Dalyd
Dalyd, the first king of the Armorican Isles, from whom all of the monarchs of Saern and Ceasaer are descended was himself the youngest son of King Solomon of Gwened, which at the time was the most important of the native kingdoms of Armorica.
Life
Dalyd was born in 428 CE and raised a Christian, he was originally baptised Antonius. However, as he reached his teens he met Talchan the druid and his brother (or lover, the sources are unclear), Dewrad the bard. The young Antonius soon became a disciple of Talchan and left his father’s court, changing his name to Dagolitus ("good strength").
When he reached the age of eighteen, his father issued a proclamation disowning him and a warrant for "the apostate's" death, along with all other "idolators" and "apostates" within his realm. In response, Talchan's followers took Dalyd to Ynys Trevech (French Mont St Michel), Armorica’s most holy place and here they crowned Dalyd true King of Gwened and all Armorica, elect of the gods. Dalyd’s father raised an army and marched on Ynys Trevech, so Dalyd and Talchan's other followers fled to the city of Alauna in what is now Normandy. For two years they attracted more followers to their cause, but Alauna was sacked by invading Franks in 448.
Again leaving, Dalyd's army marched on Dāriorīgum, the capital of Gwened and won a resounding victory, forcing Solomon to flee to the southern island named Vindilis.
In 450 CE, the Franks again swept down on Armorica, an "innumerable horde", as the tales say. Talchan's followers were pre-warned of this by one of the druid's divine visions, and the majority of the pagan Armoricans quit Dāriorīgum, much to the relief of the country's Christians and established themselves in the largely uninhabited islands in the British Sea. The first town they founded was Dāriorīgon Novion on Caesaria (Daerry, or Landrewan as it is called nowadays).
Ancestry
Dalyd, being the son of Solomon, and despite his father's and grandfather's Christianity, can trace his ancestry back to the gods, as is proper for a king. The first of his ancestors to rule Armorica was Conan ap Gerên, who was also the Prince of Dumnonia in Britain. Conan's ancestors were the High Kings of Britain, so the kings of the Isles have a claim to the throne of Kemr, which they maintained until the eighteenth century.
Dalyd'’s full lineage is presented below:
King Dalyd ap Selyf ap Graedlan ap Conan ap Geren ab Oethaew ap Aenyth ap Gwrdhovyn ap Cwndry Vawr ap Maerchon ab Échwon ap Coelyn ap Caradoc ap Bran ap Lydaewon ap Nethyl ap Taraen.
The full Gaulish form is:
Dagolitos rīx Solomoni Gratilāni Conani Gerontii Oxtavii Anidi Virodubni Counorīges Marcioni Aisuoni Colini Caratāci Brenni Lītavioni Nextuli Taranōs.
