Eliffer, King of Ebrauc
Like many figures from the Brythonic Heroic Age, Eliffer is quite obscure. He is mentioned in some of the pedigrees for men of the north, the Annales Cambriae, a handful of triads, and some poetic references. Many of these references revolve around the ‘Sons of Eliffer’ sometimes Peredur and Gwrgi of Ebrauc directly, sometimes a vague reference to more. Tread carefully, we will be speculating a bit in this, if that’s not to your tastes this article is likely not for you.
As we have before, the best place to start is by listing all of the places he can be found without comment. First the Pedigrees.
Bonedd Gwŷr y Gogledd
Gwrgi & Phered meibon Eliffer Gosgord Uawr m. Arthwys m. Mar m. Keneu m. Coel
Harleian MS 3859
Gurci ha Peretur mepion Eleuther cascord maur map letlum map Ceneu map Coyl hen.
Annales Cambriae
The battle of Arfderydd between the sons of Eliffer and Gwenddolau son of Ceidio; in which battle Gwenddolau fell; Merlin went mad
Gwrgi and Peredur, sons of Eliffer, died.
Triads
Three Prostrate (‘Humble’) Chieftains of the Island of Britain
Llywarch the Old son of Elidir Llydanwyn, and Manawydan son of Llŷr Half-Speech, and Gwgon Gwron son of Peredur son of Eliffer
Three Horses who carried the Three Horse-Burdens (edited to the relevant parts)
Du y Moroedd (‘the Black of the Seas’), horse of Elidir Mwynfawr, who carried on his back seven and a half people from Benllech in the North to Benllech [Elidir] in Môn. These were the seven people: Elidir Mwynfawr, and Eurgain his wife, daughter of Maelgwn Gwynedd, and Gwyn Good Companion, and Gwyn Good Distributor, and Mynach Naomon his counsellor, and Prydelaw the Cupbearer, his butler, and Silver Staff his servant, and Gelbeinefin his cook, who swam with his two hands on the horse’s crupper—and he was the half-person.
Cornan (‘the horned’), horse of the sons of Eliffer, bore the second Horse-Burden: he carried on his back Gwrgi and Peredur and Dunawd the Stout and Cynfelyn the Leprous, to look upon the battle-fog of the host of Gwenddolau at Arfderydd. (And no one overtook him but Dinogad son of Cynan Garwyn, upon Swift Roan, and he won censure and dishonour from then till today.)
The third Horse Burden was borne by [Erch] ‘Dappled’ the horse of the sons of Gwerthmwl Wledig, who carried Gweir and Gleis and Archenad up the hill of Maelawr in Ceredigion to avenge their father.
Three Principal Cows of the Island of Britain
Speckled, cow of Maelgwn Gwynedd,
and Grey-Skin, cow of the sons of Eliffer of the Great Warband,
and Cornillo, cow of Llawfrodedd the Bearded.
Three Fair Womb-Burdens of the Island of Britain
Urien son of Cynfarch and Arawn son of Cynfarch and Lleu son of Cynfarch, by Nefyn daughter of Brychan Brycheiniog their mother;
The second, Owain son of Urien and Morfudd daughter of Urien and Anarun archbishop of Llydaw (Brittany), by Modron daughter of Afallach their mother;
The third was Gwrgi and Peredur sons of Eliffer of the Great Warband, and Arddun their sister, and Cornan their horse and Tonllwyd (Grey-Skin) their cow.
Three Fair Womb-Burdens of the Island of Britain (Alternative text, likely older)
Urien and Efrddyl, children of Cynfarch the Old, who were carried together in the womb of Nefyn daughter of Brychan their mother;
The second, Owain son of Urien and Morfudd his sister who were carried together in the womb of Modron daughter of Afallach;
The third, Gwrgi and Peredur and Ceindrech Pen Asgell, children of Eliffer of the Great Warband, who were carried together in the womb of Efrddyl daughter of Cynfarch their mother.
