Gwron, called one of the three "Prostrate Chieftains" (Lledyf Vnben) because "they would not seek a dominion, which nobody could deny to them". Still further allusions are found in early Welsh poetry. The poem Ymddiddan Myrddin a Thaliesin, which assumes the form of a dialogue between Myrddin Wyllt (the prototype of Merlin) and the poet Taliesin, deals out praise to the brave "sons of Eliffer", saying that they did not avoid spears in the heat of battle. The apparent context is the battle of Arfderydd, where Myrddin fought as one of Gwenddoleu's warriors, went mad from terror and in this way, acquired the gift of prophecy (see also Vita Merlini below). For some unknown reason, however, the poem extends the number of sons to seven. A warrior called Peredur is also listed in one of the younger sections of Y Gododdin (awdl A.31), which shows him as one of the heroes to have died fighting in battle as a member of the warband of Mynyddog Mwynfawr, chieftain of the Gododdin in "the Old North". It has been argued that Peredur's appearance here may have been due to a tendency in the growth of the poem to draw personages known from such sources as the Annales Cambriae into the orbit of its subject matter, assuming he is the same Peredur. Geoffrey of Monmouth's Peredurus Geoffrey of Monmouth, the author of the Historia Regum Britanniae, mentions a Peredur in his Vita Merlini (The Life of Merlin), an account of Merlin drawing heavily on narrative traditions about Myrddin Wyllt. In an early episode based clearly on the story of the Battle of Arfderydd, Peredur (Peredurus) is joined by his allies Merlin, king of the South Welsh, and Rhydderch Hael, king of the Cumbrians, when he engages Gwenddoleu (Guennolus), king of Scotland, in a battle at an unnamed site. Merlin loses three brothers and driven mad from grief, takes refuge in the woods. Peredur is here presented as prince of the North Welsh (dux Venedotorum) rather than a ruler in the British North. In his earlier and more famous work, Historia regum Britanniae, Geoffrey of Monmouth also used the name Peredurus for a legendary ruler of Britain who was the fifth and youngest son born to the legendary Morvidus, king of the Britons. He is said to have conspired with his brother Ingenius to capture and oust their brother Elidurus, locking him up in