Padarn Beisrudd
Encyclopedia
Padarn Beisrudd ap Tegid literally translates as Paternus of the Scarlet Robe, son of Tegid. His father may have borne the Roman
name of Tacitus. Padarn is believed to have been born in the early 4th century in the Old North (or Hen Ogledd
) of Roman Britain
. According to Old Welsh tradition, his grandson, Cunedda
certainly came from Manaw Gododdin
, the modern Clackmannanshire
region of Scotland
.
One traditional interpretation identifies Padarn as a Roman
(or Romano-British
) official of reasonably high rank who had been placed in command of Votadini
troops stationed in Clackmannanshire
in the 380s or earlier by the Emperor Magnus Maximus
. Alternatively, he may have been a frontier chieftain in the same region who was granted Roman military rank, a practice attested elsewhere along the empire's borders at the time.
His command in modern Scotland likely lasted till his death and was then assumed by his son Edern. Edern was the father of Cunedda
, founder of the Kingdom of Gwynedd
.
The coat of Padarn Redcoat is one of the Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain
.
The Life of Saint Padarn
contains a story about how King Arthur
tried to steal his tunic, which suggests a link or borrowing of a legend connected with Padarn Redcoat.
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
name of Tacitus. Padarn is believed to have been born in the early 4th century in the Old North (or Hen Ogledd
Hen Ogledd
Yr Hen Ogledd is a Welsh term used by scholars to refer to those parts of what is now northern England and southern Scotland in the years between 500 and the Viking invasions of c. 800, with particular interest in the Brythonic-speaking peoples who lived there.The term is derived from heroic...
) of Roman Britain
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
. According to Old Welsh tradition, his grandson, 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...
certainly came from Manaw Gododdin
Manaw Gododdin
Manaw Gododdin was the narrow coastal region on the south side of the Firth of Forth, part of the Brythonic-speaking Kingdom of Gododdin in the post-Roman Era. Its notability is as the homeland of Cunedda prior to his conquest of North Wales, and as the homeland of the heroic warriors in the...
, the modern Clackmannanshire
Clackmannanshire
Clackmannanshire, often abbreviated to Clacks is a local government council area in Scotland, and a lieutenancy area, bordering Perth and Kinross, Stirling and Fife.As Scotland's smallest historic county, it is often nicknamed 'The Wee County'....
region of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
One traditional interpretation identifies Padarn as a Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
(or Romano-British
Romano-British
Romano-British culture describes the culture that arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest of AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a people of Celtic language and...
) official of reasonably high rank who had been placed in command of Votadini
Votadini
The Votadini were a people of the Iron Age in Great Britain, and their territory was briefly part of the Roman province Britannia...
troops stationed in Clackmannanshire
Clackmannanshire
Clackmannanshire, often abbreviated to Clacks is a local government council area in Scotland, and a lieutenancy area, bordering Perth and Kinross, Stirling and Fife.As Scotland's smallest historic county, it is often nicknamed 'The Wee County'....
in the 380s or earlier by the Emperor Magnus Maximus
Magnus Maximus
Magnus Maximus , also known as Maximianus and Macsen Wledig in Welsh, was Western Roman Emperor from 383 to 388. As commander of Britain, he usurped the throne against Emperor Gratian in 383...
. Alternatively, he may have been a frontier chieftain in the same region who was granted Roman military rank, a practice attested elsewhere along the empire's borders at the time.
His command in modern Scotland likely lasted till his death and was then assumed by his son Edern. Edern was the father 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...
, founder of the Kingdom of Gwynedd
Kingdom of Gwynedd
Gwynedd was one petty kingdom of several Welsh successor states which emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, and later evolved into a principality during the High Middle Ages. It was based on the former Brythonic tribal lands of the Ordovices, Gangani, and the...
.
The coat of Padarn Redcoat is one of the Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain
Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain
The Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain are a series of items in late medieval Welsh tradition. Lists of the items appear in texts dating to the 15th and 16th centuries...
.
The Life of Saint Padarn
Padarn
Saint Padarn is the eponymous founder of St Padarn's Church. Llanbadarn Fawr, near present day Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales, in the early 6th century...
contains a story about how King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
tried to steal his tunic, which suggests a link or borrowing of a legend connected with Padarn Redcoat.
External links
- A suggested genealogy for him, tracing his origin to Lud son of HeliLud son of HeliLud , according to Geoffrey of Monmouth's legendary History of the Kings of Britain and related medieval texts, was a king of Britain in pre-Roman times. He was the eldest son of Geoffrey's King Heli, and succeeded his father to the throne. He was succeeded, in turn, by his brother Cassibelanus...
. - A timeline which places his term between 305 and 340