Vortiporius

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6th-century King of Dyfed

title: "Vortiporius" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["6th-century-monarchs-in-europe", "monarchs-of-dyfed", "6th-century-irish-people"] description: "6th-century King of Dyfed" topic_path: "geography/ireland" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vortiporius" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 6th-century King of Dyfed ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/LDDyfedCantrefi.png" caption="cantrefi]]."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Wales.post-Roman.jpg" caption="Map showing the location of Dyfed in southwesternmost Wales."] ::

Vortiporius or Vortipor (, or Gwerthefyr) was a king of Dyfed in the early to mid-6th century. He ruled over an area approximately corresponding to modern Pembrokeshire, and Carmarthenshire, Wales. Records from this era are scant, and virtually nothing is known of him or his kingdom. The only contemporary information about Vortiporius comes from the Welsh ecclesiastic Gildas, in a highly allegorical condemnation from his De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae (). At the time the work was written (c. 540), Gildas says that Vortiporius was king of Dyfed, that he was grey with age, that his wife had died, and that he had at least one daughter.

As a legendary king in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th-century treatment of the Matter of Britain, the Historia Regum Britanniae, Vortiporius was the successor of Aurelius Conanus and was succeeded by Malgo. He is not mentioned in the 9th-century Historia Brittonum attributed to Nennius. Vortiporius appears in the Irish genealogy given in the 8th-century work The Expulsion of the Déisi, in which his name is given as Gartbuir. The pedigree given in the Harley MS 5389, written c. 1100, is nearly identical, with his name given as Guortepir. In the Jesus College MS. 20, he is called Gwrdeber. The genealogy in Expulsion says he was a descendant of Eochaid Allmuir ( [literally (from) Overseas]), who is said to have led a sept of the Déisi in their settlement of Dyfed c. 270.{{Citation |last=Meyer |first=Kuno |author-link=Kuno Meyer |editor-last=Evans |editor-first=E. Vincent |contribution=Early Relations Between Gael and Brython |contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m1kJAAAAIAAJ&pg=RA4-PA55 |title=Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion |volume=I |series=Session 1895–1896 |publisher=Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion |publication-date=1896 |publication-place=London |pages=55–86 |url=

A memorial stone was discovered in 1895 near the church of Castell Dwyran in Carmarthenshire bearing a Christian cross and with inscriptions in both Latin and in ogham.{{Citation |last=Laws |first=Edward |year=1895 |contribution=Discovery of the Tombstone of Vortipore, Prince of Demetia |contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EgFPAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA303 |title=Archaeologia Cambrensis |volume=XII |series=Fifth Series |publisher=Chas. J. Clark |publication-date=1895 |publication-place=London |pages=303–306 |url= |last=Sims-Williams |first=Patrick |year=2003 |title=The Celtic Inscriptions of Britain: Phonology and Chronology, c. 400 – 1200 |publisher=Blackwell Publishers |publication-date=2003 |publication-place=Oxford |pages=342, 346–347 |isbn=1-4051-0903-3

Gildas

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Britain.circa.540.jpg"] ::

In his De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae (), written c. 540, Gildas makes an allegorical condemnation of 5 British kings by likening them to the beasts of the Christian Apocalypse as expressed in the biblical Book of Revelation, 13:2: the lion, leopard, bear, and dragon.*{{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 |publication-place=New York |page=219 |url=

Gildas restricts his attention to the kings of Gwynedd (Maelgwn Gwynedd), Dyfed (Vortiporius), Penllyn (probable, as its king Cuneglasus/Cynlas appears in royal genealogies associated with the region), Damnonia/Alt Clud (Constantine), and the unknown region associated with Caninus. These are all Welsh kingdoms except for Alt Clud, which had a long and ongoing relationship with Gwynedd and its kings, although it is just as likely he could be referencing Dumnonia or modern day Cornwall here which is closer to other kingdoms mentioned.

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/Powys, or the kingdoms of modern-day southern England. Gildas claims outrage over moral depravity, and begins the condemnation of the five kings with an attack against the mother of one of the kings, calling her an "unclean lioness".

Of Vortiporius Gildas says little other than offering condemnation for "sins" and providing the few personal details previously mentioned. He is alleged to be the bad son of a good father. Gildas also attacks his daughter, calling her "shameless", and implies that Vortiporius raped or had a sexual relationship with her.

