Conan Meriadoc
Encyclopedia
Conan Meriadoc is a legendary British
leader credited with founding Brittany
. Versions of his story circulated in both Brittany and Great Britain
from at least the early 12th century, and supplanted earlier legends of Brittany's foundation. His story is known in two major versions, which appear in the Welsh
text known as The Dream of Maxen Wledic, and in Geoffrey of Monmouth
's Historia Regum Britanniae
. Both texts associate him with Maxsen Wledic
(Magnus Maximus), a Roman usurper
who was widely regarded as having deprived Britain of its defenses when he took its legions to claim the imperial throne.
, given as a son of Outham Senis (Outham the Old), the figure known in later sources as Eudaf and Octavius
. Outham is given another son, Kenan (the Middle Welsh version of Conan), who is said to have been the founder of Brittany. This reference shows that the Conan story was known in Brittany from a comparatively early date, but certain evidence suggests that it was imported from Wales. The text's compiler, Gurheden, says that his source for the information was one "Iuthael son of Aidan"; while the name Iuthael is a Brythonic name known in both Wales and Brittany, the Gaelic
Aidan is not attested in early Brittany, but is known in Wales. Additionally, Gurthiern's genealogy corresponds strongly with the descent elsewhere attributed to the Welsh saint Cadoc
, further suggesting a Welsh origin.
Conan Meriadoc also appears in the prologue to the Latin
Life of Saint Goeznovius, though the date of this text is disputed. The prologue, the only part of the work still extant, survives in a copy by the French historian Pierre le Baud (died 1505), but contains a passage claiming it was originally written in 1019 by a certain Guillaume, a servant of Bishop Eudo. This date has been defended by Gwenaël le Duc and Léon Fleuriot
. However, Hubert Guillotel has argued that the text dates instead to the mid-12th century.
There is evidence that Conan Meriadoc figured into the Brythonic prophetic tradition as a messianic savior who would return to lead his people in a time of need. A Cynan appears in several prophetic poems, most notably the Armes Prydein
, where he is named alongside Cadwaladr
as figure whose return is promised. Geoffrey of Monmouth
, whose knowledge of this tradition is evinced in both the Historia Regum Brittaniae and the Vita Merlini
, specifically identified this Cynan with Conan Meridoc. Rachel Bromwich
suggests that Geoffrey was relying on an older tradition identifying the founder of Brittany with the prophetic Cynan, and argues that this identification is made already in Armes Prydein. At the time Armes Prydein was composed, the Breton nobility under Alan II, Duke of Brittany
had forged an alliance with Athelstan, King of England in the face of Viking
attacks on their territory. Hywel Dda
, then ruler of most of Wales, had also formed similar relationship with Athelstan at that time. In spite of this, the poet repeatedly refers to the men of Llydaw (Brittany) as part of his prophesied pan-Celtic union which will oust the English from Britain for good. Bromwich reads the line "A chymot Cynan gan y gilyd" ("there will be concord between Cynan and his fellow") as a reference to the reunion of the Bretons and their leader Conan Meriadoc with their fellow Britons.
Geoffrey of Monmouth
's Historia Regum Britanniae
and the Welsh tale known as The Dream of Macsen Wledig. Both of these tie Conan and the founding of Brittany to the story of the Roman usurper
Magnus Maximus
, though in both cases this is heavily embellished. In Geoffrey, Conan is the nephew of Octavius
, King of the Britons, and a potential heir to the throne. When the throne is offered instead to "Maximianus", Geoffrey's version of Magnus Maximus, Conan at first opposes him, but the two are reconciled after Maximianus' marriage to Octavius' daughter. Later Maximianus leads the armies of Britain to march on Rome, and he quickly conquers Armorica, where he establishes Conan as the king with instructions to found "another Britain". Later, when Maximianus has been killed in Rome, his fleeing troops return to Armorica and join Conan's settlement.
The version of the story given in The Dream of Macsen Wledig differs from the Historia account on a number of points. Though the text antedates Geoffrey, it contains material older than either version. In The Dream, Conan is the son, rather than nephew, of Eudaf (Geoffrey's Octavius), and the brother of Elen Luyddog. Maxen Wledig (Magnus Maximus), here portrayed as the rightful Roman Emperor rather than a usurper, sees Elen and her kingdom in a dream vision
, and seeks her out and marries her. In this version Conan and his brother Afaon immediately become Maxen's loyal associates, later helping him reclaim the throne of Rome. For this service the grateful Maxen gives Conan dispensation to lead his army to conquer whatever realm he wants. Conan chooses Armorica, where he kills all the men and replaces them with his own soldiers. He then orders the tongues of all the women cut out, lest their speech corrupt that of the Britons; a fanciful etymology connects this event with Welsh name of Brittany, Llydaw, supposedly from the Welsh lled-taw or "half-silent".
are recorded in Gildas
' De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae
and in the hagiographies
of various saints. Especially important in this regard are the stories of the so-called Seven Founder Saints of Brittany, which were largely forgotten or overlooked after the spread of the Conan legend. At any rate the Conan story became a dominant founding myth for the Bretons for hundreds of years.
