Kingdom of Gwynedd
The Principality or Kingdom of Gwynedd was a Roman Empire successor state that emerged in sub-Roman Britain in the 5th century during the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. Based in northwest Wales, the rulers of Gwynedd rose to dominance and were acclaimed as "King of the Britons" before losing their power in civil wars or invasions; the kingdom of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn—the King of Wales from 1055 to 1063—was shattered by a Saxon invasion in 1063 just prior to the Norman invasion of Wales, but the House of Aberffraw restored by Gruffudd ap Cynan recovered and Llywelyn the Great of Gwynedd was able to proclaim the Principality of Wales at the Aberdyfi gathering of Welsh princes in 1216. In 1277, the Treaty of Aberconwy granted peace between the two but would guarantee that Welsh self-rule would end upon Llewelyn's death, so it represented the completion of the first stage of the conquest of Wales by Edward I. Welsh tradition credited the founding of Gwynedd to the Brittonic polity of Gododdin from Lothian invading the lands of the Brittonic polities of the Deceangli and Gangani in the 5th century.
The sons of their leader, were said to have possessed the land between the rivers Dee and Teifi. The true borders of the realm varied over time, but Gwynedd Proper was thought to comprise the cantrefs of Aberffraw and Cantref Rhosyr on Anglesey and Arllechwedd, Dunoding, Dyffryn Clwyd, Llŷn, Rhos and Tegeingl at the mountainous mainland region of Snowdonia opposite; the name Gwynedd is believed to be an early borrowing from Irish, either cognate with the Old Irish ethnic name Féni, "Irish People", from Primitive Irish *weidh-n- "Forest People"/"Wild People", or Old Irish fían "war band", from Proto-Irish *wēnā. The 5th-century Cantiorix Inscription now in Penmachno church seems to be the earliest record of the name, it is in memory of a man named Cantiorix, the Latin inscription is Cantiorix hic iacit/Venedotis cives fuit/consobrinos Magli magistrati: "Cantiorix lies here. He was a citizen of Gwynedd and a cousin of Maglos the magistrate"; the use of terms such as "citizen" and "magistrate" may be cited as evidence that Romano-British culture and institutions continued in Gwynedd long after the legions had withdrawn.
Ptolemy marks the Llŷn Peninsula as the "Promontory of the Gangani", a name he recorded in Ireland. In the late and post-Roman eras, Irish from Leinster may have arrived in Anglesey and elsewhere in northwest Wales, with the name Llŷn derived from Laigin, an Old Irish form that means "of Leinster"; the region became known as Venedotia in Latin. The name was attributed to a specific Irish colony on Anglesey, but broadened to refer to Irish settlers as a whole in North Wales by the 5th century. According to 9th century monk and chronicler Nennius, North Wales was left defenseless by the Roman withdrawal and subject to increasing raids by marauders from the Isle of Man and Ireland, a situation which led Cunedda, his sons and their entourage, to migrate in the mid-5th century from Manaw Gododdin to settle and defend North Wales against the raiders and bring the region within Romano-British control. According to traditional pedigrees, Cunedda's grandfather was Padarn Beisrudd, Paternus of the red cloak, "an epithet which suggests that he wore the cloak of a Roman officer", according to Davies.
Nennius recounts how Cunedda brought order to North Wales and after his death Gwynedd was divided among his sons: Dynod was awarded Dunoding, another son Ceredig received Ceredigion, so forth. However, this overly neat origin myth has been met with skepticism: Early Welsh literature contains a wealth of stories seeking to explain place-names, doubtless the story is propaganda aimed at justifying the right of Cunedda and his descendants to territories beyond the borders of the original Kingdom of Gwynedd; that kingdom consisted of the two banks of the Menai Straits and the coast over towards the estuary of the river Conwy, the foundations upon which Cunedda's descendants created a more extensive realm. Undoubtedly, a Brittonic leader of substance established himself in North Wales, he and his descendants defeated any remaining Irish presence, incorporated the settlements into their domain and reoriented the whole of Gwynedd into a Romano-British and "Welsh" outlook; the Welsh of Gwynedd remained conscious of their Romano-British heritage, an affinity with Rome survived long after the Empire retreated from Britain with the use of Latin in writing and sustaining the Christian religion.
