The Giant’s Daughter

Plotting Camlan: Letters from the Dead




Throughout the Arthurian legend Guinevere is well known as an adulteress and abductee; the woman who brought about the battle of Camlan and the fall of King Arthur.

But was it always that way? 

Arthurian Legend in the 12th Century
The 12th century saw massive change to the Arthurian legend after the work of Geoffrey of Monmouth elevated Arthur of the Britons to conqueror of Europe. This period witnessed the birth of Arthurian Romance; following Geoffrey, Medieval Romance carried King Arthur to the courts of Europe with the tales of Chretien de Troyes introducing the quest for the Grail. Others followed and by the 15th Century Thomas Malory wrote the ultimate Arthurian story, Le Morte d’Arthur.

Malory’s summation weaved together the many strands of Arthurian Romance but has essentially stayed true to Geoffrey’s final days of the King; Medrawd (Mordred) has usurped the throne and abducted Guinevere. The Arthurian journey ends at Camlan.

The First Abduction

Guinevere - Henry Justice Ford

Geoffrey is conventionally credited with being the first to write of Guinevere’s abduction and her affair with Medrawd (Mordred) in bringing down Arthur. Yet earlier Welsh Tradition suggests that the story of "Gwenhwyfar" (the Welsh rendering of the name Guinevere) and her association with Camlan was well known prior to Geoffrey putting quill to parchment. However, it is clear that the story developed as Geoffrey’s influence on the Arthurian legend grew.

Gwenhwyfar makes her first literary appearance in the Welsh tale of Culhwch and Olwen in which Arthur cites the lady along with his other possessions. The tale of Culhwch is dated to the 11th century but the first written account that has survived is found in the White Book of Rhydderch, dated to the first quarter of the 14th Century. Although the first version of Culhwch is generally accepted as being composed before Geoffrey, we cannot rule out his influence on the manuscript version that has survived and the possibility that Gwenhwyfar was introduced to the tale as Arthur’s wife by a later hand.

The first abduction of Gwenhwyfar appears in the Vita Gildae (The Life of Gildas) by Caradoc of Llancarfan. In this account Arthur’s Queen is carried away by Melwas (honey-youth), King of the summer country, to the “city of glass”. The tale explains this as the name of Glastonia, modern Glastonbury.

The Vita is dated to the first quarter of the 12th century; Caradoc being a contemporary of Geoffrey of Monmouth. Indeed Geoffrey refers to Caradoc at the end of some versions of his Historia as being the only person capable of continuing the history of the Britons. It seems Caradoc was well versed in the early Arthurian tales as he wrote a second version of the Life of Saint Cadog in which Arthur also figures prominently. There is no reason for arguing against this being an early tale, however it is of course possible that Caradoc substituted Gwenhyfar, or "Guennuuar" as he renders her name, under the influence of Geoffrey.

Almost certainly Geoffrey knew of Caradoc’s tale of Gwenhwyfar’s abduction and weaved it into his Historia in support of the feud between Arthur and Medrawd. And this reputation then stayed with Guinevere throughout later accounts of Arthurian Romance for the next four hundred years.

Arthur’s raid on the “city of glass” is recorded in an earlier Welsh poem known as Preiddeu Annwn (The Spoils of Annwn) from the 14th century manuscript The Book of Taliesin. However, scholars have argued on linguistic grounds for a 10th Century composition date. If this is correct it was composed several hundred years before Geoffrey.

This early Welsh poem describes a raid by Arthur on Annwn, the Welsh name for the Celtic Otherworld, to release a prisoner, named here as "Gweir". The poem is divided into eight stanzas, with each using different terms such Caer Sidi (Mound, or Fairy Fortress) Caer Rigor (Fortress of Hardness), or Caer Wydyr (Glass Fortress) to describe the Otherworld.

In Old Welsh, “caer” can mean fortress, stronghold or citadel. In the 9th Century Historia Brittonum (History of the Britons, aka Nennius) the author lists 28 cities, all of which are called "caer".

It is certainly possible that Arthur’s raid on Caer Wydyr in The Life of Gildas by Caradoc of Llancarfan is based on an archetypal tale such as Arthur’s raid on Annwn from the Taliesin poem Preiddeu Annwn, but in Caradoc’s account it has been adapted to explain the name of Glastonia and perhaps included Gwenhwyfar for the first time. However, Geoffrey of Monmouth never referred to Glastonbury as “Avalon”, another name for the Celtic Otherworld; to him Avalon was an island where Arthur’s sword Caliburn was forged and then he was taken to be cured of his wounds by Morgen and her sisters, a similar concept to the Isles of the Blessed.

