BATTLE 10
This battle is one of the few that conventional history finds difficult to place on a modern map. The end result is that the reference by Nennius as to it taking place on the banks of the River Trat Tribruit has motivated many to search for a river of that name, or something that could be seen as a derivative of it, on a modern map, but to no avail.
Fortunately there are two other sources that help to place the battle a little easier. One is the Welsh poem 'Pa Gur', and the other is a reference by William of Malmesbury. This latter records a battle in which the Saxons attacked Sir Gawain in his Scottish home. There is a problem or two with that notion as Sir Gawain had no property in Scotland, and there is no record of Saxons, per-se, being in Scotland, not even any Angles had reached there before AD 517.
Angles were the only Germanic tribe active on the mainland at the time of the battle. That statement goes against the orthodox view of history but nevertheless it is a firm rebuttal of that traditional notion. That orthodox view is understandable in as much the Eidyn of history has been repeatedly ,and mistakenly, interpreted as Edinburgh, and as Eidyn crops up in the poem 'Pa Gur' alongside the proper name for the Battle that Nennius described as Battle No 10, we need to see how they fit together in history and in geography.
The battle in the poem is described as a battle that was fought at 'Traeth Tryfrwyd' so if we bring those records together we could perhaps make Battle No 10 fit its correct slot. Apart from those written references there is also a geographic place-name that adds further corroboration to the conclusions of this study'.
Pa Gur
(part of)
On the heights of Eidyn
He fought with champions,
By the hundreds they fell
to Bedwyr's four-pronged spear
On the shores of Tryfrwyd
fighting with Garwlwyd
and Llwch of the striking hand
who defended Eidyn on the borders.
Collectively interpreting all three references we can arrive at a battle fought at Traeth Tryfrwyd, which name translates into English to mean the Battle on the 'Speckled Shore'.
Shore is a reasonable suggestion that the battle was fought on the coast. 'Speckled' is open to interpretation but after deliberation the conclusion of this study is that it was a reference to small rocks or larger islands that one could see above the high tide level on a shore near to where Sir Gawain had his estate.
Today's St Bride's Bay is such a place, and the adjacent Sandy Haven lies immediately opposite Angle Bay, that was seemingly named as such because of its place in this history of Arthur.
The suggestion is that in line with the tactic apparently employed by Cerdic in his attack on Gower, in which he appeared to lie-up overnight so as to make a dawn attack on Ystymllymarch (Oystermouth).
Cerdic similarly used a surprise attack on Chepstow when he attacked Gereint's fleet in its harbour at Llongborth, and it was where he killed Gereint. When he attacked Arthur at Tir y Dail (Ammanford) he attempted to surprise Arthur at his regional base on Gwrhir by arriving through the back door at the most westerly point of Gwrhir.
The logic for the Angle attack in Battle No 10 is therefore that the Angles under Ossa, perhaps with Cerdic in attendance, lay-up overnight at that which today is called Angle Bay, from where, at dawn, they were able to sail across the estuary to Sandy Haven, from where they then travelled up the river right to the front door of Sir Gawain's Castle attacking Sir Gawain before he had time to have his breakfast.
That gave the Angles the upper-hand. Sir Gawain put up stiff resistance but was defeated and lost his estate to the Angles.
A messenger was despatched to Arthur at Caerleon and in due course Arthur and his men, expelled the Angles back to their base where they could lick their wounds , recover from their defeat, take time to recruit more men, and then to plan a better strategy for their next encounter with Arthur.
Bedwyr in the poem we known better as Sir Bedivere of the Romantic Stories, likewise Llwch was no other than Lancelot of the Lakes.
Returning to the above portion of 'Pa Gur' it allows this study to consider the oft repeated claim that Eidyn was synonymous with Edinburgh and in the context of this battle allowed the misconception that Sir Gawain had an estate in that region, but not so. Sir Gawain had only one estate and that was in today's South Pembrokeshire.
Eidyn was not Edinburgh, nor is there any trace of Saxon, nor Angle activity of this period in that region. Eidyn was on the border of today's Wales and the poem connects Llwych (Wyddel) as defending Eidyn and as such defending Eidyn would have been an obvious action considering that his Lordship of a territory with several lakes would have been over that region around Whitchurch where we have a ready supply of lakes and it adjoined Eidyn / Eaton Constantine.
There is not one reference in a history that is local to Edinburgh into which a serious writer could place Sir Gawain, Sir Bedivere or Sir Lancelot before or after the Battle of Traeth Tryfrwyd.
So after Battle No 9, Ossa, and possibly Cerdic, raided Sir Gawain in South Pembrokeshire and took over his estate. Arthur later removed the Angles and should then have been able to rest putting his feet up in front of the fire whilst the Angles were recounting the madness of their ill-fated challenge. However that was not to be as another battle was looming just around the corner, or in geographic terms a little further in land.
