Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-wzw2p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-30T12:27:55.345Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Rethinking the pillar of Eliseg

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2009

Nancy Edwards
Nancy Edwards*
Affiliation:
Nancy Edwards, School of History, Welsh History and Archaeology, Bangor University, Gwynedd LL57 2DG, Wales.
*
E-mail: n.edwards@bangor.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The Pillar of Eliseg, originally an ambitious round-shafted cross, stands on a barrow near the Cistercian abbey of Valle Crucis. It was carved with a lengthy inscription, now illegible, but transcribed in 1696 by Edward Lhuyd. Two copies have survived, enabling a reconsideration of the significance of the inscription. This article reassesses the history of the monument, its archaeological context, form and function. The inscription shows that the cross was erected by Concenn, ruler of Powys (d ad 854), to honour his great-grandfather, Eliseg, who had expelled the Anglo-Saxons from this part of Powys. The inscription also links the rulers of Powys with the Roman usurper Magnus Maximus and the sub-Roman ruler Guarthigirn. It is argued that the inscription was intended to be read out loud and that the monument was an important piece of public propaganda erected at a time when the kingdom of Powys was severely under threat.

Résumé

La colonne d’Eliseg [Pillar of Eliseg], à l’origine une ambitieuse croix à fût rond, se trouve sur un tumulus proche de l’abbaye cistercienne de Valle Crucis. Elle avait été sculptée d’une longue inscription, illisible de nos jours, mais transcrite en 1696 par Edward Lhuyd. Deux copies ont survécu, ce qui a permis de porter un nouveau regard sur la signification de cette inscription. Cet article réexamine l’historique du monument, son contexte archéologique, sa forme et sa fonction. L’inscription montre que la croix avait été érigée par Concenn, souverain de Powys (m. 854) dans le but d’honorer son arrière grand-père, Eliseg, lequel avait bouté les anglo-saxons hors de cette partie de Powys. L’inscription établit également un lien entre les souverains de Powys d’une part, et l’usurpateur romain Magnus Maximus et le roi Guarthigirn, client des romains, d’autre part. On soutient que l’inscription avait été conçue pour être lue à haute voix et que le monument servait d’importante propagande publique car il avait été érigé à une époque où le royaume de Powys était extrêmement menacé.

Zusammenfassung

Die Säule von Eliseg, ursprünglich ein anspruchsvolles rundes Kreuz, wurde auf einem Grabhügel in der Nähe des Zisterzienserklosters Valle Cruces errichtet. Es war mit einer langen, inzwischen unleserlichen, Inschrift versehen, die aber im Jahre 1696 von Edward Lhuyd übertragen wurde. Zwei Kopien sind erhalten und ermöglichen eine erneute Überprüfung der Bedeutung dieser Inschrift. Ziel dieses Artikels ist eine Neubeurteilung der Geschichte dieses Denkmals, sein archäologischer Kontext, Form und Funktion. Die Inschrift besagt, daß das Kreuz von Concenn, Herrscher von Powys (+ AD 854) zu Ehren seines Urgrossvaters Eliseg errichtet wurde, der die Angelsachsen aus diesem Teil von Powys vertrieben hatte. Die Inschrift zeigt auch Verbindungen der Herrscher von Powys zu dem römischen Thronräuber Magnus Maximus und dem untergeordneten römischen Herrscher Guarthigirn. Es wird argumentiert, daß die Inschrift zur lauten Vorlesung gedacht war, und daß das Ehrenmal ein wichtiger Bestandteil der Propaganda war, errichtet zu einer Zeit, als das Königreich Powys unter ernstliche bedroht war.

