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Example Term Paper | Chegg Writing More Tips Linked Here Example Term Paper | Chegg Writing More tips linked here Jolee McManus Folklore and Current Events Professor Elissa Henken 10 Dec. 2018 Not All Redeemer-Heroes Wear Capes: Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Telling of the Heroic Lives of Arthur, Cynan, and Cadwaladr The concept of the “redeemer-hero,” coined by Elissa Henken in National Redeemer: Owain Glyndŵr in Welsh Tradition, is seen across many cultures and times. According to Henken, redeemer-hero figures emerge when a culture has a defined sense of identity but feels oppressed by an outside force. The redeemer-hero is someone, human or myth, who “either asleep or in a distant land, awaits the time when his people will need him, when he will return and restore the land to its former glory” (Henken 23). In much of Europe, Christianity was the predominant source of identity—rather than a national identity—that was under attack and in need of redemption. In Wales, however, from early on, a strong sense of nationalism arose due to invasions by the Romans, Angles, Saxons, and Normans. The Welsh were conquered and conquered again, recurrently losing their sovereignty to other cultural forces. Thus, Welsh redeemer-hero figures were celebrated for restoring Wales’ cultural independence and redeeming the crown of London. These figures were prophesied; the Welsh phrase for redeemer-hero is y mab darogan, or “son of prophecy.” In this paper, I will examine three notable Welsh redeemer-heroes—Arthur, Cynan (also known as Conan Meriadoc), and Cadwaladr—and how they earned the status of three of the greatest heroes in Welsh history. Before examining the heroic lives of Arthur, Cynan, and Cadwaladr, I will introduce two texts indispensable to understanding the mood of the early Welsh people: Armes Prydein, or “The Prophecy of Britain,” from the The Poems of Taliesin, and Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History Example Term Paper | Chegg Writing More tips linked here of the Kings of Britain. The former is a poem (circa 930) prophesying that the Welsh—with various allies—will drive the Anglo-Saxons out of Britain forever. It shows the Welsh people’s frustration with the ruler of Wales, Hywel Dda, as well as their fervent nationalism and desire to bring Wales back to a state of glory: “The Muse foretells they will come in hosts: / Riches, prosperity, peace will be ours, / Magnanimous reign, benevolent lords, / And after disruption, all regions settled” (Williams). “The Prophecy of Britain” also reveals another characteristic of the redeemer-hero: often, he will cause total chaos, defying social norms and causing bloodshed, before a golden age of peace arrives. The poem names two heroes of the conquests, Cadwaladr and Cynan. Both lived long before 930, yet they retain their heroic reputation to the time of this poem. They are two of many redeemer-heroes who answered Welsh fears and frustrations, as depicted in “The Prophecy of Britain.” Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain was a hugely influential text that, despite its flaws in historical accuracy, was adopted as the Welsh nation’s official history for a long period. The text demonstrates Welsh frustration towards encroaching foreigners. There have long been debates on the validity of many of Geoffrey’s stories, but true or not, they are ingrained in British popular history and lore to this day. In The History of the Kings of Britain, Geoffrey writes epic tales of the lives of all three of our redeemer-heroes. It is appropriate to start with Arthur, for he is the earliest of three (sometime in the fifth to early sixth centuries) and, according to Dr. Elissa Henken, served as “the model of the redeemer-hero.” Arthur earned his status as a redeemer-hero due largely to The History of the Kings of Britain, which popularized the legendary tale of Arthur. Geoffrey of Monmouth celebrates Arthur’s glorious defeat of the Saxons, conquest of northern Europe, and ushering-in of a golden age of peace (as only a redeemer-hero can). Before Arthur’s rise to power, Dubricius, Archbishop of the City of the Legions, laments “the sad state” (Monmouth 212) of England. When Arthur comes into power, he produces violence and warfare before ushering in Example Term Paper | Chegg Writing More tips linked here a golden age of peace—all characteristics of a redeemer-hero. To this day, Arthur maintains a reputation that far exceeds that of the others, so clearly he was no ordinary redeemer-hero. But why was he more outstanding than the others? As mentioned, The History of the Kings of Britain influenced the popular history of the Welsh people, and therefore Geoffrey’s thorough, though imaginatively embellished, narrative account of Arthur became common knowledge of the man’s life. This account is how King Arthur became the legend he