The History of the Kingdom of Brannovia

The First Brannovian Kingdom was established on the western border of the lands inhabited by the Silurians and the eastern border of the Demetians, two tribes whose ethnogenesis began in the Bronze Age.

The Kingdom of Brannovia is situated north of the Gower Peninsula, where the oldest ceremonial burial in Western Europe can be found: that of the Red Lady of Pavilland. The Red Lady, who was in actual fact a Red Lord or Red Sir, in spite of the name, was dyed in red ochre and interned 33,000 years ago, during the Aurignacian era which followed the Neanderthal age in Paleolithic Europe. He was buried with finely crafted ivory bracelets, seashells, and cylindrical ivory rods.

Following the end of the Paleolithic and the onset of the Mesolithic, the Atlantic Isles of Ireland and Britain were settled by hunter-gatherers who lived on the yields of the vast forests and the game they hunted in the high plateaus. However, the Neolithic would see a surge in activity with the advance of agriculture from distant Mesopotamia and Anatolia and the movement of Megalith-builders along the Atlantic Coast from points unknown. It is these Cromlech-builders who would gain a strong foothold in Brittany, Eire, and Albion. They are believed to be associated with the Vasconic people who now occupy southwestern France and northeastern Spain, namely the Basques. An example of Megalithic architecture can be found in Parc Le Breos, in the form of the aptly-named 'Giant's Grave'.

During the Bronze Age, the progenitors of the Kingdom of Brannovia came from the Alpine throne of Central Europe and the pastures and forests to the north of it. They were known as the Beaker folk: their language was known to be Indo-European, in particular Western Indo-European, and an ancestor to the Celtic, Germanic, Belgic (Nordwestblok) and potentially the Italic, Ligurian, and Vettonian-Lusitanian languages, which are regarded by some linguists and philologists to be 'Para-Celtic'.

The Beaker folk were the forefathers of the later Brythons, Picts (Cruithne), and Gaels, not only in language and genetics, but also in their craftsmanship in copper and bronze. The Silurians were considered to have a strong connection, like the Picts of Alba, to the Pre-Celtic people who resided in the land before their coming in the Bronze Age, and the Demetae later developed strong associations with tribes across the sea in Inisfail.

The Silurians, whose name derives from the Old Celtic word for 'kin', 'seed', 'descendant', -sil, originated as a tribal confederation in the mountains and valleys of southeastern Cymru. Consequently, their name may also derive from the proto-Celtic *(su-)lurk-o-, meaning 'fierce descendants'. They are noted among the tribes of Prydain as having inherited and absorbed many aspects of the people who lived there before the Bronze, including the 'Mediterranean' physical features associated with the Neolithic and the broader 'Paleo-Atlantic' features of the Mesolithic and perhaps the Neolithic.

One of the first rulers of the Silurians seems to have been the aforementioned Bran Vendigaid, who was a giant in stature and appearance and whose legendary expedition to ancient Eire is recorded in the Mabinogion. Some centuries after his passing, the Catuvellaunian aristocrat Caratacos (Caradoc) and the best of his warriors, after having battled against the despised Roman invaders, came into the lands of the Silurians and led them to battle against the advancing enemy along with the Ordovicians of the mountainous lands of the north and central regions.

Following the collapse of the Roman occupation of Prydain, the Silurian kingdoms of Glywyssing and Guent were established, with the former kingdom later becoming the Kingdom of Glamorgan. Glywyssing was established by Glywys, a legendary king who is likely the origin of the Lewis family. The over-Kingdom of Glywyssing was divided into seven sub-kingdoms each ruled by Glywys' sons: Cydweli, Gwyr, Margam, Penychen, Gwynllwg, Gorfynydh, and another whose name was forgotten. The eastern border of the Kingdom of Glywyssing fluctuated with its expansion towards Gwent and Ergyng, but during the 8^th century, the western sub-kingdoms of Cydweli and Gwyr were lost to the Demetian kingdom of Dyfed. Glywyssing would later merge with Gwent to become the Kingdom of Morgannwg under King Morgan the Old. These Silurian kingdoms saw raids from the Irish during the period of history known as the 'Dark Ages' and later Norse raiding and settlement along the coast during the Viking Age. It is through one of these settlements that Swansea, known then as Sweyn's Ey, was established by Danish Norseman. However, all the kingdoms would be destroyed and all Silurians and Norse-Britons brought low before the Normans when they began their conquest after the 10^th century.  

