Gogfran Gawr, Father-in-Law of King Arthur
Gogfran Gawr was one of the fathers-in-law of King Arthur in the Arthurian legends. He was the father of one of Arthur’s queens. It would appear that his daughter was the most prominent queen that Arthur had. What do we know about Gogfran? What are the sources that mentioned him? And was he a real person?
Who Was Gogfran Gawr?
In the Welsh Arthurian legends, King Arthur was reported to have had three wives. Each one of them was supposedly called ‘Gwenhwyfar’. It is likely that this was a throne name rather than a personal name. Gogfran Gawr was the father of one of these queens. As such, he was one of three fathers-in-law of King Arthur.
Gogfran appeared in a variety of different sources. Of all the fathers-in-law of King Arthur, he appears to have been the most prominent, at least among later Welsh poets and historians.
Gogfran’s first notable appearance is in the Welsh Triads. This is a medieval collection of traditions mainly focused on the Arthurian period, with items such as people and events grouped into threes. One entry speaks of the three queens of Arthur. Each one is named Gwenhwyfar. The last entry reads:
“Gwenhwyfar daughter of Gogfran Gawr.”
Therefore, the Welsh Triads introduce us to this father-in-law of King Arthur. However, he also appears in various other records. He seems to have been much more famous than any of the other fathers-in-law of Arthur, based on the references to him in literature and the number of places that were named after him.
Gogfran’s Name and Epithet
As seen from that quotation from the Welsh Triads, the epithet of Gogfran was ‘Gawr’. This word means ‘giant’. Therefore, Gogfran was known as Gogfran the Giant.
A far more complex issue is Gogfran’s personal name. In this article, we will use the form ‘Gogfran’. However, many other modern sources use the form ‘Ogfran’. What is the basis for this difference?
Quite simply, the various manuscripts that mention this figure employ a huge variety of spellings, and scholars are unsure which spelling is the correct one. Variant spellings of his name include:
Ogyrvan
Ocuran
Ogvran
Gogvran
Gogran
As we can see, some of these forms include a ‘v’ or ‘f’ before the ‘r’, while others place it afterwards. The ‘u’ in the form ‘Ocuran’ could stand for a ‘v’ as well, although it could have simply been misinterpreted as such, leading to the other spellings.
The Original Spelling of the Name of Gogfran
It is also noteworthy that the spelling ‘Ogyrvan’ includes a ‘y’ after the ‘g’. This supports the suggestion that the ‘u’ in ‘Ocuran’ was not meant to represent a ‘v’ after all. It may, in fact, be a variant of the ‘y’ in ‘Ogyrvan’ (compare the variant spellings ‘Gwythyr’ and ‘Withur’ for another example of the exchange between ‘u’ and ‘y’).
The spelling ‘Gogran’ also supports the absence of the letter ‘v’ or ‘f’. Given that ‘Ocuran’ appears to be the earliest attested spelling, while ‘Ogyrfan’ is also early, it seems reasonable to conclude that the ‘v’ or ‘f’ is a later intrusion that has resulted from a misinterpretation of the ‘u’.
Likely, something like ‘Oguran’ or ‘Ogyran’ better reflects the original spelling, rather than ‘Ogfran’ as is commonly used.
Regarding the first letter, it is much easier for existing letters on the beginning of a name to be dropped than for extra letters to be added. There are numerous examples of names being written without their first letter. The reverse, on the other hand, is very rare.
The fact that Gogfran’s name most commonly appears as a patronymic rather than a name in isolation may have also contributed to the disappearance of the first letter.
Therefore, it seems far more likely that this figure’s name originally had a ‘G’ on the beginning than concluding that this ‘G’ was added by mistake.
In conclusion, this would mean that the most likely original spelling of this figure’s name was something like ‘Goguran’ or ‘Gogyran’.
Gogfran’s Career
What do we know about Gogfran’s career? Unfortunately, despite being mentioned various times in Welsh literature, we know very little about him, especially in the sense of his career and activities. However, there is some information about where he was based.