Significantly, Gwenhwyfar is not mentioned in the earlier account of Arthur’s raid on the Otherworld as recorded in the Preiddeu Annwn, yet the story of the abduction of Arthur’s wife by his nephew was certainly extant in Europe before Geoffrey.

In the north Italian city of Modena stands the Cathedral dedicated to The Assumption of the Virgin Mary and Saint Geminianus. On the archivolt of the cathedral's north portal, known as the Porta della Pescheria, is a carving claimed to be the earliest monumental sculpture to feature the Arthurian legend.

Modena Archivolt

The Modena archivolt shows two figures, identified as Mardoc and Winlogee, inside a castle. Riding on horseback toward the castle are figures such as Artus de Bretania, Galvagin and Che. This scene has been described as the abduction of Guinevere as “Winlogee” appears to be a Breton rendering of the name. Mardoc (Medrawd) has imprisoned her in the Castle of Glass with Arthur, Gawain and Cai advancing.

The carving on the Modena archivolt has been dated to be between 1120 and 1140, making it contemporary with Caradoc of Llancarfan and Geoffrey of Monmouth yet certainly before Chretien de Troyes took the theme of Guinevere’s abduction into Arthurian Romance.

Is there evidence for Gwenhwyfar before Geoffrey?

The First Guinevere
As we have seen above, Gwenhwyfar first appears in the 11th century Arthurian tales  Culhwch and Olwen. When Arthur recalls a list of his possessions they all have Otherworldly connections, including Gwenhwyfar.

The original Welsh form of the name Gwenhwyfar, meaning “white fairy/phantom”, is cognate with the Irish name Findabair, the daughter of Queen Medb in Irish mythology, from Old Irish “síabair” meaning a spectre, phantom, supernatural being.

Indeed, for this reason some scholars [Thomas Green for example] see the battle of Camlan as an Otherwoldly event, rather than historical.

There is then an argument that in the original tale Arthur’s Queen was carried off to the Otherworld, the City of Glass. Arthur then carries out a raid to retrieve her, along with other booty, such as cauldron. This tale, perhaps the first and original Arthurian tale, a Celtic version of the Greek myth of Persephone, has been lost to us in the course of time.

And as with Gwenhwyfar’s name, we find that the abduction story may have its origins in an earlier Irish account in which the King’s wife is abducted by his nephew.

Gwenhwyfar in Welsh Tradition
In some versions of Geoffrey’s work the name Gwenhwyfar is rendered into Latin as “Guanhumara”. It has been suggested that this spelling of the name may be based on an earlier Welsh name suggesting Geoffrey had access to some native Cambrian source. Whatever Geoffrey’s sources we find Gwenhwyfar’s appearance in Welsh tradition to be very few and far between.

As we have seen above, Gwenhwyfar first appears in the Arthurian tale Culhwch and Olwen, and occurs in the Life of Gildas (as Guennuuar), yet she is then entirely absent from early Welsh literature until The Triads of the Island of Britain.

The Triads contain a rich body of folklore and legendary tales, yet often include historical characters, often out of time and place. Rachel Bromwich lists 97 Triads in her magnum opus: Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain; a collation of all the manuscripts abbreviated as “TYP”. Peniarth 16 is the oldest version of the Triads, which Bromwich calls the “Early Version” ending at Triad 46.

The earliest, and only Triad in Peniarth 16, to mention Camlan is TYP 30 “Three Faithless Warbands of the Island of Britain” which does not mention Arthur, Gwenhwyfar or Medrawd but tells how the warband of Alan Frygan deserted him the night before the battle. Frygan was a Breton lord who died around 1130 which indicates the likely composition date of the composition of the Triad.

The remaining Triads do not appear in Peniarth 16 but are found in the following manuscripts:

Triads 47-69:  The White Book of Rhydderch and The Red Book of Hergest,
Triads 70-80: Peniarth 47,
Triads 81-86: Peniarth 50,
Triads 87-97: miscellaneous additions from later manuscripts.

The White Book of Rhydderch and The Red Book of Hergest manuscripts are dated to the 14th century while Peniarth 47 and Peniarth 50 manuscripts are from the 16th century.

Battle of Camlan

According to the Triads, here mirroring Geoffrey, Gwenhwyfar is the cause of the Battle of Camlan. She is mentioned in five Triads and the battle of Camlan in a three.

Triad 53 says the slap that Gwenhwyfach struck upon Gwehhwyfar caused the conflict of the Battle of Camlan. Apart from this and one other Triad (see below), Gwenhwyfach is only known from Culhwch and Olwen in which she is recorded as Gwenhwyfar’s sister.

