Udaín of Muén
Udaín of Muén | |
|---|---|
| Udaín ut Muén | |
| Pronunciation | juːdeɪn |
| Born | c. 750 AD Muén, northern Liberalia |
| Died | c. 815 AD Doundain, southern Liberalia |
| Known for | Legendary founder of Doundain |
| Family | Harold the Valahn (son) Cesan I (supposed descendant) |
Udaín of Muén was a legendary Eonedíc pre-Valahandian tribal chieftain attributed with founding the settlement of Doundain around AD 786. His life and supposed triumphs were the subject of countless oral tales during the early years of the Kingdom of Valahandia, and a compilation of twenty-two of the most well-known of these tales was penned around 1195 as the Saga of Udaín. Cesan the Great, the first King of Valahandia, crowned in 1351 AD, claimed to be a direct descendant of Udaín, but the exact nature of this supposed genealogical tie was never recorded.
Biography[edit | edit source]
According to the Saga of Udaín, the primary source for Udaín's life, he was born in a clan-based farming settlement called Muén "in the far north" of Liberalia. According to tradition, he was 30 years old when he set out to found Doundain (founded AD 786), which places his theoretical date of birth in 750 or 751. When Udaín was a young man, he proved himself to be a great warrior, eventually earning all of his clan's respect and becoming their chief. The narrative of the Saga follows an attack on his town by another clan and his exile from his ancestral lands. He then wandered the wilderness for five years before returning to Muén to singlehandedly free his clan from subjugation. Leading his people south, they built a new city, Doundain, around 786 and he lived out the rest of his days as the Prince of Doundain. His biography has been expanded upon by other accounts in the 13th and 14th centuries, often focusing on his rule, which was (unsurprisingly) said to be fair-yet-firm. Accounts describe Udaín as extremely virtuous, level-headed, but possessing near superhuman strength and athleticism.
Cesan the Great's court historians maintained a list of the progeny of Udaín, naming no less than fifteen sons and eleven daughters by six wives. Cesan and all of his descendants were said to be the descendants of Udaín's third and favored son, Harold the Valahn.