King Theuderic, Nephew of King Arthur
King Theuderic was a prince -- and later king -- of Brittany who does not appear prominently in the Arthurian legends, but he did have a close connection to King Arthur. He is also notable for definitely being a historical figure and for being mentioned in a contemporary record. In this article, we will examine who he was, how he was related to King Arthur, and who he can be identified with in later medieval legends.
Who Was King Theuderic?
King Theuderic was a member of the dynasty of Cornouaille, one of the major kingdoms of Brittany. He was the son of King Budic of Brittany and the brother of Hoel, the latter being quite a prominent figure in some accounts of King Arthur’s reign. Theuderic became king after Budic’s death.
Theuderic appears in the writings of Gregory of Tours, a historian who lived in the sixth century and who wrote a history of the Franks, with much useful material concerning the Bretons as well. The record in question is usually known as History of the Franks, although it is also called Ten Books of Histories. It was written in the early 590s, perhaps around 593.
Although Gregory did not provide an overview of the life of Theuderic, he did provide us with some very useful information. We can compare this with information from later medieval documents concerning Budic and Hoel to round out our conclusions concerning Theuderic’s life.
As well as later medieval records about his father and his brother, there are also later medieval records which appear to mention Theuderic himself. These associate him with locations in the southwest of Britain and often make him an opponent to certain saints, or religious figures.
However, there is much confusion surrounding these sources, and we will examine them in more depth later.
Family
What do we know about the family of Theuderic? As we have already seen, he was a member of one of the most prominent dynasties of Brittany, so there is lots of information about this. We will start by considering his parents.
Theuderic’s Parents
The father of Theuderic was King Budic. His father is actually recorded as ‘Bodic’ by Gregory of Tours. This historical King Bodic is plausibly identified by many scholars as the King Budic who appears in various later medieval documents, such as the Life of St Teilo.
This Budic can appropriately be called Budic III. He was born in c. 500. In contrast, Budic II was born in c. 480, while Budic I may have been born in c. 400.
Theuderic’s father makes a brief appearance in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae, written in c. 1137. In this appearance, he is described as marrying an unnamed sister of King Arthur.
Unfortunately, no later record provides her with a plausible identity (some manuscripts call her ‘Gwyar’, but the weight of evidence shows that she was a different sister of Arthur’s). Therefore, we simply do not have any idea what she was really called.
In any case, due to this familial connection, Theuderic was the nephew of King Arthur.
Based on evidence from a comparison of the Life of St Oudoceus with a variety of other records, it would appear that Budic was the nephew of the previous king of Cornouaille (Budic II) and had been exiled from the country, along with that king’s sons, when another uncle, Maxentius, usurped the throne.
Budic and his cousins found refuge in Dyfed, the kingdom of southwest Wales. This probably occurred around 517-520, around the time of the death of Tewdrig, the king who had dethroned Maxentius many years earlier.
It was likely at this point that Budic married King Arthur’s sister. We do not know when Theuderic was born, but he was evidently not the eldest son, for reasons we will see in the next section.
Theuderic’s Siblings
According to Geoffrey of Monmouth’s account, Budic’s son Hoel was a king of Brittany during Arthur’s reign. Yet Gregory of Tours shows that Budic himself continued living until long after Geoffrey presents Hoel as being king. This suggests that Hoel became a subking under the authority of his father.
In any case, there is no record anywhere of Theuderic becoming a king as early as this. This strongly suggests that Theuderic was not the heir. Rather, Hoel was evidently the heir. He seems to have pre-deceased his father, hence why Budic ended up being succeeded by Theuderic instead.
Another brother of Theuderic was Oudoceus. He was a half brother, since he was the son of Budic’s later wife, Anawfedd. Oudoceus went on to become a prominent bishop of South Wales. Two other half brothers, less prominent than Oudoceus, were Ysfael and Tyfai.
Theuderic’s Life
We know very little about the early period of Theuderic’s life. Given that he was the son of Budic, but was not the son of his second wife, he was evidently born between c. 520 and c. 540.
During that period, his father was living in Dyfed, and this is evidently how his father came to be in a position to marry the sister of Arthur, a king of South Wales. In approximately 540, the king of Cornouaille (almost certainty Maxentius) died, leaving the throne vacant.
The people of Brittany called for Budic to be made king, so Theuderic (who would have been a teenage or child at the time) returned with his family back to Brittany.
Succeeding His Father
The next piece of information we learn about Theuderic comes from Gregory of Tours. This contemporary writer tells us that Budic (or ‘Bodic’, as Gregory calls him) died in about 570.
Prior to this, Budic had made a mutual oath with Macliau, another king of Brittany, that they would defend the sons of whichever one of them died first. However, as soon as Budic died, Macliau disregarded his oath and drove Theuderic from the country, taking over Budic’s kingdom.