Gogfran’s Royal Court
A sixteenth century manuscript, Peniarth MS 118, stated that Gogfran lived at Aberysgyr in Brycheiniog. Today, this is Aberyscir in the county of Powys. It is in the far south of that county, close to the Brecon Beacons. Interestingly, just next to Aberyscir, on the other side of the River Yscir, there is the Brecon Gaer Roman Fort. This was one of the largest forts in Wales.
It is tempting to suppose that this may have been the residence of Gogfran. Since his daughter is recorded as marrying King Arthur, it stands to reason that Gogfran himself was at least a relatively prominent figure. He would surely have been a king as well.
Therefore, it is entirely plausible that the Roman fort next to Aberyscir was used by Gogfran as part of his royal court. There is evidence that it was repaired as recently as the fourth century, in c. 367. The latest Roman coin found within it is from the reign of Gratian – presumably the troops were withdrawn during Magnus Maximus’ usurpation in 383.
Apparently, there is evidence of continued occupation of some kind right up until the end of the Roman period. While there is no definite evidence of occupation in the sixth century, it is entirely possible that it was reused by Gogfran. Even if it was not used as a residence, it would have been a powerful stronghold in times of attack, being just next to Gogfran’s alleged residence at Aberyscir.
A Royal Court Near Oswestry
Aberyscir is far from the only place associated with Gogfran. Much further north in the medieval kingdom of Powys, the eighteenth century Welsh writer Thomas Pennant recorded something interesting about a ‘fine military post’ about a mile from Oswestry (near the modern border between England and Wales, in what is now Shropshire).
Thomas Pennant stated that this military post was known in antiquity as Caer Ogyrfan. This is clearly named after the father-in-law of King Arthur.
Interestingly, this location is not too far from Llandrinio Church, where Arthur’s son Llacheu is alleged to have been buried.
The evidence that Gogfran was associated with not just the south of Powys but also a place much further to the north of that kingdom suggests that he was a king of Powys. He cannot have been the king of the entire kingdom, since he does not appear in any king lists of genealogies of the Powysian kings.
Most likely, Gogfran was a subking within the kingdom of Powys. His overking would likely have been Brochwel Ysgithrog, or possibly that king’s father, Cyngen Glodrydd.
Another Royal Court
Another location apparently named after Gogfran was mentioned by the Welsh poet Hugh Derfel Hughes in the nineteenth century. He mentioned a series of forts from Penmaenmawr to Maen Melyn, Lleyn. One of the forts mentioned between these two sites is a certain Caer Gogyrfan.
Penmaenmawr is in North Wales, while Maen Melyn, Lleyn, is in the far south. It thus appears that this series of places covers a broad geographical range, essentially all of Wales from the north to the south. That being the case, it seems that Caer Gogyrfan would presumably have been somewhere around Mid Wales, although somewhat to the north given its placement in the list.
It is possible that this is supposed to be the same as the Caer Ogyrfan mentioned by Thomas Pennant. However, given the difference in spelling and the uncertainty about the location mentioned by Hugh Derfel Hughes, we cannot be sure about this.
Knucklas Castle
William Dugdale, in the seventeenth century, wrote a work entitled Monasticon Anglicanum. There, he mentioned a location called Kayrogheren within the Radnorshire estates of Cwm Hir Abbey. Peter Bartrum suggested that this was the old name for Knucklas Castle, on the eastern border of mid-Powys.
This supports the suggestion that Gogfran was a king who had rule over a wide portion of Powys, while not being the high king of the kingdom.
Interestingly, William of Worcester referred to King Arthur in association with Knucklas Castle in the fifteenth century. In the following century, John David Rhys recorded a tradition that King Arthur had married Gwenhwyfar daughter of ‘Cogfrann Gawr’ at Knucklas Castle.
Therefore, Welsh tradition is strong that Gogfran the father of one of Arthur’s queens was associated with this location. The fact that it is where Arthur allegedly married Gwenhwyfar may suggest that it was Gogfran’s primary royal court. Its centralised position in Powys between the other two royal courts supports this view.
Interestingly, there is evidence that Knucklas Castle was also recorded as having the name Castell Pendragon. This is likely another trace of the Arthurian connection to this site.
When Did Gogfran Live?
The fact that Gogfran was the father-in-law of King Arthur means that he was obviously a contemporary of the king. Presumably, he was of the generation above him. However, given that Arthur had three wives, the reality is not necessarily as simple as that.