Possible monument stone

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Memoria.Voteporigis.Protictoris.jpg" caption="The Latin inscription on the 'Monument of Voteporigis the Protector', from a rubbing of the stone."] ::

A monument bearing both Latin and Irish ogham inscriptions, dated to the 5th or 6th century, is known from Castell Dwyran, Carmarthenshire, Wales. Its Latin inscription reads Memoria Voteporigis Protictoris (). The ogham inscription carries only the Goidelic form of his name in the genitive: Votecorigas (early Goidelic did not possess the sound /p/). Protector (spelled here Protictoris, in the genitive) in the Latin inscription may imply a Roman-era honorific bestowed upon his ancestors, retained as a hereditary title into the 6th century. However, linguist Eric Hamp questions whether this is truly a title, suggesting that Protector may rather be a Latin translation of Uoteporix (which has essentially the same meaning as the Latin), a "sort of onomastic explanatory gloss". The ogham inscription in Goidelic shows that Primitive Irish was still in use in this part of Britain at that time, and had not yet died out in South Wales.{{Citation |last=Rhys |first=John |author-link=John Rhys |year=1895 |contribution=Notes on the Inscriptions on the Tombstone of Votipores, Prince of Demetia |contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EgFPAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA307 |title=Archaeologia Cambrensis |volume=XII |series=Fifth Series |publisher=Chas. J. Clark |publication-date=1895 |publication-place=London |pages=307–313 |url=

The stone's original location at the church is next to a meadow known locally as Parc yr Eglwys. Local tradition carries the admonition that plowing must not be done near the church. Examination of the meadow showed evidence of large hut-circles. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Votecorigas.jpg" caption="The ogham inscription on the 'Monument of Voteporigis the Protector', translated by [[John Rhys]], reading from bottom to top (image was rotated 90 degrees clockwise)."] ::

There remains a substantial question as to whether the stone refers to Vortiporius or to a similarly named individual, 'Voteporigis', as the 'r' in the first syllable would give the name different meaning. Rhys argued that the two individuals were the same person, saying that the 'r' had been added at a later date, and offering several suppositions as to how this might have happened. notes that the two names cannot refer to the same individual due to differences in their etymologies, adding that dating the stone to the time of Vortiporius may not be valid because it relies on the inexact dating of manuscripts and their transcriptions.

Geoffrey of Monmouth

Geoffrey's mention of Vortiporius is contained in a brief chapter titled "Uortiporius, being declared king, conquers the Saxons". He says that Uortiporius succeeded Aurelius Conan, and after he was declared king, the Saxons rose against him and brought over their countrymen from Germany in a great fleet, but that these were defeated. Uortiporius then ruled peacefully for four years, beings succeeded by "Malgo" (Maelgwn Gwynedd).{{Citation |year=1848 |editor-last=Giles |editor-first=John Allen |contribution=Geoffrey of Monmouth's British History |contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6GQNAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA272 |title=Six Old English Chronicles |publisher=George Bell and Sons |publication-date=1900 |publication-place=London |pages=89–294 |url=

The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales, an early 19th-century collection of Welsh histories, repeats Geoffrey's account, referring to him as 'Gwrthevyr' (though Vortiporius' proper Modern Welsh spelling is Gwrdebyr; here the name has been confused with that of Vortimer, the son of Vortigern).{{Citation |year=1801 |editor1-last=Jones |editor1-first=Owen |editor1-link=Owen Jones (antiquary) |editor2-last=Morganwg |editor2-first=Iolo |editor2-link=Iolo Morganwg |editor3-last=Pughe |editor3-first=William Owen |editor3-link=William Owen Pughe |contribution=Brut G. Ab Arthur |contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E94KAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA359 |title=The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales (Prose) |volume=II |publisher=Jones, Morganwg, and Pughe |publication-date=1801 |publication-place=London |page=359 |url= |last=Ussher |first=James |author-link=James Ussher |year=1639 |editor-last=Elrington |editor-first=Charles Richard |editor-link=Charles Richard Elrington |contribution=Caput IV |contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=solLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA56 |title=Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates (caput XIV-XVII) |publisher=Hodges and Smith |publication-date=1847 |publication-place=Dublin |page=56 |url=

Family

Vortipor was a son of Aergol Lawhir, so a grandson of Triffyn Farfog. He had a son named Cyngar.

