Manau-Gododdin

Located on a narrow strip of land on the south coast of the Firth of Forth, Manau-Gododdin was a small and little-known sub-kingdom of Goutodin. North of the Forth was Pictish Manau, and it is possible that the people of Manau-Gododdin may have been Picts under Votadini overlordship. This overlordship may have stemmed from the early second century when Votadini troops in the pay of Rome were stationed within Manau territory to fend off Pictish attacks. When the Romans withdrew from Britain, the Votadini retreated to the other side of the Forth, but kept hold of the Pictish land to the south.

Satellite image of the Firth of Forth. The Sub-Kingdom of Manau-Gododdin existed in a narrow strip on the south side of the estuary. North of the Forth, were the Manau Picts. To the south was the Kingdom of Goutodin, the Votadini overlords of Manau-Gododdin.

Manau-Gododdin’s most famous son is undoubtedly Cunedda Wlendig, an early fifth century chieftain and sub-king who migrated to Wales, founded the Kingdom of Gwynedd and started a riyal dynasty from which Welsh nobility claimed descent for centuries afterward.  By the late fifth century, Manau-Gododdin appears to have lost its independent identity, implying the sub-kingdom had been brought under the direct control of Goutodin. From then, the people of Manau-Gododdin presumably shared the same fortunes as their overlords; it is very likely warriors from Manau-Gododdin were involved in Morgan Bulc’s fruitless efforts to regain Bernaccia in 590 and the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Caltreath in 597.

Squeezed by the Picts expanding southwards and the Northumbrians expanding northwards, Manau-Gododdin fell along with Goutodin in 638. By the middle of the seventh century, the Goutodin territories had been absorbed into an increasingly powerful Kingdom of Northumbria.Three centuries later, in 975, the Goutodin territories were transferred to the Scottish Crown.