Arthur could have married each of the three Gwenhwyfars at completely different stages of his reign. By the time he got to his final wife, for example, he could have been quite old, while his new wife was likely to be at least young enough to bear children.
Therefore, it is entirely possible that Gogfran was actually younger than his own son-in-law. What does the evidence from Welsh tradition indicate?
Three Groups of Children
Firstly, it is helpful to divide King Arthur’s recorded children into three different groups. This enables us to divide the three Gwenhwyfars by chronology, which in turn will help us to establish when Gogfran must have lived.
A detailed analysis of the information about King Arthur’s children from Welsh tradition strongly suggests that Gwydre was his eldest. Amhar, likewise, appears to have been born not long afterwards. These two children would therefore have logically been the sons of Arthur’s first wife.
Duran and Llacheu were evidently born much later. Llacheu, for example, was described as a youth at his death, which was almost certainly just prior to the Battle of Camlann near the end of Arthur’s reign. Duran appears to have been not very much older than Llacheu. These would logically have been the sons of Arthur’s second wife.
Finally, we find evidence of Arthur having very late children, right at the end of his reign, such as the traditions we see preserved in Le Petit Bruit of 1309 and in Scottish records. These children were allegedly Adeluf, Morgan, Patrick, and Smerbe, although Morgan and Smerbe were almost certainly the same. These would logically have been the children of Arthur’s final wife.
Which Wife Was the Daughter of Gogfran?
If we could establish which of these wives was the daughter of Gogfran Gawr, this would help us to establish roughly when he must have lived.
Regarding the final wife, the evidence from Scottish tradition concerning Smerbe (evidently Morgan from the tradition in Le Petit Bruit) clearly points towards her being Gwenhwyfar the daughter of Gwythyr. She is implied to have married Arthur in Scotland, yet her father is called the king of France.
The only one of Arthur’s fathers-in-law associated with either of these locations is Gwythyr, and he is in fact associated with both of those locations. Therefore, this final wife was almost certainly the daughter of Gwythyr. She seems to have married Arthur in the aftermath of the Battle of Camlann (for Welsh tradition strongly supports the conclusion that Arthur actually outlived that battle by several years, although it left him in need of an heir).
The Father of Arthur’s Second Wife
Therefore, Gogfran must have been the father of either the first or second of Arthur’s wives. While the evidence is not as clear as it is in the case of his final wife, there is good reason to conclude that Arthur’s second wife was the daughter of Gogfran. The evidence is as follows:
For one thing, there is the simple fact that Gwenhwyfar daughter of Gogfran appears to have been the most famous of all three queens. It stands to reason that the most famous Gwenhwyfar would be the one who was associated with Arthur throughout the central part of his reign, rather than right near the beginning or right near the end.
In Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae, written in c. 1137, we find the first full account of Arthur’s career. However, even this ‘full’ account completely skips the early part of Arthur’s career, jumping right into his battles against the Saxons.
The fact that Geoffrey just skips about two decades of Arthur’s life is evident from the fact that Arthur’s nephew Hoel, the son of his sister, is presented as an adult warrior king at the time of those battles.
This shows that it was not the early part of Arthur’s career which was best remembered. Rather, it was the middle portion of his career that made the biggest impact in surviving tradition. Therefore, in the absence of any other indication, it makes sense that the most famous Gwenhwyfar would be the one who was with him during that middle portion.
Explicitly supporting this is the fact that Geoffrey records Arthur’s marriage to Guinevere as occurring just after his Saxon battles. This is about the time in which the evidence from Arthur’s children suggests he married his second wife.
Since this is the wife mentioned by Geoffrey, this would logically be the most prominent of the Gwenhwyfars from Welsh tradition, the daughter of Gogfran.
Supporting Evidence from a Welsh Translation
After Geoffrey’s landmark Historia Regum Britanniae was published, several Welsh translations of it were produced. One of these is known as the Cleopatra version.
In the account of King Arthur’s marriage to Guinevere just after his Saxon wars, this version explicitly calls her ‘Gwenhwyuar verch Ogvran Gawr’.
