Edern ap Nudd ( la, Hiderus; Old french: Yder or ') was a

knight of the Round Table The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in lit ...

Arthur's Arthur's was a London gentlemen's club, now dissolved, which was established in 1811 and was disbanded in 1940. Between 1827 and 1940 it was based at 69 St James's Street. It is now best remembered for having built the London clubhouse currently ...

court in early Arthurian tradition. As the son of Nudd (the ''Nu'', ''Nut'' or ''Nuc'' of Old French,

Arthurian romance The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Western ...

), he is the brother of Gwyn, Creiddylad, and Owain ap Nudd. In French romances, he is sometimes made the king of a separate realm. As St Edern, he has two churches dedicated to him in Wales.

Etymology

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 ...

name Edern comes from a Brittonic borrowing of Latin ''Aeternus'', meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal".

Appearances

In '' Culhwch ac Olwen'', Edern is named as one of Arthur's knights in a list of his retinue, but plays no part in the narrative. Edern also appears in ''

The Dream of Rhonabwy ''The Dream of Rhonabwy'' ( cy, Breuddwyd Rhonabwy) is a Middle Welsh prose tale. Set during the reign of Madog ap Maredudd, prince of Powys (died 1160), its composition is typically dated to somewhere between the late 12th through the late 14th ...

'' (a late medieval Welsh Arthurian romance) in which he commands a "pure black troop" of Danish soldiers allied to Arthur against the

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

. He is named one of Arthur's foremost counsellors during the battle.

''Geraint son of Erbin''

Edern plays a more important role in ''Geraint son of Erbin'' (a Welsh adaptation of

Chrétien de Troyes Chrétien de Troyes (Modern ; fro, Crestien de Troies ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on Arthurian subjects, and for first writing of Lancelot, Percival and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's works, including ...

' romance ''

Erec et Enide , original_title_lang = fro , translator = , written = c. 1170 , country = , language = Old French , subject = Arthurian legend , genre = Chivalric romance , form ...

''), in which he and two companions, a beautiful lady and a whip-brandishing dwarf, come across

Gwenhwyfar Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First ment ...

, one of her handmaidens and the knight Geraint ab Erbin in a forest. The handmaiden is sent to discover Edern's identity, but is rebuked and struck by the dwarf. Geraint also goes and suffers the same fate, but chooses to spare the dwarf's life and retreats. Seeking his adversary, Geraint heads to a "walled town", where a great tournament is annually held. Edern, champion of the tournament for two years running, challenges Geraint to

joust Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horse riders wielding lances with blunted tips, often as part of a tournament. The primary aim was to replicate a clash of heavy cavalry, with each participant trying to strike the opponen ...

. Initially, Edern has the upper hand but by the end of the duel, he suffers vicious wounds at Geraint's hand and begs for mercy. Geraint allows Edern to keep his life on the condition that he rides to Arthur's court to make amends for his insult. Edern accepts the condition, and reveals his name to his rival. Edern later rides to Arthur's court where his apology is accepted by Gwenhwyfar. Heavily injured, he is treated by

Morgan Tud Morgan le Fay (, meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan ''n''a, Morgain ''a/e Morg ''a''ne, Morgant ''e Morge ''i''n, and Morgue ''inamong other names and spellings ( cy, Morgên y Dylwythen Deg, kw, Morgen an Spyrys), is a ...

, the chief physician of the court. Upon his recovery, he is chosen to accompany Geraint to the kingdom of Geraint's father, Erbin.

Appearances as Yder

Outside Welsh-language writing, Edern is first seen in

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 historiography ...

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. ...

as ''Hiderus filius Nu'', a knight of King Arthur's who fought in his Gallic campaign. The poet Wace, in his adaptation of the ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' called the ''

Roman de Brut The ''Brut'' or ''Roman de Brut'' (completed 1155) by the poet Wace is a loose and expanded translation in almost 15,000 lines of Norman-French verse of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Latin '' History of the Kings of Britain''. It was formerly known ...

'', renders the name as ''Yder fils Nu(t)''. There is also an Anglo-Norman '' Romanz du reis Yder''. However, Yder's "fame was too small to inspire later writers or visual artists. The only time he may have been immortalised is on the famous archivolt (1120-40) at

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label= Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and '' comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. A town, and seat o ...

, which shows a knight called Idernus in a scene with King Arthur (Artus de Bretania), the captive queen Guinloie or Guenevere (Winlogee) and possibly Durmart (Burmaltus)."

Saint

Edern is the patron saint of two churches in Wales:

St Edern's Church, Bodedern St Edern's Church, Bodedern (sometimes referred to as St Edeyrn's Church) is a medieval parish church in the village of Bodedern, in Anglesey, north Wales. Although St Edern established a church in the area in the 6th century, the oldest parts o ...

, in Anglesey, and the church in the village of

Edern, Gwynedd Edern, formerly known as ''Edeyrn'', is a village and until 1939 a civil parish, in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. It is about 1 km southwest of the larger village of Morfa Nefyn, near Caernarfon Bay on the north coast of the Llŷn Peninsu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:EDERN, AP NUDD Arthurian characters Welsh mythology