Triads of Britain

1

There were three names given to the Isle of Britain from the first: before it was inhabited it was called the Sea-girt Green Space (Clas Myrddin); after it was inhabited, it was called the Honey Island (Y Vel Ynys); and after the people were formed into a common-wealth, by Prydain the son of Aedd the Great, it was denominated the Isle of Britain. And no one has any right to it but the tribe of the Cambrians, for they first took possession; and before this time there were no persons living on it; but it was full of bears, wolves, crocodiles, and bisons.

2

There were three primary divisions of the Isle of Britain: Cambria, Lloegria and Alban, and the rank of sovereignty belongs to each of the three. And under a monarchy and voice of the country they are governed, according to the regulations of Prydain, the son of Aedd the Great; and to the nation of the Cambrians belongs the right of establishing the monarchy by the voice of the country and the people, according to rank and primeval right. And under the protection of such regulation, royalty ought to exist in every country in the Isle of Britain, and every royalty ought to be under the protection of the voice of the country. Therefore it is said as a proverb: "a country is more powerful than a lord."

3

There are three pillars of the social state in the Isle of Britain: the voice of the country, royalty, and judicature, according to the regulation of Prydain the son of Aedd the Great.

4

There are three pillars of the nation of the Isle of Britain. The first was Hu the Mighty, who brought the nation of the Cambrians first to the Isle of Britain; and they came from the Summer Country, which is also called Defrobani (that is, where Constantinople now stands); and they came over the Hazy Sea to the Isle of Britain, and to Armorica, where they settled. The second was Prydain the son of Aedd the Great, who first organized a social state of sovereignty in Britain; for before that time there was no justice but what was done by favour; nor any law, except that of superior force. The third was Dyvnwal Moelmud, for he first made arrangements respecting the laws, maxims, customs, and privileges of the country and tribe. And on account of these reasons, they were called the three pillars of the nation of the Cambrians.

5

There were three social tribes on the Isle of Britain. The first was the tribe of the Cambrians, who came to the Isle of Britain with Hu the Mighty, because he would not possess a country and lands by fighting and pursuit, but by justice and tranquility. The second was the tribe of the Lloegrians, who came from Gascony, and they were descended from the primitive tribe of the Cambrians. The third were the Brython, who came from Armorica, and who were descended from the primitive tribe of the Cambrians. These were called the three peaceful tribes because they came by mutual consent and tranquility; and these tribes were descended from the primitive tribe of the Cambrians, and all three tribes had the same language and speech.

6

There were three refuge-seeking tribes that came to the Island of Britain; and they came under the peace and permission of the tribe of the Cambrians, without arms and without opposition. The first was a tribe of Caledonians in the north. The second was the Irish tribe, who dwelled in the Highlands of Scotland. The third were the people of Galedin, who came in naked vessels to the Isle of Wight, when their country was drowned, where they had land granted them by the tribe of the Cambrians. They had no privilege of claim in the Isle of Britain, but they had land and protection assigned to them under certain limitations; and it was stipulated that they should not possess the rank of native Cambrians until the ninth of their lineal descendants.

7

There were three invading tribes that came to the Island of Britain and who never departed from it. The first were the Coranians (Coraniaid) that came from the country of Pwyl. The second were the Irish Picts who came to Alban by the North Sea. The third were the Saxons. The Coranians were settled about the River Humber, and the shore of the German Ocean; and the Irish Picts are in Alban about the shore of the Sea of Denmark. The Coranians and the Saxons united, and by violence and conquest brought the Loegrians into confederacy with them; and subsequently took the crown of the monarchy from the tribe of the Cambrians. And there remained none of the Loegrians that did not become Saxons, except those that are found in Cornwall, and the commot of Carnoban in Deria and Bernicia. In this manner the primitive tribe of the Cambrians, who preserved both their country and their language, lost the sovereignty of the Isle of Britain on account of the treachery of the refuge-seeking tribes, and the pillage of the three invading tribes.

