Caradawg fab Bran

The son of Bendigedfran ap Llyr, Caradawg was the rightful heir to the throne of Britain, but was usurped when Caswallawn usurped his position while Bendigedfran was away fighting in Ireland.

Caradawg is named one of the Three Noble Youths who died of a broken heart. When he is hidden in Britain with his companions, Caswallawn wears a cloak of invisibility and slays each companion, leaving Caradawg to die of sorrow. Doing so allows Casswallawn to claim the throne, as the only member of Llyr's family who is next in line is Manawyddan, who is also away fighting in Ireland.

At a late point, it seems that the mythological Caradawg was conflated with the historical Caractacus to give us a late tradition--possibly invented by Iolo Morgannwg in his triads, but possibly a hundred years older--that Caradawg, Bran, and Llyr were all taken prisoner of the Romans, and while in Rome converted to Christianity and brought it back with them to the island. While this does have an interesting parallel with the story of Bron, it seems to be a very late construction.

Back to "C" | Back to JCE
Home