{"id":162835,"date":"2026-02-01T17:12:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T17:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celticorthodoxy.com\/?p=127564"},"modified":"2026-02-01T17:56:36","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T17:56:36","slug":"arimathea-arthur-cadwalladr-britain-genealogies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/watchman.news\/pl\/2026\/02\/arimathea-arthur-cadwalladr-britain-genealogies\/","title":{"rendered":"From Troy to Britain: Joseph of Arimathea, Anna, Cadwalladr, and the Sacred Genealogies of Early Britain"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Troy to Britain: Joseph of Arimathea, Anna, Cadwalladr, and the Sacred Genealogies of Early Britain<\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Across medieval Britain, Wales, and continental Europe, a remarkable convergence of royal, ecclesiastical, and Trojan traditions shaped how early British history was understood. Welsh annals, Glastonbury chronicles, Frankish genealogies, and the Brut tradition all preserve overlapping memories linking Britain not only to Rome, but to Troy \u2014 and even to the Holy Land through Joseph of Arimathea.<\/p>\n

These genealogies were not marginal curiosities. They were copied, transmitted, and treated as authoritative by monks, chroniclers, heralds, and royal genealogists for centuries. They informed kingship, church origins, and national identity.<\/p>\n

Today, much of this material survives only in scattered manuscripts and early printed books. At Celtic Orthodoxy and Celtic Press, we are gathering and presenting these sources so readers can engage the tradition directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Trojan\u2013Judah Line
\n(Saxon\/Wessex Pedigree Extension Tradition)<\/th>\n		British \u2192 Constantine \u2192 Pharamond
\n(Romano-Frankish Regnal Line)<\/th>\n		Ll\u0177r \u2192 Bran \u2192 British Kings \u2192 Cadwalladr \u2192 Odin
\n(Welsh + Saxon Genealogical-Roll Tradition)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Judah \u2192 Zerah \u2192 Dardanus \u2192 Ericthonius \u2192 Tros \u2192 Ilus \/ Laomedon \u2192 Priam (brother of Tithonus) \u2192 Troan (nephew of Memnon) \u2192 Thor \u2192 Lridi \u2192 Einridi \u2192 Vingethor \u2192 Vinener \u2192 Moda \u2192 Magi \u2192 Seskef \u2192 Bedwig \u2192 Hwala \u2192 Hathra \u2192 Itermon \u2192 Heremod \u2192 Sceldwa (Skjold) \u2192 Beaw \u2192 Taetwa<\/td>\nCaradog<\/td>\nLl\u0177r (Lear), King of Britain<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u2193<\/td>\n\u2193<\/td>\n\u2193<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gaut (Gapt)<\/b> (Geata \/ Greata) \u201cFather of the Gauti\u201d<\/td>\nCyllin<\/td>\nBran the Blessed (husband of Anna of Arimathea)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u2193<\/td>\n\u2193<\/td>\n\u2193<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kr\u00f3l Godwulf Trojan\u00f3w<\/td>\nCoel<\/td>\nCaradog, King of Britain<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u2193<\/td>\n\u2193<\/td>\n\u2193<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
King Flocwald (born 110 AD, Asgard \u2013 East Europe)<\/td>\nLieffer (Lucius) Mawr<\/td>\nCyllin, King of Britain<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u2193<\/td>\n\u2193<\/td>\n\u2193<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
King Finn (born 160 AD, Asgard \u2013 East Europe)<\/td>\nCadwalladr<\/td>\nCoel, King of Britain<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u2193<\/td>\n\u2193<\/td>\n\u2193<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Freothalaf (Fredulph) (born 190 AD, Asgard \u2013 East Europe)<\/td>\nKing of Colchester (Camulod) Coel<\/td>\nLieffer (Lucius) Mawr, King of Britain
\nm. Gladys (Claudia) \u201cthe Elder,\u201d daughter of Eurgen\/Eugein son of Marius and Victoria (daughter of Boudicca)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u2193<\/td>\n\u2193<\/td>\n\u2193<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Odin \/ Wodin of Asgaard (Asia) m. Frigge<\/td>\nHelen (St Helena of the Cross)<\/td>\nCadwalladr (Cadvan) of Britain
\nm. Gladys (Claudia) \u201cthe Younger\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n\u2193<\/td>\n\u2193<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nConstantine I, Emperor of Rome<\/td>\nFriege (Frigga) married Odin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n\u2193<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nConstantia + Valerius Licinianus<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n\u2193<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nLicinianus<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n\u2193<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nJustina + Valentinian I<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n\u2193<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nJusta Valentina + King Theodomir of the Franks<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n\u2193<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nDuke Genebald of the East Franks<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n\u2193<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nArgotta of the Franks + Pharamond<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Note 1:<\/b> Plik Vita \u00c6lfredi regis Angul Saxonum<\/i> i Anglo-Saxon Chronicle<\/i> preserve Wessex pedigrees extended beyond Cerdic and Woden to Adam; see discussion and manuscript comparisons in Sisam (pp. 297\u2013298), which notes numerous independent manuscript witnesses across the Saxon Heptarchy.<\/p>\n

