Beton
Chronicle Entry
Recorded by Brother Wyn of Caermynach, Anno Domini 912
Married To: Bryn of Garth
Active Period: c. 590-587 BC
Location: Village of Garth, borderlands
Status: Resident of Garth in 587 BC
Beton was a resident of the village of Garth in the borderlands between Powys and Brycheiniog during the late sixth century BC. She was wife to Bryn, known for injuries sustained while working with livestock.
The Record
Beton maintained a household in Garth, a settlement positioned in neutral territory between lands claimed by Powys and the Silures of Brycheiniog. Her husband Bryn sustained frequent injuries from his work with oxen, including broken fingers on two occasions within three months, kicked ribs, and multiple fevers. These repeated injuries created substantial debt to Nest ferch Ifor, the healer who treated him.
She possessed children of unrecorded number, young enough during this period to require the care of her sister who lived three houses distant in the village. The children were mentioned in connection with events of 587 BC, though their names and exact ages remain unrecorded.
Her household contained typical implements for that period, including cooking vessels, sleeping furs brought by Nest during a fever outbreak the previous winter, and stores sufficient for feeding unexpected guests. She prepared barley porridge and maintained an ox bone from a beast which broke its leg, the meat from which fed the village.
Beton demonstrated knowledge of village politics and the arrangement known as y rhew which governed relations between the two chiefdoms. Her awareness of borderlands tensions suggests either direct observation of political movements or communication with others who possessed such knowledge.
History
In 587 BC, Nest ferch Ifor arrived at Beton's household seeking shelter after fleeing warriors from both Powys and Brycheiniog. Nest had departed the village the previous day after treating Bryn's broken fingers for the second time in three months. Beton received Nest at dawn, provided food and warmth, and gave an ox bone to Nest's dog Griff.
During this encounter, Beton exhibited behavior consistent with foreknowledge of the warriors' arrival. Her children were not present in the household, having been sent to her sister's dwelling. Her hands repeatedly smoothed fabric and pressed against her thighs in patterns suggesting agitation or distress. When questioned about her children's location, she provided explanation that did not align with typical morning routines.
Warriors from both Powys and Brycheiniog had positioned themselves outside the roundhouse while Nest remained within. Bryn stood between the two groups in the village lane. A chariot waited at the lane's end. The circumstances suggest coordination between the warriors and certain village residents, though the extent of Beton's involvement or coercion remains unclear from available records.
The choice faced by Beton involved her children's safety weighed against debt owed to a healer who had preserved her husband's life on multiple occasions. Village residents in borderlands territory during this period lived under constant threat from both chiefdoms, with failure to cooperate potentially resulting in destruction of entire settlements.
Final Entry
Beton was last recorded in her household in Garth during the events of 587 BC when Nest ferch Ifor sought shelter there. The outcome of that morning's confrontation and Beton's subsequent fate remain unrecorded. Whether she acted from coercion by the warriors, protection of her own children, or other motivations cannot be determined from sources available to this chronicler. The village of Garth itself continued to exist in some form, though records of its residents after this period are scarce.