The other versions do not provide any parentage for her. Therefore, the available evidence agrees that the Gwenhwyfar whom Arthur married just after his Saxon wars (his second wife) was the daughter of Gogfran Gawr.
Supporting Evidence from Llacheu
Another piece of supporting evidence for this conclusion is the probable connection between Gogfran and Llacheu referred to earlier. Welsh tradition indicates that Llacheu was mortally wounded at the Battle of Llongborth in the prelude to the Battle of Camlann.
It seems that Llacheu finally succumbed to his wounds near Llanymynech on the Powys/Shropshire border, where he was then buried at Llandrinio Church. Not too far away is one of the sites named after Gogfran. On this basis, it could be suggested that the reason he was taken to that spot in particular is because it was near his grandfather.
If Gogfran was the grandfather of Llacheu, this means that Gogfran must have been the father of Arthur’s middle wife, since Llacheu was a youth at the time of the Battle of Camlann.
While this is not definitive evidence, it does lean more towards this conclusion than any alternative.
Supporting Evidence from the Welsh Triads
Another piece of supporting evidence comes from the Welsh Triads. This one is more direct. Triad number 53, known as the Three Sinister Hard Slaps of the Island of Britain, claims that the Battle of Camlann was caused by a conflict between Gwenhwyfar and her sister Gwenhwyfach, elsewhere presented as the lover of Mordred.
This is apparently a distorted memory of Gwenhwyfar turning against Arthur and joining Mordred, as evidenced by other pieces of tradition.
In any case, it was this Gwenhwyfar who was associated with Arthur at the time the Battle of Camlann took place, which would thus be the second of his three wives.
This being the case, it is very notable that at least two manuscripts of the Welsh Triads explicitly call this queen the daughter of Gogfran Gawr. In contrast, there are no versions of the Welsh Triads which call her the daughter of either of Arthur’s other two fathers-in-law.
Thus, the evidence from the Welsh Triads directly supports the conclusion that Arthur’s second queen was the one who was the daughter of Gogfran.
As we have seen, all the available evidence agrees that Gogfran’s daughter Gwenhwyfar was indeed the second wife of King Arthur. In other words, Gogfran was evidently the grandfather of Duran and Llacheu.
The Chronology of Gogfran Gawr
With this conclusion now well established, what does this reveal about when Gogfran lived? Well, his daughter was evidently of child-bearing age when she married King Arthur. She may have been very young, perhaps as young as fifteen, but she was likely not older than thirty at the time of the marriage.
This would mean that she was probably born between fifteen and thirty years before the Battle of Badon. Her father, Gogfran, in turn would have probably been about twenty-five years old at the time of his daughter’s birth, although he could realistically have been as young as twenty or as old as forty.
Therefore, Gogfran could have been born anywhere between thirty-five to seventy years prior to Arthur’s climactic battle against the Saxons.
Taking the halfway point between that range, we can see that Gogfran was probably about the same age as Arthur himself.
Absolute Dates for Gogfran Gawr
Now that we have established Gogfran’s relative dates, what about his absolute dates? Of course, this depends on the date of the Battle of Badon. One of the earliest explicit pieces of chronological information concerning this battle comes from the Historia Brittonum.
The account of Arthur’s twelve battles against the Saxons (Badon being the last) concludes with the following words:
“In all these engagements the Britons were successful. For no strength can avail against the will of the Almighty. The more the Saxons were vanquished, the more they sought for new supplies of Saxons from Germany; so that kings, commanders, and military bands were invited over from almost every province. And this practice they continued till the reign of Ida.”
According to this, the Saxons being defeated during these engagements incited them to bring more soldiers over from the continent. This is stated to have continued until the reign of Ida. Therefore, the obvious implication is that these twelve engagements against the Saxons continued until Ida’s reign.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle tells us that Ida’s reign started in 547. Hence, it would appear that (at least based on this early source) the Battle of Badon occurred in about the middle of the sixth century. Welsh poetry and other tradition are also consistent with this.
Hence, this would mean that Gogfran was probably born in approximately the year 500.
Was Gogfran a Real Person?