Triad 54 tells of Modred’s visit to Arthur’s court at Celliwig in Cornwall and he left neither food nor drink that he did not consume. He also dragged Gwenhwyfar from her Royal chair and struck a blow upon her. The Triad records a second reckless ravaging when Arthur came to Modred’s court and left neither food or drink. This Triad is often linked to the previous one (53) and typically interpreted as Arthur’s avenging Medrawd’s insult. However, this tale may not necessarily linked to Camlan.

Triad 56 lists Arthur’s Three Great Queens, all appropriately named Gwenhwyfar yet each with a different named father, one named curiously as Gogfran the Giant.

Triad 80 records Three Faithless Wives of the Island of Britain with Gwenhwyfar more faithless than the three because she shamed a better man than the others.

Triad 84 lists Three Futile Battles of the Island of Britain; the third was Camlan which was brought about because of Gwenhwyfars’ contention with Gwenhwyfach.

In addition to the Triads already mentioned (30, 53, 84) the battle of Camlan is also mentioned in Triads 51 and 59. Triad 51 mentions Three Men of Shame in the Island of Britain; the third and worst was Medrawd when Arthur left him with the government of the country while he went oversea to oppose the emperor of Rome. Bromwich writes that the content of this Triad from the Red Book has been lifted directly from the narrative of Geoffrey of Monmouth.

The threefold divisions by Arthur of his men with Medrawd at Camlan is recorded in Triad 59 as one of the Three Unfortunate Counsels of the Island of the Island of Britain. Again, this appears to follow Geoffrey’s account which says Medrawd has a force of 60,000 men for the final battle which he split into six divisions, in each he placed six thousand, six hundred and sixty-six armed men, the rest he placed in his own division. Meanwhile, Arthur divided his men into nine divisions.

The later Triads found in the White and Red Books show Arthur’s growing popularity from the influence of Geoffrey of Monmouth and the courtly romances. It should be noted that it is only after Geoffrey that Gwenhwyfar is associated with Camlan and her treacherous affair with Medrawd.

Hence, it is difficult to find evidence of Gwenhwyfar in Welsh tradition that is free from Geoffrey’s influence. Yet where we might there is just a trace of Gwenhwyfar in a supernatural context; this puts her firmly in the realm of legendary beings, which is where the earliest Welsh Arthurian literature, such as Culhwch and Olwen and Preiddeu Annwn, places Arthur as a superhero fighting witches, monsters and giants in the Otherworld.

The Giant’s Daughter
We noted above how Gwenhwyfar was referred to in the Triads as the daughter of [G]Ogfran the Giant (often spelt Ogrfan). Significantly absent from the earliest Welsh literature that is securely free of Geoffrey’s influence which always associates her with Camlan and Medrawd, Gwenhwyfar is remembered by the later Medieval Welsh poets as the “Giant’s Daughter”.

Old Oswestry hillfort - Caer Ogfran

Gwenhwyfar was referred to in the Triads as the daughter of Gogfran the Giant, although not necessarily a giantess she is clearly a folkloric character. Gogfran is associated with Old Oswestry hillfort, known as Caer Ogfran, in Shropshire, since at least the 12th century. However, scholars are not agreed on the location of the Giant’s abode; “carreg-y-fran” near Beguildy in Radnorshire may have its origin in “Kayr Ogheruen”, i.e. Gogyrfen’s Fort. Oddly Radnorshire contains several locations known as the “Giants Grave”.

In the early 17th  century Sion Rhys Davies wrote an account of the Giants of Wales in defence of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s claim that Britain was first inhabited by Giants. Indeed, Geoffrey has Arthur fighting the giant Ritho, or Ritta, on mount Snowdon and he defeats another giant at St Michael’s Mount on his journey to Gaul.

A late tale recorded by Davies tells of the abduction of Gwenhwyfar’s brothers by some giants. She calls upon Arthur for assistance:

“There was a place on the frontier of the land of Shropshire, called Bron Wrgan, and it was the abode of giants.

“And in this place it is related that there were some brothers to Gwenhwyfar, the daughter of Gogyrfan Gawr, who were imprisoned by some of these giants. And she grieved greatly they were in captivity. But Arthur saved them each one, killing the giants, and taking the head of the biggest of them and throwing it into the middle of the river instead of a stone, in stepping across the river, to go to Castell y Cnwclas. And as he placed his foot on the head of the giant in stepping across the river Arthur said, Let the head grow in the river instead of a stone. And henceforth that river was called Afon Tyfed-iad, as the side of the giant's head grew.” [Sion Dafydd Rhys, The Giants of Wales and Their Dwellings, c.1600]

Afon Tefeidiad is the Welsh name for the river Teme which flows past Knucklas. A local tradition claims that Knucklas castle is where Arthur and Guinevere were married. There are scant remains of the castle today, but what does remain has been dated to the 12th and 13th centuries when the fortification was constructed by the Mortimers, a powerful family of Norman Marcher Lords, who controlled this area where Offa's Dyke and the River Teme shadow the border between Wales and England.

