Bladud
| Bladud | |
|---|---|
 Bladud from the Genealogical Chronicle of the Kings of England to Edward IV (c. 1461) | |
| King of Britain | |
| Predecessor | Rud Hud Hudibras |
| Successor | Leir |
| Issue | Leir |
| Father | Rud Hud Hudibras |
BladudorBlaiddyd[a]is a legendary king of theBritons,although there is no historical evidence for his existence. He is first mentioned inGeoffrey of Monmouth'sHistoria Regum Britanniae(c.1136), which describes him as the son of KingRud Hud Hudibras,and the tenth ruler in line from the first king,Brutus,saying Bladud was contemporaneous with thebiblical prophetElijah(9th century BC).
ABleydiudson of Caratauc is mentioned in theWelshHarley MS 3859 genealogies (in the British Library), suggesting to some that Geoffrey misinterpreted a scrap of Welsh genealogy (such as theHarleian genealogiesitself or a related text).[1]The Welsh form of the name is given asBlaiddydin manuscripts of theBrut Tysilio(Welsh translations of Geoffrey'sHistoria).[2]The meaning of the name is "Wolf-lord" (Welshblaidd"wolf" +iudd"lord" ).[3][4]In the text he is said to have founded the city ofBath.He was succeeded by his sonLeir(theShakespeareanKing Lear).
The tale of Bladud was later embellished by other authors, such asJohn HardyngandJohn Higgins,writing in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.[5]
Legend
[edit]According to the final form of the legend, which appeared in John Hardyng'sChroniclesof 1457, Bladud's father sent his son to be educated in theliberal artsinAthens.After his father's death he returned with four philosophers, and founded auniversityatStamford, Lincolnshire,[6]which flourished until SaintAugustine of Canterburysuppressed it on account ofheresieswhich were taught there.[7]
Supposedly he ruled for twenty years from 863 BC or perhaps 500 BC, in which time he built Kaerbadum or Caervaddon (Bath), creating thehot springsthere by the use of magic. He dedicated the city to the goddessAthenaand in honour of her, lit undying fires, whose flames turned to balls of stone as they grew low, with new ones springing up in their stead: an embellishment of an account from the third-century writerSolinusof the use of local coal on the altars of her temple.[6][8]
Leprosy
[edit]
Bladud supposedly founded the city of Bath because, while he was in Athens, he contracted leprosy;when he returned home he was imprisoned as a result, but escaped and went far off to go into hiding. He found employment as aswineherdatSwainswick( "Swineswick" ),[9]about two miles from the later site ofBath,and noticed that his pigs would go into analder-moorin cold weather and return covered in black mud.
He found that this mud was warm, and that the pigs wallowed to enjoy the heat. He also noticed that the pigs which did this did not suffer from skin diseases as others did, and on trying the mud-bath himself found that he was cured of his leprosy.[10]He was then restored to his position asheir-apparentto his father, and founded Bath so that others might also benefit as he had done.
The story of Bladud's cure-by-immersion was much exploited when Bath became a fashionablespa resort.The statue of King Bladud overlooking theKing's Bathat Bath carries the date of 1699, but it is much older than this.[11]It was assembled from parts of two statues (respectively depictingEdward IIIand Bladud himself) previously mounted on the city's north and south gates; its pitted appearance from weathering enhanced the association with disease.[9]
In the eighteenth century Bladud's legendary cure was celebrated byJohn Wood,the architect responsible for the fashionable development of Bath, who incorporated many references to the king in his buildings.[9]
Divination, wings and death
[edit]The tale claims that Bladud also encouraged the practice ofnecromancy,or divination through the spirits of the dead. Through this practice, he is said to have constructed wings for himself and to have tried to fly to (or from) the temple ofApolloinTrinovantum(London) or Troja Nova (New Troy), but to have been killed when he hit a wall, or to have fallen and been dashed to pieces or to have broken his neck. He was supposedly buried at New Troy and succeeded by his son,Leir.[12]
Conflation with Abaris the Hyperborean
[edit]Eighteenth century Bath architect John Wood wrote about Bladud, and put forth the fanciful suggestion that he should be identified withAbaris the Hyperborean,the healer known fromClassical Greeksources.[13]
In fiction
[edit]Vera Chapman'sBlaedud the Birdmanis a fantasy novel about the character.[14]
Moyra Caldecott'sThe Winged Manis a fictional account of the life of Bladud.