The Demetians resided on the lowlands and plains of southeastern Cymru, and are also believed to have held sway over the Brecon Mountains. Like the Silurians to their east, they were closely associated with the powerful Dumnonii across the Severn Sea, and one interpretation of their name seems to perhaps indicate that the Dumnonii and the Demetae were of the same stock. The tribal name has a number of interpretations, the first being defaid, meaning 'sheep'. One of the most ancient occupations among the Demetae would have been that of animal husbandry, and the cultivation of large herds of sheep from the days of the Iron Age continued well into the current era. The second is that of dwfn, meaning 'deep', giving the Demetae the name 'dwellers of the deep'. The majority of the lands of Demetia are the closest to sea level out of all the mountainous lands of Cymru. The third origin of the name of the Demetians derives from the Old Brythonic name of an obscure god of warriors and mead: Demetos.

The southeastern border of the land of the Demetae runs along the western bank of the Avon Llwchwr, which can be seen from the Kingdom of Brannovia. The northern extent of the Demetian realm reached the Avon Ystwyth. Demetia is still very much a land of Celtic affinity with its vast greenery distributed across the forests and hills. In the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age, hillforts were constructed which had an affinity to those of the Dumnonii in southwestern Prydain. The Demetians also operated gold mines in the Dolaucothi region, which the Demetae inherited from their predecessors and which the Romans later took control of.

The Demetians and Silurians battled each other for domination of Gower and the adjacent regions, with the land passing from the Demetians to the Silurians and then back again. When the Roman occupiers invaded the lands of the Silurians and battled against the Ordovicians to the north, the Demetae seemed to have come to a diplomatic arrangement with the Romans of similar nature to that agreed between the Dumnonii and the invaders, despite the Demetians have war capabilities in the form of chariots. Given the individualistic nature of Celtic warriors who battled for glory to increase their prestige before the gods and their people, it is likely that Demetian warriors participated in the battle being waged against the Romans by the Silurians and Ordovicians.

However, the land of the Demetae remained under Roman military control with the building of the fort of Leucarum on the Avon Llwchwr and the development of roads leading westwards to a Demetian tribal centre at Moridunum, which would later become the civitas capital. Moridunum, now known as Carmarthen, was seemingly abandoned or destroyed between the years 193 - 217 AD, which indicates either that the Demetians resented Roman rule and attacked the centre of their administrative power in the Demetian tribal realm, or perhaps that the Irish, who had been raiding across the sea from the west for years, had reached far enough inland to launch a raid of their own.

Moridunum was reoccupied for a time until the Roman occupation in Prydain began to fracture. A military commander known as Magnus Maximus, who is remembered by the Cymry as 'Macsen Uledig', posted Antonius Donatos to the Demetian region in order to defend it against increasingly strong Irish raids from the sea. Such raids reached as far eastwards as the land of the Silurians.

While Magnus Maximus still had a level of control in the region, he settled the Irish Deisi of Aed Brosc there, and they became the new aristocracy over the Demetae. Though Romanised in many of their aspects, these Deisi would later become indistinguishable from the Demetians whom they ruled over. The land of the Demetae became the Kingdom of Dyfed, and from the Deisi came a long line of kings who would rule this kingdom and the Kingdom of Brycheiniog to the north and east. Dyfed and Ceredigion would later merge to become the Kingdom of Deheubarth.