Knucklas Castle

Local tradition claims the mound at Knucklas, now a Cadw scheduled monument, was fortified in the Iron Age then re-occupied in the Dark Ages.  However, without excavation there has been little evidence produced to support such claims.

Another local legend says that further along the Teme valley at Crug-y-Byddar, near Felindre, was the castle of Uther Pendragon, Arthur’s father.

In between Felindre and Knucklas along the B4355 road in the Teme Valley is the village of Beguildy. Here we find Pantycaregl Farmstead, once a 16th century gentry house. According to the National Monuments Record of Wales:

“Part of Pantycaregl Farmstead (nprn 404525) was a storeyed and winged stone-built gentry house, probably dating from about 1580. It was built by Morgan ap Maredudd, patron of Sion Dafydd Rhys. The house was gutted by fire in 1931 and a new farmhouse stands on the site, although the cellar of the old house is still in use and carved heads have been preserved.”

Giant's head at Pantycaregl

The curious stone heads set under the corners of the eaves are said to be the heads of giants and perhaps refers to the Arthurian tale of the Afon Tyfeidiad (River Teme) quoted above. This seems even more likely when we realise that Morgan ap Maredudd, the builder of Pantycaregl, was also the patron of Sion Dafydd Rhys who often stayed here while writing many of his works.

Postscript
The 11th century tale Culhwch and Olwen details a list of over two hundred characters that Culhwch calls upon to help him win Olwen. One of these characters is "Gwyn Hyfar, steward of Cornwall and Devon, one of the nine who plotted the Battle of Camlan." Rachel Bromwich translates this as "Gwynn the Irascible." This name has an undeniable phonetic similarity to "Gwenhwyfar" who the writers of Welsh Tradition hold responsible for the Battle of Camlan.


Sources:
Rachel Bromwich, Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain, UWP, 4th Edition 2014.
Michael Faletra, trans & ed.,The History of the Kings of Britain: Geoffrey of Monmouth, Broadview Press, 2007.
Thomas Green, Concepts of Arthur, Tempus, 2007.
Chris Grooms, The Giants of Wales: Cewri Cymru, Edwin Mellen Press, 1993.


See: The Abduction of Guinevere


Edited. 22/03/20

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Isle of Glass (2)

The Abduction of Guinevere Part VI

Throughout Arthurian Romance  Guinevere is commonly portrayed with two weaknesses; her love affairs with Arthur's best knight, and very susceptible to being abducted.

• Part I: The Abduction of Guinevere in Medieval Arthurian Romance
• Part II: The Modena Archivolt 
• Part III: White, The Winter King
• Part IV: White Phantom
• Part V:  The Isle of Glass
• Part VI: The Isle of Glass (2) 
• Appendix I: The Celtic Messiah 
• Appendix II: The Legend of Arthur's Survival

Conclusion: City of Glass?

In a gloss at the end of  Caradoc of Llancarfan's Vita Gildae, the author attempts to explain the etymology of the British name for Glastonbury, Ynisgutrin as the City of Glass:

“Glastonia was of old called Ynisgutrin, and is still called so by the British inhabitants. Ynis in the British language is insula in Latin, and gutrin (made of glass). But after the coming of the English and the expulsion of the Britons, that is, the Welsh, it received a fresh name, Glastigberi, according to the formation of the first name, that is English glass, Latin vitrum, and beria a city; then Glastinberia, that is, the City of Glass.”  [7]

We find a similar reference in the Welsh poem the Spoils of Annwn which describes a raid on an Otherworld Isle, citing various names for the Otherworld as a supernatural stronghold, described as a poem providing an opportunity for Taliesin to provide a "glittering kaleidoscope view of the Otherworld." [8] In this poem we find the third name listed for the Celtic Otherworld as 'Caer Wydyr', the 'Fortress of Glass'. This is compatible with the accounts of Chrétien de Troyes and the Historia Brittonum we have seen above (Isle of Glass Part I) which refer to a glass tower on an island.

