Keredic was a legendary king of the Britons, as recounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth

Geoffrey of Monmouth

Geoffrey of Monmouth was a cleric and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur...

. The origin of Geoffrey's character is unknown, but he is not depicted as a Saxon

Saxons

The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...

. According to Geoffrey, Keredic's rule was so unpopular that the Saxons enlisted the aid of an army of Vandals

Vandals

The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Vandals under king Genseric entered Africa in 429 and by 439 established a kingdom which included the Roman Africa province, besides the islands of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics....

 from Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 to drive him from his kingdom.

Geoffrey's legendary Keredic may have been a conflation of Cerdic

Cerdic of Wessex

Cerdic was probably the first King of Anglo-Saxon Wessex from 519 to 534, cited by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as the founder of the kingdom of Wessex and ancestor of all its subsequent kings...

, the traditional founder of Wessex, who, despite his political affiliation with the Saxons, was likely to be half-British himself, and another Cerdic, who reigned over the Celt

Celt

The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....

ic kingdom of Elmet

Elmet

Elmet was an independent Brythonic kingdom covering a broad area of what later became the West Riding of Yorkshire during the Early Middle Ages, between approximately the 5th century and early 7th century. Although its precise boundaries are unclear, it appears to have been bordered by the River...

 around present-day Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

 until his defeat at the hands of Edwin of Northumbria

Edwin of Northumbria

Edwin , also known as Eadwine or Æduini, was the King of Deira and Bernicia – which later became known as Northumbria – from about 616 until his death. He converted to Christianity and was baptised in 627; after he fell at the Battle of Hatfield Chase, he was venerated as a saint.Edwin was the son...

. Whatever the case, Geoffrey places a lengthy interregnum between the expulsion of Keredic and the rise of the next British king, Cadfan

Cadfan

Cadfan might refer to:* The Battle of Cadfan, fought between English and Welsh armies in 1257* Cadfan ap Iago, King of Gwynedd * Saint Cadfan, founder of a monastery on Bardsey Island...

.

Keredic should not be confused with Ceredig

Ceredig

Ceredig ap Cunedda, , king of Ceredigion, may have been born c. 420 AD in the Brythonic kingdom of Manaw Gododdin , centred on the Firth of Forth in the area known as Yr Hen Ogledd.Little is known of him...

, one of the sons of Cunedda

Cunedda

Cunedda ap Edern , was an important early Welsh leader, and the progenitor of the royal dynasty of Gwynedd.-Background and life:The name Cunedda derives from the Brythonic word , meaning good hound. His genealogy is traced back to Padarn Beisrudd, which literally translates as Paternus of the...

 and traditional founder of Ceredigion

Ceredigion

Ceredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...

.