The Welsh ruling classes continued to emphasize Roman ancestors within their pedigrees as a way to link their rule with the old imperial Roman order, suggesting stability and continuity with that old order. According to Professor John Davies, "here is a determinedly Brythonic, indeed Roman, air to early Gwynedd." So palpable was the Roman heritage felt that Professor Bryan Ward-Perkins of Trinity College, wrote "It took until 1282, when Edward I conquered Gwynedd, for the last part of Roman Britain to fall a strong case can be made for Gwynedd as the last part of the entire Roman Empire and west, to fall to the barbarians." There was quick abandonment of Roman political and ecclesiastical practices and institutions within Gwynedd and elsewhere in Wales. Roman knowledge was lost as the Romano-Britons shifted towards a streamlined militaristic near-tribal society that no longer
Owl
Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes, which includes about 200 species of solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, feathers adapted for silent flight. Exceptions include the gregarious burrowing owl. Owls hunt small mammals and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish, they are found in all regions of the Earth except some remote islands. Owls are divided into two families: the true owl family and the barn-owl family, Tytonidae. Owls possess large, forward-facing eyes and ear-holes, a hawk-like beak, a flat face, a conspicuous circle of feathers, a facial disc, around each eye; the feathers making up this disc can be adjusted to focus sounds from varying distances onto the owls' asymmetrically placed ear cavities. Most birds of prey have eyes on the sides of their heads, but the stereoscopic nature of the owl's forward-facing eyes permits the greater sense of depth perception necessary for low-light hunting.
Although owls have binocular vision, their large eyes are fixed in their sockets—as are those of most other birds—so they must turn their entire heads to change views. As owls are farsighted, they are unable to see anything within a few centimeters of their eyes. Caught prey can be felt by owls with the use of filoplumes—hairlike feathers on the beak and feet that act as "feelers", their far vision in low light, is exceptionally good. Owls can rotate their heads and necks as much as 270°. Owls have 14 neck vertebrae compared to seven in humans, they have adaptations to their circulatory systems, permitting rotation without cutting off blood to the brain: the foramina in their vertebrae through which the vertebral arteries pass are about 10 times the diameter of the artery, instead of about the same size as the artery as in humans. Other anastomoses between the carotid and vertebral arteries support this effect; the smallest owl—weighing as little as 31 g and measuring some 13.5 cm —is the elf owl.
Around the same diminutive length, although heavier, are the lesser known long-whiskered owlet and Tamaulipas pygmy owl. The largest owls are two sized eagle owls; the largest females of these species are 71 cm long, have 54 cm long wings, weigh 4.2 kg. Different species of owls produce different sounds; as noted above, their facial discs help owls to funnel the sound of prey to their ears. In many species, these discs are placed asymmetrically, for better directional location. Owl plumage is cryptic, although several species have facial and head markings, including face masks, ear tufts, brightly coloured irises; these markings are more common in species inhabiting open habitats, are thought to be used in signaling with other owls in low-light conditions. Sexual dimorphism is a physical difference between females of a species. Reverse sexual dimorphism, when females are larger than males, has been observed across multiple owl species; the degree of size dimorphism varies across multiple populations and species, is measured through various traits, such as wing span and body mass.
Overall, female owls tend to be larger than males. The exact explanation for this development in owls is unknown. However, several theories explain the development of sexual dimorphism in owls. One theory suggests that selection has led males to be smaller because it allows them to be efficient foragers; the ability to obtain more food is advantageous during breeding season. In some species, female owls stay at their nest with their eggs while it is the responsibility of the male to bring back food to the nest. However, if food is scarce, the male first feeds himself before feeding the female. Small birds, which are agile, are an important source of food for owls. Male burrowing owls have been observed to have longer wing chords than females, despite being smaller than females. Furthermore, owls have been observed to be the same size as their prey; this has been observed in other predatory birds, which suggests that owls with smaller bodies and long wing chords have been selected for because of the increased agility and speed that allows them to catch their prey.