The association of Glastonbury with the Isle of Glass is based on a false etymology of  the name Ynisgutrin which looks suspiciously like an attempt to explain the English name in the British tongue. In fact there is very little evidence for a pre-Saxon presence at Glastonbury and we must bear in mind that Caradoc of Llancarfan was writing for the monks of Glastonbury, his prime objective in this passage is to explain why the Abbey acquired great estates in ancient times. [9] Indeed, the name of the Somerset town defies a satisfactory etymology and it was not until the 12th century that it became associated with the realm of the Celtic Otherworld of Avalon.

Fabulous Voyages

As we seen above (Isle of Glass Part I), all the accounts of a journey to the Otherworld that feature in Preiddeu Annfwn (Spoils of Annwn), the  Second Branch of the Mabinogi (Mabinogi of Branwen), Cuwlwch and Olwen, and the Vita Gildae (Life of Gildas) appear to possess remnants of a now lost common origin of an ancient Celtic voyage myth. This episode, prominent throughout Welsh Celtic mythology is reminiscent of the early Irish Immrama, the fabulous Voyages in which they literally go Island hoping through the Otherworld.  Indeed, many consider the Spoils of Annwn should be grouped in the same category as the Voyage of Bran, the Voyage of Mael Duin and the Christianised The Voyage of Saint Brendan.

The 10th century tale of the Voyage of Saint Brendan (Navigatio Brendani) commences with a Saint Barrind telling of his visit to the Island of Paradise, which prompts Brendan, a 6th century Saint, to set off on his legendary quest for the Isle of the Blessed (St. Brendan's Island). The tale introduces us to St Barrind, the Christian Saint remembered in Ynys y Barri (Barry Island), a peninsula in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. St Barri, is the 6th century disciple of Saint Cadoc who forgot to bring the Saint's reading matter with him on a journey from the island of Flat Holm in the Bristol Channel. He was sent back to retrieve it but he drowned on the return journey. He was buried on Ynys y Barri, the ruins of the chapel in Friars Road is dedicated to him.

This Saint Barrind is no less than the prototype of Barinthus, the pilot of Arthur's death barge who guides Myrddin and Taliesin on their voyage to 'The Fortunate Isle', introduced to the Arthurian cycle by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Vita Merlini, c.1150:

Julia Margaret Cameron
from Tennyson's Idylls of the King 1875

“The island of apples which men call 'The Fortunate Isle' gets its name from the fact that it produces all things of itself; the fields there have no need of the ploughs of the farmers and all cultivation is lacking except what nature provides. Of its own accord it produces grain and grapes, and apple trees grow in its woods from the close-clipped grass. The ground of its own accord produces everything instead of merely grass, and people live there a hundred years or more. 

There nine sisters rule by a pleasing set of laws those who come to them from our country. She who is first of them is more skilled in the healing art, and excels her sisters in the beauty of her person. Morgen is her name, and she has learned what useful properties all the herbs contain, so that she can cure sick bodies. ….......... And men say that she has taught mathematics to her sisters, Moronoe, Mazoe, Gliten, Glitonea, Gliton, Tyronoe, Thitis; Thitis best known for her cither.

“Thither after the battle of Camlan we took the wounded Arthur, guided by Barinthus to whom the waters and the stars of heaven were well known. With him steering the ship we arrived there with the prince.... .. "[10]

It is often assumed that Geoffrey may have obtained his Barinthus from the Voyage of Saint Brendan, with his role that of the ferryman, a Celtic Charon. However, it has been argued that Geoffrey based his Barinthus on an earlier tradition in which he was god of the sea and the Otherworld. [11] The Life of St David reveals a pre-Geoffrey Celtic tradition of St Barri which cannot be a mere adaptation form the Latin legend of Brendan. The tale reveals how one day St Barri borrowed a horse from St David and rode it across the sea from Wales to Ireland, suggesting that Barri must have been riding a sort of fish or sea-horse. Rather an odd thing for a Christian saint to do.

We find similar accounts in Irish mythology in which Manannán mac Lír, is featured riding on a sea-horse across the ocean between Ireland and Wales, although what appears to be the sea to men is to Manannán the flowering plain of Mag Mell. [12] Surely the tale reveals that Barri was in all probability originally a Celtic sea god, like Manannán, who became Christianised as a Saint. This is a common trait of the early Saints Lives and other Celtic literature. Barintus may therefore be an epithet, such as the Irish Barrfind, or Finbarr, which means literally 'white-topped'. [13] As we have seen previously, the denotation of 'white' implies Otherworldly connotations, usually applied to a deity. [14]

