Rhun son of Urien

Rhun (also spelled Run, Rum) was a son of the warrior-king Urien of Rheged (see post on Urien Rheged).  Unlike the more famous Owain son of Urien (see post on Owain son of Urien) , Rhun did not become a hero of medieval Arthurian romance.  He is mentioned in Historia Brittonum and Annales Cambriae as an important churchman. What can we say about him?

Evidence

Genealogies

Both the Harleian and the Bonedd Gwyr y Gogledd (Descent of the Men of the North) genealogies end with Urien and do not mention any descendants:

[U]rbgen map Cinmarc map Merchianum map Gurgust map Coilhen

--Harleian Genealogies, available online 

Vryen uab Kynuarch m Meirchavn m Gorust Letlvm m Keneu m Coel

--Bonedd Gwyr y Gogledd, available online 

Historia Brittonum

The following Easter Edwin himself received baptism, and twelve thousand of his subjects with him. If any one wishes to know who baptized them, it was Rum Map Urbgen: he was engaged forty days in baptizing all classes of the Saxons, and by his preaching many believed on Christ.

 --Historia Brittonum, chapter 63, available online

Urbgen is the spelling of Urien used in the Harleian genealogies. Rum (also spelled Rhun) son of Urien was presumably a churchman, if he was engaged in baptism and preaching. 

Readers familiar with Bede will have spotted that Bede gives a different account of Edwin/Eadwine’s baptism. More on this in another post.

The Chartres manuscript of Historia Brittonum says in its preface that the compiler used as a source ‘excerpts made by the son of Urien from the Book of St Germanus’ (Clarkson 2010, p 120). Rum or Rhun is the only son of Urien mentioned in the text of Historia Brittonum, so presumably this comment refers to him.

Annales Cambriae

626   Edwin is baptized, and Rhun son of Urien baptized him

--Annales Cambriae, available online

This entry agrees with the statement in Historia Brittonum. The date differs from that given in Bede, who says that the baptism took place in 627 (Book II, Ch. 14). It may be that the compiler of Annales Cambriae copied the information from Historia Brittonum (or vice versa), or that both were drawing on material about Eadwine’s baptism that was not available to, or not used by, Bede.

Llywarch Hen poetry

The medieval manuscript ‘The Red Book of Hergest’ contains several poems attributed to Llywarch Hen (Llywarch the Old).  According to the genealogies, Llywarch was a cousin and approximate contemporary or Urien, and the poem ‘The Death of Urien’ describes Llywarch carrying Urien’s severed head after Urien had been assassinated.  The poem also mentions warfare in the aftermath of Urien’s death:

On Friday I saw great anxiety
Among the hosts of Baptism,
Like a swarm without a hive, bold in despair.

Were there not given to me by Run, greatly fond of war,
A hundred swarms and a hundred shields ?
But one swarm was better far than all.

Were there not given to me by Run, the famous chief,
A cantrev, and a hundred oxen?
But one gift was better far than those.

In the lifetime of Run, the peaceless ranger,
The unjust will wallow in dangers;
May there be irons on the steeds of rapine.

 --Llywarch Hen, The Death of Urien, translation available online 

This passage is followed by a stanza describing attacks on Owain, the son of Urien celebrated in the Taliesin poetry (see post on Owain son of Urien), so it seems likely that Run is also to be understood as a son of Urien, facing enemies after Urien’s death.

Triads

Three Fair Womb Burdens of the Island of Britain:

The second, Owain and Morfudd daughter of Urien and Anarun archbishop of Llydaw, by Modron daughter of Afallach their mother

-- Welsh Triads, available online 

‘Anarun archbishop of Llydaw’ could be a reference to Rum or Rhun ap Urien, who appears as a churchman in Historia Brittonum and Annales Cambriae.  ‘Llydaw’ is the Welsh name for Brittany.  However, an alternative variation of the same Triad mentions only Owain and Morfudd, without ‘Anarun’, so he may be a late addition.

Interpretation

Role

Two sources refer to Rhun in contexts that associate him with the Christian church:

• Historia Brittonum and Annales Cambriae say that he conducted a high-profile baptism;
• Historia Brittonum says he preached Christianity and made many converts;
• The preface of the Chartres manuscript of Historia Brittonum says that it includes extracts made by the son of Urien from the Book of St Germanus.

The consistency between the two sources may indicate no more than copying from each other during the centuries between the events of the late sixth and early seventh century and the final writing of the medieval manuscripts in which both sources have come down to us. Or it may indicate that both were drawing on information preserved in other sources about Rhun’s career.

In addition, one of the Triads refers to a son of Urien (brother of Owain and Morfudd) called ‘Anarun archbishop of Llydaw’.  ‘Anarun’ may be a variant of Rhun or Rum, and describing him as ‘archbishop’ is also consistent with the idea that he was considered to be an important figure in the Christian church. However, ‘Llydaw’ is the Welsh name for Brittany, a curious (although not impossible) location for the son of a north British king. Furthermore, an alternative variation of the same Triad refers only to Morfudd and Owain, without mentioning ‘Anarun’, so I would be cautious about this Triad.  If ‘Anarun’ is intended to be the same figure as the Rhun/Rum mentioned in Historia Brittonum, it is consistent with Rhun having been a churchman of some importance, but I would not put too much weight on it.

