Origins
The name Hu Gadarn first appears in Pererindod Siarlymaen, a Welsh adaptation of the 12th-century French romance Le Pèlerinage de Charlemagne (The Pilgrimage of Charlemagne). In this story, part of the literary cycle known as the Matter of France, Hu Gadarn (Hugo or Hugun le Fort in the French) is Emperor of Constantinople and an enemy of Siarlymaen (Charlemagne). After Siarlymaen's wife tells him his valor is overshadowed by Hu's, Siarlymaen sets off on a pilgrimage to find the emperor in Constantinople. With the aid of his knights, he bests his adversary and returns to his wife triumphant.
The story, which may have precedents in Celtic literature, specifically associates Hu with ploughing, a detail later picked up by Iolo Morganwg. Hu Gadarn is mentioned metaphorically in Iolo Goch's (fl. 14th century) poem "Y Llafurwr", on the ploughman, suggesting the poet knew some version of the story. Other early references to "Hu Gadarn" have been cited in poems by Rhys Brydydd and Llywelyn ab y Moel, both of whom associated him with semi-divine attributes during the 1400s.
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