Riothamus, Prince of Domnonée
(Born c.AD 435)
(Welsh-Rigadaf,
Latin-Riothamus, English-Ricodam)
Riothamus
or Riatham, as he was apparently known in Brittany, is remembered as one of
the greatest of Breton leaders. Riomathus means Greatest-King. Some
historian's, notably Geoffrey
Ashe, believe he was the original King
Arthur. However, he appears quite clearly in the Breton pedigrees of
the Princes of Domnonée recorded in the lives of several saints. He is
there recorded as a son Prince Deroch
II, though external evidence would suggest he was a son of Prince
Deroch I and grandson of Guitol.
Like so many Breton princes, Riothamus appears to have been exiled to
Britain after his father's death, presumably in the midst of a Civil War. He
eventually returned though and killed the usurping general named Marchell.
Thus the true Royal Domnonian line was restored. Riothamus may even have
been recognised as King of all Brittany.
Riothamus is an historical character
well attested in surviving records. A letter
from Sidonius Apollinaris, a Roman Prefect and Bishop of Clermont,
written around AD 470, asks Riothamus for justice for "an obscure and
humble person," who has had his slaves enticed away, by a group of
armed Bretons, for whom the slave-owner was little match. He had appealed to
the Bishop who, obviously thought Riothamus a fair-minded enough judge to
reprimand his own people. He is also mentioned in Jordane's 6th century Gothic
History. This records how the Roman Emperor Anthemius requested
help from the Bretons in fighting the invading Visigoths. Riothamus
responded with 12,000 armed men to the aid Roman cause. However, the Roman
forces let him down completely and arrived at the ensuing battle too late to
prevent the total annihilation of the Breton army at the hands King Euric of
the Visigoths.
|
