in ''De Excidio Britanniae''. The Welsh form Cynlas Goch is attested in several genealogies of the Rh ...
, probably the Cuneglasus excoriated by
Gildas. Very little is known of his life.
Graham Phillips and Martin Keatman proposed a theory that he was the
historical figure behind the legend of
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 ...
.
History
Owain Danwyn (
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 ...
Dantguin, also spelled Ddanwyn, Ddantgwyn, etc., meaning "White Tooth"), is known from several medieval genealogies of the kings of
Rhos. Most of these concur that he was the son of
Einion Yrth and grandson of
Cunedda, founder of the
Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...
dynasty in
North Wales.
His brother was
Cadwallon Lawhir ap Einion Cadwallon ap Einion (c. 460-517 or 534), usually known as Cadwallon Lawhir ('Long Hand') and also called Cadwallon I by some historians, was a Wales, Welsh ruler around 500.
Cadwallon was the son of Einion Yrth and Prawst ferch Deithlyn. He is oft ...
, known from the Gwynedd pedigrees.
Owain was the father of
Cynlas Goch
Cuneglasus ( fl. 540) was a prince of Rhos in Gwynedd, Wales, in the late 5th or early 6th century. He was castigated for various sins by Gildas in ''De Excidio Britanniae''. The Welsh form Cynlas Goch is attested in several genealogies of the Rh ...
, who is identified with the prince named Cuneglasus who
Gildas castigated for his various sins in ''
De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae''. According to the ''
Bonedd y Saint'', a genealogy of British saints, Owain was also the father of the saints
Einion Frenin,
Seiriol and
Meirion, and in some versions, Hawystl Gloff.
[
According to Gildas, Maelgwn, the son of Owain's brother Cadwallon, took the throne of Gwynedd by murdering an uncle. Peter Bartrum suggests this may have been Owain, though he notes that Gildas' term ''avunculus'' typically refers to a maternal uncle.]
Arthurian identification
Writers Graham Phillips and Martin Keatman proposed that Owain Danwyn was the historical basis for the legendary 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 ...
. This theory is based partly on their interpretation of the British power structure in the 5th century, and interpretations of names and epithets associated with Owain's family. According to Phillips and Keatman, "Arthur" was Owain's honorific title, meaning "Bear", and his capital was Viroconium in Shropshire, England.
Charles T. Wood commented that their thesis lacked conclusive proof but noted that their book was "always accurate in its use of sources and seldom wildly farfetched in the conclusions it draws." Rodney Castleden criticized the assumptions Phillips and Keatman based their conclusions on.
See also
* Kings of Wales family trees
References
{{Authority control
5th-century Welsh monarchs
Historical figures as candidates of King Arthur
Monarchs of Rhos