In the wake of Geoffrey and the The Dream of Macsen, Conan subsequently appears as a founder-figure in several genealogies of Breton aristocratic families. He is venerated as the ancestor of the Rohans
, according to the Life of Saint Meriadoc, the protagonist of which is said to have been descended from him. Meriadoc appears in one of the genealogies from Jesus College MS 20
, which traces the descent of Geraint mab Erbin, king of Dumnonia
in the West Country
, back to "Cynan map Eudaf Hen". In the Cornish
miracle play Beunans Meriasek
, Conan is a kinsman of Saint Meriasek
who tries (unsuccessfully) to dissuade Meriasek from pursuing a religious life.
In the 15th century the Bretons used the Conan story as it appears in the Life of Saint Meriadoc to establish precedence for the Breton aristocracy over the kings of France. The story's political impact declined with the Union of Brittany and France in 1532, and it thereafter declined in popularity. However, in the 17th century the Rohans used their supposed descent from Conan Meriadoc in order to seek status as "foreign princes" at the French court; King Louis XIV
recognized their pedigree, but denied their foreign status. Beginning in the mid 18th century Breton historians attempted to establish the historical existence of Conan, though he is now regarded as a mythical figure.
Britons (historical)
The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
leader credited with founding Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
. Versions of his story circulated in both Brittany and Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
from at least the early 12th century, and supplanted earlier legends of Brittany's foundation. His story is known in two major versions, which appear in the Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
text known as The Dream of Maxen Wledic, and in Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth was a cleric and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur...
's Historia Regum Britanniae
Historia Regum Britanniae
The Historia Regum Britanniae is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written c. 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the kings of the Britons in a chronological narrative spanning a time of two thousand years, beginning with the Trojans founding the British nation...
. Both texts associate him with Maxsen Wledic
Magnus Maximus
Magnus Maximus , also known as Maximianus and Macsen Wledig in Welsh, was Western Roman Emperor from 383 to 388. As commander of Britain, he usurped the throne against Emperor Gratian in 383...
(Magnus Maximus), a Roman usurper
Roman usurper
Usurpers are individuals or groups of individuals who obtain and maintain the power or rights of another by force and without legal authority. Usurpation was endemic during roman imperial era, especially from the crisis of the third century onwards, when political instability became the rule.The...
who was widely regarded as having deprived Britain of its defenses when he took its legions to claim the imperial throne.
Early evidence
The earliest undisputed evidence connecting Conan to the foundation of Brittany appears in the Life of Saint Gurthiern, included in the Kemperle Cartulary compiled between 1118 and 1127. This text traces the descent of Gurthiern back to the ancestor figure Beli MawrBeli Mawr
Beli Mawr was an ancestor figure in medieval Welsh literature and genealogies. He is the father of Caswallawn, Arianrhod, Lludd Llaw Eraint, Llefelys, and Afallach. In certain medieval genealogies he is listed as the husband of Anna, cousin of the Virgin Mary...
, given as a son of Outham Senis (Outham the Old), the figure known in later sources as Eudaf and Octavius
Octavius
Octavius or Eudaf Hen is a figure of Welsh tradition. He is remembered as a King of the Britons and the father of Elen Luyddog and Conan Meriadoc in sources such as the Welsh prose tale The Dream of Macsen and Geoffrey of Monmouth's Latin chronicle Historia Regum Britanniae...
. Outham is given another son, Kenan (the Middle Welsh version of Conan), who is said to have been the founder of Brittany. This reference shows that the Conan story was known in Brittany from a comparatively early date, but certain evidence suggests that it was imported from Wales. The text's compiler, Gurheden, says that his source for the information was one "Iuthael son of Aidan"; while the name Iuthael is a Brythonic name known in both Wales and Brittany, the Gaelic
Gaels
The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....
Aidan is not attested in early Brittany, but is known in Wales. Additionally, Gurthiern's genealogy corresponds strongly with the descent elsewhere attributed to the Welsh saint Cadoc
Cadoc
Saint Cadoc , Abbot of Llancarfan, was one of the 6th century British Christian saints. His vita twice mentions King Arthur. The Abbey of Llancarfan, near Cowbridge in Glamorganshire, which he founded circa 518, became famous as a centre of learning...
, further suggesting a Welsh origin.