Type
Original Article
Information
The Antiquaries Journal , Volume 89 , September 2009 , pp. 143 - 177
Copyright
Copyright © The Society of Antiquaries of London 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Primary sources

BL, Harleian ms 3780Google Scholar
BL, Stowe mss 1023, 1024Google Scholar
BU, ms Penrhos vGoogle Scholar
NLW, ms 3108BGoogle Scholar
NLW, ms 5262AGoogle Scholar
SAL, Minutes, xiii, 20 May 1773Google Scholar

Secondary sources

Aitchison, N 2006. Forteviot, a Pictish and Scottish royal centre, Stroud: TempusGoogle Scholar
Alexander, J J G 1978. Insular Manuscripts, 6th to 9th Century, London: Harvey MillerGoogle Scholar
Allen, J R 1889. ‘The cylindrical pillar at Llantwit Major, Glamorganshire’, Archaeol Cambrensis, 5th series, 6, 317–326Google Scholar
Allen, J R 1899. ‘Early Christian art in Wales’, Archaeol Cambrensis, 5th series, 16, 1–69Google Scholar
Bachellery, E (ed) 1950. L’Œuvre Poétique de Gutun Owain, Paris: Bibliothèque de l’École des Hautes ÉtudesGoogle Scholar
Bachrach, B S 1988. ‘Vortigern and constitutionality in sub-Roman Britain’, Nottingham Mediaeval Stud, 32, 126–140CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bailey, R N forthcoming. Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture. Vol IX: Lancashire and Cheshire, Oxford: Oxford University PressGoogle Scholar
Bailey, R N Cramp, R 1988. Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture. Vol II: Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire North-of-the-Sands, Oxford: Oxford University PressGoogle Scholar
Bartrum, P C (ed) 1966. Early Welsh Genealogical Tracts, Cardiff: University of Wales PressGoogle Scholar
Blagg, T F C 1976. ‘Tools and techniques of the Roman stonemason in Britain’, Britannia, 7, 152–172CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bloxam, M H 1883. ‘On the Pillar of Eliseg, near Valle Crucis, Co Denbigh’, J Brit Archaeol Ass, 39, 371–375CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Broun, D 2003. ‘The origin of the Stone of Scone as a national icon’, in The Stone of Destiny: artefact and icon (eds R Welander, D J Breeze and T O Clancy), 183–197, Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of ScotlandGoogle Scholar
Brown, M P Farr, C A (eds) 2001. Mercia: an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in Europe, London: Leicester University PressGoogle Scholar
Bu’Lock, J D 1960. ‘Vortigern and the Pillar of Eliseg’, Antiquity, 34, 49–53Google Scholar
Chadwick, H M 1959a. ‘The end of Roman Britain’, in Chadwick et al 1959, 9–20Google Scholar
Chadwick, H M 1959b. ‘Vortigern’, in Chadwick et al 1959, 21–33CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chadwick, H M, Chadwick, N K, Jackson, K, Bromwich, R, Blair, P H Chadwick, O 1959. Studies in Early British History, Cambridge: Cambridge University PressGoogle Scholar
Charles-Edwards, D G 2006. ‘The origin and development of Insular geometric letters’, unpublished PhD thesis, University of Wales BangorGoogle Scholar
Charles-Edwards, T M 2001. ‘Wales and Mercia, 613–918’, in Brown and Farr (eds) 2001, 89–105Google Scholar
Charles-Edwards, T M 2004. ‘Gorsedd, dadl, and llys: assemblies and courts in medieval Wales’, in Pantos and Semple (eds) 2004, 95–105Google Scholar
Coatesworth, E 2008. Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture. Vol VIII: Western Yorkshire, Oxford: Oxford University PressGoogle Scholar
Colgrave, B Mynors, R A B (eds) 1969. Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Oxford: Clarendon PressGoogle Scholar
