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Mynyddog Mwynfawr

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Enaidmawr (talk | contribs) at 00:13, 25 September 2008 (Koch's theory is interesting but it is just that; the traditional/accepted interpretation should take precedence). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Mynyddawg Mwynfawr (also spelled Mynyddog) was, according to Welsh tradition founded on the early Welsh language poem Y Gododdin, attributed to Aneirin, a Brythonic ruler of the the kingdom of Gododdin in the Hen Ogledd (southern Scotland).

The traditional reading of Y Gododdin, accepted by most scholars, is that Mynyddawg is king of Gododdin, perhaps with his court at Din Eidyn, modern Edinburgh. He appears as the sponsor of the renowned warband that fought at the battle of Catraeth in the early Welsh poem.

The name Mynyddawg Mwynfawr, if translated as a personal name, means Mynyddawg the Wealthy. The name Mynyddawg is the adjectival form of mynydd "mountain" (i.e. "mountainous"). John Koch considers Mynyddawg Mwynfawr to be a place (meaning approximately "Wealthy Mountain"). Koch argues that Mynyddawg Mwynfawr is a kenning or personification which represents Din Eidyn, Gododdin, or perhaps the entire Old North, and that Gwlyget, described as Mynyddawg's steward, is the ruler of Gododdin.

Sources

  • Rachel Bromwich (ed.), Trioedd Ynys Prydein (University of Wales Press, 1978; new edition, 1991)
  • Chris Lowe, Angels, Fools and Tyrants: Britons and Saxons in Southern Scotland (Canongate Books and Historic Scotland, 1999)
  • Ifor Williams (ed.), Canu Aneirin (University of Wales Press, 1958). The standard edition of Y Gododdin.
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