BLEDRI ap CYDIFOR
(d.
1120
),
chieftain
,
to whom the
Normans
entrusted, during the
Welsh revolt
of
1116
, the castle of
Robert
Courtemayn
near
Carmarthen
, situated perhaps at
Abercywyn
. He figures in the
Pipe Roll
of
1130
as ‘
Bledericus Walensis
,’ who owes £1 for the killing of a
Fleming
by his men and one mark in respect of scutage. The cartulary of
Carmarthen priory
shows that, at some time between
1129 and 1134
, ‘
Bledericus
’ bestowed on that house four carucates of land in
Eglwys Newydd
, now
Newchurch
. In this record, he bears the title ‘Latemeri,’ i.e.
interpreter
, which confirms the impression that he was a
Welshman
of consequence in this district who maintained friendly relations with the invader. His descendants remained prominent landowners hereabouts for centuries. They were to be found at
Cil Sant
,
Pwll Dyfach
,
Motlysgwm
, and
Picton
.
Bledri
is an unusual name, and it is natural to identify the
Carmarthen
magnate
with the ‘
Bledhericus
’ of
Gerald of Wales
, whom he describes as a famous
romancer
, not long dead.
Norman French
, it is certain, was a familiar tongue to one who acted as
interpreter
between the two races. It is a further step, not accepted on all hands, to find in the same man the
‘
Breri
’ who is treated as an authority about
1160
by the
author
of a
French
romance of
Tristan
, and also the ‘
Bleheris
’ of an early form of the
Perceval legend
.
Bibliography:
-
A History of Carmarthenshire
(ed.): , 2 vols., 1935–9
, i, 134, 136, 138;
-
E. K. Chambers
,
Arthur of Britain
, 1927
,
1927
, 149-50.
Author:
Sir John Edward Lloyd, D.Litt., F.B.A., F.S.A. (1861-1947), Bangor.