Now we come to the question of whether or not Gogfran Gawr was a real person. There are two aspects to this issue. The first is a potential objection to his historicity, and the second is the issue of whether there is any evidence actively supporting his historicity.
Potential Objection
The first issue that needs addressing is the fact that Gogfran is given the epithet ‘Gawr’. As we saw earlier, this means ‘giant’. Does this mean, then, that Gogfran was just a mythical or folkloric character?
The simple fact is that there are a variety of characters in the medieval British legends who are called ‘Gawr’, even though they are recognised as historical figures. One example is Idris ap Gwyddno, a historical prince of the line of Meirionydd recorded as dying in 632 in the Annales Cambriae.
In at least one genealogical record, this Idris is referred to as Idris Gawr.
Another example is Rhita Gawr, a giant said to have been killed by Arthur early in his reign in North Wales. He is very probably Domangart Reti of Dal Riada, an Irish king who died in the early sixth century.
There are also innumerable examples of historical figures being associated with legendary or even mythical traits and characteristics.
Therefore, there is no issue with Gogfran being a historical figure simply because he was often given the epithet ‘Gawr’. It may well reflect a folktale in which he was a giant, but it may also simply be due to him having been a very large person. Similarly, various Welsh figures from this general time period are given the epithet ‘Hir’, meaning ‘the Tall’.
Evidence Actively Supporting His Historicity
Now that we have addressed this potential objection, let us consider evidence actively supporting his existence.
Firstly, let us review what we have established about Gogfran so far. He seems to have been born in approximately the year 500. He was the father of Arthur’s second wife, whose name ‘Gwenhwyfar’ was almost certainly a throne name. This second wife was the one who was with Arthur between the Battle of Badon through to the time of the Battle of Camlann. Finally, Gogfran’s original name seems to have been something like ‘Goguran’.
With this information in mind, it is very likely that we can identify Gogfran with a figure who appeared in a document known as the Life of St Cadoc. This was written in the late eleventh century, and is thus a valuable pre-Galfridian source.
In this account, we find the following passage:
“Maelgwn was a great king of the Britons, who ruled the whole of Britannia, from which there was paid to him annually one hundred cows from each pagus with as many calves, of whatever kind he might choose, namely, either males or females, not willingly, but by force. And so the taxgatherers of king Maelgwn came to collect tribute to Gwynlliog, and they seized a very handsome girl, Abalcem by name, daughter of Guiragon, a prefect of saint Cadog, and bore her away with them.”
According to this narrative, Maelgwn’s forces came down to Glamorgan (formerly known as Glywysing) in South Wales and kidnapped a beautiful woman named Abalcem, daughter of a certain Guiragon.
When Is This Account Set?
This passage is set in the time in which Maelgwn was a prominent king of Britain. Rachel Bromwich pointed out that the earliest chronological evidence concerning Maelgwn suggests that he was a late-sixth century king.
However, it is also noteworthy that David is mentioned as one of the witnesses to the agreement made at the end of this conflict later on this passage of the Life of St Cadoc. Since the account is set in the southeast of Wales, this suggests that it occurred before David had moved to Menevia in the southwest corner of the country.
David seems to have permanently established himself in that area after the Synod of Brefi, which was in c. 560. However, in view of Maelgwn’s dates, it cannot have been much before that at all. Therefore, it is likely that it was more or less in 560, shortly before David moved to Menevia.
This would therefore be set about twelve or thirteen years after the marriage between Arthur and the second Gwenhwyfar, the daughter of Gogfran. She would therefore have been Arthur’s wife at the time this event occurred.
Maelgwn’s Connection to the Arthurian Legends
There is reason to believe that the Guiragon mentioned in this account is identical to Gogfran – that is, Goguran.
The reason to come to this conclusion is that Maelgwn’s kidnapping of Guiragon’s daughter appears to correspond to Lancelot’s kidnapping of Gogfran’s daughter (that is, Guinevere).
There are many substantial similarities between Maelgwn and Lancelot. These strongly suggest that Lancelot was not an original creation of the medieval French writers. Rather, as a number of scholars have argued, the character of Lancelot was simply a French version of Maelgwn, a historical figure who was already well established in the Arthurian legends.