Davies, E 1929. The Prehistoric and Roman Remains of Denbighshire, Cardiff: William LewisGoogle Scholar
Davies, W 1982a. Wales in the Early Middle Ages, Leicester: Leicester University PressGoogle Scholar
Davies, W 1982b. ‘The Latin charter-tradition in western Britain, Brittany and Ireland in the early medieval period’, in Ireland in Early Medieval Europe (eds D Whitelock, R McKitterick and D Dumville), 258–280, Cambridge: Cambridge University PressGoogle Scholar
Davies, W 1998. ‘Charter-writing and its uses in early medieval Celtic societies’, in Literacy in Medieval Celtic Societies (ed H Pryce), 99–112, Cambridge: Cambridge University PressGoogle Scholar
Davies, W, Graham-Campbell, J, Handley, M, Kershaw, P, Koch, J T, Le Duc, G Lockyer, K 2000. The Inscriptions of Early Medieval Brittany, Oakville, Connecticut and Aberystwyth: Celtic Studies PublicationsGoogle Scholar
Derecki, P 2005. ‘Superbus Tyrannus Vortigernus’, Quaestiones Medii Aevi Nova, 199–227Google Scholar
Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources 1975– . (prep by R E Latham and D Howlett), Oxford: Oxford University PressGoogle Scholar
Dumville, D N 1977. ‘Sub-Roman Britain: history and legend’, History, new ser, 62, 173–192CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dumville, D N 2001. Review of D R Howlett, Cambro-Latin Compositions: their competence and craftsmanship (1998) and Liber epistolarum Sancti Patrocii episcopi: The Book of Letters of St Patrick the Bishop (1994), English Hist Rev, 116, 405–408CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dumville, D N (ed and trans) 2002. Annales Cambriae A.D. 682–954: Texts A–C in Parallel, Basic Texts for Brittonic History 1, Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityGoogle Scholar
Edwards, N 2001. ‘Early medieval inscribed stones and stone sculpture in Wales: context and function’, Medieval Archaeol, 45, 15–39CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, N 2007a. A Corpus of Early Medieval Inscribed Stones and Stone Sculpture in Wales. Vol II: South-west Wales, Cardiff: University of Wales PressGoogle Scholar
Edwards, N 2007b. ‘Edward Lhuyd and the origins of early medieval Celtic archaeology’, Antiq J, 87, 165–196CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, N 2008. ‘The Pillar of Eliseg’, in Evans 2008, 52–6Google Scholar
Edwards, N forthcoming. A Corpus of Early Medieval Inscribed Stones and Stone Sculpture in Wales. Vol III: North Wales, Cardiff: University of Wales PressGoogle Scholar
Effros, B 2002. Caring for Body and Soul: burial and the afterlife in the Merovingian world, University Park, Pa: Pennsylvania State University PressGoogle Scholar
Evans, D H 2008. Valle Crucis Abbey, rev edn, Cardiff: Cadw, Welsh Assembly GovernmentGoogle Scholar
Evans, J G Rhys, J (eds) 1893. The Book of Llan Dâv, Oxford, reprinted 1979, Aberystwyth: National Library of WalesGoogle Scholar
Evans, M D 2004. ‘Vaughan, Robert Powell (1591/2–1667)’, in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Online Edition (eds H C G Matthew and B Harrison), 〈http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/28141〉 (9 Nov 2007)Google Scholar
Ewart, G, Gallagher, D Ritchie, A 2007. ‘The Dupplin Cross: recent investigations’, Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 137, 319–336Google Scholar
FitzPatrick, E 2004a. Royal Inauguration in Gaelic Ireland c. 1100–1600: a cultural landscape study, Woodbridge, Suffolk, and Rochester, NY: Boydell PressGoogle Scholar