8

There were three invading tribes that came to the Island of Britain, and who subsequently left it. The first was the Scandinavians, who came here after Urb of the Mighty Host had taken away from the Island the flower of the tribe of the Cambrians. He took away with him 63,000 effective men, and steeds for war. At the end of the third age the Cambrians drove the Scandinavians over the sea into Germany. The second were the troops of Ganval the Irishman, who came into Gwynedd and settled there for twenty nine years, until they were driven into the sea by Caswallawn son of Beli, son of Mynogan. The third were the Caesareans, who continued by violence on this Island more than four hundred years, when they returned to Italy to oppose the fierce contention of the black invasion; and they did not return again to the Island of Britain. Because the Cambrians marched with them, none were left in the Island but women and little children under nine years of age.

9

There were three treacherous invasions of the Island of Britain: the first were the red Irishmen from Ireland, who came to Alban; the second were the Scandinavians; and the third were the Saxons. These last came to this Island in peace and by the permission of the tribe of the Cambrians, and in the protection of God and his truth, as well as in the protection of the country and of the tribe; and by treachery and mischief they opposed the tribe of the Cambrians, and were able to wrest from them the sovereign power of the Island of Britain, and they mutually confederated themselves in Lloegria and Alban, where they still reside. This happened in the age of Vortigern.

10

There were three disappearances by loss in the Isle of Britain. The first were Gavran and his men, who went in search of the Green Islands of the floods, and were never heard of after. The second were Merddin the bard of Emrys, and his nine attendant bards, who went to sea in a house of glass, and the place where they went is unknown. The third was Madog the son of Owain king of North Wales, who went to sea with three hundred persons in ten ships, but the place to which they went is unknown.

11

There were three oppressions that came upon the Isle of Britain, but which were brought to a termination: first the oppression of the Horse of Malaen, which is called the oppression of the first of May; second, the oppression of the dragon of Britain; and the oppression of the half-apparent man. That is, the first was from beyond the sea; the second was from the madness of the country and the nation under the pressure of the violence and lawlessness of princes; but Dyvnwal Moelmud destroyed it, by forming just regulations between society and society, prince and neighbouring prince, and country and neighbouring country; and the third was in the time of Beli the son of Manogan, which was a treacherous conspiracy, but he extinguished it.

12

There were three frightful plagues in the Isle of Britain. First, the plague that arose from the corpses of the Irishmen who were slaughtered in Manuba, after they had oppressed North Wales for the space of twenty-nine years. Second, the infection of the yellow plague of Rhoss, on account of the corpses which were slain there, and if any one went within reach of the effluvia he died immediately. The third was the sickness of the Bloody Sweat, on account of the corn having been destroyed by wet weather in the time of the Norman invasion by William the Bastard.

13

There were three awful events in the Isle of Britain. The first was the bursting of the Lake of Floods, and the rushing of an inundation over all the lands, until all persons were destroyed, except Dwyvan and Dwyvach, who escaped in an open vessel; and from them the Isle of Britain was peopled. The second was the trembling of the fiery torrent, until the earth was rent to the abyss, and the greater part of all life was destroyed. The third was the Hot Summer, when the trees and plants took fire by the burning heat of the sun, and many people and animals, various kinds of birds, vermin, trees and plants, were entirely lost.

14

There were three combined expeditions that went from the Isle of Britain. The first was that which went with Ur, the son of Erin, the Bellipotent of Scandinavia; and he came to this island in the time of Gadial the son of Erin, to solicit aid, under a condition that should not obtain from every principal fortress, a greater number than he should bring to it. To the first fortress he only came himself with a servant Mathata Vawr, and from there he obtained two, from the second four, from the third eight, from the next sixteen, and thus in like proportion from every other fortress, until that in the last the number could not be procured throughout the whole Island. He took with him 63,000, and he could not obtain a greater number of effective men in all the Island, and none but children and old men were left behind. And Ur the son of Erin the Bellipotent was the most complete levier that ever existed. It was through inadvertency that the tribe of the Cambrians gave him this permission under an irrevocable stipulation; and in consequence of this, the Coranians found an opportunity to make an easy invasion of this Island. Of the men who went, none ever returned, nor any of their progeny, nor descendants. They went on a warlike expedition as far as the sea of Greece, and remaining there in the land of Galas and Avena unto this day, they have become Greeks.