Poetry
Ymddiddan Myrtin a Talyessin
Seven sons of Eliffer, seven men when put to the test,
who in their seven divisions do not avoid seven spears.
Englynion y Clyweid
Have you heard what sang Goliffer
Gosgorduawr, of the great retinue?
’Hateful truth is not loved’
From a Poem by Cynddelw
The pillar of the wanderers leading a life like Eliver
From a Poem of Dafydd Benfras
My tongue has related through the strength of the Trinity
a praise poem from my poetic inspiration, so elusive;
a ravisher takes possession of her, the feat of Eliffer,
a powerful warrior, a lord of bounty, enjoys her.
There is another later poetic reference that I have left out, as I cannot find a reliable version of the text.
Blank Puzzle Pieces
First let’s address the pedigrees. Within the two pedigrees given we see inconsistency, one placing Eliffer four generations from Coel Hen, and another placing him three, with instead a different father. We know from the pedigrees that Ceneu had at least two sons Gwrwst and Mar/Masguid (possibly three if Pabo is considered, though his chronology and pedigree are rife with issues, though it is no issue here). These two figures seem to equate a roughly east/west divide of Ceneu’s kingdom, which encompassed Coel Hen’s large ‘Kingdom of Northern Britain’ with the exception of Bryneich, which was likely held by Garbanian, Ceneu’s brother. Gwrwst, who appears as Letlum (his epithet, meaning Half-Bare) is usually given as kings of Rheged which encompassed the western half of the Coeling territories, while Masguid/Mar seems to have inherited the eastern half, centering around Ebrauc, encompassing Elmet as well. If Pabo is considered a son of Ceneu it would seem the Pennines were his domain.
Locating where these figures ruled is generally a difficult prospect, and usually we have to rely on sources outside of the pedigrees themselves. With Eliffer we can roughly pin down where he ruled though from his son Peredur, and eponymous text Peredur mab Efrawc. Efrawc, here confused as his father is likely from Peredur being given the epithet Ebrauc in now lost texts. This practice can be seen with other figures such as Maelgwn Gwynedd and Urien Rheged. The tradition then morphs Peredur of Ebrauc into Peredur son of Efrawc. It would then seem likely that Peredur, his brother Gwrgi (they are almost always mentioned together) ruled Ebrauc after their father, Eliffer.
Considering this, as well as the chronology involved, Eliffer as a son of Arthwys makes much more sense. Working backwards from known figures is essential here for establishing a chronology. We must work from known events in the lives of known figures that we have dates for. Luckily for us, the Annales Cambriae mentions Peredur and Gwrgi twice, once at a battle in 573 and again in 580 at their deaths. Peredur’s son Gwgon was seemingly of age in 580 upon his father’s death, as the Triad “The Three Prostrate Chieftains” tells us he was considered a Chieftain, old enough to succeed his father. If we consider 573 a starting point for the sons of Eliffer being ‘of age’ this gives us a rough thirty year floruit of 573-603. Considering Gwgon’s floruit should include the year 580. The beginning of Gwgon’s potential thirty year floruit could range between 550 to 580, giving him the earliest possible birth date of 530, and the latest at 560. This hardly nails things down, but gives us earliest and latest dates for him. This would place Peredur at 510-540. We can further tweak Peredur by considering his mother Efrddyl.
The alternate text of the Triad “Three Fair Womb-Burdens of the Island of Britain” gives their mother as Efrddyl, as well as telling us that she was the sister of Urien. This straightens out the chronology quite nicely. Urien was operating as “a Grey-haired lord” in the 570s, and his son Owain was leading his troops into battle during the same conflicts. Urien died, assassinated during a siege in the 590s. This leads one to believe he would have been born around 520 at the earliest. Urien and Efrddyl share a floruit of 540-570 in that case, almost locking Peredur in to 540. Considering a roughly thirty year generational gap this would then place his father Eliffer’s birth some time around 510, give or take roughly ten years. We can corroborate this by looking at both Urien and Eliffer’s ancestry.