Although ‘the son of Urien’ referred to in the preface to the Chartres manuscript is not named, the only son of Urien referred to in the text is Rhun, suggesting that the preface also refers to Rhun.  If so, it would indicate that he was a scholar, which is also consistent with his having been a churchman. 

The poem attributed to Llywarch Hen apparently portrays Rhun in the role of a warrior and ruler, describing him as ‘peaceless ranger’ and ‘the famous chief’.  This is not necessarily inconsistent with Rhun having also had a position in the Christian church. Sigeberht of East Anglia retired to a monastery after he had reigned for a while, and was later recalled for an important battle (Bede Book III Ch. 18). Aldfrith, who became king of Northumbria after Ecgfrith’s death in 685, was also a religious scholar, described by Bede as ‘well-read in the Scriptures’ (Book IV Ch. 26).  Gildas says that Maglocunus (usually identified as Maelgwn of Gwynedd) had entered a monastery for a while before renouncing his vows and becoming king. 

Rhun may also have been both secular ruler and churchman at different times in his life.  Perhaps, like Aldfrith, he was a churchman who was pressed into service at a time of crisis; or perhaps he sought an alternative career in the church after Urien’s death.

The account of Eadwine’s baptism differs from that given by Bede (more on this issue in another post).

Family

Assuming that Rhun son of Urien is also the Rhun named as grandfather of Rhianmellth in Historia Brittonum, Rhun fathered at least one child.  This is also not inconsistent with his having held an important position in the church.  If he entered the church late in life, he may have married and established a family before entering the church. Also, although monks were not permitted to marry, other Christian clergy in post-Roman Britain were allowed to marry and raise families; St Patrick says in his Confessio that his father was a deacon and his grandfather was a priest.

More on Rhianmellth in a later post.

Age

The Llywarch Hen poetry portrays Run as a chieftain and fighter in the aftermath of Urien’s death, implying that he was of fighting age when Urien was killed.  The date of Urien’s death is not known, although as Urien was fighting the sons of Ida at the time, it presumably occurred before Ida’s grandson Aethelferth became king of Bernicia in 593. 

If Rhun was involved in the baptism of Eadwine of Deira/Northumbria in 627, he must have been an adult at the time. As this was a high-profile event and would presumably have been conducted by someone senior, he was probably well into middle age.

This is consistent with a birth date for Rhun somewhere in the third quarter of the sixth century. He cannot have been born much before 550, as otherwise he would have been too old to participate in Eadwine’s baptism in 627 (if he was born in, say, 550, Rhun would have been 77 at the time of Eadwine’s baptism, which would make him a venerable figure but not necessarily too old to take part in a religious ceremony).  At the other end of the range, if Urien’s death occurred close to 593, Rhun would have had to have been born no later than about 578 to be of fighting age by then (if he was born in, say, 578, he would be 15 in 593).  If Urien’s death was earlier, Rhun’s latest plausible birth date would be correspondingly earlier.

It is not known when or how Rhun died.

Conclusion

It seems clear that Rhun son of Urien was considered to have been an important churchman in the early seventh century.  The Llywarch Hen poem implies that he was also a secular ruler and warrior.  He may have held both roles at different times in his life.

It is not known what position Rhun held in the Christian church. If the ‘Anarun archbishop of Llydaw’ in the Triad refers to Rhun, it may indicate that he held a senior position.  This would also be consistent with his involvement in a high-profile baptism ceremony, and with his status as a member of a royal dynasty. He may have been a bishop.  Depending on his age and when he embarked on his clerical career, he could perhaps have been one of the bishops or ‘learned men’ who attended the Synod at Chester in the early seventh century (see earlier post A bishop of Chester? for more information on the synod).

The Llywarch Hen poetry suggests that Rhun was a ruler and warrior in the aftermath of Urien’s death. Whether he was a king of Rheged, and if so, whether he ruled jointly with one or more of Urien’s other sons, is not known.  The political status of Rheged after Urien’s death is uncertain.  It may be significant that the genealogies stop at Urien, which may indicate that he was considered the last significant ruler. Conversely, it may indicate that they were compiled in Urien’s time and not subsequently updated to reflect his descendants. If Rhianmellth was Rhun’s grand-daughter, her marriage to Oswy of Northumbria suggests that the Rheged dynasty still retained a high status in the early seventh century, and may also have retained at least some political and military power.

References

Annales Cambriae, available online

Bede.  Ecclesiastical History of the English People.  Translated by Leo Sherley-Price, Penguin Classics, 1968, ISBN 0-14-044565-X

Bonedd Gwyr y Gogledd, available online 

Clarkson T. The Men of the North. Birlinn, 2010. ISBN 978-1-906566-18-0.

Gildas, On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain, available online

Harleian genealogies, available online 

Historia Brittonum, available online 

Llywarch Hen, The Death of Urien, available online 

St Patrick, Confessio, available online

Welsh Triads, available online