The second combined expedition was conducted by Caswallawn the son of Beli, and grandson of Manogan, and Gwenwynwyn and Gwanar, the sons of Lliaws, the son of Nwyvre and Arianrhod the daughter of Beli, their mother. Their origin was from the border declivity of Galedin and Siluria, and from the combined tribes of the Boulognese; and their numbers were three score and one thousand. They marched, with their Uncle Caswallawn, after the Caesareans, unto the land of the Gauls of Armorica, who were descended from the primitive stock of the Cambrians. And none of them, nor of their progeny, returned to this Island, for they settled in Gascony among the Caesareans, where they are at present; and it was in revenge of this expedition that the Caesareans came first into this Island.

The third combined expedition was marched out of this Island by Elen Bellipotent and Cynan her brother, lord of Meiriadog, to Armorica, where they obtained lands, power and sovereignty by the Emperor Maximus for supporting him against the Romans. These men were from the land of Meiriadog, Siluria, and from the land of Gwyr and Gorwennydd; and none of them returned again, but settled there in Ystre Gyvaelwg, where they formed a common-wealth. On account of this armed expedition, the tribe of the Cambrians became so deficient in armed men, that the Irish Picts invaded them; and therefore Vortigern was forced to invite the Saxons to expel the invasion. And the Saxons, observing the weakness of the Cambrians, treacherously turned their arms against them, and by combining with the Irish Picts and other traitors, they took possession of the lands of the Cambrians, and also their privileges and their crown.

These three combined expeditions are called the three Mighty Presumptions on the tribe of the Cambrians, and also the three Silver Armies, because they took away from the Island all gold and silver they could obtain by deceit, artifice and injustice, besides what they acquired by right and consent. They are also called the three Unwise Armaments, because they weakened the Island so much, that an opportunity was given for the three Mighty Invasions; namely the Coranians, the Caesareans, and the Saxons.

15

There were three mighty invasions of the Isle of Britain that united in one, and by this means the invaders took from the Cambrians their rank, their crown and their lands. The first was that of the Coranians, who united with the Caesareans until they became one. The second of the three were the Caesareans. The third were the Saxons, who united with the two others against the Cambrians. And God permitted this for the purpose of chastising the Cambrians for their three Mighty Presumptions, because they were carried into effect by injustice.

16

There were three primary tribes of the Cambrians: The Gwentians, or the Silurians; the Ordovices, including both the north Walians and Powysians; and the tribe of Pendaran of Dyved, including the people of Pembrokeshire, Gower and Cardiganshire. To each of these belongs a classical dialect of the Welsh language.

17

There were three monarchs by the verdict of the Isle of Britain. The first was Caswallawn the son of Lludd, son of Beli, son of Mynogan; the second was Caradog, son of Bran, son of Llyr Llediaith; and the third was Owain the son of Maximus. That is, sovereignty was conferred upon them by the verdict of the country and the nation, when they were not elders.

18

There were three holy families in the Isle of Britain. The first was the family of Bran the Blessed, ths son of Llyr Llediaith; for Bran was the first who brought the faith of Christ to this island from Rome. He was imprisoned through the treachery of Aregwedd Föeddawg, the daughter of Afarwy the son of Lludd. The second was the family of Cynedda Wledig, who first gave land and privilege to God and the saints in the Isle of Britain. The third was Brychan of Brecknockshire, who educated his children and grandchildren in learning and generosity, that they might be able to share the faith in Christ with the Cambrians, where they were without faith.

19

There were three benignant guests of the Isle of Britain: St. David, Padarn, and Teilaw. They were so called because they went as guests into the houses of the nobles, the yeomen, the native and the bondman, without accepting either gift or reward, food or drink; but they taught the faith in Christ to everyone without pay, or thanks, and to the poor and the destitute, they gave of their gold and their silver, their clothes and their provisions.

20

There were three treacherous meetings on the Isle of Britain. First, there was the meeting of Afarwy the son of Lludd, and the traitors with him, who gave place for the landing of the Romans on the narrow Green Point, and not more; and the consequences of which was, the gaining of the Island by the Romans. The second was the meeting of the Cambrian nobles and the Saxon Claimants upon Salisbury Plain, where the plot of the Long Knives took place through the treachery of Vortigern; for by his counsel, in league with the Saxons, nearly all the Cambrian nobility were slain. Third, the meeting of Medrawd and Iddawg Corn Prydein with their men of Nanhwynian, where they entered into a conspiracy against Arthur, and by this means strengthened the Saxon cause on the Isle of Britain.