Uryen (520) vab Kynvarch (490) mab Meirchaun (460) mab Gorust Ledlum (430) mab Keneu (400) mab Coel (370)
Eliffer Gosgord Uawr (510) m. Arthwys (480) m. Mar (450) m. Keneu (420) m. Coel (390)
If we consider the other Pedigree for Eliffer things are much more incongruous
Gurci ha Peretur mepion Eleuther cascord maur (510) map letlum (480) map Ceneu (450) map Coyl hen (420).
The missing generation complicates things, and the chronology suffers as a result, but why the confusion with Gwrwst as Eliffer’s father? The answer seems to sit with a very similar name, Elidir. The name Elidir and Eliffer have been conflated by many later writers, and one medieval manuscript seems to make a similar mistake (Bromwich accounts this as a mistake, others think they are the same name). In De Situ Brecheniauc, Nyuein or Nyfen is said to be the wife of Cynfarch, son of Meirchion, mother of Urien, and Efrddyl, and that Efrddyl was the wife of Elidir Coscoruaur. This early conflation of the names is interesting, though I do agree with Bromwich that it is a mistake. This is bolstered by the appearance of an Elidir alongside Eliffer in not just one, but two triads listed above. If this was a common occurence (almost making Eliffer-Elidir correct by the standards of the later writers1) there is a likely explanation for why Eliffer was appended to Gwrwst ap Ceneu in the Harleian pedigree. Elidyr Mwynvawr, a grandson of Dyfnwal Hen of Alt Clut is listed with a father named Gwrwst, considering the conflation of the two similarly named men it may be that in an intermediary work that the scribe of the Harleian pedigree was working from may have confused the two. With Gwrwst ap Ceneu an established figure in the pedigrees already the scribe may have left out Arthwys altogether and transferring Eliffer where he thought he fit, as the son of a Gwrwst.
We have a rough time and place for Eliffer, but is there anything else we can say of the man? I would wager that the rise of Ida in 547 is likely a direct result of Eliffer’s death, possibly even the cause of it. In a recent article I spoke of Ken Dark’s Brigantian high-kingship, which you can read about below.
Ken Dark's Brigantian High-Kingship and the Coeling
In the article I lay out the most likely line of succession for this High-Kingship, or as I have jokingly started calling ‘Coeling-Prime’. Eliffer as the preeminent son of Arthwys ap Mar would have almost certainly held the seat of power for the High-Kingship in Ebrauc after his father’s death at Camlann, which you can read about here
The Death of Arthur
If we consider some of the romance material as possibly having some roots in historical tradition (many hold that the Welsh version Peredur fab Efrawg to draw from earlier insular material) We are told that Peredur’s father is met with an untimely death while he is still a child, and left to be raised by his mother. Considering the rise of Ida and the establishment of Bernicia as an Anglian power coinciding here around 550 is quite interesting. This is of course not a certainty, and the romances are difficult to glean much truth from, if there is any to be had.
I have speculated that Eliffer likely married fairly late compared to many of his contemporaries, and the poetic reference in one of Cynddelw poem’s “The pillar of the wanderers leading a life like Eliver” is interesting, and maybe hold a tradition that Eliffer himself was on the move for much of his life, with his Gosgorddfawr (Great Army/Retinue) serving as a kind of standing army for his father late in his reign.
*HEAVY SPECULATION*
There are a few potential oblique references to Eliffer found in a few sources, which I would like to draw some attention to. These are speculative, but nonetheless interesting parallels.
In the romance ‘Geraint and Enid’ the name Elifri is given as a warrior going to Cornwall with Geraint, as well as the name of Arthur’s head groom. The two names seem to refer to the same person. Elifri is further mentioned in a poem by Gruffudd ap Maredudd.
A man to a man, a warrior like lion-bodied Eilifri,
Thick-helmed brave one, who reddened lances.
True there will be to him fame, illustriously named.
