Talk:King of Wales
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King of Wales
Ok. You decided to cull the article without a talk. So I propose an article returning the information that was added on the lines of, "legendary Kings of Wales"... What is your opinion? Cltjames (talk) 18:39, 12 September 2023 (UTC)
- It's indefensible to add immense reams of garbled pseudohistory as fact, and this isn't the only article where that urgently needs remedying. If we can't agree on this, I propose that we ask for help from Wikiproject Wales. Richard Keatinge (talk) 18:48, 12 September 2023 (UTC)
- @Richard Keatinge Maybe that's a good idea. There was a lot of relevant research which was added to the article involving credible sources from the era associating Kings of Gwynedd as Kings of Wales, not just from Geoffrey of Monmouth. So I think a new article should be created or at least look into the medeival Kings of Wales list to revert some entries, because there are several individuals with claims the the title King of Wales as listed from historically reliable sources. Cltjames (talk) 18:57, 12 September 2023 (UTC)
- @Cltjames Would you be kind enough to make on this page a suggestion for a "fact" -just one - that should go in here? We may discuss more profitably and at reasonable length. Richard Keatinge (talk) 19:21, 12 September 2023 (UTC)
- @Richard Keatinge My contribution for the article was the inclusion of the Book of Baglan. I wrote about the Governors of North Cambria who were also Earls of Ewias and Irchenfeld. These were the descendants of King Camber son of the legendary Brutus of Troy. I also cross referenced the Book of Llandaf, Welsh triads, Mabinogion, Historia Regum Britanniae, Where Troy Once Stood. The article previously mentioned Camber, King of Cambria (Wales). I simply elaborated the connection to the medieval Kings of Wales and Celtic origins.
- In terms of a simple fact, perhaps I should firstly continue explaining that maybe a separate article could be created about the Earl of Ewyas and Irchenfeld or about the Governors of Cambria (also part of the Dukedom of Dumnonia). A similar list is found at the List of legendary rulers of Cornwall article (my inspiration for the changes). I believe Wales too should have a legendary King list on Wikipedia like Cornwall or Ireland (List of High Kings of Ireland) do, or a continuation of the List of legendary Kings of Britain
- But as for fact, I believe the medieval Wales King list to be legitimate and I think it was Brut y tywysogion which was the main source. The list spans from c. 600 - c.1200 and definitely specifies Kings of Wales prior to the use of the titles of Princes. Cltjames (talk) 01:48, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
- @Cltjames Would you be kind enough to make on this page a suggestion for a "fact" -just one - that should go in here? We may discuss more profitably and at reasonable length. Richard Keatinge (talk) 19:21, 12 September 2023 (UTC)
- @Richard Keatinge Maybe that's a good idea. There was a lot of relevant research which was added to the article involving credible sources from the era associating Kings of Gwynedd as Kings of Wales, not just from Geoffrey of Monmouth. So I think a new article should be created or at least look into the medeival Kings of Wales list to revert some entries, because there are several individuals with claims the the title King of Wales as listed from historically reliable sources. Cltjames (talk) 18:57, 12 September 2023 (UTC)
- OK, let's keep it initially simple by considering the Book of Baglan as a source. To use it as a reliable source we would need specific references to academic, accepted, modern analyses of the work that confirm each and every point being made. The popular modern literature on the subject, varying from popular books to devoted websites, isn't reliable (it can be fun, but that's not the point here, our speculations are irrelevant), and points made in transcriptions/translations (do you have a copy of Bradney's edition?) would only be acceptable with modern academic backing. And a simple link to our article on the Book isn't adequate reference for anything at all. What do you have as reference for your points from the Book of Baglan? Richard Keatinge (talk) 10:07, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
- @Richard Keatinge Also now there is an inconsistency in an article related which mentions Rhodri Mawr with a link to this article. And also the Brut y tywysogion list is in the Ruler of Wales article as King of Wales, but not here since you've deleted the article. List of rulers of Wales#Title of "King of Wales". There needs to be consistency between both articles which link the King of Wales title. Also the Ruler of Wales article specifies the King of Britain, which you removed. Again, a historically reliable article using correct sources.Cltjames (talk) 12:46, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
Here are some references that can be used to refer to the Kingdom of Ewias and a connection to the Silures tribe.
- Bannister, Arthur Thomas (1861). "1". The history of Ewias Harold (PDF). Jakeman & Carver. pp. 2–4. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- "A Brief History of Ewyas Lacy". ewyaslacy.org. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
- Not an academic work, heavily dependent on post-Galfridian material. Richard Keatinge (talk) 13:38, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
Then there are a few websites that speak about Brutus of Troy and his Welsh descendants.
- "Beli Mawr And Lllyr Lledaith in Welsh Pedigrees". ancientwalesstudies.org. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
- A SPS without academic credentials Richard Keatinge (talk) 13:38, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
- "Rex Britannorum". kingdomofwales.wales. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- Another WP:SPS Richard Keatinge (talk) 13:38, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
Between them, you can find references to other sources that speak of the same descendants of King Camber, especially later on when talking about the family of Llyr and the Mabinogion. Then there is the Cornwall survey which confirms the descent of some members of the Governorship of Cambria.