Indeed, a more appropriate name for a god of the sea would be hard to find. It seems highly probable that Barintus, or Barri, was in origin a sea-deity and consequently an early Celtic god of the Land beyond the Waves. The Barintus episode fails to form an integral part of the Voyage of Saint Brendan, as is common in typical Celtic Otherworld voyage tales, he appears briefly at the beginning as an Otherworld messenger who suggests to the Hero the idea of the voyage. [15]

However, while the immrama, the name derived from Middle Irish literally 'rowing out', refer specifically to supernatural sea voyages, they tend to be Christianised accounts, which seems at odds with the accounts discussed above, the Spoils of Annwn, Voyage of Bran and so on, which are overtly pagan. The same must be said of the abduction of Guinevere from the Vita Gildae and the similar episode from the early works of Chrétien de Troyes.  This appears to be mainly due to the misnomer of Immram Brain (The Voyage of Bran).

Essentially the immrama are not strictly concerned with the Otherworld; although they contain supernatural elements, they are firmly set in the Christianised world with a Christian hero. The Voyage of Bran, although named as such, is not an immram but belongs to a group of older tales recounting an excursion to the Otherworld, collectively called 'echtrai'  in Old Irish. The story of Bran's voyage probably became confused with that of Brendan the Navigator (Navigatio Brendani), and the term immram became attached, incorrectly, to Bran's story. [16]

Saint Brendan

The echtrai then are specifically concerned with the adventure of a hero in the Otherworld. As we have seen above with Barrind, a god or goddesses often calls the hero to the voyage, which leads him to one of many Otherworld locations which are not always an island; within hills, beneath lakes or the sea, on islands in lakes or off the coast, or a hall chanced upon during the night but vanished the next day. Evidently they can only be attained by men at particular times. [17] Barrind, Barintus or Barri bears much in common with Manannán mac Lír, who in the echtrae is often the deity of the sea and patron of sea travellers, and the goddess of the tale typically one of his daughters, who are usually bearing a flowering silver branch of apples, as an indicator of their Otherworldy status.

The point of the echtrae is either to lure a hero to the Otherworld  for eternity as a husband for one of the goddesses or to impart some form of wisdom unto the hero. Only the chosen return from the echtrai, and those who return against the will of the gods usually perish, having found that they had been away for hundreds of years. [18] The echtrai are amongst the oldest Celtic tales of supernatural adventures, dating to at least the 8th century, the product of the Celtic imagination at it's most creative. Indeed, the Irish Otherworld adventure tale Baile in Scail (The Ectasy of the Phantom) has been considered a precursor to the episode of the Grail castle. [19] The heroes of the echtrai are typically sovereigns borrowed from other mythological cycles portraying the close relationship between ancient kings and magic; generally the greater the elements of magic, the older the tale.

Caradoc of Llancarfan's account of the abduction of Guinevere as contained in the Vita Gildae betrays traces of an Otherworld adventure, belonging, with the likes of the poem Spoils of Annwn, a Celtic supernatural excursion. As noted above, the Celtic Otherworld location does not necessarily have to lie over the sea, although this is compatible with the belief system of an island society. Indeed, in Middle Welsh, if the location of Annwn is mentioned at all, a place beneath the earth, the abyss, is often favoured, [20] but not exclusively so, for it can be over, or under, the sea. Essentially, the Welsh Annwn seems to be a single realm which can be entered from many places on earth and sea. [21] 'Caer Wydyr', the 'Fortress of Glass' is crucially part of that realm.

Whereas, we cannot rule out the possibility of influence from the Greek Persephone myth, in later medieval Arthurian Romance, carried by pilgrims returning into western Europe along the route of the First Crusade in the early 11th century, it is not necessary in the account of the abduction of Guinevere as all the elements were already in existence in the much earlier Celtic Otherworld adventures.

*

Postscript

Waters of Wisdom

The supernatural journeys possess the commonality of crossing water to attain the Otherworld, regardless of the location; a motif which we see echoed throughout Indo-European mythologies. On the way to the Otherworld, souls of the dead had to cross a river, the waters of which washed away all of their memories. But these memories were not destroyed, they were carried by the river's waters to a spring where they would bubble up and could be drunk by other, favoured individuals, initiates who would receive inspiration and become infused with supernatural wisdom as a result. [22]

The Isle of the Dead by Arnold Bocklin, 1883

We find the motif of drinking from the well of wisdom throughout North European mythologies, one of the best known is the Norse Mimir's Spring, which interprets as the 'Spring of Memory'. Typically, Mimir's Spring is located in the Otherworld, drinking it's waters imbibes supernatural wisdom, it is connected to a river that flows from the Otherworld. Odin sacrificed his eye to drink from these waters in order to gain wisdom.

