Saint Efflam, Cousin of King Arthur

Saint Efflam was a religious figure from the sixth century. He has a minor role in the Arthurian legends. In this relatively small role, he helps King Arthur to defeat a dragon. He is also shown to be closely related to the king. What else do we know about this figure, and how does he contribute to the search for King Arthur’s true identity? 

St. Efflam depiction Carnoet

Who Was Saint Efflam?

Saint Efflam is a fairly minor religious figure from sixth century Britain and Brittany. He does not appear in many medieval records, although one of these records is a relatively early one. It is known as the Life of Saint Efflam, and it was written in the eleventh or twelfth century. 

This document, which appears to have originated in Brittany, gives a broad overview of the life of this religious figure. However, the main outstanding event of the Life is an account of Efflam and Arthur defeating a dragon. 

At the Breton church of St-Jacques at Perros-Guirec, there are two sculptures which seem to represent the story of Efflam and Arthur. These would appear to date to c. 1100. 

The first sculpture shows three men, with the middle one lying on the floor. One of these is interpreted as Efflam, while the one on the floor is interpreted as Arthur, being assisted by the former. There is a large bulbous object or figure next to these men, which may represent the dragon from the account. 

The other sculpture shows a monster crawling towards two men, one with a sword and one with apparently some kind of staff. The monster’s head has been broken off. Presumably, this represents the dragon. The two men are likely Arthur and Efflam. Arthur would logically be the one with the sword, while Efflam would logically be the one with the staff. 

A much later account was written in the seventeenth century by Albert Le Grand, a Breton hagiographer. It is broadly the same as the older version, but it has some interesting differences. 

Family

What do we know about the family of Efflam? The truth is that we do not know very much. The family member about whom we know the most is his father, so let us examine him more closely. 

Efflam’s Father

The account of his life claims that Efflam was the son of an Irish king, although the name of the Irish king is not given. Fortunately, we can use other sources to round out the profile of this mysterious figure. 

For example, a Breton ballad that mentions Efflam includes the detail that Efflam’s father was a king of Demetia, or South Wales. While this word, ‘Demetia’, is the Latin equivalent of ‘Dyfed’ and often means specifically the southwest portion of Wales, it is often used to mean South Wales in general. 

While these two claims from the sources about Efflam might seem contradictory, they are actually not. In reality, it is easy to harmonise the claim that Efflam’s father was an Irish king with the claim that his father was a king of South Wales. 

Throughout most or all of the fifth century, the kingdom of Dyfed in the southwest portion of Wales was ruled by an Irish dynasty. At some point towards the end of the fifth century, around 480 in particular, the Irish kingdom of Brycheiniog was founded further east, in what is now the region of the Brecon Beacons. 

Therefore, Efflam’s father can logically be understood as a king of either Dyfed or Brycheiniog. 

According to the earliest account of Efflam, his unnamed father was engaged in continuous warfare with another king. Again, this king is left unnamed. The earliest version of the legend claims that this enemy was another Irish king, while the version by Albert Le Grand describes him as a petty king of Britain. 

Efflam’s Wife

According to his Life, Efflam’s wife was a woman named Enora. Her name is sometimes spelt ‘Honoria’, which appears to be the older form. She was the daughter of the king against whom Efflam’s father fought. 

Some modern sources claim that she was said to have been the daughter of a Saxon chieftain, but this has no basis in the earliest records. As we have seen, her father, the enemy of Efflam’s father, is described as either an Irish king or a petty king of Britain (potentially both being true). 

Efflam’s Cousin

By far the most famous relative of Efflam is his cousin. The Life of Saint Efflam describes King Arthur himself as the cousin of this religious figure. 

Unfortunately, the exact familial connection between Arthur and Efflam is never explained. Nevertheless, knowing that the two men were cousins contributes greatly to the investigation of the historical King Arthur. 

This means that the historical Arthur should have had an uncle, either directly or an uncle-by-marriage, who was an Irish king of South Wales and who fought against another Irish king in Britain. This is potentially a very useful piece of information. 

