Editing Maelgwn Gwynedd (section)

== Gildas ==
[[File:Britain.circa.540.jpg|frameless|right|241px]]

In his work ''[[De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae|On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain]]'' written c. 540, [[Gildas]] makes an allegorical condemnation of five British kings by likening them to the beasts of the [[Book of Revelation]] 13:2 — the lion, leopard, bear and dragon, with the dragon supreme among them.<ref>*{{Citation |last=Anonymous |year=1884 |contribution=Revelation 13:2 |contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ypcNAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA6-PA219 |title=The Holy Bible |publisher=American Bible Society |publication-date=1884 |location=New York |page=219}} – "And the beast which I saw was like unto a <u>leopard</u>, and his feet were as the feet of a <u>bear</u>, and his mouth as the mouth of a <u>lion</u>: and the <u>dragon</u> gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority".</ref> He says that Maelgwn is the "dragon of the island", and goes on with a litany of moral accusations, in the process describing him almost as a regional high king over the other kings (the power-giving dragon of the Apocalypse). The [[Isle of Anglesey]] was the base of power of the kings of Gwynedd, so describing Maelgwn as the "dragon of the island" is appropriate.<ref name="Giles 1841 29–32"/><ref name="Giles 1847 248–250"/><ref>{{Harvcolnb|Lloyd|1911|pp=134–142}}, ''A History of Wales'', Vol. I, ''Gildas''.</ref>

Gildas restricts his attention to the kings of Gwynedd (Maelgwn), [[Kingdom of Dyfed|Dyfed]] ([[Vortiporius]]), [[Penllyn, Gwynedd|Penllyn]] (probable, as its king [[Cuneglasus]] (Cynlas) appears in royal genealogies associated with the region),<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Lloyd|1911|pp=133}}, ''A History of Wales'', Vol. I.</ref> [[Damnonii|Damnonia]]/[[Kingdom of Strathclyde|Alt Clud]] or [[Dumnonia]] (Constantine), and the unknown region associated with Caninus. Gwynedd is associated with the conquest of the Gaels by [[Cunedda]], while Alt Clud had a long and ongoing relationship with Gwynedd and its kings.

In the course of his condemnations, Gildas makes passing reference to the other beasts mentioned in the Apocalypse, such as the eagle, serpent, calf and wolf. The reason for Gildas' disaffection for these individuals is unknown. He was selective in his choice of kings, as he had no comments concerning the kings of the other British kingdoms that were thriving at the time, such as [[Rheged]], [[Gododdin]], [[Elmet]], [[Pengwern|Pengwern/Powys]], or the kingdoms of modern-day southern [[England]]. That he chose only the kings associated with one king's pre-eminence (Maelgwn, the "dragon") suggests a reason other than his claim of moral outrage over personal depravity. Neither outrage nor a doctrinal dispute would seem to justify beginning the condemnation of the five kings with a personal attack against the mother of one of the kings, calling her an "unclean lioness".<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Giles|1841|pp=24–25}}, ''De Excidio'', sections 28 and 29 (in English)</ref><ref>{{Harvcolnb|Giles|1847|pp=244–245}}, ''De Excidio'', sections 28 and 29 (in Latin)</ref>