POD : Julius Caesar falls into the Rubicon and dies, 49 BCE.
“Some talk of Alexander, and some of Hercules,
Of Hector and Lysander, and such great names as these.
But of all the world's great heroes, there's none that can equate,
To that Celt of old, Ysgawyn the bold, who made Brydain great!”
Nearly every nation has one, supreme warrior hero. For Brydain and the other Celtic nations that hero is Ysgawyn, who in the 1st Century CE not only kept the island of his birth from assimilation into the mighty Roman Empire but by a combination of generalship and diplomacy brought together many Celtic tribes and welded them into one nation. By today’s standards, Ysgawyn was a fierce and often bloodthirsty General who is reputed to have said before the decisive battle against the Romans in 46 CE, “May the Gods have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't.” Whether he said those words, his ferocious and brutal treatment of the invaders, both during and after the battle, led to few of the estimated 40,000 Romans escaping back to Gaul. The Roman commander, Lucius Calidus, surrendered to Ysgawyn only to be flayed alive and his skin said to have become a trophy on a wall in Ysgawyn’s fort.
But from the poets of old to the film makers of today, the preferred the image is one of a clean cut saviour of his people. In the most recent example we have the actor Melwyn Ysgyb conducting battles and his treatment of prisoners almost to the terms of the Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch Convention. The ascension to near godlike status appears to have arisen around the 6th Century, which is the first time we find the story that he did not die but was carried far away to the west over the ocean by the goddess Uathach and that he would return should his beloved Brydain ever be in mortal danger.
The ‘Beloved General’ Ysgawyn and his wife Boudicca carried great influence and made, or caused to be made, many political and social changes that led not only to the creation of the first true Celtic nation state but also to the growth of scholarship. Ysgawyn also urged the creation of a navy, a policy strenuously pursued by his son Pryderi.
The legend of Ysgawyn was strong enough in the 13th Century for the Celtic discoverers of the New World to name the continent Ysgawynia, although perhaps also partly because of the legend that the warrior was carried westwards at the end of his life. On that continent the modern Celtic Kingdom of Breanainn’s capital city is, of course, called Ysgawyndinas (or by some traditionalists ‘Dinas Ysgawyn’) in his honour.
Timeline and Major Battles:
(Note: letters and numbers in brackets = key to map)
? 30-20 BCE – Panon (father of Ysgawyn) in Roman Empire, returns with renegade Roman General Manius Rutilus, attempts to unify certain Celtic factions and introduce disciplined military practices, with some success particularly in the territory of the Trinovantes, where he settles.
? 10 BCE – Ysgawyn born near Canewdon in the land of the Trinovantes
? 10 CE
(A) Ysgawyn leads Trinovantes to victory against the Cantii. Cantii pledge allegiance to the Trinovantes
? 12 CE
(B) Cantii renege on pledge, various attacks on Trinovantian merchants etc. Ysgawyn leads Trinovantes to second, comprehensive, victory against the Cantii. Cantii lands incorporated into Trinovantes
? 21 CE
(C) First battle against the Atrebate, Ysgawyn and Trinovantes victorious
? 21 CE
(D) Second battle (4 weeks after the first) against the Atrebate, Ysgawyn and Trinovantes again victorious. Atrebate lands incorporated into Trinovantes
25-29 CE Unrest and uprisings in the now expanded Trinovantes kingdom. Put down bloodily and with subsequent reprisals by Ysgawyn, who is now regarded by many as more powerful than Cunobelyn, the King.
31 CE Esuprasto, King of the Iceni, leads his people into Union with the Trinovantes. New kingdom named Brydain, thought by some scholars to be a Celtic adaptation of the Latin ‘Britannia’.
33 CE
(E) Ysgawyn leads Brydainians to victory over Catuvellauni
35-36 CE Durotiges & Dumnonii form alliance against Brydain
35 CE
(F) Ysgawyn leads Brydainians to victory in first battle against the alliance in Duritoges, but he is seriously wounded
35 CE
(G) The alliance defeats the Brydainians in second battle where Ysgawyn commands but does not take part due to his wounds
36 CE
(H) &
(I) 7 months later, Ysgawyn leads Brydainians to victory in two battles separated by 17 days. Lands of the defeated Duritoges and Dumnonii incorporated into Brydain.
36-43 CE Fears of Roman invasion grow. Ysgawyn persuades Brydain rulers to form a standing army.
44 CE Ysgawyn marries Boudicca, a noblewoman of the Iceni
43 CE – (1) Third Roman invasion, led by Aulus Plautius. Romans met by Brydainians under Ysgawyn. No clear victory but Romans failed to progress beyond a narrow beachhead and retired after 10 days.
46 CE –
(2) Fourth Roman invasion, led by Lucius Calidus. Secured beaches, but comprehensively defeated some 11 kilometres inland by Ysgawyn and the Brydainians. Remnant of the Roman forces withdrew to Gaul, last Roman attempt to bring Brydain into the Empire.
50 CE
(J) Ysgawyn leads Brydainians to victory over Coritani
50 CE
(K) Ysgawyn continues march northwards, engaging and narrowly defeating the Parisi
52 CE
(L) Following numerous border raids by the Silures, Ysgawyn’s forces march west and crush the Silures
56 CE
(M) Ysgawyn’s last campaign. Now in his 60s, he marches his armies to the north west where the Deceangli are defeated
66 CE Death of Ysgawyn.