Citations

References

  • {{Citation |last=Davies |first=John |author-link=John Davies (historian) |year=1990 |contribution= |title=A History of Wales |edition=First |publisher=Penguin Group |publication-date=1993 |publication-place=London |pages= |isbn=0-7139-9098-8
  • {{Citation |year=1841 |editor-last=Giles |editor-first=John Allen |editor-link=John Allen Giles |contribution= |contribution-url= |title=The Works of Gildas and Nennius |publisher=James Bohn |publication-date=1841 |publication-place=London |pages= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3R1mCE7p44MC
  • {{Citation |last= |first= |author-link= |year=1847 |editor-last=Giles |editor-first=John Allen |contribution= |contribution-url= |title=History of the Ancient Britons |volume=II |edition=Second |publisher=W. Baxter |publication-date=1854 |publication-place=Oxford |pages= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XX3TAAAAMAAJ
  • {{Citation |last=Lloyd |first=John Edward |author-link=John Edward Lloyd |year=1911 |contribution= |title=A History of Wales from the Earliest Times to the Edwardian Conquest |volume=I |edition=2nd |publisher=Longmans, Green, and Co |publication-date=1912 |publication-place=London |pages= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NYwNAAAAIAAJ
  • {{Citation |year=1901 |editor-last=Meyer |editor-first=Kuno |editor-link=Kuno Meyer |contribution=The Expulsion of the Dessi |contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pbm3KK8EsaAC&pg=PA101 |title=Y Cymmrodor |volume=XIV |publisher=Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion |publication-date=1901 |publication-place=London |pages=101–135 |url=
  • {{Citation |year=1887 |editor-last=Phillimore |editor-first=Egerton |editor-link = Egerton Phillimore |contribution=Pedigrees from Jesus College MS. 20 |contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HlUrAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA83 |title=Y Cymmrodor |volume=VIII |publisher=Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion |publication-date=1887 |publication-place= |pages=83–92 |url=
  • {{Citation |last=Phillimore |first=Egerton |author-link= |year=1888 |editor-last=Phillimore |editor-first=Egerton |contribution=The Annales Cambriae and Old Welsh Genealogies, from Harleian MS. 3859 |contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aFMrAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA141 |title=Y Cymmrodor |volume=IX |publisher=Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion |publication-date=1888 |publication-place= |pages=141–183 |url=

References

  1. Koch, John, Celtic Culture: a historical encyclopedia, ABC-CLIO, 2006, p. 864: "In Old Welsh sources, the name Guortepir, corresponding to the Vorteporius of Gildas...is kept distinct from Guorthemir, but in Middle Welsh texts the two tend to fall together as Gwerthefyr, the former unhistorically taking the form of the latter."
  2. {{Harvcolnb. Giles. 1841
  3. {{Harvcolnb. Giles. 1847
  4. {{Harvcolnb. Meyer. 1901
  5. {{Harvcolnb. Phillimore. 1888
  6. {{Harvcolnb. Phillimore. 1887
  7. Dictionary of the Irish Language, Compact Edition, Royal Irish Academy, 1998; allmuir, p. 37, column 289, line 078
  8. {{Harvcolnb. Lloyd. 1911
  9. {{Harvcolnb. Giles. 1841
  10. {{Harvcolnb. Giles. 1847
  11. Gildas, De Excidio, Chapter 31, "by the violation of a shameless daughter" ''(impudentis filiae quodam ineluctabili)''
  12. Hamp, Eric P."Voteporigis Protictoris", in Studia Celtica, 30, 1996, p. 293.
  13. {{Harvcolnb. Lloyd. 1911
  14. However, he was working before the twentieth century advancements in the study of ancient [[Celtic languages]], and his philological conclusions are suspect. More recently, [[Patrick Sims-Williams]]Sims-Williams, Patrick, The Celtic Inscriptions of Britain: Phonology and Chronology (Oxford, 2003), pp. 346-47.
  15. Harley MS 3859, "Guortepir map Aircol"
  16. Harley MS 3859, Aircol map Triphun

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