The House of Meriadog
(Extracted from Eastwind Westwind - The Legacy of John Poore by James H Creighton)

Long, long ago, there was a land called Meriadog. Tin was still mined from the Mendip Hills, exported by the Romans to all areas of the Empire. In times past, it is told that Joseph of Aramathia, missionary and merchant from the Holy Land, brought the Holy Grail to Dumnonia and allowed his daughter Anna to marry the Silure king. From the lands of Meriadog, as elsewhere throughout the Kingdom of Dumnonia, the local Celtic people lived side-by-side with their Roman neighbors. The British High King, Eudaf Hen (The Old), ruled from Gwent and his nephews, Caradog and Donaut, were his client-kings of Dumnonia.

This royal family of the Cymric Celts claimed a pedigree that began in 55BC, which, if factual, began the Poore lineage. Almost all of the “pedigree” is based totally on legend. It has little bearing on fact until the life of Conan Meriadog. Even his life is subject to varying stories.  I will try to include all areas of conflict as the narrative continues. The names for the most part are shown with their Welsh spelling. “ap” means ‘son of’ and “ferch” means ‘daughter of’: 

1.       Llyr Lleddiarth (Half-Speech) arrived 55BC, probably being in the forefront of the withdrawal from Armorica during the war with Julius Caesar. He went on to become the legendary Celtic God of the Sea. His wife was Lweriadd ferch Beli Mawr, or daughter of Beli the Great, who was the son of Breogan of Iberia, ancestor of the Brigante nation of Yorkshire. Beli Mawh’s son, Milesius, founded the Irish Race.

2.      Bran Fendigaid (the Blessed) ap Llyr (son of Llyr), reputed to be the first king of Siluria, founder of the dynasty of Gwent. Bran married Anna of Arimathia, about 63AD. Of this marriage, there were 12 children, but only three were recorded.

·         Caradog ap Bran (see below)

·         Alan ap Bran

·         Sadwr ap Bran, plus 9 other siblings.

3.      Caradog ap Bran

4.      Coellyn ap Caradog

5.      Owain ap Beli (since this person was the son of Beli, it must indicate that Beli was a son of Coellyn ap Caradog).

6.      Merchion ap Owain

7.      Cwrrig Fawr (the Great)

8.      Gwrddwfn ap Cwrrig

9.      Einudd ap Gwrddwfn 

·         Eudaf Hen (the Old), son of Einudd, King of Gwent and High King of Britain.

a. Saint Elen Lwyddog (of the Host), daughter of King Eudaf and wife of Magnus Maximus, Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.

10.  Gereint ap Einudd of Mariadog, also called Gerontius (see below)

11.   Arthfael ap Einudd

12.   Gwrgant ap Arthfael

13.   Meirchion ap Gwrgant

14.  Caradog ap Arthfael, King of Dumnonia

15.   Prince Mauric ap Caradog (died before Caradog)

16.   Donaut ap Arthfael, King of Dumnonia

17.   Saint Ursula ferch Donaut

18.   Gereint ap Einudd – Gerontius (son of Einudd, brother of Eudaf)

19.   Conan Meriadog (ap Gereint), King of Dumnonia & Brittany.

m.   (1) St. Ursula ferch Donaut of Dumnonia.

a.     Kings of Dumnonia

       m. (2) Dareca, sister of Saint Patrick of Ireland.

b.     Kings of Brittany

c.   Saints of Ireland

Magnus Clemens Maximus was the Roman Imperator at the time of Conan Meriadog. The Welsh called him Macsen Wledig (the Imperator), and various accounts have him being of royal Roman decent or of Roman/Iberian Celt lineage. It is probable that he came from aristocratic Roman beginnings, even though he was born on the Iberian Peninsula. He would go on, for a short time, to become Emperor of the Western Empire. He operated from his fort of Isca  (Caer-Leon), working closely with the High King, Eudaf Hen.

According to some accounts, Magnus married Saint Ursula, the daughter of King Donaut of Dumnonia. Although the legends surrounding her are many, I tend to lean towards Magnus marrying Saint Elen Lwyddog, daughter of King Eudaf Hen, as shown above. This union seems more plausible.  Magnus would have placed himself in a firm seat of power both as Roman Imperator, and son-in-law to the British High King. The High King’s nephew, Lord Caradog, with his son, Prince Mauric, played a leading role in the marriage negotiations.

