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| Harlech Castle copyright Susan Morrison Jones |
Let’s get back to the trail, Vortigern (he of the falling
down castle in the Arthurian Legends.) was a real person, who ruled Wales
between AD370 and AD450.
He was a strong King ruling through the might of arms and
accredited to his ‘holdings’ of at least 23 known sites, often named Caers
(cities or forts). Placed in Carlisle and right down through Hereford and
Wiltshire and Stonehenge.
His Caers were manned by his armies and he was a man not to
be trifled with. He was in a manner of speaking, an ‘over King’ because lots of
little ‘kingdoms’ existed with petty Princes and political game playing was
almost part of the entertainment. Who did what, when and how and why, the Bards
(also Druids) had many a song to sing and did.
The songs were records of events, often praising people,
sometimes ridiculing them. Many people were afraid of becoming immortalised in a
Druid/ Bards song, for fear of being ridiculed or their private embarrassing
events becoming ‘songs for the people’.
Though being made a hero was something all would enjoy if
the Druid favoured you and sang your praise you knew the whole of Wales would
soon know of you.
Up in what is now Cumbria is the Kingdom of Egremont (sound familiar?)
down in Cornwall is Tintagel (another familiar), various place names and Caers
and Castra become familiar as we wander through the ages and the places looking
for clues.
Vortigern is of course the English name for him, his true
Welsh name is possibly Uuertigernu, yes a right mouth full, said
oo-ert-eh-ger-nhoo, and all too easily assimilated into an English version when
you discover that another twist of the name is Wyrtgeorn and of course Vertigernas
(Latin possibly).
You can blame Gildas for one and Isidore of Seville for the
former and no one is ‘ever’ going to discover a massive tomb of new writing of
the times because it was the Romans who wrote history. Of course to their own
benefit. The Welsh rarely wrote anything because the Druids remembered it all
for them.
Have a look in the Appendices if anyone wants the origins of
this stuff, but basically the Welsh name has been virtually lost. Poor old
Vortigern has been given the dubious accreditation for inviting the Anglo
Saxons to come on over and join the feast. Its recorded historically they also
enjoyed the women, the land and stayed, setting up war for a few centuries and
ultimately the removal of the Roman usurpers.
But I am looking for Arthur and this pile of information is
just setting the scene so to speak.
Vortigern had a nickname thanks to Gildas but he took it
from Roman records the name was Superbus Tyrannus which dependent on
translation preferences is either Arrogant Despot or variations thereof.
Vortigern has out manoeuvred the Romans a time or two, he’s
a monumental pain in the Roman backside at the time I am focussing on, because
the Welsh love a strong King and Vortigern has a lot of followers, a great
many.
So it isn’t unusual to find the man is castigated, ridiculed
and scorned by the Romans or for that matter Gilda’s has a go at him later in
history. Because of course Vortigern isn’t giving up Wales without some sort of
fight.
He is going to be a thorn in the metaphorical side of a few
people before I manage to wade through the real records and the legends....
mine included!
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