The Battle of Llongborth was an ancient battle in Great Britain mentioned in a poem of the same name, traditionally attributed to Llywarch Hen. The poem in question, also known as Elegy for Geraint, celebrates Geraint ab Erbin from Dyfnaint, who died in the battle. The location and era of the battle is a matter of uncertainty. The Dumnonii is the Latin name for a Celtic tribe which emerged in the wake of the Roman withdrawal from England during the 4th century AD. Their territory spanned Somerset, Devon and Cornwall with further holdings in Dorset. ...

Certain scholars, such as John Morris, have identified Llongborth with the battle of Portsmouth mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon chronicles for the year 501, at which a "a young Welshman, a very noble man" is said to have died.[1] [2] By this interpretation, the hero of the poem may be the same Geraint who fought "for the South" at the battle described in Y Gododdin, and who is associated with King Arthur. However, William F. Skene and other scholars identify Llongborth with the battle in 710 between a later Geraint and Ine of Wessex – in this case, the Geraint of the elegy is identified as the 8th century king Geraint of Dumnonia. This evidently requires a later date of composition than the Portsmouth/Llywarch Hen hypothesis. Skene suggests Langport in Somerset as the location of the battle.[3] [4] The Right Honourable John Morris, Earl Morris of Aberavon, KG, PC, QC (born 5 November 1931), was a UK Labour member of Parliament for Aberavon. ... Events Qi He Di succeeds Qo Dong Hun Hou as ruler of the Chinese Qi Dynasty Pope Symmachus is accused of various crimes, but claims that the secular rulers have no authority over him. ... Y Gododdin (The Gododdin), attributed to the 7th century poet Aneirin, is a series of 99 elegies to the men of the kingdom of Gododdin in north-eastern Britain who fell in the battle of Catraeth, thought to be Catterick in North Yorkshire, against the Angles, ca. ... King Arthur is an important figure in the mythology of Great Britain, where he appears as the ideal of kingship in both war and peace. ... Events End of the Asuka period, the second and last part of the Yamato period and beginning of the Nara period in Japan. ... Ine (died 728) was the King of Wessex from 688 to 726, noted particularly for his code of laws. ... Wessex was one of the seven major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (the Heptarchy) that preceded the Kingdom of England. ... (7th century — 8th century — 9th century — other centuries) Events The Iberian peninsula is taken by Arab and Berber Muslims, thus ending the Visigothic rule, and starting almost 8 centuries of Muslim presence there. ... Geraint was a King of Dumnonia who ruled in the early eighth century. ... Map sources for Langport at grid reference ST4226 Langport is a town in Somerset, England. ... Somerset is a county in the south-west of England. ...

Various other locations have also been suggested. The poem itself, found in the Red Book of Hergest and Black Book of Carmarthen, praises Geraint's heroism, dwells with rhetorical repetitiveness on the speed of his horses, and makes in passing one of the earliest known allusions to Arthur. Though Arthur is often referred to simply as a war leader in early Welsh material, he is called "the emperor" in Elegy for Geraint. The Red book of Hergest (Welsh: Llyfr coch Hergest) is one of the most important medieval Welsh manuscripts. ... The black book of Carmarthen (Welsh: Llyfr du Caerfyrddin) is one of the earliest surviving manuscripts written entirely in Welsh. ... King Arthur is an important figure in the mythology of Great Britain, where he appears as the ideal of kingship in both war and peace. ...

See also

• William F. Skene's translation of the Llongborth poem