Conan Meriadoc also appears in the prologue to the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
Life of Saint Goeznovius, though the date of this text is disputed. The prologue, the only part of the work still extant, survives in a copy by the French historian Pierre le Baud (died 1505), but contains a passage claiming it was originally written in 1019 by a certain Guillaume, a servant of Bishop Eudo. This date has been defended by Gwenaël le Duc and Léon Fleuriot
Léon Fleuriot
Léon Fleuriot was a French academic specializing in Celtic languages and in history, particularly that of Gallo-Roman Brittany and of the Early Middle Ages....
. However, Hubert Guillotel has argued that the text dates instead to the mid-12th century.
There is evidence that Conan Meriadoc figured into the Brythonic prophetic tradition as a messianic savior who would return to lead his people in a time of need. A Cynan appears in several prophetic poems, most notably the Armes Prydein
Armes Prydein
Armes Prydein is an early 10th-century Welsh prophetic poem from the Book of Taliesin.In a rousing style characteristic of Welsh heroic poetry, it describes a future where all of Brythonic peoples are allied with the Scots, the Irish, and the Vikings of Dublin under Welsh leadership, and together...
, where he is named alongside Cadwaladr
Cadwaladr
Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon was King of Gwynedd . Two devastating plagues happened during his reign, one in 664 and the other in 682, with himself a victim of the second one. Little else is known of his reign...
as figure whose return is promised. Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth was a cleric and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur...
, whose knowledge of this tradition is evinced in both the Historia Regum Brittaniae and the Vita Merlini
Vita Merlini
Vita Merlini, or The Life of Merlin, is a work by the Norman-Welsh author Geoffrey of Monmouth, composed in Latin around AD 1150. It retells incidents from the life of the Brythonic seer Merlin, and is based on traditional material about him....
, specifically identified this Cynan with Conan Meridoc. Rachel Bromwich
Rachel Bromwich
Rachel Bromwich was a British scholar. Her focus was on medieval Welsh literature, and was Emeritus Reader in Celtic Languages and Literature at the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at Cambridge until her death...
suggests that Geoffrey was relying on an older tradition identifying the founder of Brittany with the prophetic Cynan, and argues that this identification is made already in Armes Prydein. At the time Armes Prydein was composed, the Breton nobility under Alan II, Duke of Brittany
Alan II, Duke of Brittany
Alan II , nicknamed Wrybeard and also known as Le Renard "The Fox", was Count of Vannes, Poher, and Nantes, and Duke of Brittany from 938 to his death...
had forged an alliance with Athelstan, King of England in the face of Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
attacks on their territory. Hywel Dda
Hywel Dda
Hywel Dda , was the well-thought-of king of Deheubarth in south-west Wales, who eventually came to rule Wales from Prestatyn to Pembroke. As a descendant of Rhodri Mawr, through his father Cadell, Hywel was a member of the Dinefwr branch of the dynasty and is also named Hywel ap Cadell...
, then ruler of most of Wales, had also formed similar relationship with Athelstan at that time. In spite of this, the poet repeatedly refers to the men of Llydaw (Brittany) as part of his prophesied pan-Celtic union which will oust the English from Britain for good. Bromwich reads the line "A chymot Cynan gan y gilyd" ("there will be concord between Cynan and his fellow") as a reference to the reunion of the Bretons and their leader Conan Meriadoc with their fellow Britons.
Geoffrey and the Dream of Macsen
The story of Conan is attested in several medieval sources, the most substantial versions being those included inGeoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth was a cleric and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur...
's Historia Regum Britanniae
Historia Regum Britanniae
The Historia Regum Britanniae is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written c. 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the kings of the Britons in a chronological narrative spanning a time of two thousand years, beginning with the Trojans founding the British nation...
and the Welsh tale known as The Dream of Macsen Wledig. Both of these tie Conan and the founding of Brittany to the story of the Roman usurper
Roman usurper
Usurpers are individuals or groups of individuals who obtain and maintain the power or rights of another by force and without legal authority. Usurpation was endemic during roman imperial era, especially from the crisis of the third century onwards, when political instability became the rule.The...
Magnus Maximus
Magnus Maximus
Magnus Maximus , also known as Maximianus and Macsen Wledig in Welsh, was Western Roman Emperor from 383 to 388. As commander of Britain, he usurped the throne against Emperor Gratian in 383...
, though in both cases this is heavily embellished. In Geoffrey, Conan is the nephew of Octavius
Octavius
Octavius or Eudaf Hen is a figure of Welsh tradition. He is remembered as a King of the Britons and the father of Elen Luyddog and Conan Meriadoc in sources such as the Welsh prose tale The Dream of Macsen and Geoffrey of Monmouth's Latin chronicle Historia Regum Britanniae...
