Alias:<ALIA> Coel Hen /Godebog/, Old King Coel
Cause of Death:<CAUS> Caught in bog at Coilsfied(Tarbolton,Ayrshire)and drowned
Famous Nursery Rhyme: Old King Cole was a merry old soul and a merry old
soul was he.
He called for his pipe, And he called for his bowl, And he called for
his fiddlers, three.
Familiar figure in ancient Welsh genealogies. Lived 4th to 5th century
when Romans left Britain.
Most of the Celtic British monarchies claimed descent from him. Coel's
association as High-King of Northern Britain leads many to believe that
he was the last of the Roman Duces Brittanniarum with his headquarters at
York.
The Picts and Scots attacked Coel's army in the area of Britain that
became Coylton alongside the Water of Coyle (Ayrshire). Coel and his army
were taken by surprise and overrun. Coel wandered the unknown area and
drowned in a bog at Colsfield in Tarbolton, Ayrshire. He was buried in a
mound at Coilsfied then reburied to the church at Coylton.
(Welsh=Coel, Latin=Coelius, English=Cole)