After seven years in exile, Theuderic manage to gain enough support from the Bretons to attack Macliau and put him to death. Thus, he was restored to his father’s kingdom of Cornouaille. Therefore, Theuderic’s reign started (ignoring whatever brief period there was between Budic’s death and Macliau driving Theuderic out) in about 577.
Nothing more is known of Theuderic’s reign after this.
Succeeded by His Nephews
Gregory of Tours does not mention anything about Theuderic being succeeded by his sons, or even that he had sons at all. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, the kings of Brittany throughout the seventh century were descended from Hoel son of Budic, not Theuderic.
Obviously, we cannot accept Geoffrey’s account uncritically. Nonetheless, based on this information, it appears that Theuderic was succeeded by one of his nephews, a son of Hoel. This would have been quite natural if Theuderic had not managed to produce an heir.
Theuderic’s Exile in Britain
Let us now examine in detail Theuderic’s activities while he was in exile. This would be between 570 and 577.
In many online sources, Theuderic is presented as ‘Tewdwr Mawr’ and is described as a tyrant of Cornwall who persecuted saints. This supposedly occurred while he was in exile, away from his father’s kingdom. Where does this idea come from, and is it accurate?
The idea that Theuderic spent time in Cornwall while in exile comes from the fact that there are several records, particularly Lives of various saints, which mention a king named ‘Theodoric’, ‘Theudur’, and all sorts of other variations, in the context of Cornwall in the sixth century.
These records do indeed tend to present this Cornish king as the killer or persecutor of several saints. However, does the evidence really support the conclusion that these records are referring to Theuderic the son of Budic?
The True Identity of Theodoric of Cornwall
One record which describes Theodoric of Cornwall is the Life of St Gwinear. This describes how Gwinear had been a prince of Ireland who settled for some time in Brittany after having been converted by Saint Patrick.
He and many other companions travelled to Ireland, but they were attacked and put to death by Theodoric, who interpreted it as an invasion.
Another religious figure opposed by Theodoric was Breaca, a female saint. She and her companions had also originated from Ireland. It seems very likely that the record which speaks of Breaca is actually describing the same event featured in the account of Gwinear, since they must have occurred at about the same time.
The time in question must have been about the year 500. This is evident from an analysis of Breaca and her companions, as Sabine Baring-Gould concluded. The fact that Gwinear was converted by Saint Patrick, who was active throughout much of the second half of the fifth century, is also consistent with this.
Therefore, Theuderic of Brittany, the son of Budic, absolutely could not have been the king who appears in these accounts.
This fact is not just evident from the chronological issues. It is also made explicit by the fact that the Life of St Gwinear directly mentions the fact that King Theodoric had deposed Maxentius of Brittany. Maxentius, as referred to earlier, was the brother of Budic II. He would have long been dead by the time Theuderic ever became king.
In reality, the king of these records can be confidently identified with Tewdrig, a king who ruled over the entire southeast portion of Wales from c. 500-517.
A Possible Appearance of Theuderic
However, this does not mean that there are no examples at all of records which may reveal where Theuderic was during his exile. One example which may be genuine (possibly the only genuine example) is to be seen in the Life of St Pedrog.
The religious figure who features in this document had a career which covered much of the mid-sixth century. Towards the end, there is an incident which involves a king referred to as Teudur. He was a cruel and fierce tyrant in western Britain. The context suggests that this is Cornwall.
Upon his death, his son ended his father’s cruel customs. However, as a result of the cessation of these customs, an incident occurred which required the attention of Pedrog and others.
On a chronological and geographical basis, this could well be Theuderic. Although we cannot place firm dates on most of the events in the Life, the placement of Teudur near the end does tie in well with the range of 570 to 577 for Theuderic’s exile.
Furthermore, there were strong connections between Brittany and Cornwall in this period, so it is entirely plausible that Theuderic would have sojourned in that land.
Finally, it goes without saying that the name ‘Theudur’ can easily be understood as a form or corruption of ‘Theuderic’.
Was This Really Theuderic of Brittany?
The only issue with this identification is that Theuderic did not die while in exile. Rather, as Gregory of Tours confirms, he returned to take the throne of his father.
However, there are two possible explanations for this. The first is that the Life of St Pedrog is simply wrong when he refers to Theudur as dying and being succeeded by his son. Notably, the son is left unnamed.
This may suggest that the idea that he died and was succeeded by his heir was simply invented to explain the sudden cessation of his cruel policies, so as to provide an explanation for the incident in which Pedrog and others needed to get involved.
Another possibility is that this is actually not set during the time of his exile. Rather than Theuderic ruling as a king in Cornwall only during his years of exile, as commonly imagined, he could easily have held onto his acquired Cornish lands even after having returned to take his kingdom in Brittany.
This would not be the only example of a Breton king who ruled on both sides of the Channel. Another example would be, almost certainly, the infamous Count Conomor. And as mentioned earlier, there were just generally strong relations between Brittany and the West Country during this era.
