Sawyl Penuchel
Encyclopedia
Sawyl Penuchel or Ben Uchel ("high-head", "arrogant"), also known as Samuil Penisel ("low-head", "humble"), was a British
king of the sub-Roman
period, who appears in old Welsh
genealogies and the Welsh Triads
.
The genealogies, in which he appears under both epithets, make him the son of Pabo Post Prydain
, a descendant of Coel Hen, the presumed king of the Old North
. John Morris
locates Sawyl in the south Pennines
area (the modern Peak District
, a name which may date from its settlement by the Anglian
Pecset). He is listed as one of the 'Three Arrogant Men of the Island of Britain' in the Welsh Triads.
Other genealogies say he was the father of St. Asaph
. Elis Gruffydd's Chronicle says that his daughter married Maelgwn Gwynedd. An Irish genealogy says that a "Samuel Chendisel" married Deichter, daughter of Muiredach Muinderg, the king of Ulster, and they had two sons: Sanctan, who became bishop of Cil-dá-les and founded Kilnasantan in County Dublin, and Matóc Ailithir. The Irish Liber Hymnorum confirms that both Sanctan and Matóc came to Ireland from Britain.
According to the Welsh Life of Saint Cadoc
, a king named Sawyl Penuchel held court at Allt Cunedda near Kidwelly
in Carmarthenshire
. Cadoc pursued Sawyl's warband after they stole food from Llancarfan Abbey. He found them sleeping under a tree and cut off their hair, before fleeing to a nearby bog. When Sawyl and his men gave chase, they all drowned in the bog.. Whether this is the same king, having fled to Wales after his northern kingdom was overrun by the Saxons, a different man of the same name, or simply an error by the composer of the Life, is unclear. This Sawyl was supposedly buried in nearby mound known as Banc Benuchel. A body was excavated there in 1850, covered with a hexagonal stone imitating a battle-shield.
Geoffrey of Monmouth
, in his History of the Kings of Britain
(1136), uses the name Samuil Penessil for a legendary pre-Roman king of Britain, preceded by Redechius
and succeeded by Pir
.
Britons (historical)
The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
king of the sub-Roman
Sub-Roman Britain
Sub-Roman Britain is a term derived from an archaeological label for the material culture of Britain in Late Antiquity: the term "Sub-Roman" was invented to describe the potsherds in sites of the 5th century and the 6th century, initially with an implication of decay of locally-made wares from a...
period, who appears in old Welsh
Old Welsh language
Old Welsh is the label attached to the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from the British language around 550, has been called "Primitive Welsh".Many poems and some prose...
genealogies and the Welsh Triads
Welsh Triads
The Welsh Triads are a group of related texts in medieval manuscripts which preserve fragments of Welsh folklore, mythology and traditional history in groups of three. The triad is a rhetorical form whereby objects are grouped together in threes, with a heading indicating the point of likeness...
.
The genealogies, in which he appears under both epithets, make him the son of Pabo Post Prydain
Pabo Post Prydain
Pabo Post Prydain was a king somewhere in the Hen Ogledd or Old North of sub-Roman Britain.According to the Old Welsh genealogies of British Library, Harleian MS 3859, he was a son of Cenau ap Coel Hen...
, a descendant of Coel Hen, the presumed king of the Old North
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...
. John Morris
John Morris (historian)
John Robert Morris was an English historian who specialised in the study of the institutions of the Roman Empire and the history of Sub-Roman Britain...
locates Sawyl in the south Pennines
Pennines
The Pennines are a low-rising mountain range, separating the North West of England from Yorkshire and the North East.Often described as the "backbone of England", they form a more-or-less continuous range stretching from the Peak District in Derbyshire, around the northern and eastern edges of...
area (the modern Peak District
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....
, a name which may date from its settlement by the Anglian
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
Pecset). He is listed as one of the 'Three Arrogant Men of the Island of Britain' in the Welsh Triads.
Other genealogies say he was the father of St. Asaph
Saint Asaph
Saint Asaph was, in the second half of the 6th century, the first or second Bishop of St Asaph, i.e. bishop of the diocese of Saint Asaph, the Welsh See now of that name.-Biography:...
. Elis Gruffydd's Chronicle says that his daughter married Maelgwn Gwynedd. An Irish genealogy says that a "Samuel Chendisel" married Deichter, daughter of Muiredach Muinderg, the king of Ulster, and they had two sons: Sanctan, who became bishop of Cil-dá-les and founded Kilnasantan in County Dublin, and Matóc Ailithir. The Irish Liber Hymnorum confirms that both Sanctan and Matóc came to Ireland from Britain.
According to the Welsh Life of Saint Cadoc
Cadoc
Saint Cadoc , Abbot of Llancarfan, was one of the 6th century British Christian saints. His vita twice mentions King Arthur. The Abbey of Llancarfan, near Cowbridge in Glamorganshire, which he founded circa 518, became famous as a centre of learning...
, a king named Sawyl Penuchel held court at Allt Cunedda near Kidwelly
Kidwelly
Kidwelly is a town in Carmarthenshire, west Wales, approximately north-west of the main town of Llanelli.It lies on the River Gwendraeth Fach above Carmarthen Bay. The town is twinned with French village St Jacut de la Mer.-History:...
in Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
. Cadoc pursued Sawyl's warband after they stole food from Llancarfan Abbey. He found them sleeping under a tree and cut off their hair, before fleeing to a nearby bog. When Sawyl and his men gave chase, they all drowned in the bog.. Whether this is the same king, having fled to Wales after his northern kingdom was overrun by the Saxons, a different man of the same name, or simply an error by the composer of the Life, is unclear. This Sawyl was supposedly buried in nearby mound known as Banc Benuchel. A body was excavated there in 1850, covered with a hexagonal stone imitating a battle-shield.
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...
, in his History of the Kings of Britain
Historia Regum Britanniae
The Historia Regum Britanniae is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written c. 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the kings of the Britons in a chronological narrative spanning a time of two thousand years, beginning with the Trojans founding the British nation...
(1136), uses the name Samuil Penessil for a legendary pre-Roman king of Britain, preceded by Redechius
Redechius
Redechius was a legendary king of the Britons according to Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain . He was preceded by Redon and succeeded by Samuil Penissel....
and succeeded by Pir
Pir of the Britons
Pir was a legendary king of the Britons according to Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain. He was preceded by Samuil Penissel, and succeeded by Capoir....
.