Battle of Llongborth

The Battle of Llongborth was an ancient battle in Great Britain mentioned in a poem of the same name, traditionally attributed to Llywarch Hen. The poem in question, also known as "Elegy for Geraint", celebrates Geraint ab Erbin from Dyfnaint, who died in the battle. It is very uncertain where and when the battle was. If the name Llongborth is of Celtic origin, it seems to mean "ship-port" or "ship-bay".

Certain scholars, such as John Morris, have identified Llongborth with the battle of Portsmouth mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon chronicles for the year 501, at which a "a young Welshman, a very noble man" is said to have died. [http://www.templum.freeserve.co.uk/history/strathclyde/welshpoems.htm] [http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/bios/gerreldm.html] . Some scholars identify Llongborth with the battle in 710 between a later Geraint and Ine of Wessex. In this case, the Geraint of the elegy is identified as the 8th century king Geraint of Dumnonia. This needs a later date of composition than the Portsmouth/Llywarch Hen hypothesis. Bryce, following others, suggests Langport in Somerset as the location of the battle [http://www.templum.freeserve.co.uk/history/strathclyde/awp/geraint.htm] . Various other places have been suggested.

The poem, found in the Red Book of Hergest and the Black Book of Carmarthen, praises Geraint's heroism, dwells with rhetorical repetitiveness on the speed of his horses, and makes in passing one of the earliest known allusions to Arthur. Though Arthur is often referred to simply as a war leader in early Welsh material, he is called "the emperor" in "Elegy for Geraint".

External links

* [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/fab/fab025.htm William F. Skene's translation of the Llongborth poem]

References

*Bryce, Derek (ed.) (1988). "Arthur and the Britons in Wales and Scotland by W F Skene". Lampeter: Llanerch Enterprises