While I do pause and note that the name game is tenuous, it is interesting that this rather unattested name appears so little. Many figures from the Hen Ogledd feature as part of Arthur’s retinue in later work. Eliffer’s cousin Guallauc appears as a warrior of Arthur, as does Eliffer’s own son Peredur. Owain ap Urien and Urien both figure in Arthurian stories, so it is interesting to see no remants of Eliffer… unless Elifri is that remnant. I would also draw attention to Gruffudd’s stanza from above, calling him “lion-bodied Eilifri”. My friend
has shown that there seems to be an association with the Coeling and lions. A curious connection.The position as head groom is an interesting choice, and would seem a tangent at first, but I think we can make something of it. There are two words often used to describe armies in the Welsh Matter, Gosgordd, and Teulu. Gosgordd seems to reference a larger noble retinue, used heavily in Y Gododdin, describing the noble troops of the Lord of Eidyn, this is reason to believe the Gosgordd was typically composed of noble cavalry, which Y Gododdin is primarily concerned with. The Teulu (a word meaning family) was used for a lords retinue as well, and the two may be interchangeable, but in the earlier period it may represent a division between mounted troops and infantry. This gives us the possibility that Eliffer’s ‘Gosgorddfawr” was the core of his father Arthwys’ mounted troops. It would be easy to see a tradition of such a figure evolving into that of head groom, but once again, wild speculation.
There is an another alternative to the triad ‘Three Fair Womb-Burdens of the Island of Britain’, from the Jesus College ms. 20, where Arddun has been corrupted to Arthur Penuchel and Eliffer is reffered to by the latinization of his name Eleutherius. This… is interesting, and may, along with the reference in one version of Historia Brittonum saying Arthur was “in British mab Uter, that is in Latin terrible son, because from his youth he was cruel” be the reason why Uther is given as the father of Arthur. I have speculated before that the poem Marwnat Vthyr Pen may in fact be about Eliffer himself.
It is I whose heroic deed contended,
seeking to annihilate the kinsmen of Casnur.
It is I who poured blood for victory.
I am the one whose champion's feats partook in
a ninth part of Arthur's valour.
We have a Chieftain making war against the kinsmen of Casnur, an obvious reference to Caw, the Pictish chieftain and usurper of Alt Clut who Arthur had a blood feud with, that likely was part of the impetus for the battle of Camlann. This chieftain’s champion “partook a ninth part of Arthur's valour” fitting for a son, much less for a father being eulogized, some translations make it the titular Uther the one who shared directly in Arthur’s valour.
It would not be difficult to see “Eleutherius of the Great Warband” to evolve into “Uther Chief of Warriors (one interpretation of the epithet Pendragon)” We are once again in extremely murky and speculative territory.
There is also the oblique reference to Eliffer, once again his name conflated with Elidir, as Elidure the Dutiful in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s work, where he is given as a brother to Arthgallo, Geoffrey’s veiled version of Eliffer’s father Arthwys, very little can be gleaned from this, but you can see that there was an interpolation in the line of succession, which I talk about here. Elidure is characterized as a good king, and rules well, though how much Geoffrey’s account matches actual events outside of very broad strokes (seemingly drawn from a lost, but low detail Northern Chronicle) is difficult to say.
An Empty Picture
Sadly, like putting together a blank puzzle even if you do get the pieces together there is still not much there. Was it likely that Eliffer lived some time in the early 6th century and ruled the Brythonic polity centered around Ebrauc, almost certainly. Was he the husband of Efrddyl and father of Peredur, Gwrgi, and Ceindrech, very likely. Son of Arthwys? If we trust our sources, probably. Unfortunately we run out of much solid ground there. He still exists as an interesting figure, straddling the gap between historical light and legendary shadow.
This could represent a survival of a Latino-Cumbric form of a name from the sub-roman period along side the Common Brittonic version. One eventually settles into Eliffer, the other Elidir, both coming from a single root. This is speculation though, and I do not entertain the idea seriously.