Bladud, styled Blaiddyd, is a legendary hero inFire Emblem: Three Houses.
The narrator ofStephen Lawhead's secondSong of Albionbook (The Silver Hand,1992ISBN9781782640493), Tegid Tathal, Chief Bard ofAlbion,is asked by the godGofannonto tell the story ofBladudd the Blemishedwhich he does in the way of myth, presenting it as an classic teaching story about sovereignty and mental/ physical purity.
The legend is reproduced with some artistic interpretation as a short story inCharles Dickensnovel “The Pickwick Papers”,as the main character is visiting Bath.
House of Brutus
[edit]See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]a.^Pronunciation: As a mythological figure, there is no definitive pronunciation, but inmodern Englishit is/ˈblædəd/.[15]In theBrythonic languageof the time theddof "Blaiddyd" would have been pronounced[ð],which has allowed some authors to call him "Bathulf, the founder of Bath".[16]
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^Hutson, Eugene,British personal names in the Historia regum Britanniae,part of seriesUniversity of California Publications in English,Volume 5, no. 1, University of California Press, 1940, p. 12.
- ^Jones, Mary."Brut Tysilio"Archived9 April 2012 at theWayback Machine,maryjones.us. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
- ^Williams, Ifor(1980) [1972],The Beginnings of Welsh Poetry: studies.Cardiff University of Wales Press,p. 160Ifor Willimas here comments on a different personage, i.e., Bleiddud, Lord of Tenby in the poemEtmic Dinbychor 'Praise of Tenby'. The later shift in spelling to Bleiddydd is also discussed.
- ^Bladud signified "wolf-fighter" accord. toSayce, A. H.(1890) "The Legend of King Bladud"Y Cymmrodor10:214
- ^Borsay, Peter (2000).The image of Georgian Bath, 1700-2000: towns, heritage, and history.Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. p. 50.ISBN0-19-820265-2.
- ^abStern, Tiffany(2021). Chiari, Sophie; Cuisinier-Delorme, Samuel (eds.).Spa culture and literature in England, 1500-1800.Cham, Switzerland:Springer.pp. 91–92.ISBN9783030665685.
- ^Whyte, William (7 March 2018)."The Medieval University Monopoly".History Today.
- ^Cunliffe, Barry W.(1984).Roman Bath Discovered.London: Routledge. pp. 3–4.ISBN0-7102-0196-6.
- ^abcStern (2021) p.106
- ^Stern (2021) p.95
- ^Tindall, Laurence."Roman Baths King Bladud 1982".Archived fromthe originalon 3 March 2016.Retrieved25 October2008.
- ^Stern (2021) p.102
- ^MacKillop,Dictionary of Celtic Mythology,p. 43.
- ^Baird Searles,Beth MeachamandMichael Franklin.A Reader's Guide To Fantasy.New York, N.Y.: Avon, 1982. ISBN038080333X(p.29).
- ^Parr, Amanda(14 April 2008)."Pig Sculptures arrive in Bath".BBC News.
- ^Skeat, Walter W.(1912).English Dialects From the Eighth Century to the Present Day.Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. p.50.
Sources
[edit]- John Clark, Bladud of Bath: The archaeology of a legend,Folklorevol. 105 (1994), 39–50.
- Howard C Levis FSA,Bladud of Bath: the British King who tried to fly,West Country Editions: Bath (1973).
- MacKillop, James (1998).Dictionary of Celtic Mythology.Oxford.ISBN0-19-860967-1.
- Jean Manco,The mystery of Bladud,part of Bath Past.