, King of the Britons, and a potential heir to the throne. When the throne is offered instead to "Maximianus", Geoffrey's version of Magnus Maximus, Conan at first opposes him, but the two are reconciled after Maximianus' marriage to Octavius' daughter. Later Maximianus leads the armies of Britain to march on Rome, and he quickly conquers Armorica, where he establishes Conan as the king with instructions to found "another Britain". Later, when Maximianus has been killed in Rome, his fleeing troops return to Armorica and join Conan's settlement.
The version of the story given in The Dream of Macsen Wledig differs from the Historia account on a number of points. Though the text antedates Geoffrey, it contains material older than either version. In The Dream, Conan is the son, rather than nephew, of Eudaf (Geoffrey's Octavius), and the brother of Elen Luyddog. Maxen Wledig (Magnus Maximus), here portrayed as the rightful Roman Emperor rather than a usurper, sees Elen and her kingdom in a dream vision
Dream vision
A dream vision is a literary device in which a dream is recounted for a specific purpose. While dreams occur frequently throughout the history of literature, the dream vision emerged as a poetic genre in its own right, and was particularly popular in the Middle Ages. This genre typically follows a...
, and seeks her out and marries her. In this version Conan and his brother Afaon immediately become Maxen's loyal associates, later helping him reclaim the throne of Rome. For this service the grateful Maxen gives Conan dispensation to lead his army to conquer whatever realm he wants. Conan chooses Armorica, where he kills all the men and replaces them with his own soldiers. He then orders the tongues of all the women cut out, lest their speech corrupt that of the Britons; a fanciful etymology connects this event with Welsh name of Brittany, Llydaw, supposedly from the Welsh lled-taw or "half-silent".
Later developments
Earlier traditions of the foundation of the Brythonic settlement in ArmoricaArmorica
Armorica or Aremorica is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul that includes the Brittany peninsula and the territory between the Seine and Loire rivers, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic coast...
are recorded in Gildas
Gildas
Gildas was a 6th-century British cleric. He is one of the best-documented figures of the Christian church in the British Isles during this period. His renowned learning and literary style earned him the designation Gildas Sapiens...
' De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae
De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae
De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae is a work by the 6th-century British cleric Gildas. It is a sermon in three parts condemning the acts of Gildas' contemporaries, both secular and religious, whom he blames for the dire state of affairs in sub-Roman Britain...
and in the hagiographies
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
of various saints. Especially important in this regard are the stories of the so-called Seven Founder Saints of Brittany, which were largely forgotten or overlooked after the spread of the Conan legend. At any rate the Conan story became a dominant founding myth for the Bretons for hundreds of years.
In the wake of Geoffrey and the The Dream of Macsen, Conan subsequently appears as a founder-figure in several genealogies of Breton aristocratic families. He is venerated as the ancestor of the Rohans
Rohan (family)
The House of Rohan is a family of viscounts, later dukes and princes, coming from the locality of Rohan in Brittany. Their line descends from the viscounts of Porhoët and said to trace back to the legendary Conan Meriadoc. Through the Porhoët, the Rohan are related to the Dukes of Brittany, with...
, according to the Life of Saint Meriadoc, the protagonist of which is said to have been descended from him. Meriadoc appears in one of the genealogies from Jesus College MS 20
Genealogies from Jesus College MS 20
The genealogies from Jesus College MS 20 are a medieval Welsh collection of genealogies preserved in a single manuscript, Oxford, Bodleian Library, Jesus College, MS 20, folios 33r–41r...
, which traces the descent of Geraint mab Erbin, king of Dumnonia
Dumnonia
Dumnonia is the Latinised name for the Brythonic kingdom in sub-Roman Britain between the late 4th and late 8th centuries, located in the farther parts of the south-west peninsula of Great Britain...
in the West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
, back to "Cynan map Eudaf Hen". In the Cornish
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
miracle play Beunans Meriasek
Beunans Meriasek
Beunans Meriasek is a Cornish play completed in 1504. Its subject is the legends of the life of Saint Meriasek or Meriadoc, patron saint of Camborne, whose veneration was popular in Cornwall, Brittany, and elsewhere...
, Conan is a kinsman of Saint Meriasek
Saint Meriasek
Saint Meriasek was a 4th century Breton saint. The legends of his life are known through Beunans Meriasek, a Cornish language play completed in 1504, and a few other sources...
who tries (unsuccessfully) to dissuade Meriasek from pursuing a religious life.
In the 15th century the Bretons used the Conan story as it appears in the Life of Saint Meriadoc to establish precedence for the Breton aristocracy over the kings of France. The story's political impact declined with the Union of Brittany and France in 1532, and it thereafter declined in popularity. However, in the 17th century the Rohans used their supposed descent from Conan Meriadoc in order to seek status as "foreign princes" at the French court; King Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
recognized their pedigree, but denied their foreign status. Beginning in the mid 18th century Breton historians attempted to establish the historical existence of Conan, though he is now regarded as a mythical figure.