Today we’re talking about one of the more interesting characters who appears in both The Retreat to Avalon and The Strife of Camlann. His name is Illtud, and he is known in history and legend as a soldier who served King Arthur, a saint, and a great teacher.
If you are familiar with my Arthurian historical fiction series, The Arthurian Age, you’ll remember Illtud as one of Gawain’s junior officers, who goes on to greater things. His role seems minor, aside from being Gawain’s friend, but he makes important and long-reaching contributions to the story, and to history.
Like nearly everyone from this era, we don’t have many written records about Illtud. The earliest, The Life of Saint Sampson, was written in Brittany around 600 AD, which is not long after Illtud’s life. While the book is about Sampson, another British saint, it discusses St. Illtud. It described him as a student of St. Germanus, and the most accomplished of all of the Britons in scripture, all kinds of philosophy, science, mathematics, rhetoric, grammar, etc. He was even said to have the gift of prophecy.
Illtud the Soldier
Illtud was the son of a warrior named Bicanus and Rieingulid, the daughter of a prominent ruler in Letavia (Brittany). He may have been born in the borderlands region between modern England and Wales, which would not be unusual, as British aristocrats often maintained lands in both Britain and Letavia in this era. His parents were said to have intended for him to join the clergy, and had him educated towards this purpose. However, for unstated reasons (I supply a possibility in The Retreat to Avalon), Illtud abandoned that path, took a wife named Trynihid, and became a soldier.
As a soldier, Illtud was said to have served for a minor warlord, then under King Arthur, and this seems to have the seed of truth to it. Interestingly for those who enjoy the later medieval Romances, Illtud is one of the triumvirate, along with Cadoc and Peredur, to whom Arthur gave custody of the Holy Grail. For this reason, he is sometimes identified with the character “Sir Galahad“. He is said to have helped with Arthur’s funeral arrangements, a concept that predates the idea that Arthur never died.
After his time as a soldier, he is said to have had a change of heart and took up a religious life, studying under Bishop Germanus of Auxerre, a city in France known at that time as Autissodoro. Germanus was a major mover of his time and features heavily in the history and legends of the Britons. You’ll be meeting him in book 3, Three Wicked Revelations. Historically, Germanus is very important because his is one of very few hagiographies written soon after his life. It contains rare details of 5th Century Britain, such as his visit there to combat Pelagianism, which was considered a heretical sect of Christianity originating in Britain.
Illtud was said to have driven off his wife (who was said to have become a nun) when he devoted himself to the Church, but this is likely an invention by later medieval writers when the Catholic Church banned priests from being married in the 11th century. Some say it was due to the belief that celibacy allowed priests to be focused on their Godly mission. However, it’s thought it had more to do with medieval law and the Church being concerned about the children of priests inheriting Church property. In any event, married priests were not uncommon in the early Church, and even monks and nuns could be married, though this was generally not the case if they lived in monastic communities.
Slight Spoilers Ahead…
However, there’s a bit of a problem with the record of Illtud being a disciple of Germanus, and that is timing. Germanus died no later than 448, well before Illtud would have been old enough to study under him. In The Retreat to Avalon, I reconcile this by having Illtud study under Bishop Censurius, who was a student of Germanus, and took over the bishopric of Auxerre after Germanus. He lived in precisely the right time for Illtud to have studied there.
Interestingly, Auxerre is only about 30 miles (50 km) north of the village of Avallon. If you’ve read Geoffrey Ashe‘s book, The Discovery of King Arthur, or my novels based on his research, you’ll know that this is the location in France where Arthur and his army retreated to after the Battle of Deols. In The Retreat to Avalon, I show how simple it would have been for Illtud to have changed course and stayed at Auxerre.
Illtud the Teacher
Illtud studied to become a monk, was ordained and returned to Britain. In Book 2, The Strife of Camlann, we meet up with Iltudd again. He is a teacher and the abbot of a school established at the site of today’s St. Illtud’s Church in Llanilltud Fawr (translates as “Illtud’s Great Church”) in southern Wales.
There may have been an earlier school there, established by the Romans in the 4th century called the College of Theodosius. It was said to have been destroyed by Irish raiders and abandoned until re-established by Illtud. The College of Theodosius is suspected to be the invention of a Welsh antiquarian named Iolo Morganwg, but may have come from oral tradition. There are nearby Roman villa ruins that may have been used as a school. In any event, Illtud’s school was the first school established in Britain, at least since the end of the Roman era.
Illtud was famed for teaching some of the more famous people in Dark Age Britain, including St. Sampson, St. Gildas (who you’ll know from Book 2 was a contemporary of King Arthur), and the king of Gwynedd, Maelgwn (another interesting historical character portrayed in Book 2). Gildas, the only surviving source of records from Britain in this era, called Illtud the most refined teacher of almost the whole of Britain.
Illtud the Saint
Saint Illtud is not an “official” saint of the Catholic Church, because official canonization of saints didn’t begin until 993, when Pope John XV canonized St. Ulrich of Augsburg. Before that, saints were proclaimed by the voice of the people who believed the person was saintly. It seems Illtud was revered for his wisdom, piety, and role in establishing monasticism in the region.
Later medieval beliefs required the performance of miracles to prove holiness. Yet, even the later stories seem to suggest that Illtud did not perform miracles himself. Rather, God sent miracles on his behalf, often for his safety. Illtud is described as a pacifist, always forgiving of even his worst attackers. This might not seem so out of character for a veteran of terrible wars, particularly Arthur’s last battle.
Illtud passed peacefully some time in the early to mid 6th century. He is said to have been buried at his church in Llanilltud Fawr, which is most likely, though some legends say he was buried about 60 km to the north, near the town of Brecon, in the Church of Llanilltud.
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