Pabo Post Prydain
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Pabo Post Prydain (''supp. fl.'' before 500) was a king from the
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 sp ...
or ''Old North'' of sub-Roman Britain. According to tradition Pabo "the Pillar of Britain" was driven out of the North in 460 and settled in
Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...
. He is said to have been buried in the area. From the 14th century at least, when a stone cross was erected in the ruler's memory in the abbey's churchyard, Pabo has been identified as its founder, having retired, as many Welsh kings are said to have done, to a heremitic retreat.


Family

The Old Welsh genealogies of British Library, Harleian MS 3859, calls him a son of Cenau son of
Coel Hen Coel (Old Welsh: ''Coil''), also called ''Coel Hen'' (Coel the Old) and King Cole, is a figure prominent in Welsh literature and legend since the Middle Ages. Early Welsh tradition knew of a Coel Hen, a 4th-century leader in Roman or Sub-Roman ...
. Later Welsh genealogies insert two generations by making him son of Arthwys son of Mar son of Cenau son of Coel, though this presents greater chronological problems. The genealogies give him a royal line of descendants as the father of
Dunod Fawr Dynod son of Pabo ( cy, Dynod or ''Dunod ap Pabo''; la, Dunaunt; died c. 595), better known as Dynod the Stout ( cy, Dynod Bwr) or Dynod Fawr was the ruler of a small kingdom in the North Pennines in the post-Roman Hen Ogledd ("Old ...
, Sawyl Penuchel and Ardun Benasgell, and a saintly one as the grandfather of
Deiniol Saint Deiniol (died 572) was traditionally the first Bishop of Bangor in the Kingdom of Gwynedd, Wales. The present Bangor Cathedral, dedicated to Deiniol, is said to be on the site where his monastery stood. He is venerated in Brittany as Sai ...
, Asaph and
Tysilio Saint Tysilio (also known as/confused with Saint Suliac; la, Tysilius, Suliacus; died 640 AD) was a Welsh bishop, prince and scholar, son of the reigning King of Powys, Brochwel Ysgithrog, maternal nephew of the great Abbot Dunod of Bangor ...
. As to his period, Elis Gruffydd's ''Chronicle'' says that his daughter married
Maelgwn Gwynedd Maelgwn Gwynedd ( la, Maglocunus; died c. 547Based on Phillimore's (1888) reconstruction of the dating of the ''Annales Cambriae'' (A Text).) was king of Gwynedd during the early 6th century. Surviving records suggest he held a pre-eminent position ...
while an Irish genealogy says that his son "Samuel Chendisel" (the
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
equivalent of ''Pen-isel'') married Deichter, daughter of
Muiredach Muinderg Muiredach Muinderg mac Forggo (died 489) was a king of Ulaid from the Dál Fiatach. He was the son of Forgg mac Dalláin. His sobriquet means ''red-necked''. His death date is given in the ''Annals of Tigernach'' in 489. The ''Book of Leinster'' ...
, the king of
Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
. Their son Sanctan founded Kilnasantan in County Dublin after travelling to Ireland with his brother Matóc Ailithir. The Irish ''
Liber Hymnorum The term "Celtic Rite" is applied to the various liturgical rites used in Celtic Christianity in Britain, Ireland and Brittany and the monasteries founded by St. Columbanus and Saint Catald in France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy during the ...
'' confirms that Sanctan and Matóc came to Ireland from Britain. Pabo must have been roughly the same age as Muiredach, whose death-date (after a reign of 24 years according to other sources) is given in the ''Annals of Tigernach'' as 489.


Llanbabo

A tradition identifies Pabo as the founder of St Pabo's Church, Llanbabo (at
Llanbabo Llanbabo ''(Welsh: Church of Pabo'') is a small village two miles north west of Llannerch-y-medd in Anglesey, Wales. It lies within the community of Tref Alaw. The ancient church of St Pabo, Llanbabo is dedicated to Saint Pabo: possibly Pabo Po ...
,
Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...
). The first author to record it is antiquarian Henry Rowlands (d. 1723), who writes that "''Pabo'', frequently called ''Post Prydain'', i.e. the Support of Britain, for his great valour against the Picts and Scots, retired here n Anglesey and built his church at ''Llan Babo''."Rowlands, ''Mona antiqua restaurata'', p. 157-8. A stone cross was erected in the ruler's memory in the abbey's churchyard at the same time Bangor Cathedral was being built. Welsh poet Lewis Morris reports that the memorial cross was discovered there around 1650. The monument, dated to the 14th Century, bears the carved image of a king and an accompanying inscription. The inscription is in part illegible but the following reading has been suggested; :''Hic iacet Pa oPost Priid Co f Grl a inem obtulit' :"Here lies Pabo the Upholder of Britain, Confessor, Gruffudd ab Ithel offered (this) image" Some scholars argue, in the absence of early evidence, that the tradition is probably spurious though the identity of the historical Pabo who did give his name to the church remains otherwise unknown.


Notes


References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pabo Post Prydain Northern Brythonic monarchs Northern Brythonic saints 6th-century Christian saints