[Direct Linage1.FTW]
Note:
FROM: Matthew Geneological Research Foundation , ..Matthew Geneological Research Foundation Web Site, www.users.qwest.net/~butchmatt, Internet.
Beli (Heli) Mawr(the Great) the 64th King of Britain, born Briton abt. 110 b.c. died 62 b.c. married Don ferch Mathonwy. (c) A semi-legendary British king who was probably an historical ruler, though any facts have become so covered by the dust of myth that it is impossible to be certain about his true basis. Bel was the name of one of the principal Celtic deities, the god of the sun and of light, and it is not surprising that the name would be adopted by later warrior kings, though how much the episodes about Bel in myth are derived from those of a real king of that name (or vice versa) cannot be determined. To have acquired the cognomen Mawr must mean that Beli was a great king and it is likely that he was one of the first to impose his authority over many of the tribes of Britain, most likely over southern Britain and Wales. The Welsh legends make him the father of LUD and Llefelys and possible of Caswallon. Since Caswallon was High King at the time of Caesar's invasion, this would place Beli's existence at the start of the first centruy BC. It is possible to trace most of the British and Welsh rulers back to Beli.
Beli (Heli) Mawr
Called Belenos by the Romans, was the Celtic God of the Sun, representing the curative powers of the Sun's heat. His festival of Beltane, when bonfires were lit to welcome in the Summer and encourage the Sun's warmth, was held on May 1st, and is remembered in today's May Day festivities. His symbols were the horse (as shown, for example, by the clay horse figurine offerings at Beli's Sainte-Sabine shrine in Burgundy), and also the Wheel (as illustrated on the famous Gundestrup Cauldron). Perhaps, like Apollo, whom he became identified with, Beli was thought to ride the Sun across the sky in a horse-drawn chariot. Indeed, a Celtic model horse and wagon, carrying a gilded sun-disc, has been found at Trundholm in Denmark. Sometimes he is illustrated riding a single horse, throuwing thunder-bolts (hence an occasional idenification with Jupiter) and using his symbolic radiating wheel as a sheild, as he tramples the chthonic forces of a snake-limbed giant. This personification is similar to the classic depiction of the Archangel St. Michael defeating the Devil. Sacred pagan hills associated with Beli, are thought to have had their dedications transferred to this saint (or sometimes St. George) by the early Christians. Well known examples include St. Michael's Mount (Cornwall) and the churches of St. Michael on Brent Tor (Devon), and Burrow Mump and Glastonbury Tor (Somerset): All on a supposed ley line that faces the Rising Sun at Beltane. He may also have been worshipped on Dragon Hill below the great Uffington White Horse in Berkshire.
Sources:
Repository:
Name: Internet
Title: History Files, The -- The King Lists
Author: P L Kessler <plk@@globalnet.co.uk>
Publication: 1999, Home Publishing, www.users.globalnet.co.uk\_plk\history.htm
Repository:
Name: Internet
Title: Matthew Geneological Research Foundation Web Site
Author: Matthew Geneological Research Foundation
Publication: 12 July 2001, www.users.qwest.net/~butchmatt
-- [Direct Linage.FTW]
Note:
FROM: Matthew Geneological Research Foundation , ..Matthew Geneological Research Foundation Web Site, www.users.qwest.net/~butchmatt, Internet.
Beli (Heli) Mawr(the Great) the 64th King of Britain, born Briton abt. 110 b.c. died 62 b.c. married Don ferch Mathonwy. (c) A semi-legendary British king who was probably an historical ruler, though any facts have become so covered by the dust of myth that it is impossible to be certain about his true basis. Bel was the name of one of the principal Celtic deities, the god of the sun and of light, and it is not surprising that the name would be adopted by later warrior kings, though how much the episodes about Bel in myth are derived from those of a real king of that name (or vice versa) cannot be determined. To have acquired the cognomen Mawr must mean that Beli was a great king and it is likely that he was one of the first to impose his authority over many of the tribes of Britain, most likely over southern Britain and Wales. The Welsh legends make him the father of LUD and Llefelys and possible of Caswallon. Since Caswallon was High King at the time of Caesar's invasion, this would place Beli's existence at the start of the first centruy BC. It is possible to trace most of the British and Welsh rulers back to Beli.
Beli (Heli) Mawr
Called Belenos by the Romans, was the Celtic God of the Sun, representing the curative powers of the Sun's heat. His festival of Beltane, when bonfires were lit to welcome in the Summer and encourage the Sun's warmth, was held on May 1st, and is remembered in today's May Day festivities. His symbols were the horse (as shown, for example, by the clay horse figurine offerings at Beli's Sainte-Sabine shrine in Burgundy), and also the Wheel (as illustrated on the famous Gundestrup Cauldron). Perhaps, like Apollo, whom he became identified with, Beli was thought to ride the Sun across the sky in a horse-drawn chariot. Indeed, a Celtic model horse and wagon, carrying a gilded sun-disc, has been found at Trundholm in Denmark. Sometimes he is illustrated riding a single horse, throuwing thunder-bolts (hence an occasional idenification with Jupiter) and using his symbolic radiating wheel as a sheild, as he tramples the chthonic forces of a snake-limbed giant. This personification is similar to the classic depiction of the Archangel St. Michael defeating the Devil. Sacred pagan hills associated with Beli, are thought to have had their dedications transferred to this saint (or sometimes St. George) by the early Christians. Well known examples include St. Michael's Mount (Cornwall) and the churches of St. Michael on Brent Tor (Devon), and Burrow Mump and Glastonbury Tor (Somerset): All on a supposed ley line that faces the Rising Sun at Beltane. He may also have been worshipped on Dragon Hill below the great Uffington White Horse in Berkshire.
Sources:
Repository:
Name: Internet
Title: History Files, The -- The King Lists
Author: P L Kessler <plk@@globalnet.co.uk>
Publication: 1999, Home Publishing, www.users.globalnet.co.uk\_plk\history.htm
Repository:
Name: Internet
Title: Matthew Geneological Research Foundation Web Site
Author: Matthew Geneological Research Foundation
Publication: 12 July 2001, www.users.qwest.net/~butchmatt
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