What follows is a concise explanation of how these traditions intersect \u2014 followed by reference groups documenting their manuscript foundations.<\/p>\n

\n

Joseph of Arimathea, Anna, and the British Royal Line<\/h2>\n

Welsh ecclesiastical and royal sources preserve a lineage linking Joseph of Arimathea through Anna to Bran the Blessed, and onward through Lucius and Cadwalladr.<\/p>\n

Independent Welsh manuscript authorities corroborate this tradition outside of later antiquarian summaries. John Rhys and David Brynmor Jones, in The Welsh People<\/em> (Oxford, 1900), identify Bran as son of Llyr and Penardim, while demonstrating from early Welsh materials that Penardim was sister to Beli, and that Beli himself appears in medieval pedigrees as Beli Mawr, mab Anna<\/em> (\u201cBeli the Great, son of Anna\u201d), preserved in Jesus College MS. 20 (13th century). Rhys and Brynmor Jones further record a Welsh tradition stating that Anna was said by the men of Egypt to be cousin of the Virgin Mary<\/em>. This same identification appears again in royal Welsh genealogies, where Anna is explicitly described as \u201ccousin of the Virgin Mary, mother of our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

These materials were later incorporated into the Annales Cambriae<\/em> (Rolls Series, Longmans, 1860), which preserves the descent of the British royal house through Bran and Anna, alongside the parallel imperial pedigree through Empress Helena to Constantine the Great. Patrick Montague-Smith (The Royal Line of Succession with Genealogical Tables<\/em>, Pitkin, 1968) confirms that this Welsh royal stream ultimately feeds into later English royal lines.<\/p>\n

Taken together, these independent manuscript traditions \u2014 Welsh, ecclesiastical, and royal \u2014 preserve a continuous memory linking Anna (associated with Joseph of Arimathea), Bran the Blessed, Lucius, and Cadwalladr within Britain\u2019s early sacred and dynastic history.<\/p>\n

This lineage exists alongside the much broader tradition that Joseph of Arimathea personally led the first-century British Church at Glastonbury, a subject documented across numerous ancient manuscripts and cataloged here:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/celticorthodoxy.com\/2019\/12\/numerous-ancient-manuscripts-confirming-st-joseph-of-the-sanhedrin-founded-the-british-hebrew-priesthood-at-glastonbury-in-36ad\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Arthur and the Glastonbury Joseph Tradition<\/h2>\n