The French medieval writers evidently misinterpreted (or perhaps reinterpreted) Maelgwn’s kingdom of Gwynedd in Wales as being the kingdom of Vannes in Brittany, France. The spelling of both kingdoms in Old Welsh and Breton are virtually identical.
Since there is good evidence that Maelgwn was the direct inspiration for the character of Lancelot, it is significant that Lancelot is said fairly early on to have engaged in a conflict with Arthur. This conflict involves Lancelot running off with Arthur’s wife Guinevere.
On this basis, it is logical that Maelgwn’s recorded conflict against South Wales had something to do with the legend of Lancelot fighting against Arthur, since Arthur is usually placed in South Wales. The fact that Maelgwn’s attack involves abducting a beautiful woman makes this conclusion even more likely, since the war between Lancelot and Arthur was fought over Guinevere.
When Did Lancelot’s War with Arthur Occur?
Even more supporting evidence for this connection comes from the chronology of the events. Lancelot’s conflict with Arthur is usually placed not too long before Arthur’s final Battle of Camlann. It is often presented as having something to do with Mordred’s rebellion.
In some versions of the legend, it is placed at about the time of Arthur’s excursion into Gaul, or is actually identified as that very same excursion. Geoffrey of Monmouth, interestingly, places Arthur’s campaign into Gaul just after mentioning David permanently moving to Menevia.
This suggests that Lancelot’s conflict with Arthur should have occurred at about that time. As we saw earlier, the evidence likewise suggests that Maelgwn’s abduction of this woman from South Wales occurred at about that very same time. This strongly supports the notion that we can identify Lancelot’s legendary conflict with Maelgwn’s recorded conflict in the Life of St Cadoc.
Gogfran and Guiragon
Therefore, there is every reason to believe that the woman of the account, Abalcem, is actually Gwenhwyfar the wife of King Arthur. That being the case, her father would logically be the historical Gogfran.
As the passage in question reveals, her father’s name was recorded as ‘Guiragon’. The similarity between this and ‘Goguran’ (the likely original form of Gogfran’s name) is as obvious as it is striking. The only major difference is the fact that the middle ‘g’ and the ‘r’ have swapped places.
The phenomenon of consonants in the middle of a name swapping places is not unheard of in the medieval Welsh records. For instance, a character recorded as ‘Gwrin’ is elsewhere seen as ‘Kynyr’, where the ‘r’ and the ‘n’ have been swapped. Therefore, it is entirely reasonable to conclude that ‘Guiragon’ is a corruption of ‘Goguran’.
The name ‘Guiragon’ suggests some influence from the more familiar name ‘Gwrgan’. Interestingly, there is a legend recorded in the Peniarth MS 118 which is related to Gogfran. It refers to the location in the story as ‘Bronn Wrgan’. The latter word is a form of the name ‘Gwrgan’.
This supports the conclusion that the name of Gwenhwyfar’s father was sometimes corrupted into something resembling ‘Gwrgan’. This lends credence to the notion that ‘Goguran’ could have been corrupted into the very similar ‘Guiragon’.
Gogfran’s Existence
Although even the Life of St Cadoc was written centuries after the era it describes, it is a fairly early account in the grand scheme of things. There is also no reason to be overly suspicious of its account of Maelgwn’s attack. Various other records attest to conflict between Maelgwn and the south of Wales.
In view of this record and also the many other references to Gogfran through Welsh literature (although none of them are particularly early), it is very likely that Gogfran was a real person. He can almost certainly be identified with Guiragon, the ‘prefect of Saint Cadoc’.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Gogfran was one of the fathers-in-law of King Arthur. He was the father of Gwenhwyfar, specifically the second of Arthur’s three queens. His original name was probably something like ‘Goguran’. It is very likely that he can be identified with the Guiragon who appeared in the Life of St Cadoc. His daughter, Gwenhwyfar, was probably the Abalcem who appeared in that record.
Gogfran seems to have been about the same age as King Arthur. He was a king of a large portion of Powys, although he was evidently only a subking of that territory.
Sources
Bartrum, Peter, A Welsh Classical Dictionary, 1993
Bromwich, Rachel, Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain, 2014
Howells, Caleb, King Arthur: The Man Who Conquered Europe, 2019
