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Paper short abstract

Medieval Cadwallon tales reframe catastrophic invasion as a spiritual battle fought with magic. The contest between enemy sorcery and local resistance validates enduring British identity by asserting its inherent magical power transcends military crisis.

Paper long abstract

This paper explores narrative strategies emerging from the catastrophic event of the Anglo-Saxon conquest of Britain, specifically drawing on traditions surrounding King Cadwallon. Rooted in the period following the razing of cities and churches, this narrative frames the military and cultural crisis through the lens of hostile magic and non-human agency.

Medieval English tradition casts the enemy, King Edwin, as employing a Spanish magician named Pellitus, who constructs a "magic mirror" using morbid components (martyrs’ swords, widows’ tears) to observe Cadwallon’s movements. Crucially, this magic is maintained by three witches who "baked and boiled and brewed" to conjure frightful tempests, scattering and sinking Cadwallon’s fleets. This intricate connection between human sorcery and catastrophic natural disaster perfectly exemplifies how these narratives redefine the "natural" world in times of crisis.

The narrative details the Britons’ strategy for survival, relying on counter-intelligence and the wisdom of the legendary Merlin. Merlin advises Cadwallon to assume the guise of a redefined "normal" life — to "hunt, and play bowls, and eat and drink and royster" — thereby fooling the magical surveillance and breaking the enemy’s enchantment. This storytelling tradition functions as a crucial communal psychological and strategic survival mechanism, transmitting knowledge of resistance across generations and affirming the persistence of native cultural power in the face of annihilation