21

There were three arrant traitors of the Isle of Britain. First Afarwy son of Lludd, son of Beli the Great, who invited Julius Caesar and the Romans into this island, and caused the invasion of the Romans. That is, he and his men gave themselves as guides for the Romans, and received a treasure of gold and silver from them every year. In consequence of this, the men of this Island were compelled to pay three thousand pieces of silver every year as a tribute to the Romans until the time of Owain the son of Maximus, who refused to pay the tribute. And under pretence of being content, the Romans drew from the Isle of Britain the most effective men who were capable of becoming soldiers, and marched them to Aravia and other far countries, from whence they never returned. The Romans who were in Britain went into Italy, and left only women and little children behind them; and, therefore, the Britons were so weakened, that they were not able to oppose invasion and conquest for want of men and strength.

The second was Vortigern, who murdered Constantine the Blessed, seized the crown of the island by violence and lawlessness, first invited the Saxons to the Island as his defenders, married Alis Ronwen, the daughter of Hengist, and gave the crown of Britain to the son he had by her, whose name was Gotta; and on this account, the kings of London are called children of Alis. Thus, on account of Vortigern, the Cambrians lost their lands, their rank and their crown in Lloegria.

The third was Medrawd the son of Llew, the son of Cynvarch: for when Arthur left the government of the Isle of Britain in his custody, whilst he marched against the Roman emperor, Medrawd took the crown from Arthur by usurpation and seduction; and in order to keep it, he confederated with the Saxons; and, on this account, the Cambrians lost the crown of Lloegria and the sovereignty of the Isle of Britain.

22

The three secret treasons of the Isle of Britain: First, the betraying of Caradog son of Bran, by Aregwedd Voeddawg, daughter of Afarwy, the son of Lludd, and delivering him up a captive to the Romans. Second, the betraying of Arthur by Iddawg Corn Prydein, who divulged his designs. And third, the betraying of Prince Llewelyn, son of Grufudd, by Madog Min. By these three treacheries the Cambrians were completely subdued; and nothing but treachery could have overcome them.

23

The three heroic sovereigns of the Isle of Britain: Cynfelyn Wledig, Caradog the son of Bran, and Arthur; because they conquered their enemies, and could not be overcome but by treachery and by plotting.

24

The three primary battle princes of the Isle of Britain: Caswallawn the son of Beli, Gweirydd the son of Cynfelyn Wledig, and Caradog, the son of Bran, son of Llyr Llediaith.

25

The three accomplished princes of the Isle of Britain: Rhun the son of Maelgwn; Owain, the son of Urien; and Rhuvon the Fair, son of Dewrath Wledig.

26

There were three plebeian princes in the Isle of Britain: Gwrgai, son of Gwrien in the North; Cadavael son of Cynvedw in North Wales; and Hyvaidd the Tall son of St. Bleiddan, in Glenmorgan. That is to say, sovereignty was granted them on account of their heroic actions, and virtuous qualities.

27

The three banded families of the Isle of Britain: the family of Caswallawn with the Long Hand; the family of Rhiwallon, son of Urien; and the family of Belyn of Lleyn. They were so called, because they were not subjected to either head, or sovereign, as it respected the ranks of their families and power, but owed submission only to the voice of the country and the nation.

28

The three golden-banded ones of the Isle of Britain: Rhiwallon with the Broom Hair; Rhun, the son of Maelgwn; and Cadwaladyr the Blessed. That is, they were permitted to wear golden bands about their arms, their necks and their knees; and with these were granted the privilege of royalty in every country and dominion in the Isle of Britain.

29

The three battle-knights of the sovereign of the Isle of Britain: Caradog with the brawny arm; Llyr the Bellipotent; and Mael, the son of Manwaed, of Arllechwedd. And with reference to these, Arthur composed the following lines:

These are my three battle knights, Mael the Tall, and Llyr the Bellipotent, And Caradog the pillar of the Cambrians.

