Manaw Gododdin - Sources of Information

Sources of Information

Background: confusion with the Isle of Man

The Isle of Man is known in Welsh as Ynys Manaw, and this has introduced ambiguity in literary and historical references when Manaw (or Manau) was used without further elaboration, as to whether the reference was to Manaw Gododdin or to the Isle of Man.

A similar problem exists in Irish, where both the northern Pictish Manaw and the southern Manaw Gododdin are referred to as Manann (or Manonn). Certain forms of the Irish name for the Isle of Man produce the genitive name Manann (or Manonn). Either place can be inferred if the context is uncertain.

Historia Brittonum

In the Historia Brittonum, Nennius says that "the great king Mailcun reigned among the Britons, i.e., in Gwynedd". He adds that Maelgwn's ancestor Cunedda arrived in Gwynedd 146 years before Maelgwn's reign, coming from Manaw Gododdin, and expelled the Scots with great slaughter.

In the chapters of the Historia Brittonum discussing the circumstances leading up to the death of Penda of Mercia in 655, Oswiu of Northumbria is besieged at "Iudeu" by Penda and his allies and offers up the wealth (i.e., the royal dignities) of that place which had been recently captured by the Northumbrians (the "Restoration of Iudeu", so-called), as well as that which he held "as far as Manaw". In Latin the phrase is usque in manau pendae. The recensions are not all consistent on this point. There is also esque in manu pendae and esque in manum pendae, which if reliable, would allow for a different interpretation, as manu is Latin for hand (as in into the hand ).

Welsh genealogies

The royal genealogies provide no information per se about Manaw Gododdin. However, as it was the homeland of Cunedda and he was the progenitor of many Welsh royal lines, he is prominent in the Harleian genealogies. Some of these genealogies reappear in Jesus College MS. 20, though it focuses mainly on the ancient royalty of South Wales. All of Cunedda's descendants claim a heritage from Manaw Gododdin.

Annals of Ulster

According to the Annals of Ulster, Áedán mac Gabráin, king of Dál Riata, was victor in a "bellum Manonn" (English: Battle or War at Manonn) in 582 (his opponent is not given).

There is some scholarly disagreement as to the place meant, whether to Manaw Gododdin or to the Isle of Man. Both are plausible and have some supporting evidence, but lacking hard information, the issue probably will not be settled definitively. Both those favouring the Isle and those favouring Manaw Gododdin say so and include a footnote to the effect that the balance seems to be on one side or the other, with accompanying arguments.

Annals of Ulster, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

The Annals of Ulster say that in 711, the Northumbrians defeated the Picts at the campus Manann, the field of Manaw. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle gives the year as 710, saying that "Beorhtfrith the ealdorman fought against the Picts between Haefe and Caere".

This is assumed to be between the Rivers Avon (Haefe) and Carron (Caere). William Forbes Skene first argues for it in The Four Ancient Books of Wales (1868), noting that the Avon rises in the place still known as Slamannan Moor (i.e., Sliabhmannan, the Moor of Manann). He repeats the conjecture in his Celtic Scotland (1886), and later historians have accepted his suggestion, citing him as the source.