Efflam’s Life

Let us now examine the story of Efflam’s life. Again, this is taken primarily from the eleventh or twelfth century account, along with Albert Le Grand’s later version. 

Marriage 

Nothing is known of Efflam’s childhood aside from the fact that he was born to an Irish king. Based on the Breton ballad mentioned earlier, this would evidently have been somewhere in South Wales. 

After spending a long time fighting a certain Irish king, Efflam’s father arranged a marriage alliance with that king’s daughter. Efflam and the princess then got married. 

However, Efflam was very unhappy with this, since he had already resolved to be a monk. On their wedding night, the two youths argued intensely about the issue, before Enora finally gave up. 

During the night, Efflam sneaked out of the house and travelled to the coast, where he met up with a number of like-minded companions. Together, they travelled to Brittany. Enora, consequently, was abandoned. 

Efflam’s Companions

The names of Efflam’s companions include the following: Kemo, Kirio, Mellec, Eversin, Haran, Nerin, and Tuder. The names of these companions are attached to various places within Brittany. 

For example, there is Plounérin, named after Nerin. There is also the settlement of Locquemeau, named after Kemo. Another particularly interesting example is Tréduder, which appears to be named after Tuder. 

This final companion, Tuder, is especially interesting because it is possible that he can be identified as a figure recorded in a contemporary record. Gregory of Tours, a sixth century writer who wrote extensively about the history of the Franks and also Brittany, mentioned a king of Brittany named Bodic. 

This Bodic is described as being succeeded by his son Theuderic. There is good reason to believe that Bodic and his family spent time in South Wales as exiles for much of the first half of the sixth century. 

Hence, it is entirely possible that Theuderic, who was not the immediate heir to the throne (his older brother Hoel was the heir), could have pursued a religious career for much of his early life. This would allow him to be identified as Tuder, one of Efflam’s companions. 

For chronological reasons, the identification of Theuderic with Tuder would only be possible if we assume that Tuder became a companion of Efflam long after Efflam’s initial arrival in Brittany, since Theuderic would not even have been born at the time of that event. 

Establishing His Monastery 

With his companions, Efflam arrived on the coast of Brittany. The place they arrived at was the location now known as Plestin-les-Grèves, in the Cotes-d’Amor department of Brittany. 

When they arrived, they came across an abandoned house or cabin. They decided to make that their home. They converted it into a monastery. Each monk made their own separate cell, and they also worked together to build a church. 

Enora Travels to Brittany

While this was going on, Enora was still feeling rejected and abandoned back in Britain. She decided to end her life by getting a man to sew her up in a leather hide and throw her into the sea. 

However, she ended up floating across the sea - so the legend goes - and eventually arrived on the coast of Brittany, where a fisherman discovered her. 

This concept of being thrown into the sea while wrapped in a hide, only to be later found and rescued, is found in the legend of Taliesin. It is also similar to a story about a woman named Azenor, who was cast into the sea in a barrel. This suggests that it was merely a motif that was simply reused.

Some scholars suggest that the true origin of this story about Enora in the leather hide is simply that she sailed to Brittany in a coracle, a small leather boat commonly used in Wales in the medieval period.

In any case, once Enora was discovered, the chieftain of that region was informed and desired to go and see her, likely to take her for himself. Enora fled directly to the monastery of Efflam, her husband.

Enora’s Reunion with Efflam

Enora managed to get to the monastery just in time. She entered it with the chieftain close behind her. As soon as he put his hand on the doorpost, it was stuck there. He could not move it at all until Efflam freed him. Such miracles are common within medieval hagiographies.

Nonetheless, Enora’s reunion with Efflam was not a joyful one. Efflam was determined to live his life as a monk. Therefore, he made a separate cell for Enora and only ever spoke to her through the wall, never even allowing her to see his face.

Arthur and the Dragon

We now get to the most famous part of the legend of Saint Efflam, the story of his interaction with King Arthur and the dragon.