Another popular theory suggests that females have not been selected to be smaller like male owls because of their sexual roles. In many species, female owls may not leave the nest. Therefore, females may have a larger mass to allow them to go for a longer period of time without starving. For example, one hypothesized sexual role is that larger females are more capable of dismembering prey and feeding it to their young, hence female owls are larger than their male counterparts. A different theory suggests that the size difference between male and females is due to sexual selection: since large females can choose their mate and may violently reject a male's sexual advances, smaller male owls that have the ability to escape unreceptive females are more to have been selected. All owls are carnivorous bi
Gwydion
Gwydion fab Dôn is a magician and trickster of Welsh mythology, appearing most prominently in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, which focuses on his relationship with his young nephew, Lleu Llaw Gyffes. He appears prominently in the Welsh Triads, the Book of Taliesin and the Stanzas of the Graves; the name Gwydion may be interpreted as "Born of Trees". Gilfaethwy, nephew to the Venedotian king, Math fab Mathonwy, becomes obsessed with his uncle's virgin foot-holder, Goewin, his brother Gwydion conspires to start a war between the south. To this end, Gwydion employs his magic powers to steal a number of otherworldly pigs from the Demetian king, who retaliates by marching on Gwynedd. During the war, while Math is distracted, the brothers return Gilfaethwy rapes Goewin. Pryderi and his men march north and fight a battle between Maenor Bennardd and Maenor Coed Alun, but are forced to retreat, he is pursued to Nant Call, where more of his men are slaughtered, to Dol Benmaen, where he suffers a third defeat.
To avoid further bloodshed, it is agreed that the outcome of the battle should be decided by single combat between Gwydion and Pryderi. The two contenders meet at a place called Y Velen Rhyd in Ardudwy, "because of strength and valour and magic and enchantment", Gwydion triumphs and Pryderi is killed; the men of Dyfed retreat back to their own land. When Math hears of the assault on Goewin, he turns his nephews into a series of mated pairs of animals: Gwydion becomes a stag for a year a sow and a wolf. Gilfaethwy becomes a hind deer, a boar and a she-wolf; each year they produce an offspring, sent to Math: Hyddwn and Bleiddwn. After three years, Math releases his nephews from their punishment and begins the search for a new foot-holder. Gwydion suggests his sister Arianrhod, magically tested for virginity by Math. During the test, she gives birth to a "sturdy boy with thick yellow hair" whom Math names Dylan and who takes on the nature of the seas until his death at his uncle Gofannon's hands.
Ashamed, Arianrhod runs to the door, but on her way out something small drops from her, which Gwydion wraps up and places in a chest at the foot of his bed. Some time he hears screams from within the chest, opens it to discover a baby boy; some scholars have suggested that in an earlier form of the Fourth Branch, Gwydion was the father of Arianrhod's sons. Some years Gwydion accompanies the boy to Caer Arianrhod, presents him to his mother; the furious Arianrhod, shamed by this reminder of her loss of virginity, places a tynged on the boy: that only she could give him a name. Gwydion however tricks his sister by disguising himself and the boy as cobblers and luring Arianrhod into going to them in person in order to have some shoes made for her; the boy throws a stone and strikes a wren "between the tendon and the bone of its leg", causing Arianrhod to make the remark "it is with a skillful hand that the fair-haired one has hit it ". At that Gwydion reveals himself, saying Lleu Llaw Gyffes. Furious at this trickery, Arianrhod places another tynged on Lleu: he shall receive arms from no one but Arianrhod herself.
Gwydion tricks his sister once again, she unwittingly arms Lleu herself, leading to her placing a third tynged on him: that he shall never have a human wife. So as to counteract Arianrhod's curse and Gwydion: Blodeuwedd has an affair with Gronw Pebr, the lord of Penllyn, the two conspire to murder Lleu. Blodeuwedd tricks Lleu into revealing how he may be killed, since he can not be killed during the day or night, nor indoors or outdoors, neither riding nor walking, not clothed and not naked, nor by any weapon lawfully made, he reveals to her that he can only be killed at dusk, wrapped in a net with one foot on a cauldron and one on a goat and with a spear forged for a year during the hours when everyone is at mass. With this information she arranges his death. Struck by the spear thrown by Gronw's hand, Lleu flies away. Gwydion finds him perched high on an oak tree. Through the singing of an englyn he lures him down from the oak tree and switches him back to his human form. Gwydion and Math nurse Lleu back to health before reclaiming his lands from Blodeuwedd.
In the face-off between Lleu and Gronw, Gronw asks if he may place a large stone between himself and Lleu's spear. Lleu allows him to do so throws his spear which pierces both the stone and Gronw, killing him. Gwydion corners turns her into an owl, the creature hated by all other birds; the tale ends with Lleu ascending to the throne of Gwynedd. A large tradition seems to have once surrounded the Battle of the Trees, a mythological conflict fought between the sons of Dôn and the forces of Annwn, the Welsh Otherworld. Amaethon, Gwydion's brother, steals a white roebuck and a whelp from Arawn, king of the otherworld, leading to a great battle. Gwydion fights alongside his brother and, assisted by Lleu, enchants the "elementary trees and sedges" to rise up as warriors against Arawn's forces; the alder leads the attack, while the aspen falls in battle, heaven and earth tremble before the oak, a "valiant door keeper against the enemy". The bluebells combine and cause a "consternation" but the hero is the holly, tinted with green.
