Rhun (Welsh given name)

Rhun is a Welsh Masculine given name meaning "Great, Mighty". Variants of the name are; Rhûn, Rhyn and Rhŷn.

Rhun
GenderMasculine
Origin
Word/namefrom Welsh Rhun
Meaning"Great, Mighty"
Region of originGwynedd
Other names
Related namesRhŷn;
Rhyn
Original pronunciation

Anglicised pronunciation

One origin of the name appears to start from the Welsh names for Rome and Roman (as a person), Rhufain and Rhufon, leading to Rhun as "the proper name of a man" and Rhyon as a soldier.[1]

Rhun in literature

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The story of The Dream of Rhonabwy in the 12th century Red Book of Hergest is a prose literary tale where the main character travels to the time of King Arthur in a dream. There he sees famous men from many historical eras. In a passage where 24 knights arrive to seek a truce with the famous Arthur, Arthur considers the request by assembling his counselors where "a tall, auburn, curly-headed man" was standing. Rhonabwy asks who he is, and is told that he is Rhun ap Maelgwn Gwynedd, a man who may join in counsel with anyone, because there was none in Britain better skilled in counsel than he.[2]

Marwnad Rhun (English: Elegy of Rhun), once believed to be the work of Taliesin but no longer accepted as such, laments Rhun's death in battle during that war with the North.[3]

Rhun, son of Maelgwn, appears in two of the medieval Welsh Triads, as one of the 'Fair Princes of the Isle of Britain', and as one of the 'Golden-banded Ones of the Isle of Britain'.[4]

Rhûn also appears as a realm in the East of the map in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings[5]

List of bearers

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References

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  1. ^ Whitaker, John (1804). The Ancient Cathedral Of Cornwall Historically Surveyed. Vol. 2. London: Stockdale. pp. 207–8 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Parker, Will. "Rhonabwy". The Mabinogion. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
  3. ^ Gwenogvryn, Evans J. (ed.). Facsimile text of the Book of Taliesin. Рипол Классик. pp. xxxv. ISBN 9781171903031 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Jenkins, Samuel; Samuel, John (1852). Letters on Welsh history. Philadelphia: E. S. Jones & Company. pp. 274 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ "Rhûn". Tolkien Gateway (Wiki). Retrieved 2016-07-29.