Culhwch ac Olwen, Authorship. (part one)

Culhwch ac Olwen, Authorship. (part one)

The Ricemarch Psalter, circa 1080, the start of Psalm 1:"Beatus vir..."

Who in eleventh/twelfth century Wales would write such a thing and why?

In his study of the Irish affinities in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi ' Branwen Daughter of Llyr' Proinsias Mac Cana showed that "a reasonable case could be made for attributing Branwen – and the Mabinogi as a whole – to Rhygyfarch or his father Sulien, or to the two in collaboration"ⁱ. In the same tentative spirit in which Mac Cana offered this suggestion, I think that an equally reasonable case could be made which suggests that Ieuan ap Sulien (again, perhaps in collaboration with Rhygyfarch and Sulien himself), may also be implicated in the writing of Culhwch ac Olwen. First of all, some of Mac Cana's more general arguments regarding the authorship of Branwen may be usefully employed here too. For instance, as Mac Cana says: 'It was in the (Irish) monasteries that the judgement and taste of the classical scholars were united with an enthusiasm for native tradition and literature. If this means anything in terms of Welsh literature, then the most likely place to look for the author of Branwen (for which read 'the author of Culhwch') is in a Welsh monastic community, in that same cultural atmosphere which produced Nennius and Gerald and Geoffrey'. Material evidence for this notion of a monastic backdrop within which Culhwch was composed has been noticed by Bromwich and Evans: 'Culhwch ac Olwen bears the signs of having been shaped by an author familiar with Christian customs and practices'. They point to mentions in the text of prayer, baptism, the use of 'God' in greetings, a bishop (Bitwini Escob), a priest (Kethtrum Offeiriad), a guardian angel, saints, devils, Hell, Creation and divine intervention. They further point to the 'author's evident familiarity with the native learning of the Welsh church', mentioning specifically: the Mirabilia attached to the Historia Brittonum, and Bonedd y Sant, The Life of St Cadog by Lifris of Llancarfan and the Life of St David by Rhygyfarch of Llanbadarn. Thus far both Rhygyfarch and Ieaun would have to be amongst the list of candidates, along with, say, Lifris of Llancarfan, who could have been the author of Culhwch. 

There is, however some additional internal evidence which, I believe, furthers the case for Ieuan son of Sulien considerably. The 'catalogue of the court' contains the following genealogical list:

'Teregud son of Iaen, Sulien son of Iaen, Bradwen son of Iaen, Moren son of Iaen, Siawn son of Iaen, and Cradawg son of Iaen – they were men of Caer Dathl, related to Arthur on their father's side (i.e. Iaen's)'.

The name Sulien (Sulyen in the MS) which means 'Sun-born' was 'extremely rare' in medieval Wales, and for that reason alone it jumps off the page here, so to find it linked to the patronym Iaen in this list is highly suggestive. Bromwich and Evans note: Iaen 'ice', but it does not stretch credulity to see here also a form of Ieuan 'John', Latin Iohannes, which is how Ieuan ap Sulien autographed his Latin poetry, (with the monogram IO). They point out the occurence of the names Siaun and Kyradawg, (Siawn and Cradawg) 'among the six sons and daughters of 'Iaen', as found in the late 14^th century Bonedd yr Arwyr 'Descent of Heroes', (which also refers to the familial relationship with Arthur). The full list goes:

Plant Iaen (Children of Iaen)
Dirmig, Gwyn goluthonⁱⁱ, Siaun, Kyradawg, Ievannwy, Llychlyn, Eleirchⁱⁱⁱ verch Iaen mam Kyduan ap Arthur.

The list of the sons of Iaen in the court list in Culhwch is followed immediately by a list of the many sons of Kaw and it cannot be coincidental that this is also the case in Bonedd yr Arwyr . Now, it has been argued that the Bonedd yr Arwyr genealogies, despite their late appearance, must represent the earlier tradition because if it were otherwise they would have followed more closely the lists in Culhwch. Note then, that the rare name Sulien does not appear in the Bonedd yr Arwyr genealogical lists, it has in fact been bodily inserted into the list as it appears in Culhwch, and it seems likely therefore, that the author of Culhwch has manipulated the pre-existing genealogy to suit his own ends, whatever they were. Bromwich and Evans, who would prefer a Carmarthen or Llancarfan origin for the tale, acknowledge that this 'was the name of the famous 11^th.-cent. Abbot of Llanbadarn Fawr and later Bishop of St. David's' and in view of several other internal references to St. Davids/Mynyw it can be taken as almost certain that the Sulien in this list is one and the same with the 'famous' Sulien of Llanbadarn-Fawr. An intriguing possibility arises from this assessment: either Sulien himself or his son Ieuan may have been responsible for this 'interpolation'.

Though none are recorded, it is possible that Ieuan son of Sulien may have had a son or sons of his own, but his obituary in the Brut y Tywysogyon hints of a life of celibacy, - s.a. 1136 (1137): 'In that year died Ieuan, archpresbyter of Llanbadarn, the most learned of the learned, having led a pious life without mortal sin till his death'. However, he almost certainly had a foster son, who was named after Sulien. The custom of naming the grandson after the grandfather was one which Ieuan's brother Rhygyfarch followed when he named one of his sons after Sulien^iv, Rhygyfarch died at the age of 42 and as a consequence his son Sulien ap Rhygyfarch became a "foster son of Llanbadern Fawr", which probably means that his uncle, Rhygyfarch's possibly childless brother Ieuan, the 'archpresbyter of Llanbadarn Fawr' became the foster father. It may not be a coincidence that Rhygyfarch died in 1099 and the most common date given for the composition of Culhwch is about 1100.