FitzPatrick, E 2004b. ‘Royal inauguration mounds in medieval Ireland: antique landscape and tradition’, in Pantos and Semple (eds) 2004, 44–72Google Scholar
Forsyth, K 1995. ‘The inscriptions on the Dupplin Cross’, in From the Isles of the North: early medieval art in Britain and Ireland (ed C Bourke), 237–244, Belfast: HMSOGoogle Scholar
Fowles, J (ed) 1980–2. Monumenta Britannica, John Aubrey (1626–97), 3 pts, facsimile (annotated by R Legg), 2 vols, Sherborne: Dorset PublishingGoogle Scholar
Grabar, A 1958. Les Ampoules de Terre Sainte, Paris: C KlincksieckGoogle Scholar
Gunther, R T 1945. Early Science in Oxford. Vol XIV: life and letters of Edward Lhwyd, Oxford: Oxford University PressGoogle Scholar
Harbison, P 1999. ‘Regal (and other) patronage in Irish inscriptions of the pre-Norman period’, Ulster J Archaeol, 58, 43–54Google Scholar
Hawkes, J 2006. ‘The legacy of Constantine in Anglo-Saxon England’, in Constantine the Great: York’s Roman emperor (eds E Hartley, J Hawkes and M Henig), 104–114, York: York Museums and Galleries TrustGoogle Scholar
Henderson, I 1996. ‘The Dupplin Cross: a preliminary consideration of its art-historical context’, in Northumbria’s Golden Age (eds J Hawkes and S Mills), 161–177, Stroud: Sutton PublishingGoogle Scholar
Henderson, I Okasha, E 1992. ‘The early Christian inscribed and carved stones of Tullylease, Co Cork’, Cambridge Medieval Celtic Stud, 24 (Winter), 1–36Google Scholar
Higgitt, J 1986. ‘Words and crosses: the inscribed stone cross in early medieval Britain and Ireland’, in Early Medieval Sculpture in Britain and Ireland (ed J Higgitt), 125–52, BAR Brit Ser 152, OxfordGoogle Scholar
Higgitt, J 1988. ‘The stone-cutter and the scriptorium: early medieval inscriptions in Britain and Ireland’, Epigraphik, 213, 149–162Google Scholar
Higham, N J 1993. The Origins of Cheshire, Manchester: Manchester University PressGoogle Scholar
Hill, D 2000. ‘Offa’s Dyke: pattern and purpose’, Antiq J, 80, 195–206CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, D 2001. ‘Mercians: the dwellers on the boundary’, in Brown and Farr (eds) 2001, 173–82Google Scholar
Hill, D Worthington, M 2003. Offa’s Dyke: history and guide, Stroud: TempusGoogle Scholar
Howlett, D 1998. Cambro-Latin Compositions: their competence and craftsmanship, Dublin: Four CourtsGoogle Scholar
Jarrett, M G 1983. ‘Magnus Maximus and the end of Roman Britain’, Trans Honourable Soc Cymmrodorion, 22–35Google Scholar
Jenkins, D Owen, M E 1983. ‘The Welsh marginalia in the Lichfield Gospels: part I’, Cambrian Medieval Celtic Stud, 5 (Summer), 37–66Google Scholar
Jones, T (ed and trans) 1952. Brut y Tywysogyon or The Chronicle of the Princes, Peniarth ms. 20 Version, Cardiff: University of Wales PressGoogle Scholar
Jones, T 1967. ‘The Black Book of Carmarthen “Stanzas of the Graves” ’, Proc Brit Acad, 53, 97–107Google Scholar
Jones, T (ed and trans) 1971. Brenhinedd y Saesson or the Kings of the Saxons, Cardiff: University of Wales PressGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendrick, T D 1949. Late Saxon and Viking Art, London: MethuenGoogle Scholar
Kirby, D P 1968. ‘Vortigern’, Bull Board Celtic Stud, 23 (1), 37–59Google Scholar
Knight, J K 2001. ‘Basilicas and barrows: the Latin memorial stones of Wales and their archaeological context’, in Roman, Runes and Ogham: medieval inscriptions in the Insular world and on the Continent (eds J Higgitt, K Forsyth and D N Parsons), 8–15, Donnington: Shaun TyasGoogle Scholar