Glastonbury sources extend this sacred genealogy further. John of Glastonbury preserves a lineage connecting King Arthur directly to Joseph of Arimathea through Helaius, Josus, Josue, Aminadab, and Ygerna (Igraine), concluding that Arthur descended from the stock of Joseph.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Parallel Grail traditions describe Joseph\u2019s son as guardian of the sacred vessel until Arthur\u2019s time, reinforcing the same ecclesiastical memory. Although many Glastonbury records were destroyed during the Dissolution, these traditions survive through quotations, derivative manuscripts, and medieval compilations.<\/p>\n

\n

Troy, Brutus, and Britain\u2019s Foundation Narrative<\/h2>\n

Running alongside the Joseph and Welsh royal traditions is the Trojan foundation stream preserved by Geoffrey of Monmouth and the Welsh Brut literature. In this framework, Britain is founded by Brutus of Troy, descendant of Dardanus, and the royal line proceeds through early British kings to Lucius and Cadwalladr.<\/p>\n

Supporting Trojan material is documented in:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/celticorthodoxy.com\/2021\/10\/dardanus-of-troy-to-france-from-ambassador-college-thesis-of-herman-l-hoeh\/<\/a><\/p>\n

and further reinforced by dynastic continuity traced through Hector of Troy and later European houses:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/celticorthodoxy.com\/2025\/03\/the-house-of-brunswick-an-enduring-legacy-of-este-and-troy\/<\/a><\/p>\n

These traditions are also preserved in the Welsh Triads and related manuscript collections:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/celticorthodoxy.com\/2023\/10\/triads-of-wales-occ-e-book-library-content\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Later Frankish genealogies attempted to harmonize this Trojan-British stream with Roman imperial succession and early Frankish kingship, producing the Romano-British \u2192 Frankish \u2192 Pharamond synthesis seen in medieval royal tables.<\/p>\n

\n

Why These Genealogies Matter<\/h2>\n

Whether viewed as sacred tradition, royal mythography, or ecclesiastical memory, these genealogies shaped Britain\u2019s identity for centuries.<\/p>\n

They were used to legitimize kings, define church origins, and unite Britain with Rome and Troy under a sacred historical vision:<\/p>\n

Troy \u2192 Britain \u2192 Rome \u2192 Franks \u2192 Saxons<\/strong><\/p>\n

Medieval royal rolls deliberately inserted Brutus and Arthur into dynastic charts \u2014 not as fiction, but as national theology.<\/p>\n

Today, these sources remain scattered across rare books and manuscripts. Celtic Orthodoxy already hosts dozens of out-of-copyright works addressing these traditions in depth, and Celtic Press is preparing to consolidate this material into accessible volumes for modern readers.<\/p>\n

This article serves as an introduction \u2014 and an invitation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcdc<\/span> Reference Group 1 \u2014 Welsh Royal \/ Lucius \u2192 Cadwalladr Tradition<\/b><\/p>\n

