Clemen ap Bledric

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Clemen ap Bledric (also known as Clement or Clemens) was a 7th-century King of Dumnonia (now the English West Country).

Family, life and rule

Born about 580, the son of

St Petroc, other authorities state that this saint lived around a century earlier, the princely son of King Glywys of Glywysing,[1]
making it likely Clemen was actually the father of Petroc Baladrddellt.

Some authors have Tewdwr (or Teudu) son of Peredur ruling as king in the fl. 620s, descended from a different line of Dumnonian kings from Gerren Llyngesic's son

Domnonia in Brittany.[4]

Battle of Beandun

Clemen was probably king when the

Britons fought the Battle of Beandun (sometimes thought to be Bindon near Axmouth in Devon[5] but more likely to be in Somerset given the location of the earlier (577) victory at the Battle of Deorham) in 614 when, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle tells us, King Cynegils and his son Cwichelm of Wessex invaded Dumnonia. 614 is also the year that which the peace was broken on the borders of Glevissig (Glywysing), suggesting the Dumnonians co-ordinated their efforts with the kings of South Wales,[6] such as Nynnio ap Erb who was probably ruling Gwent and Glywysing at the time.[7]

The West Saxon army was said to have killed 2,065 British:[6] however this figure seems suspect upon examination. Peter Marren[8] estimates Norman casualties at the battle of Hastings to have been around 2000 men, representing a large multinational force in one of the largest battles of the age. Therefore for Wessex to have slain this many men would represent an enormous victory that should have been total. However, very little seems to change as the Anglo Saxon Chronicle records in 652 Cenwalth fighting at Bradford Upon Avon against an unknown foe very likely to be the Britons.[9]

Siege of Exeter

Clemen may have been reigning in 630-632 when, according to

besieged Exeter until the exiled King Cadwallon of Gwynedd arrived to defeat the Mercians. The three kings are said to have made an alliance and marched north to face the armies of Northumbria which were then occupying Gwynedd: Exeter was in the kingdom of Dumnonia, and Cadwallon is said to have made an alliance with Dumnonia's nobility though Clemen's name is not mentioned.[10][11]

Today's reputable historians do not mention this siege at all, considering it together with the rest of Historia Regum Britanniae as one of Geoffrey of Monmouth's many colourful inventions.[citation needed]

Battle of Cefn Digoll

Clemen may have fought at the Battle of Cefn Digoll (Long Mountain, near Welshpool in Gwynedd) in alliance with Gwynedd and Mercia, against Northumbrian domination in 630.[12] It is not known whether the Dumnonians were part of the British army that went on to ravage Northumbria over the following years.

Literature

He is also given in Llyfr Baglan (Book of Baglan) as a Duke of Cornwall, son of Bredrice (e.g. Bledric) and father of Pedroc (e.g. Petroc).[13]

References

  1. ^ Williams, Robert. Enwogion Cymru. W. Rees. 1852 p394
  2. ISBN 0-7867-0692-9
    p118
  3. ISBN 0-631-22260-X
    p166
  4. ISBN 0-7867-0692-9
    p119
  5. ISBN 1-84212-477-3
    p.307
  6. ^
    ISBN 1-84212-477-3
    p308
  7. ^ Post-Roman Celtic Kingdoms: Gwent Archived 2011-10-01 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2008-09-04.
  8. ^ [Marren, P. (2004). 1066 - The Battles Of York, Stamford Bridge and Hastings. Havertown: Pen and Sword]
  9. ^ [Thorpe, B. (1861). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, according to the several original authorities. 2nd ed. London: Longman, Green, Longman and Roberts]
  10. ^ Jenkins, Alexander. The History and Description of the City of Exeter. P. Hedgeland. 1806 p11
  11. ^ Giles, J. A. Six Old English Chronicles. Henry G. Bohn. 1848 p284
  12. ^ D. P. Kirby, The Earliest English Kings (1991, 2000), pages 71–72.
  13. Joseph Alfred Bradney
    . London: Mitchell, Hughes and Clarke, 1910. p80
Regnal titles
Preceded by
King of Dumnonia

c. 613–c. 630 		Succeeded by
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