There can be little doubt that these many voyages to the Otherworld were in origin a quest for such wisdom:

You will find a spring to the left of the house of Hades,

And standing beside that is a white cypress.

Do not approach close to the spring,

You will find another, flowing cold water

From the pool of Memory, before it there are guards,

Say: “I am a child of Earth and of Starry Heaven;

But my lineage is of Heavenly.

You must see this yourselves.

I perish and am withered with thirst. Give quickly

The cold water flowing from the pool of Memory.” 

And they themselves will give you to drink from the divine spring,

And thereafter you shall reign among the other heroes. [23]

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Appendix: The Celtic Messiah 

Notes:

7.  The Life of Gildas by Caradoc of Llancarfan, from Two Lives of Gildas by a monk of Ruys and Caradoc of Llancarfan. Hugh Williams, translator. First published in the Cymmrodorion Record Series, 1899. Mary Jones Celtic Literature Collective.

8.  Marged Haycock, Taliesin: Legendary Poems, CMCS Publications, 2007, p.434.

9. James P Carley, Arthur in English History, in The Arthur of the English, ed. WRJ Barron, University of Wales Press, 2001, pp.47-57.

10. The Vita Merlini, Translated by John Jay Parry, 1925. Parry notes that the description of the Fortunate Isles comes largely from classical tradition such as can be found in Isidore, but adds that Geoffrey also seems to have been influenced by Celtic legends of the Otherworld, as a land of paradise. Parry quotes a significant passage in Pomponius Mela, De Situ Orbis, III, 6, which reflects the ancient Celtic tradition. Parry also notes the similarity to The Gesta Regum Britanniae (Deeds of the Kings of Britain), written at some time between 1235 and 1254, and attributed to a Breton monk, William of Rennes, which, although later in date than the Vita Merlini may represent an independent tradition. The Gesta is fundamentally an adaptation of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae and retains Geoffrey's overall structure, but expands upon some elements, possibly were William had access to traditional Breton sources that Geoffrey omitted. Significantly, following Wace, in his account William omits the Prophecies of Merlin section of the Historia.

11.  Arthur C L Brown, Barintus, Revue Celtique, XXII, 1901.

12.  Francesco Benozzo, Landscape Perception Early Celtic Literature, Celtic Studies Publications, 2004, pp.3-18.

13.  Arthur C L Brown, op cit.

14.  The Abduction of Guinevere, Part IV: White Phantom, Arthur's Otherworld Possessions.

15.  Arthur C L Brown, op cit.

16. Mary Jones, 'echtrae', Jones Celtic Encyclopedia.

17. John Carey, The location of the Otherworld in Irish tradition, First published in The Otherworld voyage in early Irish literature, ed. J. Wooding, Four Courts, 2000, pp.113-119.

18.  Mary Jones, 'immrama', Jones Celtic Encyclopedia.

19. John Carey, Ireland and the Grail, Celtic Studies Publications, 2007, pp.15-26. Carey notes that the similarity between Baile in Scail and Chrétien de Troyes Story of the Graal was first suggested by Roger Sherman Loomis in Celtic Myth and Arthurian Romance in 1926.

20. John Carey, The location of the Otherworld in Irish tradition, op cit.

21. Patrick Sims-Williams, Irish Influence on Medieval Welsh Literature, Oxford University Press, 2011, pp. 56-59.

22.  Bruce Lincoln, Death, War and Sacrifice, University of Chicago Press, 1991.2

23.  Ibid. Instructions for the post mortem journey found on an inscription on a gold plate discovered in a grave in Petelia, southern Italy, third century BC. The thin plate was rolled into a cylinder, inserted in a sheath and hung around the neck of the deceased.

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The Isle of Glass

The Abduction of Guinevere Part V

Throughout Arthurian Romance  Guinevere is commonly portrayed with two weaknesses; her love affairs with Arthur's best knight, and very susceptible to being abducted.

• Part I: The Abduction of Guinevere in Medieval Arthurian Romance
• Part II: The Modena Archivolt 
• Part III: White, The Winter King
• Part IV: White Phantom
• Part V:  The Isle of Glass
• Part VI: The Isle of Glass (2) 
• Appendix I: The Celtic Messiah 
• Appendix II: The Legend of Arthur's Survival

Tales from the Otherworld
In Part I: The Abduction of Guinevere we saw how Chrétien de Troyes introduced Lancelot to the world of Arthurian Romance as both Guinevere's lover and rescuer in the late 12th century tale Lancelot, or the Knight of the Cart, (Lancelot, ou Le Chevalier à la Charrette).

