Glastening (or ''Glastenning'') refers to an old Welsh pedigree mentioned by

William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury ( la, Willelmus Malmesbiriensis; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as " ...

possibly associated with

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...

Associated genealogies

Modern and medieval historians have sought to associate various versions of the same Old Welsh pedigree with Glastonbury. The earliest genealogy is a 10th-century text, 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 ...

, preserved in London, British Library, Harley MS 3859, which ends with Glast and states ''unum sunt Glastenic qui uenerunt que uocatur Loytcoyt'', or "one of those who came to Glastenning from the place called Luit-Coyt" (modern

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...

). Other versions are given in the later ''Achau Brenhinoedd a Thywysogion Cymru'' and William of Malmesbury's ''De antiquitate Glastonie ecclesie'', where the pedigree is listed as brothers. From the versions it not clear whether Glast was a personal name or a kindred group as Glastening, "descendants of Glasten", or an epithet ''Glas'' meaning "the Blue, Green or Grey".

In literature

The Glastening may be connected in some way to the Sumorsaete, an obscure Anglo-Saxon group who may have given their name to

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. According to

, Glast was one of twelve brothers who migrated from the north to assume control of parts of

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

(the

Britons British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mod ...

still held much of the west of Britain) who were great-grandsons 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 ''Cuned ...

. He settled in

with his

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...

after finding it deserted. The 14th century codex from

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, Bodleian Library, Jesus College 20, actually gives Glas map Elno (or Elnaw) as the great-grandson of Cunedda. David Thornton finds "no strong evidence" for the association of the pedigree of the Glastening with Glastonbury other than the similarity of the names. He concludes that the Glastening had an association with Lichfield (problems of textual corruption making it difficult to be precise about the relationship) and that "their sojourn in Glastonbury, however, is the product of medieval pseudo-historical thought supported by the zealous ingenuity of subsequent scholars." It is unclear when

was first established, but it is first recorded in the 7th and the early 8th centuries, as ''Glestingaburg''. The ''burg'' element is Anglo-Saxon and could refer either to a fortified place such as a

burh A burh () or burg was an Old English fortification or fortified settlement. In the 9th century, raids and invasions by Vikings prompted Alfred the Great to develop a network of burhs and roads to use against such attackers. Some were new constr ...

or, more likely, a monastic enclosure. However the ''Glestinga'' element is obscure, and may derive from an

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

word or from a Saxon or Celtic personal name.

References

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Associated genealogies

In literature

References

See also