Pillar of Eliseg

The Pillar of Eliseg (now standing near the Abbey of Valle Crucis[?]) was erected by Cogen, king of Powys. This inscription not only mentions several individuals described in the Historia Britonum, but also complements the information presented in that text. A generally accepted translation of this inscription, one of the longest surviving inscriptions from pre-Viking Wales, is as follows:

[Cross] Concenn son of Catell, Catell son of Brochmail, Brochmail son of Eliseg, Eliseg son of Guoillauc. :[Cross] And that Concenn, great-grandson of Eliseg, erected this stone for his great-grandfather Eliseg. :[Cross] The same Eliseg, who joined together the inheritance of Powys . . . out of the power of the Angles with his sword and with fire. :[Cross] Whosoever repeats the writing, let him give a blessing on the soul of Eliseg.

[Cross] This is that Concenn who captured with his hand eleven hundred acres which used to belong to his kingdom of Powys . . .

[the column is broken here]

[Cross] Britu son of Vortigern, whom Germanus blessed, and whom Sevira bore to him, daughter of Maximus the king, who killed the king of the Romans. :[Cross] Conmarch painted this writing at the request of king Concenn. :[Cross] The blessing of the Lord be upon Concenn and upon his entire household, and upon the entire region of Powys until the Day of Judgement.

See also: Magnus Maximus