According to the Life of Saint Efflam, King Arthur was present in Brittany for undisclosed reasons. This may well be related to one of Arthur’s journeys to Gaul recorded in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae, written in c. 1137.

In any case, while Arthur was there, a fearsome dragon was terrorising the land. It lived in a cave, but it would always walk backwards whenever entering it. That way, its footprints would give the impression that it was away, making it harder to track down and kill.

On a certain day, King Arthur was fighting the dragon, but he was unsuccessful. This battle evidently left Arthur extremely parched, so to help him, Efflam caused water to miraculously gush forth out of the rock for Arthur to drink from. It is during the initial meeting here between Arthur and Efflam that we see them calling each other ‘cousin’.

After this, Efflam approached the dragon himself and used the sign of the cross to banish it. While retreating, it fell off a nearby cliff and died.

Explaining the Dragon

While this episode in the Life of Saint Efflam might seem completely fanciful, it is actually not without explanation. As it happens, there are several records that speak of a dragon terrorising Brittany in the sixth century.

It is almost certainly not a coincidence that Gregory of Tours records several prominent comets appearing in the region of Brittany and France in the sixth century. He also records the outbreak of several major pestilences, at least one of which he directly associates with the appearance of a comet.

Since comets were often associated with dragons, sometimes being figuratively described as such, it seems very probable that the legend of a dragon terrorising Brittany in King Arthur’s time is a distorted memory of one or more of these comets and pestilences.

Efflam’s Meeting with Iestyn

After this, the next portion of Efflam’s Life relates the story of Efflam meeting the original owner of the house which he had converted into a monastery.

The original owner was a man named Iestyn. He turned up and became acquainted with Efflam. He was not angry at Efflam’s acquisition of the property. In fact, he insisted that he keep it, just as Efflam insisted that it be returned to the hands of Iestyn.

In the end, it was agreed that Efflam would keep the building. However, the area would be named in honour of Iestyn. It was therefore called Plou-Iestyn, which was eventually shortened to Plestin. Even today, this area is called Plestin-les-Grèves.

The Identity of Iestyn

It has been suggested that the Iestyn mentioned in this account is Iestyn the son of Geraint. This is possible, although not with all the details in the account being accurate.

‘Iestyn’ was not a common name in this era. In fact, Iestyn ap Geraint is one of only two people with this name mentioned in Peter Bartrum’s A Welsh Classical Dictionary. And although Iestyn was a prince of Dumnonia (Devon and Cornwall), there was close contact between Dumnonia and Brittany.

Therefore, on the surface, the identification of Iestyn ap Geraint with the Iestyn of Efflam’s Life is attractive.

However, it is not without its problems. Geraint was born around 510. Iestyn, therefore, would likely have been born around 530 or later. He would therefore have likely only been in a position to construct a house in around 550 or later.

Given Efflam’s relationship to Arthur, along with other chronological considerations which we will examine in more detail later, it is very unlikely that Efflam was born after the year 500. That being the case, the abandoned house he found should presumably have already been in existence by about 525 at the latest, since the account presents Efflam as being a youth when he married Enora and ran away to Brittany.

Therefore, we cannot identify Iestyn ap Geraint with the Iestyn of this account while maintaining all the details. However, it would be reasonable to suggest that not all the details are accurate, since it was written centuries after the fact.

Perhaps the house originally belonged to Iestyn’s family, and it was not Iestyn himself who personally built it. This simple solution would allow us to maintain the identification of the two Iestyns.

The End of Efflam’s Life

Some time after this event, Efflam felt compelled to move elsewhere. This may well suggest that the interaction between Efflam and Iestyn was not, in fact, as amicable as the Life suggests.

In any case, regardless of why Efflam decided to move, he left his monastery and travelled to Cornouaille, another kingdom in Brittany. There, he founded more settlements and became famous. The account does not say what he did, but allegedly he ‘left such a memory of his holiness that he was there ever after honoured.’

