Triffyn Farfog

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Triffyn Farfog (English: Triffyn the Bearded) was a semi-legendary fifth century king of Dyfed, father of Aergol Lawhir and grandfather of Vortipor. Peter Bartrum estimated his date of birth at around 430 AD. [1]

Triffyn's name is usually considered as derived from the Roman title tribunus, and in some texts his name is written much closer to the original Latin word. [2] [3] [1] [4] While Triffyn's parentage of Aergol is consistent in sources, his own descent is now unclear with multiple ancestries claimed in different genealogies. [5] Early Irish genealogies name Triffyn's father as Aed Brosc  [ it ], an invader of the dynasty of Eochaid Allmuir ("Eochaid the Foreigner"), remembered in his native land as a member of the Déisi. [6] Welsh genealogies that do not mention Aed Brosc name Triffyn's father as Owain Fraisg. [7] [8] In addition some Welsh genealogies claim Triffyn was a descendant of the Roman usuper Magnus Maximus. [1] [9]

Triffyn is supposed to have married Gwledyr, daughter of Clydwyn ap Ednyfed, though this connection is described in tentative language by Bartrum. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Bartrum, Peter C. (1993). "Triffyn, king of Dyfed". A Welsh Classical Dictionary: People in History and Legend up to about A.D. 1000 (2009 ed.). Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales. pp. 707–709.
  2. Wade-Evans, Arthur (1934). Welsh Christian Origins. Oxford: The Alden Press. pp. 91, 261–262.
  3. Caradog of Llancarfan (1899). "Vita Gildae". In Williams, Hugh (ed.). Gildas: The Ruin of Britain, Fragments from Lost Letters, the Penitential, Together with The Lorica of Gildas. London: David Nutt. pp. 398–399. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  4. Owen, George (1906). Owen, Henry (ed.). The Description of Penbrokshire. London: The Bedford Press. p. 277. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  5. Thornton, David E. (2003). Kings, Chronologies, and Genealogies: Studies in the Political History of Early Medieval Ireland and Wales. Oxford: Unit for Prosopographical Research. p. 153. ISBN   978-1-900934-09-1 . Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  6. Bartrum, "Eochaid Allmuir", op. cit., p. 286.
  7. Bartrum, "Aed Brosc", op. cit., p. 1.
  8. Barry, Rev. E. (January–March 1900). "Records of the Barrys. First Chapter.—Barrymore. Notes and Corrections". Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society. Second Series. VI (45): 9. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  9. Bartrum, P. C., ed. (1966). Early Welsh Genealogical Tracts. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. pp. 4, 10, 30, 45–46, 106.