Cenred's Collection of Tales
Author's Notes, Kingly Complaints, and Various Sarcastic Head Canon Scenarios
I make no money off of this, it's just fun to mess around in the toybox
Some Personal Notes on the Name Cenred
Anglo-Saxon: Cēnrǣd, meaning 'Keen Advice'
Pronounced (roughly): Keen-read
Historical Counterpart: King Cenred of Wessex, son of King Ceowald of Wessex.
Note: 7th Century Anglo-Saxon King, codified laws from that time with his son and heir King Inge. He was alleged to have been a fair and just king.
Personal Connection: None
Welsh: Cynn Rydd, meaning 'Free Speech'
Pronounced (roughly): Kin Rith
Historical Counterpart: None (that I know of)
Note: I simply took the name Cenred, as it sounds, and found the closest-sounding and similarly contextual Welsh words to match.
If one were a native Briton (not an Anglo-Saxon) and didn't speak the language, that would be the closest reasonable "translation," I suppose.
Personal Connection: My grandpa's family, on my mom's side, is from Wheelock (that's also their last name) and we're (allegedly) distantly related to Coel Hen of Gwynedd. He's responsible for codifying the Law of Coel Hen and inspiring the "Old King Cole" nursery rhyme.
Merlin: Cenred, meaning… who the fuck even knows.
Pronounced: Sen-rid
Historical Counterpart: None.
Note: Personally, I think my guy Cenred got done dirty in Merlin. Uther was a damn homicidal maniac on his best days, and that absolute dumb-shit Arthur was a trespassing little troll all the gods-damned time. If Merlin wasn't such a simp for his boyfriend, he would've seen the error of his ways and backed a better Highness. Maybe even become an official court wizard, instead of having to stay closeted.
Personal Connection: I got to meet Tom Ellis at a convention last year, and he's hilarious. I could see him being a badass ally as Cenred, but actors don't get to dictate the overall arc of their characters unless they're really, really fucking lucky.