Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 17, 1906.djvu/344

 330 The European Sky -God.

seen,^ and the redbreast, as we shall see,^ are at least consistent with the view that St. Kentigern inherited the position of a priestly king. It is to be noted that he was, on his mother's side, the grandson of Leudonus, king of Leudonia in North Britain.^ But Leudonus is one with Loth,* whom we found to be a king personating the sky-god Lludd.^ When St. Columcille visited St. Kentigern, he beheld ' a fiery pillar in fashion as of a golden crown, set with sparkling gems, descending from heaven upon his head, and a light of heavenly brightness encircling him like a certain veil, and covering him, and again returning to the skies.' "^ Such a manifestation suited the solar king. Even in his early days at Culross, when in need of a light, he had plucked a hazel-bough, which burst into spontaneous fire, 'as if the boy had exhaled flame for breath."^ St. Kentigern's claim to be a priestly king was evidently recognised by King Rederech ; for it is recorded of the latter that ' stripping himself of his royal robes, on bended knees and hands joined, with the consent and advice of his lords, he gave his homage to S. Kentigern, and handed over to him the dominion and princedom over all his kingdom, and willed that he should be king, and himself the ruler of his country under him as his father, as he knew that formerly the great Emperor Constantine had done to S. Silvester. Hence the custom grew up for a long course of years, so long as the Cambrian kingdom lasted in its own proper rank, that the prince was always subject to the bishop.' ^

'^Folk-lore xvii, 52 ff., supra p. 3 ff. ; Folk-lore xvii. 39 f., 61 f., 162.

^See my next article.

^Forbes Lives of S. Ninian and S. Kentigern p. 125 ff. According to the Welsh Bonedd y Saint, cited by the Rev. J. Gammack in his article on 'Kentigern' in Smith-Wace Did. Christ. Biogr. iii. 604, Cyndeyrn's maternal grandfather was Llewddyn Lueddag of Dinas Eiddyn (Edinburgh).


 * Forbes lb. p. Ixxxvi. "'' Folk-lore xvii. 47 ff.

^Forbes Live^ of S. Ninian and S. Kentigern p. 106 f.

7 Id. ib. p. 44 f. • « Id. ib. p. 94.