Appendix IV - The date of composition of Breuddwyd Rhonabwy

Summary

Many dates, from ca 1220 to the later fourteenth century, have been proposed for the composition of Breuddwyd Rhonabwy. Mary Giffin's argument that certain details of the armour and heraldic emblems that are so prominent in the descriptions of characters in Breuddwyd Rhonabwy point to a date of composition at the close of the thirteenth century or the early years of the fourteenth century has proved influential. Some of the specific points that she makes cannot be accepted unreservedly. For example, she notes that the lions and a leopard (a full-faced lion) that feature on flags flying over pavilions and on crests of helmets in Breuddwyd Rhonabwy ‘are common in heraldry and can be identified with Wales, some of them with Powys about 1300’. She points to the coat of arms listed as that of Owain ap Gruffudd (of southern Powys) which is no. 33 in St George's Roll: ‘a red lion upon a golden shield, the lion sometimes represented full-faced’. Giffin associates this coat with elements in the tale: ‘The second squire coming to Owain in the “Dream” issues from a yellow pavilion surmounted by a red lion; the second horseman coming to Arthur wears a gold helmet crested with a red lion; and the third squire of Owain comes from a spotted yellow pavilion surmounted by a red leopard.’ But she goes on to claim that ‘[t]he same roll in which the lion-leopard coat appears lists a second coat borne by Owein [sic] ap Gruffydd upon certain occasions: a green shield with four gold eagles displayed. In the “Dream” Owein's third squire is dressed in green and issues from a pavilion surmounted by a gold eagle.’ Giffin attributes this ‘alternative coat’ to St George's Roll, no. 139. The references are actually to Charles's Roll. Her description of the ‘alternative coat’ is contradicted by Siddons, who notes it as Gules, a cross Or between four eagles displayed argent, and locates it as no. 139 in Charles's Roll. On this specific point, therefore, Giffin's attempt to align the episode of Owain's third squire with Powysian heraldry fails. It is not even certain that the ‘alternative coat’ belongs to the family of southern Powys. The following entry on Charles’ Roll appears to relate to northern Powys (that is, the lordship of Bromfield).