Owain Danwyn (floruit 440) was a king of Rhos in Gwynedd, North Wales, in the mid-5th century. He was the son of Einion Yrth ap Cunedda and the father of Cuneglasus, probably the Cuneglasus excoriated by Gildas. Very little is known of his life. Graham Phillips and Martin Keatman proposed a theory that he was the historical figure behind the legend of King Arthur.
History
Owain Danwyn (
Old Welsh Dantguin, also spelled Ddanwyn, Ddantgwyn, etc., meaning "White Tooth"), is known from several medieval genealogies of the kings of Rhos. Most of these concur that he was the son of Einion Yrth ap Cunedda and grandson of
Cunedda, founder of the Gwynedd dynasty in
North Wales.
His brother was Cadwallon Lawhir ap Einion, known from the Gwynedd pedigrees.
Owain was the father of
Cuneglasus, who is identified with the prince named Cuneglasus who
Gildas castigated for his various sins in
De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae. According to the
Bonedd y Saint, a genealogy of British saints, Owain was also the father of the saints
Einion Frenin,
Seiriol and
Meirion, and in some versions,
Hawystl Gloff.
[
]
According to Gildas, Maelgwn Gwynedd, the son of Owain's brother Cadwallon, took the throne of Gwynedd by murdering an uncle. Peter Bartrum suggests this may have been Owain, though he notes that Gildas' term avunculus typically refers to a maternal uncle.
Arthurian identification
Writers Graham Phillips and Martin Keatman proposed that Owain Danwyn was the historical basis for the legendary King Arthur. This theory is based partly on their interpretation of the British power structure in the 5th century and interpretations of names and epithets associated with Owain's family. According to Phillips and Keatman, "Arthur" was Owain's honorific title, meaning "Bear", and his capital was Viroconium in Shropshire, England.[Graham Phillips and Martin Keatman; King Arthur: The True Story, Century, 1992.]
Charles T. Wood commented that their thesis lacked conclusive proof but noted that their book was "always accurate in its use of sources and seldom wildly farfetched in the conclusions it draws".
See also
-
Family tree of Welsh monarchs
