Editing Geraint of Dumnonia

{{short description|8th-century King of Dumnonia}}
{{for|the 5th-century Geraint (also of Dumnonia) associated with Arthurian legend|Geraint}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
'''Geraint''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɡ|ɛr|aɪ|n|t}} {{respell|GHERR|eyent}}; died 710), known in [[Latin]] as '''Gerontius''', was a king of [[Dumnonia]] who ruled in the early 8th century. During his reign, it is believed that Dumnonia came repeatedly into conflict with the neighbouring [[Anglo-Saxon]] kingdom of [[Wessex]]. Geraint was the last recorded king of a unified Dumnonia, and was called [[King of Wales|King of the Welsh]] by the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]''. Subsequent kings of Dumnonia (for example [[Donyarth]] and possibly [[Huwal of the West Welsh|Huwal]]) reigned over an area that was eventually reduced to the limits of present-day [[Cornwall]].<ref>[[Philip Payton]]. (1996). ''Cornwall''. Fowey: Alexander Associates</ref>

==Biography==
A long and rather acrimonious [[Epistola ad Geruntium|letter survives]] that is addressed to Geraint from [[Aldhelm, Bishop of Sherborne|Aldhelm]], [[Bishop of Sherborne (historic)|Bishop of Sherborne]], discussing the [[Easter Problem]] and the shape of the [[tonsure]]. It is clear from this letter that in the later 7th century the [[Britons (historic)|Britons]] in [[Cornwall]] and [[Devon]] still observed Easter on the dates that the [[Celtic Christianity|British church]] had calculated, at variance with [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] practice. Geraint ultimately agreed with Aldhelm to comply with Roman practice on these points.

According to [[John of Worcester]], Geraint was killed in 710 after a series of battles that culminated in a victory of the West Saxons under [[Ine of Wessex]]. It was probably around this time that the West Saxons entered Devon, possibly taking Exeter shortly afterward.<ref name="Fletcher">{{cite book|year=2022 |title=The Western Kingdom: The Birth of Cornwall |edition=i |first=John |last=Fletcher |location=Cheltenham,UK |publisher=The History Press |isbn=978-1803990002}}</ref> Following Geraint's death, however, Ine was unable to establish his authority further west; in 722, according to the ''[[Annales Cambriae]]'', the Cornish won the [[Battle of Hehil]], probably against Wessex.

Derek Bryce, following other scholars, suggests that Geraint of Dumnonia should be identified as the real warrior eulogized for his deeds at the Battle of Llongborth in the poem "[[Geraint son of Erbin]]"<ref name="Bryce">{{cite book |editor-last=Bryce |editor-first=Derek |year=1988 |title=Arthur and the Britons in Wales and Scotland |edition=ill. |first=W. F. |last=Skene |location=Lampeter, Wales |publisher=Llanerch Press |isbn=978-0947992231}}</ref><ref name="Mackay">{{cite web |url=http://www.templum.freeserve.co.uk/history/strathclyde/awp/geraint.htm |work=History of Drumchapel |title=Geraint, Son of Erbin |first1=Ian |last=Mackay |date=1999–2006 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415133819/http://www.templum.freeserve.co.uk/history/strathclyde/awp/geraint.htm |archivedate=2014-04-15 }}</ref> (10th–11th century, traditionally ascribed to [[Llywarch Hen]]), although its title names an earlier, [[Geraint|5th-century Geraint]] of dubious historicity. Bryce identifies Llongborth with the 710 battle between Geraint and Ine, and suggests [[Langport]] in [[Somerset]] as the location of the battle,<ref name="Bryce" /> though no settlement is known to have existed there until 880.<ref name="Mackay" /> Another interpretation is that the Battle of Llongborth is a different spelling of the Battle of Longecoleth {{crossref|(see [[P-Celtic]] for p/b and c/g correspondences in Celtic languages)}}, which is also dated to 710. The latter took place in the more northerly [[Kingdom of Strathclyde]] (also called Damnonia after the [[Damnonii]] tribe of the area in [[Roman Britain|Romano-British times]], and easily confused with Dumnonia/Devon). Strathclyde had rulers named Geraint and Erbin (or Elfin) in the same era.<ref name="Mackay" />

A King Geraint is the patron [[folk saint]] of [[Gerrans]], near [[Falmouth, Cornwall|Falmouth]], with a feast day on 10 August. It is uncertain whether this figure represents this historical Geraint of the 7th–8th centuries, the 5th-century legendary figure, or some other Geraint.

==References==
{{Portal|Cornwall}}
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{PASE|68733|Geraint 1}}

[[Category:7th-century births]]
[[Category:710 deaths]]
[[Category:Anglo-Saxon warriors]]
[[Category:Monarchs killed in action]]
[[Category:Monarchs of Cornwall]]
[[Category:Monarchs of Dumnonia]]
[[Category:8th-century English monarchs]]