A warrior fighting alongside Arawn can not be vanquished. Gwydion guesses the warrior's name, identifying him from the sprigs of alder on h
Annwn
Annwn, Annwfn, or Annwfyn is the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn, it was a world of delights and eternal youth where disease was absent and food was ever-abundant, it became identified with the Christian afterlife in paradise. Middle Welsh sources suggest; the appearance of a form antumnos on an ancient Gaulish curse tablet which means an tumnos, suggests that the original term may have been *ande-dubnos, a common Gallo-Brittonic word that meant "underworld". The pronunciation of Modern Welsh Annwn is. In both Welsh and Irish mythologies, the Otherworld was believed to be located either on an island or underneath the earth. In the First Branch of the Mabinogi, it is implied that Annwn is a land within Dyfed, while the context of the Arthurian poem Preiddeu Annwfn suggests an island location. Two other otherworldly feasts that occur in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi are located in Harlech in northwest Wales and on Ynys Gwales in southwest Pembrokeshire. Annwn plays a reasonably prominent role in the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, a set of four interlinked mythological tales dating from the early medieval period.
In the First Branch of the Mabinogi, entitled Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed, the eponymous prince offends Arawn, ruler of Annwn, by baiting his hunting hounds on a stag that Arawn's dogs had brought down. In recompense he exchanges places with Arawn for a year and defeats Arawn's enemy Hafgan, while Arawn rules in his stead in Dyfed. During this year, Pwyll abstains from sleeping with Arawn's wife, earning himself gratitude and eternal friendship from Arawn. On his return, Pwyll becomes known by the title Penn Annwn, "Head of Annwn." In the Fourth Branch, Arawn does not appear. The mythological epic poem Cad Goddeu describes a battle between Gwynedd and the forces of Annwn, led again by Arawn, it is revealed that Amaethon, nephew to Math, king of Gwynedd, stole a bitch, a lapwing and a roebuck from the Otherworld, leading to a war between the two peoples. The denizens of Annwn are depicted as hellish creatures. Gwydion, the Venedotian hero and magician defeats Arawn's army, first by enchanting the trees to rise up and fight and by guessing the name of the enemy hero Bran, thus winning the battle.
Preiddeu Annwfn, an early medieval poem found in the Book of Taliesin, describes a voyage led by King Arthur to the numerous otherworldy kingdoms within Annwn, either to rescue the prisoner Gweir or to retrieve the cauldron of the Head of Annwn. The narrator of the poem is intended to be Taliesin himself. One line can be interpreted as implying that he received his gift of poetry or speech from a magic cauldron, as Taliesin does in other texts, Taliesin's name is connected to a similar story in another work; the speaker relates how he journeyed with Arthur and three boatloads of men into Annwfn, but only seven returned. Annwfn is referred to by several names, including "Mound Fortress," "Four-Peaked Fortress," and "Glass Fortress", though it is possible the poet intended these to be distinct places. Within the Mound Fort's walls Gweir, one of the "Three Exalted Prisoners of Britain" known from the Welsh Triads, is imprisoned in chains; the narrator describes the cauldron of the Chief of Annwn: it is finished with pearl and will not boil a coward's food.
Whatever tragedy killed all but seven of them is not explained. The poem continues with an excoriation of "little men" and monks, who lack various forms of knowledge possessed by the poet. Over time, the role of king of Annwn was transferred to Gwyn ap Nudd, a hunter and psychopomp, who may have been the Welsh personification of winter; the Christian Vita Collen tells of Saint Collen vanquishing Gwyn and his otherworldly court from Glastonbury Tor with the use of holy water. In Culhwch and Olwen, an early Welsh Arthurian tale, it is said that God gave Gwyn ap Nudd control over the demons lest "this world be destroyed." Tradition revolves around Gwyn leading his spectral hunts, the Cŵn Annwn, on his hunt for mortal souls. The Dark, a 2005 film directed by John Fawcett and based on the novel Sheep by Simon Maginn, involves the legend, though set in contemporary times. Annwn is the name of a German pagan folk duo from North Rhine-Westphalia; the name was previously used by an unrelated Celtic Rock trio in Berkeley, from 1991 until the death of lead singer Leigh Ann Hussey on 16 May 2006.