Therefore, we could simply understand this record about King Theudur of Cornwall in the Life of St Pedrog as being a reference to Theuderic after he had already reclaimed his kingdom in Brittany, but still with a foothold in Cornwall. Hence, when it says that he then died, this would not contradict Gregory’s record of Theuderic returning to Brittany before his death.
The only issue left with this understanding is that Gregory does not mention Theuderic having a son, whereas the Life of St Pedrog claims that King Theudur was succeeded by his unnamed son.
Of course, the fact that Gregory does not mention a son does not mean that Theuderic did not have one. However, how does this relate to Geoffrey’s claim about the following kings of Brittany being descended from Budic’s son Hoel?
Perhaps the Life of St Pedrog is simply mistaken in calling the successor the ‘son’ of Theudur, when actually he was his nephew. Or, perhaps Theuderic’s son succeeded him to his lands in Cornwall, while the kingdom of Cornouaille in Brittany was attained by the heir of Hoel.
Was Theuderic Really the Nephew of King Arthur?
Let us now consider the question of whether or not Theuderic really was the nephew of King Arthur. Recall that the wife of Budic, and therefore the mother of Hoel and Theuderic, was supposedly the sister of Arthur.
There is a little-known but fascinating record which contains some potentially very important information. It is the Life of St Leonorius. The titular figure came from South Wales and was the son of a certain Hoeloc. This is most likely Hoel, who was present in South Wales during this period.
Based on the name given to Leonorius’ mother, a comparison with the Life of St Tudual indicates that Tudual and Leonorius were siblings, meaning that Hoeloc, or Hoel, was also the father of Tudual.
What Tudual Reveals
The reason that this is so significant is because of the way Tudual himself is described in another record. The record in question is the Life of St Brioc. This refers to Tudual as the nephew of Brioc.
Fascinatingly, Brioc may well be identifiable as Frioc, a prince of the dynasty that ruled over southeast Wales. They both came from South Wales, they both had the same name (the letters ‘B’ and ‘F’ were regularly swapped for each other), and they lived at exactly the same time.
If so – and this does seem likely – then that would mean that Tudual was allegedly the nephew of Frioc, a prince of the dynasty of southeast Wales. Given that Arthur himself was supposed to have been a king who ruled from that area, this is significant.
In fact, we can get more specific than just that. Frioc was the brother of Athrwys ap Meurig, one of the most prominent and likely candidates for the historical King Arthur. If Tudual was the nephew of Frioc, then he must, of course, have been the nephew of Athrwys too.
What This Means for Theuderic
Why is Tudual’s familial relationship to Athrwys relevant to Theuderic? As we said earlier, Tudual was apparently the son of Hoel, Theuderic’s brother. Therefore, by extension, this reveals important information about Theuderic as well.
According to the Arthurian legend, Budic married the sister of Arthur. Thus, his sons (such as Hoel and Theuderic) would have been the nephews of Arthur. Any of their children would therefore have been Arthur’s grandnephews. However, surely a grandnephew may sometimes simply be called a ‘nephew’ for the sake of simplicity.
With this in mind, the fact that Tudual, the son of Hoel (or Hoeloc), was called a nephew of Brioc is evidence in support of the Arthurian legend. Brioc’s likely identity as Frioc means that Tudual was evidently considered a ‘nephew’ of Athrwys, a plausible King Arthur candidate.
The only discrepancy between this information and what we would expect based on the Arthurian legend is that Tudual should technically be the grandnephew of King Arthur. But if we accept that ‘nephew’ could be a simplified way of referring to this relationship, then it matches the Arthurian legend well.
The relative generations involved supports the conclusion that Tudual was more likely to have been a grandnephew rather than a nephew.
Therefore, the point of all this is that the evidence supports the conclusion that Budic, the grandfather of Tudual, really did marry the sister of Arthur (as long as we accept the identification of Arthur with Athrwys ap Meurig). Hence, this supports the conclusion that Theuderic really was a nephew of King Arthur.
Conclusion
In conclusion, King Theuderic was a king of Brittany who appears in a contemporary record concerning the country. He was the son of Budic III and brother of Hoel, one of King Arthur’s main allies. Since his father Budic married Arthur’s sister, Theuderic was Arthur’s nephew. A comparison of information from several hagiographies supports the conclusion that this relationship is authentic, granting the identification of King Arthur with the historical Athrwys ap Meurig.
Theuderic was born between c. 522 and 540 in South Wales. He became king after the death of his father in c. 570. Breton king Macliau expelled him from his lands, but Theuderic returned in 577 to reclaim them. It is possible that Theuderic became a ruler in Cornwall during his exile.
Sources
Bartrum, Peter, A Welsh Classical Dictionary, 1993
Bromwich, Rachel, Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain, 2014
Morris, John, Arthurian Period Sources, Vol 3: Persons, 1995
Howells, Caleb, King Arthur: The Man Who Conquered Europe, 2019
Baring-Gould, Sabine and Fisher, John, The Lives of the British Saints: The Saints of Wales and Cornwall and Such Irish Saints as Have Dedications in Britain – Volume I, 1907