That is to say, they were the bravest heroes of all battle-knights, and therefore royalty was granted them, and what they wished of power; and their courtesy was such, that they would do nothing but what was judicious and right, in whatever country they came.

30

The three generous princes of the Isle of Britain: Rhydderch the generous, son of Tudwal Tudclud; Mordav the generous, son of Servan; and Nudd the Generous, son of Senyllt. Their courteous dispositions were such, that they did not fail to grant any thing whatever to any person who solicited it of them, if they had it in their possession, or could obtain it by gift, loan, or present, whether the applicants were friends or foes, relatives or strangers.

31

The three blood-stained ones of the Isle of Britain: Arthur, Morgan the Greatly Courteous, and Rhun, the son of Beli. When they marched to war, no one could stay at home, so greatly were they beloved; and in every war and battle, they were victorious, where there were neither treachery, nor ambush. Hence rose the proverb: "There were three heroes who obtained men wherever they marched: Arthur, Morgan the Greatly Courteous, and Rhun the son of Beli; and there were three armies who obtained soldiers wherever they marched; the soldiers of Arthur, the soldiers of Morgan the Greatly Courteous, and the troops of Rhun, the son of Beli."

32

The three resolute minded ovates of the Isle of Britain: Greidiawl the resolute minded ovate, Envael the son of Adran, and Trystan, the son of Tallwch; for they had the privilege of going wherever they wished in the Isle of Britain without opposition, unless they went unlawfully.

33

The three obstructors of slaughter of the Isle of Britain: Grudnew, Henben, and Eidnew. Their principle was, not to retreat from battle and conflict, but upon their biers, after they were unable to move either hand or foot.

34

The three conventional monarchs of the Isle of Britain. The first was Prydein, son of Aedd the Great, when there was established a discriminating sovereignty over the Isle of Britain, and its adjacent islands; second, Caradog, the son of Bran, when he was elected Generalissimo of all the Island of Britain to oppose the incursions of the Romans; and Owain, the son of Macsen Wledig, when the Cambrians resumed the sovereignty from the Roman emperor, according to the rights of the nation. These were called the three conventional sovereigns, because they were raised to the dignity by the conventions of the country and the bordering country, within all the limits of the nation of the Cambrians, by holding a convention in every district, commot and hundred in the Isle of Britain and its adjacent islands.

35

The three blessed princes of the Isle of Britain. The first was Bran the Blessed, the son of Llyr Llediaith, who first brought the faith of Christ to the Cambrians where he had been seven years as a hostage for his son Caradog, whom the Romans put in prison, after being betrayed through the enticement, deceit and plotting of Aregwedd Fôeddawg. Second, Lleirwg, son of Coel, son of St. Cyllin, and called Lleufer the Great, who built the first church in Llandav, which was the first in the Isle of Britain, and who gave the privilege of the country and tribe, with civil and ecclesiastical rights, to those who professed faith in Christ. The third was Cadwaladr the Blessed, who gave protection, within his lands and within all his possessions, to those who fled from the infidel and lawless Saxons who wished to murder them.

36

Three system formers of royalty of the Isle of Britain: Prydein the son of Aedd the Great, Dyvynwal Moelmud, and Bran the son of Llyr Llediaith. That is, their systems were the best systems of royalty of the Isle of Britain, and they were judged superior to all other systems which were formed in the Isle of Britain.

37

The three disgraceful drunkards on the Isle of Britain: First, Ceraint, the drunken king of Siluria, who in drunkenness burned all the corn far and near over all the country, so that a famine for bread arose. Second, Vortigern, who in his drink gave the Isle of Thanet to Horsa that he might commit adultery with Rowena his daughter, and who also gave a claim to the son that he had by her to the crown of Lloegria; and added to these, treachery and plotting against the Cambrians. Third, the drunken Seithynin, son of Seithyn Saida king of Dimetia, who in his drunkenness let the sea over the hundred of Gwaelod so that all the houses and land which were there, were lost; where before that event sixteen fortified towns were reckoned there, superior to all the towns and fortifications in Cambria, with the exception of Caerllion upon Usk. The hundred of Gwaelod was a dominion of Gwydnaw Garanhir, king of Cardigan. This event happened in the time of Ambrosius. The people who escaped from the inundation landed in Ardudwy, in the country of Arvon, and the mountains of Snowdon, and other places, which had not been inhabited before that period.

