A Very Old Celtic Name

      In the translator's note by Wm R Cooper to Brut y Bryttaniait [The Chronicle of the Early Britons] he writes, "Welsh texts of any century present the English translator with a problem or two concerning personal and place names..."  He continues, "At the best of times, English readers find Welsh names impossibly difficult to pronounce and the immediate task is always to render the names so that the English reader will not constantly trip over them."

      Man, can you say that again. I've done a lot of tripping in my days of tree climbing. You can judge for yourself from the last post how one name can be written many different ways even when written in Welsh. Anyway, the son of Kadvarch (JA-1) is given such a simple name, Ynyr (JB-1), but it has a long, long story. 

      The earliest listing of this name is around 510 A.D., and Mike Ashley in his book (see post 20th February) on page 124 writes "Honorius is a name recorded as a ruler in Caerwent in southern Gwent, also known in Celtic as Ynyr." Wow, a Celtic name while the folks were still speaking P-Celtic. 

      Now a second listing is found in the very text that begins this post. At the last page of this translation it reads : "And Kadwallader sent Yvor, his son, and Ynyr, his nephew,...". Historically, this Kadwallader was involved with a Saxon named Penda sometime around the battle of Chester 613 A.D. A little further down this page it continues: "And Yvor, son of Kadwallader, and Ynyr his nephew, mustered a mighty army and brought them to the land of Britain where they waged war against the Saxons for twenty-eight years." The reference is Cooper, W.R., The Chronicle of the Early Britons - Brut y Bryttanialt- according to Jesus College MS LXI, an annotated translation, 2008.

      A third reference is found in The Welsh Triads or Trioedd Ynys Prydein. These triads are described as a mixed collection of triadic sayings that recount personages, events, or places in Welsh history. Triad xliii titled "Three Lively Steeds of the Island of Britain" gives the third horse "...and Roan Cloved-Hoof, horse of Iddon son of Ynyr Gwent". This may be a reference to the earliest Ynyr listed above as he was living in southern Gwent. There must have been reasons to remember this Celtic name.

      Anyway, after all this research into this Celtic name, a deep appreciation was realized to this ancestor who was given this name at his birth. A very old Celtic name it is.