Despite his move, his tomb (or at least, a tomb allegedly containing his relics) is to be found at the Church of Saint-Efflam at Plestin.

What Was Efflam’s Connection To King Arthur?

As we saw earlier, Efflam was said to have been the cousin of King Arthur. However, the exact family tree is left unexplained. Nonetheless, the information about Efflam’s unnamed father is very helpful. The first useful fact is that he was said to have been an Irish king.

A King of Dal Riada?

Some researchers have attempted to connect this fact with the theory that the historical King Arthur was actually Artuir mac Aedan, a prince of Dal Riada. This was an Irish kingdom in the Highlands of Scotland.

While this is a tempting connection, we should recall that the Breton ballad mentioned earlier makes Efflam’s father a king of Demetia, or South Wales. This suggests that he was from one of the Irish kingdoms in that area, either Dyfed or Brycheiniog, which rules out Dal Riada.

Furthermore, the fact that he travelled apparently directly from his home kingdom to Brittany suggests that he came from a southern kingdom. Dal Riada would not fit at all.

A King of Dyfed?

The suggestion that he was a king of Dyfed is far more reasonable. For one thing, this matches the aforementioned detail about Efflam travelling directly to Brittany. Furthermore, this is the most natural conclusion in view of the term ‘Demetia’.

This could potentially tie in to the argument that the historical King Arthur was Arthur ap Pedr. He was a prince of Dyfed.

Nonetheless, the term ‘Demetia’ could easily be a reference to South Wales in general, so we should not read too much into the use of this term.

Additionally, there is clear evidence that the Irish dynasty that ruled over Dyfed was expelled in c. 500. This is clear from the sudden shift in Irish names to Roman and Brythonic names, as well as later tradition about them being expelled.

Arthur ap Pedr appears in the genealogical lists many generations after the last Irish name. Therefore, the idea of interpreting Efflam’s unnamed father as a king of Dyfed and using that to try to support the Arthur ap Pedr theory is not viable.

Another problem is that there is no evidence for any of the kings towards the end of the Irish dynasty of Dyfed engaging in warfare against another Irish king. We simply do not know much about any of the Irish kings of Dyfed.

This does not mean that Efflam’s father cannot have been a king of Dyfed, but it does mean that there is no supporting evidence for this conclusion.

A King of Brycheiniog?

The only other option that fulfils the criteria of Efflam’s father being an Irish king in South Wales is that he was a king of Brycheiniog. In terms of a true Irish king, there is only one option within this dynasty. 

The first king, Anlach, was an Irish king or prince who married Marchell, a British princess. They got married in Ireland after Marchell was sent to that land by her father, King Tewdrig. Soon after, they moved to South Wales and took possession of Marchell’s inheritance. 

This region of Tewdrig’s kingdom was originally known as Garth Madrun. Interestingly, in the medieval account of this marriage and the founding of this Hiberno-Brythonic subkingdom, this is specifically said to have been part of ‘Demetia’. 

Since all subsequent kings of this dynasty were only partially Irish (starting with Brychan, the son of Anlach and Marchell), Anlach himself is arguably the only one who could simply be described as an ‘Irish king’. 

War Between Anlach and the Other Irish King

Is there any record of a war between Anlach and another Irish king? Unlike in the case of the Irish kings of Dyfed, there are some documents which directly describe the activities of Anlach. These documents are very helpful. 

One of these is known as Cognatio Brychan. It tells the story of the life of Brychan, the son of Anlach and Marchell. This explicitly records the fact that there was a war between Anlach and another king named Banadl. 

A slightly earlier document, De Situ Brecheniauc, does not directly describe a war between Anlach and Banadl, but it does refer to the fact that Anlach was forced to give his son Brychan as a hostage to that king. Hence, this supports the concept that there was indeed a war between these two kings. 

Banadl the Irish Usurper

Therefore, Anlach matches Efflam’s unnamed father inasmuch as he is recorded as warring against another king. However, Efflam’s father was said to have warred against an Irish king, whereas Banadl was a king of Powys.

