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Feb 7, 2023 · Early Welsh tradition knew of a Coel Hen (Coel the Old), a leader in Roman or Sub-Roman Britain and the progenitor of several kingly lines in the Hen Ogledd ("the Old North"), the Brythonic-speaking part of northern England and southern Scotland.
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Father: Gadeon ap EUDAF b: 322 in North Britain. Marriage 1...
- Tegfan Tasciovanus Ap Deheuwaint
Genealogy for Tegfan Tasciovanus ap Deheuwaint (deceased)...
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Coel Hen is not to be confused with Duke (King) Coel II of Kaercolvin-1 Colchester (c. 200) who was married to Strada verch Cadvan The Fair of Cambria, (pic #2) or Coel I Of_Britain-13, son of Maurius(pic #1 near bottom). There are 3 Coels:: 1. Coel I - Coellus in Holinshed ([see pic #1 above Monarchs, table column 3, entry 5]); Coel I was of weste...
Projections back from dated individuals suggest that Coel Hen lived around AD 350–420, during the time of the Roman departure from Britain. Coel's frequent appearance in legend and literature suggests that such a person actually existed. However, the earliest version of the Welsh Brut Tysylio dates to the 13th century. The story (and it's variation...
Harleian Genealogies
Early Welsh tradition knew of a Coel Hen (Coel the Old), a circa 4th century leader in Roman or Sub-Roman Britain and the progenitor of several kingly lines in the Hen Ogledd ("the Old North"), the Brittonic-speaking part of what is now northern England and southern Scotland. Coel Hen appears in the Harleian genealogies and the later pedigrees known as the Bonedd Gwŷr y Gogledd(The Descent of the Men of the North) at the head of several post-Roman royal families of the Hen Ogledd ("Old North"...
Colchester legend (12th century) and Saint Helen
By the 12th century, Coel had become attached to the "Colchester legend", which claimed Coel was a ruler of Colchester in Essex and the father of Saint Helena, and therefore the grandfather of Constantine the Great. The legend originated from a folk etymology indicating that Colchester was named for Coel (supposedly from "Coel" and "castrum", producing "fortress of Coel"). However, the city was actually known as Colneceaster until the n was dropped in around the 10th century; its name likely...
Geoffrey of Monmouth
In the mid-twelfth century, two works appeared which added to the legend: Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae. (History of the Kings of Britain) and Henry of Huntingdon's HIstoria Anglorum(History of England). In both of these works, King Coel of Colchester became the father of Empress Saint Helena, and therefore the grandfather of Constantine the Great. Diana Greenway notes that the passages are clearly related, even using some of the same words, but it is not clear which versio...
What Variations are there on his Name?
His name varies with the language in which it appears: 1. Coil (Old Welsh). He also appears as Coil Guotepauc (Cole the Protector) in Old Welsh. 2. Coel (Welsh). In the transition from Old Welsh, Coil Guotepauc becomes Coel Godebog (Cole the Protector). However, Charles-Edwards notes that some of the Harleian genealogies list Godebog as Coel's father. He also appears as Coel Hen (Coel the Old). 3. Coillus (Latin). In his Historia Regum Britanniae, Geoffrey of Monmouth shows the name both as C...
Was he the Old King Cole of Nursery Rhyme?
Coel Hen is believed to be the subject of the familiar nursery rhyme: 1. Old King Cole was a merry old soul 2. And a merry old soul was he. 3. He called for his pipe, 4. And he called for his bowl, 5. And he called for his fiddlers, three. However, in the Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, Opie and Opie note that ""Because there is said to have been a Prince Cole in the third century A.D.... it does not follow that the song 'Old (or Good) King Cole' dates back to that period, even in the un...
Development of the Legend
By the 12th century, Coel had become attached to the "Colchester legend", which claimed he was a ruler of Colchester in Essex and the father of Saint Helena, and therefore the grandfather of Constantine the Great. The legend originated from a folk etymology indicating that Colchester was named for Coel (supposedly from "Coel" and "castrum", producing "fortress of Coel"). However, the city was actually known as Colneceaster until the n was dropped in around the 10th century; its name likely co...
Whom did he marry?
Did he marry Seradvan? Did he marry Meric?
Did he have children?
Legendary Issue identified by Boyer Boyer identifies two children, both of them listed by Bartrum, but derived from legend: 1. Ceneu, born 382 2. Gwawl, who married Cunedda Wledig. born 388. Other issue linked on WikiTree 1. Trahaern, date unknown 2. Garbonian, born 390
The National CVMacQuarrie, Alan (1993). "The Kings of Strathclyde : c.400 - 1018". In Grant, A.; Stringer, K (eds.). Medieval Scotland : Crown, Lordship and Community : essays presented to G.W.S.Bar...Geoffrey of Monmouth. Historia Regum Brittaniae (History of the Kings of Britain.)Book 5 Chapter 6. Wikisource. Accessed 6/24/2019 jhdWikipedia: Coel_Hen Accessed 6/24/2019 jhd- Male
- Ystrafael Ferch Cadfan
Coel Hen (the Old) Coel's father is thus shown to have born the native Celtic name of Tegfan. In Latin, this becomes Tasciovanus, a name known to have been in use in Britain during pre-Roman times, at least amongst the Catuvellauni tribe.
Father King Coel ap Tegfan d. a 410 Mother Ystradwel ferch Gadeon2 Vala (Gwawl) married Cunedda 'the Great', King of North Wales, Duke of the Britains, son of Edeirn.
When Coel Hen Godebog ap Tegfan, Dux Britannia was born in 0219, in Northumbria, England, his father, Tegfan Tasciovanus ap Deheuwaint, was 20 and his mother, Wladysus Ferch Edenowen, was 19.
- Male
- Northumbria, England
When Saint Ceneu ap Coel III Hen was born about 0380, in Cumberland, England, his father, King Coel III Hen Godebog ap Guotepauc of Britannia, was 42 and his mother, Ystradwel verch Gadeon, was 34. He married Queen Generis verch Candalou in 0415, in Wales.
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Who is Coel Hen in Y Gododdin?
Pedigree report of King of Northern Britain Coel (Old King) Hen ap Tegfan, son of King of the Britons Meric and Julia of the Iceni, born in 0350 in Yorkshire, Prydain. Old King had a wife named Strada of Cambria and five children named Helen, Ceneu, Gwawl, Garbanion, Aiofe.