British author Niel Bushnell's novels Sorrowline and Timesmith feature an island called Annwn in the realm of Otherworld. The Anglo-Welsh author, poet and playwright, David Jones Annwn adopted the name Annwn in 1975 in the same spirit that his great-uncle, the Welsh bard Henry Lloyd, had adopted the name Ap Hefin; the Gaulish term Antumnos and the otherworld features in Swiss folk metal band Eluveitie's 2014 release Origins, Specifically their song "King". Using the variant spelling Annwyn, it is an otherworldly location in the MMORPG Vindictus. Vindictus is loosely based on Celtic mythology, known as Mabinogi: Heroes in Asia. Annwyn, Beneath the Wa
Tasciovanus
Tasciovanus was a historical king of the Catuvellauni tribe before the Roman conquest of Britain. Tasciovanus is known only through numismatic evidence, he appears to have become king of the Catuvellauni c. 20 BC. He is believed to have moved the tribal capital to that site from an earlier settlement, near modern-day Wheathampstead. For a brief period c. 15–10 BC he issued coins from Camulodunum supplanting Addedomarus of the Trinovantes. After this he once again issued his coins from Verlamion, now bearing the legend RICON, for *Rigonos, Common Brittonic for "great/divine/legitimate king"; some of his coins bear other abbreviated names such as "DIAS", "SEGO" and "ANDOCO": these are considered to be the names of co-rulers or subordinate kings, but may instead be mint-marks. He died c. AD 9, succeeded by his son Cunobeline, who ruled from Camulodunum. Another son, expanded his territory westwards into the lands of the Atrebates. A genealogy preserved in the medieval Welsh manuscript Harleian 3859 contains three generations which read "Caratauc map Cinbelin map Teuhant".
This is the equivalent of "Caratacus, son of Cunobelinus, son of Tasciovanus", putting the three historical figures in the correct order, although the wrong historical context, the degree of linguistic change suggesting a long period of oral transmission. The remainder of the genealogy contains the names of a sequence of Roman emperors, two Welsh mythological figures and Lou, he appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae as the legendary king Tenvantius, son of Lud. When his father died, he and his older brother Androgeus were still minors, so the kingship of Britain was given to their uncle Cassibelanus. Tenvantius was made Duke of Cornwall, participated in his uncle's defence of Britain against Julius Caesar. Androgeus went to Rome with Caesar, so when Cassibelanus died, Tenvantius succeeded him as king, he was in turn succeeded by his son Kimbelinus, brought up at the court of Augustus. In Middle Welsh versions of Geoffrey's Historia his name appears as Trahayant, he under the name of Tenewan ap Lludd is claimed as a paternal ancestor in the Mostyn Ms. 117 by the Mathrafal Dynasty and therefore subsequently the Kings of Rhwng Gwy Y Hafren also.
Catuvellauni at Roman-Britain.org Catuvellauni at Romans in Britain http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/mostyn117.html
Penllyn (cantref)
Penllyn was a medieval cantref in the Kingdom of Powys but annexed to the Kingdom of Gwynedd. It consisted of the commotes of Edeyrnion, Penllyn is Treweryn and Penllyn uwch Treweryn. On the north and west it bordered Gwynedd. After the death of Madog ap Maredudd, the last Prince of the whole of Powys, his eldest son and heir in 1160, the kingdom was divided between his surviving sons Gruffydd Maelor, Owain Fychan and Owain Brogyntyn, his nephew Owain Cyfeiliog and his half-brother Iorwerth Goch. Penllyn was inherited by Owain Brogyntyn; the military skill and strength of Madog had prevented Gwynedd from asserting hegemony over Powys, but following Madog's death, it was able to force Owain Brogyntyn to become a vassal. Penllyn was thus annexed to Gwynedd. Following the eventual defeat of Gwynedd by English forces, the consequent Statute of Rhuddlan, it became part of Merionethshire
Cunobeline
Cunobeline was a king in pre-Roman Britain from about AD 10 until about AD 40. He is mentioned in passing by the classical historians Suetonius and Dio Cassius, many coins bearing his inscription have been found, he appears to have controlled a substantial portion of south-eastern Britain, is called "King of the Britons" by Suetonius. Cunobeline appears in British legend as Cynfelyn, Kymbelinus or Cymbeline, as in the play by William Shakespeare, his name is a compound composed of Common Brittonic *cuno- "dog" and *belino- "strong", meaning "Strong as a Dog", or "Strong Dog". From numismatic evidence, Cunobelinus appears to have taken power around AD 9, minting coins from both Camulodunum and Verlamion, capital of the Catuvellauni; some of the Verulamium coins name him as the son of Tasciovanus, a previous king of the Catuvellauni. Some of Tasciovanus' coins bear the title rigonos, a derivative of the Brittonic root *rīgo- meaning "king". Unlike his father's, Cunobelinus' coins name no co-rulers.