Core genealogical sources<\/b><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Iolo Manuscripts, Vol. I (Taliesin Williams, ed.)<\/b> \u2014 p. 126<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u201cFrom Coel came Cyllin; from Cyllin came Lleirwg, called Lucius; from Lucius came Cadwalladr Fendigaid, last King of the Britons.\u201d
    \n(Available via: Iolo Manuscripts, Vol I<\/i>, Denbigh: T. Gee & Son, 1894)
    \n\u2014 Provides the explicit Welsh pedigree chain<\/i>.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales<\/b> (Denbigh edition, 1870)
      \n\u2014 A comprehensive collection of medieval Welsh chronicles, triads, and genealogies that underlie the Lucius\/Cadwalladr line.
      \n\u2014 Includes Brut y Brenhinedd<\/b>, lists of British kings, and saintly lineages.
      \n\u2014 This is the primary manuscript source reservoir<\/i> for the Welsh material later printed.<\/li>\n
    2. Pedigrees of the Welsh Saints<\/b> (compiled from medieval MSS)
      \n\u2014 Reflects the same genealogical lines found in the Triads and Welsh genealogical tracts, including Lleirwg<\/i>, Coel Hen<\/i>, Cyllin<\/i>, i Cadwalladr<\/i>.
      \n\u2014 Particularly useful because it assembles multiple manuscript variants.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Saxon \/ Later Royal Pedigree Sources<\/b><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. UK College of Arms \u2014 Pedigree of the Saxon Kings<\/b>, p. 25
        \n\u2014 Lists Frea \/ Frigge<\/i> as daughter of Cadwallader<\/i>.
        \n\u2014 This is part of a heraldic\/royal pedigree roll preserved in College of Arms collections showing how Saxon royal genealogies assimilated earlier British material.<\/li>\n
      2. Roderick W. Stuart, Royalty for Commoners<\/i><\/b> (1992)
        \n\u2014 Lists Frigge, Gadwalld\u00f3ttir<\/i> as daughter of Cadwalladr<\/i>.
        \n\u2014 This modern antiquarian work collates multiple earlier genealogical manuscripts and pedigrees.<\/li>\n
      3. The American Genealogist<\/b>, Vol. 69 (April 1994)
        \n\u2014 Commentary on Roderick W. Stuart\u2019s work (including Royalty for Commoners<\/i>), discussing the Frigga \/ Gadwalld\u00f3ttir<\/i> attribution and how it appears in heraldic pedigrees.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        \ud83d\udee1\ufe0f<\/span> Reference Group 2 \u2014 Romano-British \u2192 Frankish \u2192 Pharamond Tradition<\/b><\/p>\n

        These sources document the broader Trojan-British\u2192Roman\u2192Frankish genealogical frameworks<\/b> used by medieval chroniclers and later antiquarians.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Grzegorza z Tours, History of the Franks<\/i><\/b>
          \n\u2014 A foundational early Frankish narrative. While Gregory himself does not supply the full Trojan-British link, later medieval editors and chroniclers appended genealogical tables making the connection from Trojan-British kings to Frankish royalty.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Print edition \/ transcript:<\/b>
          \n\u2014 Gregory of Tours: The History of the Franks<\/i>, translated by Lewis Thorpe (Penguin Classics).
          \n\u2014 Archive.org scan (older edition): History of the Franks<\/i> (e.g., Kraus reprint).<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Chronicle of the Kings of Britain<\/i><\/b> (Geoffrey of Monmouth tradition with appended pedigrees)
            \n\u2014 Many medieval editions (Latin and French) include genealogical tables connecting British kings to Roman and continental traditions.
            \n\u2014 The appended materials are exactly what later genealogists used to justify Merovingian \/ Carolingian links to Trojan-British ancestors.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Available edition:<\/b>
            \n\u2014 Chronicle of the Kings of Britain<\/i> (e.g., early English or Latin printings)<\/p>\n

            Example:<\/b>
            \n\u2014 Latin text: Chronica Regum Britanniae<\/i> (Geoffrey) with appended tables showing Roman-Frankish links.<\/p>\n

              \n
            1. William of Malmesbury, Gesta Regum Anglorum<\/i><\/b>
              \n\u2014 Often cited by later genealogists who constructed Frankish-British lines via Roman imperial links; this work is used as a source in medieval continental genealogical compilations.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              \ud83e\udeb6<\/span> Reference Group 3 \u2014 Trojan-Brut Foundation Tradition<\/b><\/p>\n

              These are the core medieval narrative sources<\/i> that establish the Brutus of Troy tradition<\/b> upon which the other lines build.<\/p>\n

                \n
              1. Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britanniae<\/i><\/b>
                \n\u2014 Primary medieval chronicle that codifies the Brutus \u2192 British kings \u2192 Cadwalladr<\/b> narrative.
                \n\u2014 Establishes Brutus as founder, lists all primordial British rulers (including Lucius<\/i>) and ends with Cadwalladr Fendigaid<\/i>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                Print editions worth citing:<\/b><\/p>\n

                  \n
                1. \n