The marriage of Magnus and St. Elen placed Conan Meriadog in a vulnerable situation. He was also a nephew of King Eudaf and in line to inherit his throne; King Eudaf had no sons. He, at first, raised an army to fight against Magnus, but eventually befriended his cousin’s husband. Conan Meriadog became a close ally to the Imperator. Together, they plotted to overthrow the Emperor in Rome.

Around 383AD, Magnus raised a vast army of troops from Dumnonia to take into Gaul to fight the Germanic tribes that were attacking Rome. He chose Conan Meriadog, who shared joint rule of Dumnonia, as his commander. The campaign carried them first to Gaul, then on to Italy, where Magnus tried in vain to wrest the entire Western Empire away from the Roman Emperor, Valentian. Although he did become Emperor for a short time, his coup eventually failed and he was killed. Before he died, it is said that he rewarded his army of Britons with the entire Peninsula of Brittany in 383-388AD. This was the major portion of the old province of Armorica, which the Cymric tribes had fled over 400 years before. Conan Meriadog of Dumnonia now became the first King of Brittany.

Because Conan Meriadog was the first of a long dynasty, I want to spend some time here before progressing on to his descendants. First of all, I cannot be positive of his direct lineage, because the above pedigree is derived from a single source. There are accounts that place him as the son of Lord Caradog. This would imply that he was a nephew of Caradog’s brother, King Donaut of Dumnonia, who went on to offer his daughter as a wife to Conan.  Would Donaut have given his daughter in marriage to his own nephew? Most accounts refer to Conan as being nephew to King Eudaf Hen (The Old). The pedigree shows him as the son of Gereint ap Einudd, the High King’s brother. This would place Conan Meriadog as first cousin to both Lord Caradog and King Donaut, which makes more sense to me. Gereint ap Einudd was also called Gerontius and he went, as well, to Gaul as a general with the army of Magnus Maximus. As the war developed into a rebellion against Rome, Gerontius sided with the Emperor, Valentian. Looking at the early Lords of Brittany, I believe that many from the Royal House of Dumnonia partook in the wars in Italy and Gaul.

The last thing to point out is that these people were not simple tribesmen from the West Country. They were all members of the Roman Empire and traveled its width and breadth throughout their lives. It seems that it was common for even the women to leave Dumnonia or Brittany and travel to Rome, the Holy Lands, or anywhere on the continent that they wished. There is no way to define a single family as a unit. The various people, although closely related, constantly changed allegiances and fought each other for power. Throughout the Medieval times, constant warfare and brutality shared the same table with the evolving Christian church.  Often times the two blended into one.

Conan Meriadog can be placed in Brittany in the year 388, for that is the year of the death of Magnus Maximus.  The earliest time of settlement is placed at 383AD. Conan has varying dates of his death, from 395-421AD.

He twice married and had a son by each wife who would succeed him. King Donaut of Dumnonia sent his daughter, Ursula, to be his wife. There are many famous legends surrounding Ursula, who reputedly died at Cologne where she is venerated as a Saint.  Ursula bore Conan a son, Gadeon. Upon the death of King Donaut, Ursula sent Gadeon to Britain to become heir to his grandfather’s throne.  Conan chose as his second wife Darerca, sister of St. Patrick of Ireland. This again was probably a marriage of political leverage.  The father of Darerca and St. Patrick, Calphurnius the Decurio, was a Roman dignitary who resided in Caledonia (Kilpatrick, Dumbarton), but had many dealings with the administration of Gaul. Darerca bore Conan a son, Gradlon, also called Urbian. He would become the second King of Brittany, with his half-brother Gadeon ruling as a King of Dumnonia.

Again, there are literally hundreds of legends and ancient accounts concerning St. Darerca. The 1911 Catholic Encyclopedia lists her as being married twice and mother to a total of 17 sons and 2 daughters, all of whom became bishops and Saints of Ireland. If she were in fact the wife of Conan Meriadog, Prince Gradlon (Urbian) would have been son #18.

Her first husband was Restitutus the Lombard, who sired 13 sons with her, 8 of them becoming Saints. Upon his death, Darerca married (from the Catholic Encyclopedia) “Chonus the Briton,” a high-ranking British ruler. He gave her 4 more sons (bishops and saints) and 2 daughters (saints). Chonus could very well have been King Conan of Brittany and Dumnonia. Reading the old tales, he seems to have been very active in church affairs on the continent, and undoubtedly maintained close ties with Dumnonia. The Cymric tribes carried on a love/hate relationship with their Irish cousins, and Chonus may only be an old Irish variation of Conan. If so, Conan/Chonus founded the church of Both-Chonais, now Binnion, Parish of Clonmany, Barony of Inishoven, County Donegal.

 
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