Caradoc of Llancarfan facts for kids

Caradoc of Llancarfan (Welsh: Caradog o Lancarfan) was a Welsh writer and churchman who lived in the 1100s. He was connected to a place called Llancarfan in Wales. People believe he wrote two important books in Latin: one about a saint named Gildas and another about Saint Cadog. These books tell stories about the lives of these saints.

Who Was Caradoc?

Caradoc's Time and Writings

Caradoc lived around the same time as Geoffrey of Monmouth, another famous writer. Geoffrey wrote a book called Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain). At the end of his book, Geoffrey mentioned that Caradoc was writing a continuation. This means Caradoc was supposed to write about events that happened after Geoffrey's book ended, up to Caradoc's own time.

Many people think this continuation was a history book called Brut y Tywysogion (Chronicle of the Princes). However, old copies of this book that still exist today don't mention Caradoc as the author.

Books About Saints

Caradoc is most known for writing the Life of Gildas and the Life of Saint Cadog.

• The Life of Gildas was likely written between 1130 and 1150. The writer seemed to know a lot about a church called Glastonbury Abbey. This makes some people think that Caradoc might have moved there from Llancarfan.
• The Life of Saint Cadog tells the story of Saint Cadog, who founded the church settlement (called a clas) at Llancarfan. This book is special because it includes King Arthur as a main character in the story!

A very old handwritten book kept at the University of Cambridge contains both the Life of Gildas and the Life of Saint Cadog. At the end of the Life of Gildas, the author wrote a short poem in Latin saying that he also wrote the Life of Saint Cadog. This is how we know Caradoc wrote both.

Later Stories About Caradoc

The Historie of Cambria

In the 1500s, a Welsh historian named David Powel wrote a book called Historie of Cambria. He said his book was a continuation of the history Caradoc had started.

The Brut Aberpergwm Forgery

Later, in the late 1700s, a man named Iolo Morganwg claimed he found Caradoc's lost history book, which he called Brut Aberpergwm. This book was published in a collection called The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales.

However, it turned out that Brut Aberpergwm was one of many fake writings created by Iolo Morganwg. He was known for making up old stories and documents. His forgeries often made the Kingdom of Morgannwg (which is now Glamorgan) seem much more important in early Welsh history than it actually was.

Doubts About Caradoc's Story

In 1938, a scholar named J. S. P. Tatlock wrote an article that questioned some of the things people believed about Caradoc of Llancarfan. He suggested that some earlier historians, like T. F. Tout and Sir John Edward Lloyd, had used unreliable information or had misunderstood what was truly known about Caradoc. Tatlock believed that much of what was written about Caradoc was not based on solid facts.