38

The three humble princes of the Isle of Britain: Manawydan son of Llyr Llediaith, after Bran the son of Llyr, his brother, was carried into captivity; Llywarch the Aged, son of Elidir, Llydanwyn; and Gwgon the hero, the son of Eleuver with the Mighty Retinue. These three were bards; and after they had attached themselves to song, they sought not for dominion and royalty, but no one could debar them from it. On this account, they were called the three humble princes of the Isle of Britain.

39

The three chiefs of Deira and Bernicia: Gall the son of Dysgyvedog, Difedel the son of Dysgyvedog; and Ysgavnnel the son of Dysgyvedog. These three were the sons of bards, and after they had attached themselves to song, the sovereignty, the sovereignty of Deira and Bernicia was bestowed upon them.

40

The three bards of the Isle of Britain who tinged spears with blood: Tristvardd, son of Urien Rheged; Dygynnelw the bard of Owain son of Urien; and Avan Verddig, bard of Cadwallon son of Cadvan. These three were sons of bards, and they could not be separated.

41

The three supreme servants of the Isle of Britain: Caradog, the son of Bran, the son of Llyr Llediath; Cawrdav, the son of Caradog with the Brawny Arm; and Owain, the son of Macsen Wledig. They were so called because all the men of the Isle of Britain, from the prince to the peasant, became their followers at the need of the country, on account of the invasions and tyranny of the foe. And wherever these three marched to war, there was not a man on the Isle of Britain but who would join their armies, and would not stay at home. And these three were the sons of bards.

42

The three fetter-wearing kings of the Isle of Britain: Morgan the Greatly Courteous, of Glamorgan; Elystan Glodrydd, between the Wye and the Severn; and Gwaithvoed, King of Cardigan. They were so called because they wore fetters in all their primary functions of royalty in the Isle of Britain instead of frontlets or crowns.

43

The three frontlet-wearing kings of the Isle of Britain: Cadell, King of Dinevor; Anarawd, King of Aberfraw; and Mervin, King of Mathravael. They were also called the three frontlet-wearing princes.

44

The three foreign kings of the Isle of Britain: Gwrddyled of the Conflict; Morien with the Beard; and Constantine the Blessed.

45

The three disgraceful traitors who enabled the Saxons to take the crown of the Isle of Britain from the Cambrians: The first was Gwrgi Garwlwyd, who after tasting human flesh in the court of Edlfled the Saxon king, became so fond of it that he would eat no other but human flesh ever after. In consequence of this, he and his men united with Edlfled king of the Saxons; and he made secret incursions upon the Cambrians, and brought a young male and female whom he daily ate. And all the lawless men of the Cambrians flocked to him and the Saxons, for they obtained their full of prey and spoil taken from the natives of this Isle. The second was Medrod, who with his men united with the Saxons, that he might secure the kingdom to himself, against Arthur; and in consequence of that treachery many of the Lloegrians became as Saxons. Third was Aeddan, the traitor of the North, who with his men made submission to the power of the Saxons, so that they might be able to support themselves by confusion and pillage under the protection of the Saxons. On account of these three traitors the Cambrians lost their land and their crown in Lloegria; and if it had not been for such treasons, the Saxons could not have gained the Island from the Cambrians.

46

The three bards who committed the three beneficial assassinations of the Isle of Britain: The first was Gall, son of Dysgyvedawg, who killed the two brown birds of Gwendolleu, the son of Ceidiaw, that had a yoke of gold about him, and that daily devoured two bodies of the Cambrians for their dinner and two for their supper. The second was Ysgavnell, the son of Dysgyvedawg, who killed Edlfled king of Lloegria, who required every night two noble maids of the Cambrian nation, and violated them, and every morning he killed and devoured them. The third was Difidel, the son of Dysgyvedawg, who killed Gwrgi Garwlylwyd, that had married Edlfled's sister, and committed treachery and murder in conjunction with Edlfled upon the Cambrians. And this Gwrgi killed a Cambrian male and female every day and devoured them, and on the Saturday he killed two males and two females, that he might not kill on the Sunday. And these three persons, who performed these beneficial assassinations, were bards.