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The Battle of Llongborth was an ancient battle in Great Britain
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
 mentioned in a poem of the same name, traditionally attributed to Llywarch Hen
Llywarch Hen

Llywarch Hen was a 6th century prince of the Brythonic House of Rheged, a ruling family in the Hen Ogledd or 'Old North' of Britain . He was first cousin to King Urien and may possibly have been a monarch himself in the same region....
. The poem in question, also known as Elegy for Geraint, celebrates Geraint ab Erbin from Dyfnaint
Dumnonia

Dumnonia was a Brythonic kingdom of sub-Roman Britain, located in the West Country of modern England and covering Devon, most of Somerset and possibly part of Dorset, its eastern boundary being uncertain....
, who died in the battle. It is very uncertain where and when the battle was. If the name Llongborth is of Celtic origin, it seems to mean "ship-port" or "ship-bay".

Certain scholars, such as John Morris
John Morris (historian)

John Robert Morris was an English historian who specialised in the study of the institutions of the Roman Empire and the history of Sub-Roman Britain....
, have identified Llongborth with the battle of Portsmouth mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon chronicles for the year 501, at which a "a young Welshman, a very noble man" is said to have died. .






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The Battle of Llongborth was an ancient battle in Great Britain
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
 mentioned in a poem of the same name, traditionally attributed to Llywarch Hen
Llywarch Hen

Llywarch Hen was a 6th century prince of the Brythonic House of Rheged, a ruling family in the Hen Ogledd or 'Old North' of Britain . He was first cousin to King Urien and may possibly have been a monarch himself in the same region....
. The poem in question, also known as Elegy for Geraint, celebrates Geraint ab Erbin from Dyfnaint
Dumnonia

Dumnonia was a Brythonic kingdom of sub-Roman Britain, located in the West Country of modern England and covering Devon, most of Somerset and possibly part of Dorset, its eastern boundary being uncertain....
, who died in the battle. It is very uncertain where and when the battle was. If the name Llongborth is of Celtic origin, it seems to mean "ship-port" or "ship-bay".

Certain scholars, such as John Morris
John Morris (historian)

John Robert Morris was an English historian who specialised in the study of the institutions of the Roman Empire and the history of Sub-Roman Britain....
, have identified Llongborth with the battle of Portsmouth mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon chronicles for the year 501, at which a "a young Welshman, a very noble man" is said to have died. . Some scholars identify Llongborth with the battle in 710 between a later Geraint and Ine
Ine

Ine may refer to one of the following:*Ine of Wessex, a king of Wessex *Ine, Kyoto, a town in Japan*ine, the List of ISO 639 codes code of nonspecified Indo-European languages...
 of Wessex
Wessex

West Saxon redirects here. For other meanings of Wessex or West Saxon see Wessex .Wessex , from the Old English Westseaxe , was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of the English state in the 9th century, under the Wessex dynasty....
. In this case, the Geraint of the elegy is identified as the 8th century king Geraint of Dumnonia
Geraint of Dumnonia

Geraint was a King of Dumnonia who ruled in the early 8th century. During his reign, it is believed that Dumnonia came repeatedly into conflict with neighbouring Anglo-Saxon Wessex....
. This needs a later date of composition than the Portsmouth/Llywarch Hen hypothesis. Bryce, following others, suggests Langport
Langport

Langport is a small town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated west of Somerton in the South Somerset district. The town has a population of 1,067....
 in Somerset
Somerset

Somerset is a Counties of England in South West England. The county town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county. The Ceremonial counties of England of Somerset borders the counties of Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west....
 as the location of the battle . Various other places have been suggested.

The poem, found in the Red Book of Hergest
Red Book of Hergest

The Red Book of Hergest is one of the most important medieval Welsh language manuscripts....
 and the Black Book of Carmarthen
Black Book of Carmarthen

The Black Book of Carmarthen is thought to be the earliest surviving manuscript written entirely or substantially in Welsh language. Written in around 1250, the book's name comes from its association with the Priory of St....
, praises Geraint's heroism, dwells with rhetorical repetitiveness on the speed of his horses, and makes in passing one of the earliest known allusions to Arthur
King Arthur

King Arthur is a legendary Britons leader who, according to medieval histories and Romance , led the defence of Britain against the Saxon invaders in the early 6th century....
. Though Arthur is often referred to simply as a war leader in early Welsh material, he is called "the emperor" in Elegy for Geraint.

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