Krautheimer, R 1980. Rome: profile of a city 312–1308, Princeton: Princeton University PressGoogle Scholar
Lang, J 2001. Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture. Vol VI: Northern Yorkshire, Oxford: Oxford University PressGoogle Scholar
Lloyd, J E 1939. A History of Wales from the Earliest Times to the Edwardian Conquest, 2 vols, 3rd edn, London: LongmansGoogle Scholar
Lloyd, J E Jenkins, R T (eds) 1959. The Dictionary of Welsh Biography down to 1940, London: Honourable Society of CymmrodorionGoogle Scholar
Lord, P 2003. The Visual Culture of Wales: medieval vision, Cardiff: University of Wales PressGoogle Scholar
Macalister, R A S 1922. ‘Notes on some of the early Welsh inscriptions’, Archaeol Cambrensis, 77, 198–219Google Scholar
Macalister, R A S 1935. ‘Note on the cross-shaft in the churchyard’, Archaeol Cambrensis, 90, 348–349Google Scholar
Macalister, R A S 1949. Corpus Inscriptionum Insularum Celticarum, ii, DublinGoogle Scholar
Matthews, J F 1983. ‘Macsen, Maximus and Constantine’, Welsh Hist Rev, 11 (4), 431–448Google Scholar
Mavor, E 1971. The Ladies of Llangollen, London: PenguinGoogle Scholar
Moon, R 1978. ‘Viking runic inscriptions in Wales’, Archaeol Cambrensis, 127, 124–126Google Scholar
Moore, D 1997. ‘Thomas Pennant’s vision of the landscape’, Archaeol Cambrensis, 146, 138–177Google Scholar
Morgan, R 1980. ‘Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt (1592–1667)’, J Merioneth Hist Rec Soc, 8 (4), 397–408Google Scholar
Morris, J (ed and trans) 1980. Nennius, British History and the Welsh Annals, London and Chichester: PhillimoreGoogle Scholar
Nash-Williams, V E 1950. The Early Christian Monuments of Wales, Cardiff: University of Wales PressGoogle Scholar
Okasha, E Forsyth, K 2001. Early Christian Inscriptions of Munster: a corpus of the inscribed stones, Cork: Cork University PressGoogle Scholar
Pantos, A Semple, S (eds) 2004. Assembly Places and Practices in Medieval Europe, Dublin: Four Courts PressGoogle Scholar
Pape, T 1945–6. ‘The round-shafted pre-Norman crosses of the north Staffordshire area’, Trans N Staffordshire Field Club, 80, 25–49Google Scholar
Pennant, T 1778–83. A Tour in Wales, 3 pts, London, facsimile edn (with intro by R P Evans), 1991, 2 vols, Wrexham: Bridge BooksGoogle Scholar
Petts, D 2002. ‘Cemeteries and boundaries in western Britain’, in Burial in Early Medieval England and Wales (eds S Lucy and A Reynolds), Soc Medieval Archaeol Monogr Ser 17, 24–46, LondonGoogle Scholar
Pollock, K J 2006. The Evolution and Role of Burial Practice in Roman Wales, BAR Brit Ser, 426, OxfordCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Radford, C A R 1958. ‘Vortigern’, Antiquity, 32, 19–24CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rance, P 2001. ‘Attacotti, Déisi and Magnus Maximus: the case for Irish federates in late Roman Britain’, Britannia, 32, 243–270CrossRefGoogle Scholar
RCAHMW 1914. An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire. Vol IV: County of Denbigh, London: HMSOGoogle Scholar
Redknap, M 2000. Vikings in Wales: an archaeological quest, Cardiff: National Museums & Galleries of WalesGoogle Scholar
Redknap, M Lewis, J M 2007. A Corpus of Early Medieval Inscribed Stones and Stone Sculpture in Wales. Vol I: South-east Wales and the English Border, Cardiff: University of Wales PressGoogle Scholar
Rhys, J 1908. ‘All around the Wrekin’, Y Cymmrodor, 21, 1–62Google Scholar
Roberts, B F (ed) 2005. Breudwyt Maxen Wledic, Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced StudiesGoogle Scholar