That battle was to become Battle No 11 at Breguion.
Fortunately there are two other sources that help to place the battle a little easier. One is the Welsh poem 'Pa Gur', and the other is a reference by William of Malmesbury. This latter records a battle in which the Saxons attacked Sir Gawain in his Scottish home. There is a problem or two with that notion as Sir Gawain had no property in Scotland, and there is no record of Saxons, per-se, being in Scotland, not even any Angles had reached there before AD 517.
Angles were the only Germanic tribe active on the mainland at the time of the battle. That statement goes against the orthodox view of history but nevertheless it is a firm rebuttal of that traditional notion. That orthodox view is understandable in as much the Eidyn of history has been repeatedly ,and mistakenly, interpreted as Edinburgh, and as Eidyn crops up in the poem 'Pa Gur' alongside the proper name for the Battle that Nennius described as Battle No 10, we need to see how they fit together in history and in geography.
The battle in the poem is described as a battle that was fought at 'Traeth Tryfrwyd' so if we bring those records together we could perhaps make Battle No 10 fit its correct slot. Apart from those written references there is also a geographic place-name that adds further corroboration to the conclusions of this study'.
Pa Gur
(part of)
On the heights of Eidyn
He fought with champions,
By the hundreds they fell
to Bedwyr's four-pronged spear
On the shores of Tryfrwyd
fighting with Garwlwyd
and Llwch of the striking hand
who defended Eidyn on the borders.
Collectively interpreting all three references we can arrive at a battle fought at Traeth Tryfrwyd, which name translates into English to mean the Battle on the 'Speckled Shore'.
Shore is a reasonable suggestion that the battle was fought on the coast. 'Speckled' is open to interpretation but after deliberation the conclusion of this study is that it was a reference to small rocks or larger islands that one could see above the high tide level on a shore near to where Sir Gawain had his estate.
Today's St Bride's Bay is such a place, and the adjacent Sandy Haven lies immediately opposite Angle Bay, that was seemingly named as such because of its place in this history of Arthur.
The suggestion is that in line with the tactic apparently employed by Cerdic in his attack on Gower, in which he appeared to lie-up overnight so as to make a dawn attack on Ystymllymarch (Oystermouth).
Cerdic similarly used a surprise attack on Chepstow when he attacked Gereint's fleet in its harbour at Llongborth, and it was where he killed Gereint. When he attacked Arthur at Tir y Dail (Ammanford) he attempted to surprise Arthur at his regional base on Gwrhir by arriving through the back door at the most westerly point of Gwrhir.
The logic for the Angle attack in Battle No 10 is therefore that the Angles under Ossa, perhaps with Cerdic in attendance, lay-up overnight at that which today is called Angle Bay, from where, at dawn, they were able to sail across the estuary to Sandy Haven, from where they then travelled up the river right to the front door of Sir Gawain's Castle attacking Sir Gawain before he had time to have his breakfast.
That gave the Angles the upper-hand. Sir Gawain put up stiff resistance but was defeated and lost his estate to the Angles.
A messenger was despatched to Arthur at Caerleon and in due course Arthur and his men, expelled the Angles back to their base where they could lick their wounds , recover from their defeat, take time to recruit more men, and then to plan a better strategy for their next encounter with Arthur.
Bedwyr in the poem we known better as Sir Bedivere of the Romantic Stories, likewise Llwch was no other than Lancelot of the Lakes.
Returning to the above portion of 'Pa Gur' it allows this study to consider the oft repeated claim that Eidyn was synonymous with Edinburgh and in the context of this battle allowed the misconception that Sir Gawain had an estate in that region, but not so. Sir Gawain had only one estate and that was in today's South Pembrokeshire.
Eidyn was not Edinburgh, nor is there any trace of Saxon, nor Angle activity of this period in that region. Eidyn was on the border of today's Wales and the poem connects Llwych (Wyddel) as defending Eidyn and as such defending Eidyn would have been an obvious action considering that his Lordship of a territory with several lakes would have been over that region around Whitchurch where we have a ready supply of lakes and it adjoined Eidyn / Eaton Constantine.
There is not one reference in a history that is local to Edinburgh into which a serious writer could place Sir Gawain, Sir Bedivere or Sir Lancelot before or after the Battle of Traeth Tryfrwyd.
So after Battle No 9, Ossa, and possibly Cerdic, raided Sir Gawain in South Pembrokeshire and took over his estate. Arthur later removed the Angles and should then have been able to rest putting his feet up in front of the fire whilst the Angles were recounting the madness of their ill-fated challenge. However that was not to be as another battle was looming just around the corner, or in geographic terms a little further in land.
That battle was to become Battle No 11 at Breguion.