On the other hand, we saw that one source made the enemy of Efflam’s father a petty king of Britain. This latter description would match Banadl, especially since he never appears in the king lists of Powys.

However, is there any evidence that Banadl was an Irish king? Many online sources refer to him as an Irish usurper. If this is accurate, then he would be a perfect match for the enemy of Efflam’s father.

The source for this description, though, is difficult to track down. Virtually nothing is known of Banadl aside from his appearance in this account about Anlach’s war with him. It appears that his identification as an Irish king comes from a theory that he can be identified with Benlli, a king of Powys mentioned in the Historia Brittonum.

As in the case of Banadl, many online sources refer to Benlli as an Irish king or Irish usurper of Powys, although without any obvious basis. However, we know more about Benlli than we do about Banadl.

His appearance in the Historia Brittonum makes it clear that he was a pagan king. It also places his rule towards the end of the fifth century, or possibly even at the beginning of the sixth (he is the opponent of Germanus, the bishop of the Isle of Man sent to Britain by Patrick; there is no genuine connection between Benlli and the earlier Germanus of Auxerre).

Since Christianity had already permeated through much of Britain by the year 500, there is a very good chance that Benlli being pagan is indicative of his Irish origin. Furthermore, the presence of high-status Irish individuals in Powys in c. 500 is confirmed by contemporary inscribed stones, such as the Wroxeter Stone.

When we look at the name of Anlach’s enemy, ‘Banadl’ (spelt ‘Benadel’ in its earliest appearance), it is evident that this could conceivably be a fuller form of the name ‘Benlli’. Given the correspondence between the kingdom that they ruled and the period in which they ruled it, there is a good case to be made that Banadl should be identified with Benlli, the probable Irish king of Powys.

Giving His Sons to His Former Enemy

Recall that Efflam’s father is said to have arranged a marriage between his dynasty and that of his former enemy after their war had ended. It was this arrangement that led to the marriage between Efflam and Enora, Enora being the daughter of the unnamed Irish king who fought against Efflam’s father.

Does this concept receive any support from the records about Anlach and Banadl? It does indeed. As mentioned earlier, Anlach is recorded as giving his son Brychan as a hostage to Banadl. At some point, peace was restored between the two kings.

While Brychan was residing at Banadl’s court, Brychan is recorded as violating the daughter of Banadl, who then gave birth to a son.

Although the details differ, the account about Anlach and the account about Efflam’s father share some obvious similarities. In both cases, the king makes peace with the king against whom he had been fighting. Furthermore, the son of the king in both cases is joined in union with the daughter of the enemy king (although Efflam supposedly never consummated his marriage). 

What This Means for Anlach and Efflam’s Father

The result of all this is that there is a very good case to be made that Efflam’s father should be identified with Anlach. He was an Irish king who lived in South Wales, just like Efflam’s father was supposed to have been.

Anlach warred against a king who can be plausibly interpreted as an Irish king, while also being a king of Britain, exactly fitting the description of the enemy of Efflam’s father.

Anlach sent his son to this enemy king, and peace was established between the two dynasties at some point, very similar to what is described in the account of Efflam’s father.

Finally, Anlach’s son Brychan had relations with the daughter of his former enemy, similar to how Efflam was made to marry the daughter of his father’s former enemy. Furthermore, the fact that both Brychan and Efflam dishonoured their respective women (although in opposite ways) may well be related.

In view of all this evidence, it is very likely that Efflam can be understood as the son of Anlach and thus the brother of Brychan. His marriage to Enora and Brychan’s relations with Banadl’s daughter may well have been related events. Perhaps what really happened is that the marriage alliance referred to in Efflam’s Life involved both sons marrying two daughters.

In any case, we can see that Anlach is virtually certain to be the unnamed Irish king, the father of Efflam, from the Life of Saint Efflam. It is certainly true that there is no other candidate from the records who is remotely as likely to be Efflam’s father.

