Geraint
Overview
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...
folklore and Arthurian legend, a 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...
and a valiant warrior. He may have lived during or shortly prior to the reign of the historical Arthur
Historical basis for King Arthur
The historical basis of King Arthur is a source of considerable debate among historians. The first datable mention of King Arthur in a historical context comes from a Latin text of the 9th century - more than three centuries after his supposed floruit in 5th to early 6th century Sub-Roman Britain...
, but some scholars doubt he ever existed. The name is a Welsh form of 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...
Gerontius
Gerontius
Gerontius can refer to:People:* Gerontius , an early 5th century Roman general who was a key supporter of Constantine III, then rebelled against him* Gerontius of Milan, bishop of Milan 462-465, saint...
.
Geraint's father was Erbin
Erbin of Dumnonia
Erbin of Dumnonia was a 5th century King of Dumnonia and saint of Wales.-Monarch:Traditionally, Erbin was a King of Dumnonia, the son of Constantine Corneu and the father of Geraint...
, a herder of sheep, and according to Culhwch and Olwen
Culhwch and Olwen
Culhwch and Olwen is a Welsh tale about a hero connected with Arthur and his warriors that survives in only two manuscripts: a complete version in the Red Book of Hergest, ca. 1400, and a fragmented version in the White Book of Rhydderch, ca. 1325. It is the longest of the surviving Welsh prose...
, he had brothers named Ermind and Dywel
Dywel fab Erbin
Dywel fab Erbin is a minor character and warrior of Welsh tradition, the son of Erbin and the brother of Geraint and Ermid. Alongside his brothers, he is named in the early Arthurian tale Culhwch ac Olwen as a knight of Arthur's court at Celliwig....
. A 'Geraint of the South' appears at the Battle of Catraeth (circa 600) in the poem Y Gododdin
Y Gododdin
Y Gododdin is a medieval Welsh poem consisting of a series of elegies to the men of the Britonnic kingdom of Gododdin and its allies who, according to the conventional interpretation, died fighting the Angles of Deira and Bernicia at a place named Catraeth...
, attributed to Aneirin
Aneirin
Aneirin or Neirin was a Dark Age Brythonic poet. He is believed to have been a bard or 'court poet' in one of the Cumbric kingdoms of the Old North or Hen Ogledd, probably that of Gododdin at Edinburgh, in modern Scotland...
.
Unanswered Questions