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Cadwaladr
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== Geoffrey of Monmouth == [[File:History of the Kings (f.104.v) Cadwaladr Fendigaid.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Cadwaladr depicted in a manuscript ([[Peniarth Manuscripts|Peniarth MS 23]]) of ''[[Brut y Brenhinedd]]'', the [[Welsh language|Welsh]] translation of Geoffrey's ''[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]'', dating from before the end of the 15th century<ref>{{Citation |url=https://www.llgc.org.uk/index.php?id=4887 |title=History of the Kings |publisher=National Library of Wales |access-date=26 February 2017}}</ref>]] Cadwaladr figures prominently in [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]]'s [[Romance (heroic literature)|romantic]] account of the ''[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]'' ({{langx|en|History of the Kings of Britain}}). As such, the Cadwaladr of Geoffrey is a literary invention that used the name of a historical person to advance the plot of the story. In Book XII, Chapter XIV of the ''Historia'', Cadwaladr is given as the last in a line of kings that began with [[Brutus of Troy]]. Chapters XV β XVIII have him leaving a depopulated Britain for [[Brittany]], where the British people have resettled. Britain itself has been almost emptied by plague; for eleven years the country was "completely abandoned by all the Britons" except for parts of Wales. Cadwaladr is received as a guest by [[Alain II Hir|Alan Hir]], King of Brittany. Taking advantage of the depopulation, the Saxons invite more of their countrymen to join them as soon as the plague abates. From this point, they become completely dominant in Britain, and the British come to be called the "Welsh". At the same time, in Brittany, Cadwaladr intends to return to take back the island and asks Alan to provide him with an army. The Breton king agrees, but Cadwaladr hears a prophetic voice which tells him that he must sacrifice personal power for the sake of his people. If he renounces the throne, his sacrifice will eventually lead to the restoration of British control of the island in the future, as predicted by [[Merlin]] to [[Vortigern]]: "the Voice added that, as a reward for its faithfulness, the British people would occupy the island again at some time in the future, once the appointed moment should come".<ref name = "nice">Nice, Jason A.; "Being "British" in Rome: The Welsh at the English College, 1578β1584", ''The Catholic Historical Review'', Volume: 92, Issue: 1, January 2006, p.1</ref><ref>{{harvcolnb|Giles|Thompson|1842}}</ref> Cadwaladr is told that if he lives a penitent life he will become a saint. His bones will be hidden to protect them. When his sacred bones are found and returned to Britain, the Britons (Welsh and Bretons) will be restored to full possession of their homeland. Cadwaladr and Alan then consult the prophecies of Merlin and rejoice that this prediction will be fulfilled in future. He then travels to [[Rome]] as a pilgrim, where he dies in 689 after meeting the pope. Thus Cadwaladr becomes a messianic figure who sacrifices himself to redeem his people and restore them to their promised homeland. Cadwaladr's penitence assures his sainthood. His son Ivor and his nephew Ynyr return to Britain with an army, but, as predicted, are not successful in restoring British control of the island. In another passage in the book a list of Merlin's prophesies contains the prediction: {{quote|Cadwallader shall summon Conan and make an alliance with Alban. Then there will be a great slaughter of the foreign-born and the rivers will flow with blood. Then the hills of Armorica [Brittany] will crumble and he will be crowned with the diadem of Brutus. Wales will be filled with joy and the oaks of Cornwall will flourish. The isle will be called by the name of Brutus and the occupation of foreigners will pass away.<ref name = mike>Faletra, Michael (ed); Geoffrey of Monmouth, ''History of the Kings of Britain'', Broadview Press, 2007 p. 134.</ref>}} This seems to correspond to the pairing of Cadwaladr and Conan as restorers of Britain in ''Armes Prydein''.<ref name = mike/> The merging of the Welsh and Breton peoples is linked to an alliance with "Alban" (which probably means Scotland: [[Alba]]). The occupation of the English will be at an end and Britain will be restored to its true identity as the territory of the descendants of [[Brutus of Troy]].
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