Roberts, T 1959. ‘Gutun Owain’, in Lloyd and Jenkins (eds) 1959, 323Google Scholar
Sayce, A H 1909. ‘The inscription on the Pillar of Eliseg, near Llangollen’, Archaeol Cambrensis, 6th series, 9, 43–48Google Scholar
Sidebottom, P 1994. ‘Schools of Anglo-Saxon sculpture in the north Midlands’, unpublished PhD thesis, University of SheffieldGoogle Scholar
Simpson, W 1827. Some Account of Llangollen and its Vicinity, London: G B WhittakerGoogle Scholar
Sims-Williams, P 1985. ‘Some functions of origin stories in early medieval Wales’, in History and Heroic Tale: a symposium (eds T Nyberg, I Piø, P Meulengracht Sørenson and A Trommer), 97–131, Odense: Odense University PressGoogle Scholar
Sims-Williams, P 1994. ‘Historical need and literary narrative: a caveat from ninth-century Wales’, Welsh Hist Rev, 17 (1), 1–40Google Scholar
Sims-Williams, P 2001. ‘Clas Beuno and the four branches of the Mabinogi’, in 150 Jahre ‘Mabinogion’ – deutsch-walisische Kulturbeziehungen (eds B Maier and S Zimmer), 111–127, Tübingen: Max NiemeyerCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stephenson, D 2008. ‘Madog ap Maredudd, Rex Powissensium’, Welsh Hist Rev, 24 (1), 1–28CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thacker, A T 1987. ‘Anglo-Saxon Cheshire’, in Victoria County History, Cheshire (ed B E Harris), i, 237–92, Oxford: Oxford University PressGoogle Scholar
Thomas, G 1983. ‘O Maximus i Maxen’, Trans Honourable Soc Cymmrodorion, 7–21Google Scholar
Thompson, E A 1984. Saint Germanus of Auxerre and the End of Roman Britain, Woodbridge: Boydell PressGoogle Scholar
Thornton, D E 2004a. ‘Vortigern (fl. 5th cent)’, in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (eds H C G Matthew and B Harrison), 〈http://www.oxforddnb.com./view/article/28354〉 (13 June 2008)Google Scholar
Thornton, D E 2004b. ‘Cyngen ap Cadell (d. 854/5)’, in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (eds H C G Matthew and B Harrison), Oxford 〈http://www.oxforddnb.com./view/article/51399〉 (13 June 2008)Google Scholar
Tomlin, R S O 2004. ‘Magnus Maximus (d. 388)’, in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (eds H C G Matthew and B Harrison), Oxford 〈http://www.oxforddnb.com./view/article/48295〉 (13 June 2008)Google Scholar
Turner, A 2008. ‘Geophysical and topographical surveys, Pillar of Eliseg’, unpublished reportGoogle Scholar
Tweddle, D, Biddle, M Kjølbye-Biddle, B 1995. Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture. Vol IV: South-east England, Oxford: Oxford University PressGoogle Scholar
Ward, J H 1972. ‘Vortigern and the end of Roman Britain’, Britannia, 3, 277–289CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Westwood, J O 1876–9. Lapidarium Walliae: the early inscribed and sculptured stones of Wales, Oxford: Cambrian Archaeol AssGoogle Scholar
Whitelock, D (ed and trans) 1961. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, London: Eyre & SpottiswoodeGoogle Scholar
Wilkinson, J 1977. Jerusalem Pilgrims before the Crusades, Warminster: Aris & PhillipsGoogle Scholar
Williams, I 1946–7. ‘Hen Chwedlau’, Trans Honourable Soc Cymmrodorion, 28–58Google Scholar
Williams, I 1959. ‘Guto’r Glyn’, in Lloyd and Jenkins (eds) 1959, 322Google Scholar
Williams, J (Ab Ithel) 1851. ‘The Pillar of Eliseg’, Archaeol Cambrensis, 2nd series, 2, 295–302Google Scholar
Williams, J L Williams, I (eds) 1939. Gwaith Guto’r Glyn, Cardiff: University of Wales PressGoogle Scholar
Winterbottom, M (ed and trans) 1978. Gildas, The Ruin of Britain and Other Works, Chichester: PhillimoreGoogle Scholar