- Carew, Richard (1769) [1602]. The Survey of Cornwall. And An Epistle concerning the Excellencies of the English Tongue. E. Law and J. Hewett.
- Again, not reliable for our present purposes. page 77 onward doesn't even name his own relevant sources. Much of it has a degree of charm though. I'd like to have met M. Charles Treuanion. Richard Keatinge (talk) 13:38, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
I was also thinking that with this research there is a chance to expand on the Celtic Silures tribe research and find more information linking the Mabinogion character Llyr to the tribe and then the descent of Beli Mawr (Heli) and his ancestral connection to the Governor of Cambria. That was the research I conducted, I think it mostly verifies an Earldom of Ewias and Irchenfeld in the Herefordshire area, and there is a gap in the Welsh royal history articles on Wikipedia to include a pre-AD list of Governors and tribal boundaries of Wales. Cltjames (talk) 18:39, 12 September 2023 (UTC)
- There's no really tactful way to say this, but none of these references are suitable for Wikipedia, or indeed as a guide to real pre-Galfridian history. They don't verify anything relevant. You appear to be going down a rabbit hole into a world of myth and legend at best, outright fantasy otherwise. May I strongly suggest that you revise WP:RS and confine your efforts on Wikipedia to reliable sources? On your own website etc you can put whatever you like, and that might be the best outlet for your recent researches.
- I repeat my offer to ask for help from Wikiproject Wales, WP:3O, etc if you feel that's needed. Richard Keatinge (talk) 13:38, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
- @Richard Keatinge Ok, well, your right about the rabbit hole, the research is a bit of a dead end. However, that's the beauty of the subject, there is a definitive amount of information which can be correctly presented, no more, but also essentially, no less. As for the articles, I will look into creating a separate article for the descendants of Camber, nothing concrete yet, just exploration about the Governorship of Cambria. Mythological and legendary articles based on ancient Kings is a subject picked up by Cornwall and Ireland like I previously mentioned and this it would be in Welsh interests to connect these Celtic Britons articles. So, when the correct approach is gathered then I would like to speak to Project Wales on Wikipedia about the research I conducted and how to create a link from Brutus of Troy, Celtic tribes, medieval Kingdoms and the Prince of Wales. As the connection is there for 3,000 years of history, it just needs to be explained correctly, we've started something now.
- I suggest that the best place for this is on your own website, or in your own novel (lots of scope there). List of legendary kings of Britain is probably as much as Wikipedia needs. I'm sorry to say that exploration of mythical kings is not suitable here, nor is "creating links". Richard Keatinge (talk) 14:01, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
- Otherwise the other point which you didn't address is that there is now an inconsistency between this article and the List of rulers of Wales article which has a {{see also link to this article, but this article now lacks the correct information to link both articles to do with the Gwynedd Kings who claimed King of Wales and previously King of Britain. Cltjames (talk) 13:53, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
- I am just going to pop a quick word of agreement with Richard Keatinge here, largely so as not to waste your time on something. A list of Legendary kings of Britain is fine, but such a list cannot be made for Wales because Wales did not exist as a polity at the time. Nor, indeed, was it a unified polity with a single ruler at any time except for a very brief period prior to conquest. Presenting information about legendary figures is fine, but they are legendary figures of the Britons. Sirfurboy🏄 (talk) 16:40, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
- As per advice on Wikipedia:Deletion review/Log/2023 September 14#King of Wales the article has been restored to previous version, and will be discussed appropriately.Cltjames (talk) 17:52, 134 September 2023 (UTC)
- The advice applied to a blank-and-redirect or deletion, neither of which this was. Following extensive discussion above I have reverted to the last defensible version - thanks for the typo fix. Please avoid edit warring and instead seek consensus for your changes here. Richard Keatinge (talk) 07:41, 15 September 2023 (UTC)
- As per advice on Wikipedia:Deletion review/Log/2023 September 14#King of Wales the article has been restored to previous version, and will be discussed appropriately.Cltjames (talk) 17:52, 134 September 2023 (UTC)
- I am just going to pop a quick word of agreement with Richard Keatinge here, largely so as not to waste your time on something. A list of Legendary kings of Britain is fine, but such a list cannot be made for Wales because Wales did not exist as a polity at the time. Nor, indeed, was it a unified polity with a single ruler at any time except for a very brief period prior to conquest. Presenting information about legendary figures is fine, but they are legendary figures of the Britons. Sirfurboy🏄 (talk) 16:40, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
Consistency with other articles
@Richard Keatinge Also now there is an inconsistency in an article related which mentions Rhodri Mawr with a link to this article. And also the Brut y tywysogion list is in the Ruler of Wales article as King of Wales, but not here since you've deleted the article. List of rulers of Wales#Title of "King of Wales". There needs to be consistency between both articles which link the King of Wales title. Also the Ruler of Wales article specifies the King of Britain, which you removed. Again, a historically reliable article using correct sources.Cltjames (talk) 12:46, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
- Thanks. I have removed the inadequately-referenced list and the unhelpful link that you mention. Richard Keatinge (talk) 14:01, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
- @Richard Keatinge Ok, the final issue now would be the King of the Britons article which has a similar list of Kings of Wales. I think this is a bigger scope than deleting the information and like you said it should go to wikiproject Wales to decide what to do. Can you make the request please? Cltjames (talk) 14:17, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
- I wonder if King of the Britons needs only a bit of editing, possibly a disclaimer, to the effect that none of the persons in the list was actually King of all the Britons, so the article lists people who were ever referred to by (almost) contemporaries as something of the sort, whatever their claims to kingship or to overlordship may have been. Anyway, that's best discussed on the appropriate talk page. Thanks. Richard Keatinge (talk) 14:55, 13 September 2023 (UTC)
What is this article about?
