Madog of Edeirnion’s Strenua cunctorum. A Welsh-Latin poem in praise of Geoffrey of Monmouth

Abstract

abstract:This article offers an edition, translation, and study of Madog of Edeirnion’s Strenua cunctorum, a Welsh-Latin poem from the thirteenth century. The poem serves as a preface for Madog’s own peculiar recension of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s De gestis Britonum, and, as such, it is valuable as one of the few direct commentaries on Geoffrey’s history surviving from medieval Wales. In general, Madog’s poem tells a familiar story: the medieval Welsh approached Geoffrey’s De gestis Britonum with pride and enthusiasm. This article also addresses the identity of Madog of Edeirnion, arguing that the conflation with the Welsh-language poet Madog ap Gwallter is mistaken and that the two should be considered separate authors. Finally, this article takes into account the early modern copy of the poem found in Corpus Christi College MS 281 to suggest that Madog’s poem might have circulated in late medieval Wales.