It may have been that Ieuan, supposing he was our author, in his trawl through the native genealogical material, (probably in the libraries at both Mynyw and Llanbadarn) in his search for names to enter into the hilariously overblown court list, came across a name very similar to his own in a version of Bonedd yr Arwyr, and, in the process of compiling the extended role call in Culhwch, he took the opportunity to insert his (foster) 'son's' name in to that list. Ieuan's praise of his father and brothers in his introductory poem to De Trinitate (see below) amply demonstrates his deep love for his immediate family members and his readiness to incorporate them into his literary output. Has Ieuan, at a stroke, written himself into his story by incorporating his recently berieved foster 'son' into the list of the men of Arthur's court, as an inclusive, affectionate and sympathetic gesture towards him? Ieuan mab Sulien's authorship of Culhwch might well explain the 'interpolated' Sulien mab Iaen in the Arthurian court list.

If there is any truth in this, 'Sulien son of Iaen' would be amongst only a handful of historical figures, to appear in Culhwch, who were alive at the time of its composition. One other such figure is Gwilhenen brenhin Freinc (William king of France) who 'probably stands for William the Conqueror'. It is highly likely, and of great significance then, that Ieuan had direct contact with William during his famous 'pilgrimage' to St. Davids in 1081, when his father Sulien was serving his second term as bishop of that cathedral. To quote Bromwich and Evans again:

'Sir Idris Foster stressed the historical events of the year 1081 as significant for the dating of Culhwch, and these events point to a period of composition similar to that indicated by the ecclesiastical sources. In 1081 Gruffudd ap Cynan came across from his exile in Ireland and landed (like the Twrch Trwyth) at Porth Clais near St. David's, where he joined with Rhys ap Tewdwr, the ruler of Deheubarth, and won the battle of Mynydd Carn. In the same year William the Conquerer is said to have visited St. David's, where it is most likely that he made peace with Rhys ap Tewdwr. It is not unlikely that these happenings were in the mind of the author of Culhwch, and that they had an influence on his portrayal of certain events in the story'. 

As Nora Chadwick surmised, 'I think that we can hazard a guess that it was Sulien or one of his family who was responsible for the negotiations between the two Welsh princes and the Conqueror at St. David's'. It is easy to imagine that Ieuan, along with Sulien's other sons, was present at this historic encounter and there can be little doubt of Ieuan's implication in these events, however peripheral^v. Ieuan's authorship of Culhwch might well explain the inclusion of Gwilhenen brenhin Freinc and the landings of the Twrch Trwyth (Gruffudd ap Cynan) at Porth Clais and of Arthur at Mynyw.

If this is true, as seems likely, that these events were 'in the mind of the author of Culhwch', then it is certainly true of the Latin 'Life of David' by Rhygyfarch. Again, Nora Chadwick has argued that the production of Rhygyfarch's Vita Davidus resulted from a desire to commemorate these, apparently peaceful, diplomatic outcomes overseen by Sulien, between William of Normandy and Rhys ap Twdwr and Gruffydd ap Cynan.^vi:

It would seem natural to suppose that the Life of St. David would be composed on this occasion, both in support of Sulien's policy, and in celebration of the visit of the Conqueror to St. David's. We may perhaps regard the Life as one factor in the rapprochement between the native princes of West Wales and their powerful Norman enemy, an appeal by the native Welsh Church to the Conqueror for his protection against encroachment from Canterbury... The shrine of St. David which he had 'honoured' must be duly 'celebrated'. It is probably as a factor in the implementation of this great compact at St. David's in 1081 that we must regard the composition of the Life of the saint.

Rhygyfarch's original version has not survived, but doubtless it would have exhibited all the production values which were lavished upon Rhygyfarch's Psaltery and Martyrology, and on Ieuan's De Trinitate, which have survived and which are decorated with Ieuan's beautiful 'Irish' initials. We may guess a similar arrangement in the making of the Vita and that, in all likelihood, it was Ieuan's expert hand which supplied the decorative initials there also. It seems clear then, that both Culhwch ac Olwen and the Vita Davidus commemorate, each in their own way, the historic events of 1081 at St. David's, and if Sulien and Ieuan ap Sulien are implicated in the one, they are also implicated in the other. These reasons alone, however speculative, provide a narrative which seems reasonable and natural enough to throw strong suspicion upon the family of Sulien, including Rhygyfarch and particularly Ieuan, as being the author/authors of Culhwch ac Olwen.

But now something else, the author of Culhwch seems to have been well versed, to say the least, in late classical astronomical literature and this is a description with particular applicability to the brothers Ieaun and Rhygyfarch.

iWhilst it is true that Mac Cana later took a step back from his emphasis on direct Irish borrowings in Branwen, his arguments placing the composition of these tales in a learned ecclesiastical setting still stand.

ii'Gwyn' - White, Fair, 'goluthon' - the Wealthy?

iiiElierch – 'Swans'. Elierch is 'a township in that part of Llanbadarn-Fawr which is in the upper division of the hundred of Geneu'r Glyn, … 8 1/4 miles [E.N.E.] from Aberystwyth'. This fact may also have caught Ieuan's eye.

iv And whose death was recorded in the year A.D. 1144: 'Julien ap Rythmarch, (sic) one of the college of Llanbadarn, a person of great reading and extensive learning, departed this life'.

v In the Domesday survey of 1086 we learn that Rhys paid the king an annual rent of £40...The argument must have been an official and technical one.

vi See also Wade-Evans' ominous assessment – that it was the related threat of domination by Cantebury which prompted the learned men of Mynyw and Llanbadarn to set down David's Life, as it asserted David's dominion over the whole of Britain in contravention of Canterbury's claims to hegemony.