Can we clarify what the focus of this article is intended to be? Is it a list of Legendary kings, like List of legendary kings of Britain or Legendary kings of Scotland? Or does it purport to be a list of actual kings, setting aside for now the question of how you can have a king without the existence of a kingdom? If it's the former, should this not be made clear in the title, e.g. Legendary kings of Wales? If it's the latter, where is the current, reliable sourcing that supports their historical existence? To take the first, directly relevant, section as an example, "Establishing the Kingdom of Cambria (Wales)", this has seven sources/ footnotes:
- Book of Baglan - complied in the 1600s. Our article on this says "it is not considered wholly accurate";
- Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae - written in the 13th century. Our article on this says, "it is now considered to have no value as history";
- A book by John T. Koch - Unfortunately, it's not accessible online;
- A blog published on a travel website - authored by Bernard Jones who, as far as I can see, has no standing as a professional historian;
- Geoffrey of Monmouth, again - our article on him says he is "is now considered historically unreliable";
- A article by Darrell Wolcott - he appears to be a retired banker who has established his own Welsh studies centre, . I've no idea of his standing as a historian, but the conclusion on Brutus of Troy states, "his pedigrees are deficient and likely fabricated"
- The Book of Baglan, again.
Assuming the Koch to be an RS, we appear to have one such source that may suggest King Camber, of whom our article states "Camber has no historical basis but is the product of Geoffrey of Monmouth's imagination, invented largely for political ends within the contemporary Anglo-Norman world", was a descendent of Brutus of Troy, Aeneas and ultimately Zeus. I am really struggling to see how we can confidently present this information as credible, if we are suggesting this is a list of actual, as opposed to legendary, kings.
Could the article's main authors (the text is showing as +90% to be by User:Cltjames and User:Titus Gold), clarify the aim/subject of this article. KJP1 (talk) 08:09, 15 September 2023 (UTC)
- Actually, ignore all of the above. User:Richard Keatinge has addressed the concerns by a reversion, for which many thanks! KJP1 (talk) 08:14, 15 September 2023 (UTC)
- This is the version of the page before the edits of those two editors, so you can check that to see what may have been the original aim of the article when it was created and before these later overhauls, which seemed to be disputed. There could be something that can be re-added from these older versions, or is proof the subject itself is flawed. Nonetheless the older version has less citations, so best to be constructive if anything even minor from these later overhauls can be re-added and aren't disputed. DankJae 16:06, 15 September 2023 (UTC)
- In my view, it should be evidence based and historically accurate for those who self-identified as "King of Wales" or who were recognised by others as a King of Wales, regardless of how much of modern Wales they controlled. Titus Gold (talk) 18:56, 15 September 2023 (UTC)
- What? That includes him? That's an utter and complete misunderstanding of how Wikipedia should be, which is your core problem and why you were TBAN'd. It needs to be WP:DUE. Of all the WP policies, it's the one you should read and re-read. Random claiming in an after-the-event medieval or antiquarian source? Who cares? The only timethe WP:RS (arguably) reference a King of Wales was a decade under Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, regardless of POV pipe dreams. DeCausa (talk) 19:26, 15 September 2023 (UTC)
- In my view, it should be evidence based and historically accurate for those who self-identified as "King of Wales" or who were recognised by others as a King of Wales, regardless of how much of modern Wales they controlled. Titus Gold (talk) 18:56, 15 September 2023 (UTC)
- This is the version of the page before the edits of those two editors, so you can check that to see what may have been the original aim of the article when it was created and before these later overhauls, which seemed to be disputed. There could be something that can be re-added from these older versions, or is proof the subject itself is flawed. Nonetheless the older version has less citations, so best to be constructive if anything even minor from these later overhauls can be re-added and aren't disputed. DankJae 16:06, 15 September 2023 (UTC)
- Actually, ignore all of the above. User:Richard Keatinge has addressed the concerns by a reversion, for which many thanks! KJP1 (talk) 08:14, 15 September 2023 (UTC)