His earliest issues are, from Camulodunum, indicating that he took power there first, some have a palm or laurel wreath design, a motif borrowed from the Romans indicating a military victory. It is possible that, following the Roman defeat in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, in Germania in AD 9, he was emboldened to act against the Trinovantes; the Trinovantes were a Roman ally whose independence was protected by a treaty they made with Julius Caesar in 54 BC, but problems in Germania discouraged Augustus's territorial ambitions and ability to defend allies in Britain. Cunobelinus appears to have maintained quite good relations with the Roman Empire, he used the title Rex and classical motifs on his coins, his reign saw an increase in trade with the continent. Archaeology shows an increase in luxury goods imported from the continent, including Italian wine and drinking vessels, olive oil, fish sauces from Hispania, glassware and Gallo-Belgic tableware, which from their distribution appear to have entered Britain via the port of Camulodunum.
He was one of the British kings who, according to Strabo, sent embassies to Augustus. Strabo reports Rome's lucrative trade with Britain: the island's exports included grain, silver, hides and hunting dogs. Cunobelinus had three sons, Adminius and Caratacus, a brother, known to history. Epaticcus expanded his influence into the territory of the Atrebates in the early 20s, taking the Atrebatan capital Calleva by about 25, he continued to expand his territory until his death in about 35, when Caratacus took over from him and the Atrebates recovered some of their territory. Adminius, judging by his coins, had control of Kent by this time. Suetonius tells us that in about 40 he was banished from Britain by his father and sought refuge with the emperor Caligula. Caligula treated this as if the entire island had submitted to him and prepared an invasion of Britain, he abandoned it, however, in farcical circumstances by ordering his soldiers to attack the waves and gather seashells as the spoils of victory.
Cunobelinus died about 40 within a year of that date. He was dead by 43; the Lexden Tumulus on the outskirts of Colchester has been suggested as his tomb. Caratacus completed the conquest of the Atrebates, their king, fled to Rome, providing the new emperor, with a pretext for the conquest of Britain. Caratacus and Togodumnus led the initial resistance to the invasion. Dio Cassius tells us that the "Bodunni", a tribe who were tributary to the Catuvellauni, changed sides and supported the Romans; this is a misspelling of the Dobunni of Gloucestershire, indicating that Cunobelinus's hegemony extended as far as the West Country. It is possible, based on epigraphic evidence, that Sallustius Lucullus, Roman governor of Britain in the late 1st century, was his grandson. Cunobelinus's memory was preserved beyond. In the early 9th century Historia Brittonum, Cunobeline appears as Bellinus son of Minocannus and is described as a British king in the time of Julius Caesar; the names of Cunobeline and his son Adminius became corrupt due to a series of scribal errors in the transmission of the name from Suetonius' Life of Caligula to Orosius's Historia adversus Paganos, the latter of, a primary source for the author of the Historia Brittonum: Suetonius, Caligula, Ch.44: Adminio, Cynobellini Brittannorum regis filio.
Orosius, Historia adversus Paganos, vii.5.5: Minocynobellinum Britannorum regis filium. Historia Brittonum, §19: Bellinus, filius Minocanni. In the Welsh Triads and medieval literature such as Branwen ferch Llŷr, the Dream of Macsen Wledig, Lludd and Llefelys, the Historia Brittonum's "Bellinus son of Minocannus" was transformed into Welsh as Beli Mawr son of Mynogan. Beli son of Mynogan/Managan appears in several medieval Welsh genealogies. A mid-10th century genealogy preserved in the medieval Welsh manuscript Harleian 3859 contains three generations which read "Caratauc map Cinbelin map Teuhant"; this is the equivalent of "Caratacus, son of Cunobelinus, son of Tasciovanus", putting the three historical figures in the correct order, although the wrong historical context, the degree of linguistic change suggesting a long period of oral transmission. The remainder of the genealogy contains the na
