Peibio Clafrog
Encyclopedia
Peibo Clafrog was King of Ergyng
in south-east Wales
in the 5th or 6th century. He is chiefly known from the legends of Saint Dubricius
, who was supposedly his grandson.
, as well as in a number of works derived from the Life and charters associated with Dubricius. He is consistently described as Dubricius' maternal grandfather.
In the Life, Peibio is King of Ergyng and has a daughter, Efrddyl. He is afflicted with a mouth ailment that causes him to drivel saliva constantly. This is supposed to be the cause of his epithet Clafrog, though this term literally means "scabby" or "leprous"; there has evidently been some confusion with the similar-sounding Glyfoer or Glafoer, meaning "drivel". Returning from a skirmish one day, Peibo asks his daughter to help him wash his head. In the process he discovers that she is pregnant. Furious, he orders her to be tied in a sack and drowned in a river. When she washes ashore, he then orders her burnt alive. The next day, however, his servants discover that she has miraculously survived the ordeal and is contently nursing her newborn baby on top of the pyre. The regretful Peibio orders Efrddyl and her child brought to him; the child's touch instantly cures his affliction. In thanks Peibio bestows his grandson with the place of his extraordinary birth, called Matle (Madley
), and eventually a monument commemorating the event is erected.
Another, different account of the parentage of Saint Dubricius is given in the Liber Landavensis where it is stated that he was the son of Eurddyl, a daughter of a certain Pepiau, the son of Erb, who was a governor of the district of Ergyng. Dubricius' father's name, however, is not mentioned. From the similarity of the names of Pepiau, Papai, and Pabiali, it is possible that the above Pepiau and Pabiali, the son of Brychan
, were the same person, which would make Dubricius a great-grandson of Brychan—but would place a great distance between the respective eras. Whatever relationship, if any, that Dubricius bore to Brychan, it is clear that his mother could not have been the daughter of Meyrig, the son of Tewdrig, as it can be satisfactorily proved that Meyrig died in 575 at the age of 90, and that Saint Dubricius was born in 475, consecrated bishop in 505, and died in 560, at the age of 85 years.
Ergyng
Ergyng was a Welsh kingdom of the sub-Roman and early medieval period, between the 5th and 7th centuries. It was later referred to by the English as Archenfield.-Location:...
in south-east Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
in the 5th or 6th century. He is chiefly known from the legends of Saint Dubricius
Dubricius
Saint Dubricius was a 6th century Briton ecclesiastic venerated as a saint. He was the evangelist of Ergyng and much of South-East Wales.-Biography:Dubricius was the illegitimate son of Efrddyl, the daughter of King Peibio Clafrog of Ergyng...
, who was supposedly his grandson.
Life of Dubricius
Peibo Clafrog appears in the Life of Dubricius included in the 12th-century Book of LlandaffBook of Llandaff
The Book of Llandaff is a 12th century compilation of documents relating to the history of the diocese of Llandaff in Wales...
, as well as in a number of works derived from the Life and charters associated with Dubricius. He is consistently described as Dubricius' maternal grandfather.
In the Life, Peibio is King of Ergyng and has a daughter, Efrddyl. He is afflicted with a mouth ailment that causes him to drivel saliva constantly. This is supposed to be the cause of his epithet Clafrog, though this term literally means "scabby" or "leprous"; there has evidently been some confusion with the similar-sounding Glyfoer or Glafoer, meaning "drivel". Returning from a skirmish one day, Peibo asks his daughter to help him wash his head. In the process he discovers that she is pregnant. Furious, he orders her to be tied in a sack and drowned in a river. When she washes ashore, he then orders her burnt alive. The next day, however, his servants discover that she has miraculously survived the ordeal and is contently nursing her newborn baby on top of the pyre. The regretful Peibio orders Efrddyl and her child brought to him; the child's touch instantly cures his affliction. In thanks Peibio bestows his grandson with the place of his extraordinary birth, called Matle (Madley
Madley
Madley is a village and civil parish in the English county of Herefordshire. It is located six miles west of the city of Hereford.-Other settlements:...
), and eventually a monument commemorating the event is erected.
Possible alternative identities
According to the tale of Culhwch and Olwen, there were two kings named Nynnio and Peibio who were metamorphosed into horned oxen on account of their sins. They appear as insane kings, who were brothers in the tale of Rhita Gawr. In the genealogies in the Jesus College MS 20 of the fifteenth century, Peibo is called Peibiawn Glawrawc, and is reckoned to be the son of Arbeth and the father of Tewdwr.Another, different account of the parentage of Saint Dubricius is given in the Liber Landavensis where it is stated that he was the son of Eurddyl, a daughter of a certain Pepiau, the son of Erb, who was a governor of the district of Ergyng. Dubricius' father's name, however, is not mentioned. From the similarity of the names of Pepiau, Papai, and Pabiali, it is possible that the above Pepiau and Pabiali, the son of Brychan
Brychan
Brychan Brycheiniog was a legendary 5th-century king of Brycheiniog in South Wales.-Life:Celtic hagiography tells us that Brychan was born in Ireland, the son of a Prince Anlach, son of Coronac, and his wife, Marchel, heiress of the Welsh kingdom of Garthmadrun , which the couple later inherited...
, were the same person, which would make Dubricius a great-grandson of Brychan—but would place a great distance between the respective eras. Whatever relationship, if any, that Dubricius bore to Brychan, it is clear that his mother could not have been the daughter of Meyrig, the son of Tewdrig, as it can be satisfactorily proved that Meyrig died in 575 at the age of 90, and that Saint Dubricius was born in 475, consecrated bishop in 505, and died in 560, at the age of 85 years.