How Efflam Was the Cousin of King Arthur

By identifying Efflam’s father with Anlach, we can finally understand how he was the cousin of King Arthur, as his Life claims he was. Anlach, as we saw, was married to Marchell. She was the daughter of Tewdrig, a king of South Wales.

Tewdrig’s heir was a son named Meurig. He would thus have been the uncle of any sons of Anlach, such as Brychan and, evidently, Efflam. Meurig’s sons would therefore have been first cousins of Brychan and Efflam.

As it happens, one of Meurig’s sons is one of the most popular and likeliest candidates for the historical King Arthur. His name is recorded in records from centuries after the fact as ‘Athrwys’ (and similar spellings). Some researchers believe that this is a corruption of ‘Arthurus’ or some other attested form of the name ‘Arthur’.

According to the weight of chronological evidence, Athrwys was an exact contemporary of King Arthur, their respective careers both covering much of the sixth century. Additionally, Arthur’s base of operations is most firmly placed in southeast Wales, which is exactly where Athrwys’ dynasty ruled.

As well as this clear correspondence between the two figures in a general sense, there is also much more specific evidence. For example, there is evidence that Athrwys had siblings with the names ‘Anna’ and ‘Madoc’, just like Arthur. They both appear to have had a maternal uncle named Gwrfoddw. And they are both recorded as having a son and successor named Morgan who ruled in South Wales.

This is just some of the extensive evidence for the identification of Athrwys with King Arthur. With this being the case, we can easily understand why Efflam is called the cousin of King Arthur in his Life. It is due to the simple fact that Efflam, as the son of Anlach, really was the cousin of Athrwys ap Meurig.

When Did Efflam Live?

Finally, let us consider the issue of when Efflam lived. As we have established, he was almost certainly the son of Anlach and Marchell. Based on the chronological evidence regarding Marchell’s dynasty, we can place the birth of Brychan (evidently soon after Anlach and Marchell’s marriage) in c. 480 (compare Bartrum’s 1993 estimate of c. 470 for ‘Brychan II’).

Efflam would presumably have been born within twenty years of that. Therefore, he was almost certainly born between c. 482 and 500.

The event involving the dragon can very probably be associated with the Yellow Plague which occurred in about the middle of the sixth century. In the Life of St Teilo, there is a record of an event very similar to that involving Efflam.

According to this account, while Teilo was away in Brittany after fleeing the Yellow Plague, King Budic of Brittany begged Teilo to banish from the country a dragon that was terrorising his kingdom.

Interestingly, Geoffrey of Monmouth associates one of Arthur’s journeys to Gaul with the appearance of a dragon in the sky which ‘enlightened the country with the brightness of his eyes’.

This strongly indicates that all these accounts derive from the same basic event (likely a comet and a plague) and are thus set at about the same time, roughly the middle of the sixth century.

One especially notable comet recorded by Gregory of Tours appeared in the year 563 and was associated by Gregory with a devastating plague. Perhaps this specific comet was the ‘dragon’ of these medieval legends.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Efflam was the son of an Irish king, almost certainly identifiable as Anlach. He married Enora, or Honoria, the daughter of a king who can evidently be identified with Banadl, or Benlli, king of Powys. However, Efflam chose to run away to be a monk instead. He travelled to Brittany where he founded a monastery and lived with several companions.

The most famous event of his life was when he helped King Arthur defeat a dragon that was terrorising Brittany. This can likely be associated with historical records of comets and plagues in that era. Efflam was allegedly the cousin of King Arthur, and this is evidently based on the fact that Efflam’s cousin was Athrwys, the likely King Arthur.

Sources

Charles-Edwards, T M, Wales and the Britons, 350-1064, 2013

Baring-Gould, Sabine, The Lives of the Saints, 1898

Lacey, Norris J & Grimbert, Joan Tasker, A Companion to Chretien de Troyes, 2005

Arthur and Efflam Fighting a Dragon

Life of Saint Efflam

St. Efflam

Saint Efflam of Brittany