| Bladud | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bladud from the Genealogical Chronicle of the Kings of England to Edward IV (c. 1461) | |
| King of Britain | |
| Predecessor | Rud Hud Hudibras |
| Successor | Leir |
| Issue | Leir |
| Father | Rud Hud Hudibras |
Bladud orBlaiddyd[a] is a legendary king of theBritons, although there is no historical evidence for his existence. He is first mentioned inGeoffrey of Monmouth'sHistoria Regum Britanniae (c. 1136), which describes him as the son of KingRud Hud Hudibras, and the tenth ruler in line from the first king,Brutus, saying Bladud was contemporaneous with thebiblical prophetElijah (9th century BC).
ABleydiud son of Caratauc is mentioned in theWelsh Harley MS 3859 genealogies (in the British Library), suggesting to some that Geoffrey misinterpreted a scrap of Welsh genealogy (such as theHarleian genealogies itself or a related text).[1] The Welsh form of the name is given asBlaiddyd in manuscripts of theBrut Tysilio (Welsh translations of Geoffrey'sHistoria).[2] The meaning of the name is "Wolf-lord" (Welshblaidd "wolf" +iudd "lord").[3][4] In the text he is said to have founded the city ofBath. He was succeeded by his sonLeir (theShakespeareanKing Lear).
The tale of Bladud was later embellished by other authors, such asJohn Hardyng andJohn Higgins, writing in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.[5]
According to the final form of the legend, which appeared in John Hardyng'sChronicles of 1457, Bladud's father sent his son to be educated in theliberal arts inAthens. After his father's death he returned with four philosophers, and founded auniversity atStamford, Lincolnshire,[6] which flourished until SaintAugustine of Canterbury suppressed it on account ofheresies which were taught there.[7]
Supposedly he ruled for twenty years from 863 BC or perhaps 500 BC, in which time he built Kaerbadum or Caervaddon (Bath), creating thehot springs there by the use of magic. He dedicated the city to the goddessAthena and in honour of her, lit undying fires, whose flames turned to balls of stone as they grew low, with new ones springing up in their stead: an embellishment of an account from the third-century writerSolinus of the use of local coal on the altars of her temple.[6][8]
Bladud supposedly founded the city of Bath because, while he was in Athens, he contractedleprosy; when he returned home he was imprisoned as a result, but escaped and went far off to go into hiding. He found employment as aswineherd atSwainswick ("Swineswick"),[9] about two miles from the later site ofBath, and noticed that his pigs would go into analder-moor in cold weather and return covered in black mud.
He found that this mud was warm, and that the pigs wallowed to enjoy the heat. He also noticed that the pigs which did this did not suffer from skin diseases as others did, and on trying the mud-bath himself found that he was cured of his leprosy.[10] He was then restored to his position asheir-apparent to his father, and founded Bath so that others might also benefit as he had done.
The story of Bladud's cure-by-immersion was much exploited when Bath became a fashionablespa resort. The statue of King Bladud overlooking theKing's Bath at Bath carries the date of 1699, but it is much older than this.[11] It was assembled from parts of two statues (respectively depictingEdward III and Bladud himself) previously mounted on the city's north and south gates; its pitted appearance from weathering enhanced the association with disease.[9]
In the eighteenth century Bladud's legendary cure was celebrated byJohn Wood, the architect responsible for the fashionable development of Bath, who incorporated many references to the king in his buildings.[9]
The tale claims that Bladud also encouraged the practice ofnecromancy, or divination through the spirits of the dead. Through this practice, he is said to have constructed wings for himself and to have tried to fly to (or from) the temple ofApollo inTrinovantum (London) or Troja Nova (New Troy), but to have been killed when he hit a wall, or to have fallen and been dashed to pieces or to have broken his neck. He was supposedly buried at New Troy and succeeded by his son,Leir.[12]
Eighteenth century Bath architect John Wood wrote about Bladud, and put forth the fanciful suggestion that he should be identified withAbaris the Hyperborean, the healer known fromClassical Greek sources.[13]
Vera Chapman'sBlaedud the Birdman is a fantasy novel about the character.[14]
Moyra Caldecott'sThe Winged Man is a fictional account of the life of Bladud.
Bladud, styled Blaiddyd, is a legendary hero inFire Emblem: Three Houses.
The narrator ofStephen Lawhead's secondSong of Albion book (The Silver Hand, 1992ISBN 9781782640493), Tegid Tathal, Chief Bard ofAlbion, is asked by the godGofannon to tell the story ofBladudd the Blemished which he does in the way of myth, presenting it as an classic teaching story about sovereignty and mental/ physical purity.
The legend is reproduced with some artistic interpretation as a short story inCharles Dickens novel “The Pickwick Papers”, as the main character is visiting Bath.
a.^ Pronunciation: As a mythological figure, there is no definitive pronunciation, but inmodern English it is/ˈblædəd/.[15] In theBrythonic language of the time thedd of "Blaiddyd" would have been pronounced[ð], which has allowed some authors to call him "Bathulf, the founder of Bath".[16]
| Legendary titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | King of Britain | Succeeded by |