remains to this day. Geoffrey writes Arthur as a legend from his birth. Like many heroes, Arthur has an unusual conception: his father, Uther Pendragon, disguises himself through the use of magic via Merlin—a literary creation of Geoffrey’s—as Gorlois to sleep with his wife, Ygerna. Arthur takes the throne at fifteen, at which age he is described with adoration by Geoffrey: “Arthur was a young man only fifteen years old; but he was of outstanding courage and generosity, and his inborn goodness gave him such grace that he was loved by almost all the people” (Monmouth 212). Geoffrey recounts Arthur’s many successful battles, conquering of the Picts and the Scots, and conquests in Ireland, Iceland, and the Orkney Islands. He dramatizes the tale with theatrical dialogue: ‘I myself will keep faith with my God. This very day I will do my utmost to take vengeance on them for the blood of my fellow countrymen. Arm yourselves, men, and attack these traitors with all your strength! With Christ’s help we shall conquer them, without any possible doubt!’ (Monmouth 216) It is through dialogue like this that Geoffrey builds the character of Arthur into a redeemer-hero figure. Along with a winning leader’s attitude, Geoffrey gives Arthur the image of a hero: “Arthur himself put on a leather jerkin worthy of great a king. On his head he placed a golden helmet, with a crest carved in the shape of a dragon; and across his shoulders a circular shield…” (217). He describes his sword and spear, “long, broad in the blade and thirsty for slaughter.” This image, together with his theatrical dialogue and dramatic descriptions of Arthur’s numerous Example Term Paper | Chegg Writing More tips linked here conquests and victories, created a figure of popular intrigue that would spawn numerous other well-known works, such as Robert de Boron’s Merlin and Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur. The intrigue has lasted into the twenty-first century with Antoine Fuqua’s 2004 film, King Arthur. Medieval literature scholar Norris J. Lacy reflected in The New Arthurian Encyclopedia, “The popular notion of Arthur appears to be limited, not surprisingly, to a few motifs and names, but there can be no doubt of the extent to which a legend born many centuries ago is profoundly embedded in modern culture at every level” (Lacey 363-64). Cynan, also known as Conan Meriadoc, is a British leader credited with founding Brittany. Like many other redeemer-heroes, his legendary reputation predates Geoffrey of Monmouth, but it was enhanced by Monmouth in The History of the Kings of Britain. Cynan was invoked as a redeemer-hero centuries earlier in “The Prophecy of Britain,” as was Cadwaladr: “Cynan and Cadwaladr, bold in a war-band, / Will be praised till doomsday, grace will be theirs, / Two powerful lords, prudent their counsel…Two well-trained heroes, same fortune, same faith” (Williams). As for thorough accounts of Cynan’s life, there are two main versions: the Welsh tale The Dream of Macsen Wledig and The History of the Kings of Britain. The two differ on a number of points concerning Cynan’s familial relations, but both link Cynan to Brittany’s founding which is significant because it is key to his redeemer-hero status. Brittany was expected to be “a second Britain” (Geoffrey 140), which would later be instrumental in the attacks on the Saxons mentioned in “The Prophecy of Britain”: “From Llydaw [Brittany] will come a splendid army, / Warriors on war-steeds who spare not their foe” (Williams). Elissa Henken writes, “Cynan was adopted as one of the promised deliverers because of this very connection with Brittany, noting that…the poet [of “The Prophecy of Britain”] made special point of including the Bretons in the pan-Celtic alliance which he was urging” (Henken 30). To give a powerful leader to the Bretons, Henken continues, the poet “ascribed to Cynan the attributes of a redeemer.” Though the legendary nature of Cynan’s life—and his actual existence—has been Example Term Paper | Chegg Writing More tips linked here debated, he remains an important mythological figure in Welsh history. John Koch writes in Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia, “Conan Meriadoc figures as a hero and founder in Breton legendary history and is given an important role in the scheme of ancient British history in the Historia Regum Britanniae of Geoffrey of Monmouth” (Koch 473). As with all three redeemer-heroes, the validity of Cynan’s legendary tale is dubious, but nonetheless, his story stands the test of time. Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon, King of Gwynedd from roughly 655 to 682, was another mythical redeemer of Welsh culture and another figure Geoffrey of Monmouth rhapsodizes in The History of the Kings of Britain. One of the most prominent redeemer-heroes, Cadwaladr fits all the characteristics of the trope.
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