Lancelot receives nothing more than a passing mention in Chrétien's earlier and first Arthurian work Erec et Enide in which he appears as Lancelot of the Lake, third in a list of the knights of the Round Table. It is also in Erec et Enide that we first encounter Guinevere's abductor from the Otherworld where we find the figure appearing briefly as“Maheloas, a great baron, lord of the Isle de Voirre. In this island no thunder is heard, no lighting strikes, nor tempests rage, nor do toads or serpents exist there, nor is it ever too hot or too cold.” [1]

Lancelot crossing the Sword Bridge

In Lancelot Chrétien expands on the persona of Maheloas, Lord of the Isle of Voirre (glass) and we  encounter the figure of Meleagant, referred to as a huge and mighty knight, evil son of Bademagu the king of the land of Gorre, who has carried Guinevere off into the kingdom from which no one returns. The knights are told that it is only possible to enter this land by two extremely perilous ways; the Underwater Bridge or the Sword Bridge. They chose the latter. On arriving at the Sword Bridge they found it crossed treacherous, black water, roaring, swift and swirling, as horrifying and frightening as if it were the Devil's own stream. The bridge was unlike any other, it was as sharp as a gleaming sword, as long as two lances. On either side the sword was fixed to tree stumps and the knights were convinced that two lions or leopards were tethered to a large rock at the other end of the bridge. On crossing he immediately encountered king Bademagu in his tower. [2]

Chrétien seems to have pulled heavily from Celtic sources, and Meleagant, or Maheloas, is no less than later versions of the prototype Melwas as he appears in the first account of Gwenhwyfar's abduction in the early 12th century Life of Gildas (Vita Gildae c.1120) said to have been penned by Caradoc of Llancarvan (Caradog Llancarfan). Llancarfan is a small rural village near Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan, south Wales, and the site of Saint Cadoc's 6th century Abbey, whose foundation it usually assigned to with Dubricius, (St. Dubric) and the time of St. Germanus's visit to Britain in the mid-5th  century. On Dubricius' elevation to bishop, Cattwg (St Cadoc) succeeded as Abbot. The Abbey became a Celtic 'Clas' a college and monastery where many Welsh holy men studied. [3]

A few miles further along the Vale of Glamorgan is Llantwit Major and the site of “the oldest university in the world", Cor Tewdws, the divinity school.  Cor Tewdws, or Bangor Tewdws (College of Theodosius) was burnt down in the mid-5th century but was refounded by St Illtyd (Illtud) some sixty years later. Ss. Patrick, David, Gildas, Tudwal, Samson, and Maelgwn (later king of Gwynedd), amongst a host of others, including the heretic Pelagius, founder of the doctrine known as Pelagianism, are said to have studied at here.

Vale of Glamorgan

This veritable hotbed of religious schooling in the Vale of Glamorgan was responsible for producing many of the 'Saint's Lives' which contain some of the earliest reference to Arthur. He appears in the Lives of Padarn, Carannog, Illtud, Gildas, Cadog, Goueznou and Euflamm. [4]

Typically, in these Saint's tales Arthur is depicted as somewhat of a tyrant, usually at odds with the church. In this earliest stratum of the legend Arthur is portrayed as:


“....a defender of his country against every kind of danger, both internal and external: a slayer of giants and witches, a hunter of monstrous animals ........ giant boars, a savage cat monster, a winged serpent (or dragon) ….... and also, as it appears from Culhwch and Preiddeu Annwn, a releaser of prisoners. This concept is substantiated from all the early sources: the poems Pa Gur and Prieddeu Annwn, the Triads, the Saint's Lives, and the Miribilia attached to the Historia Brittonum...” [5]

Clearly, in the earliest Arthurian literature we are dealing with mythology rather than history. However, it is the Vita Gildae of Caradoc of Llancarfan, written in the first quarter of the 12th century, that concerns us here. In this tale we find a version of the early Welsh tale of the rescue of Gwenhwyfar from an Otherworld Isle of Glass of Melwas. This account may provide the background to Ymddiddan Melwas ac Gwenhwyfar (The Dialogue of Melwas and Gwenhyfer), dated on linguistic evidence to the 12th century, or both may independently refer to a common exemplar.

Caradoc recounts how Gwenhwyfar was kidnapped by Melwas, king of the "Summer Country" (Aestiva Regio), generally agreed as meaning Somerset, but this is based on an incorrect understanding of the term. Whereas we can agree that the Latin 'aestiva' means 'summer', 'regione'  is plural for 'regio' in a geographical sense meaning 'district, region', or 'lands'. Therefore a preferable etymology of 'aestiva regione' would be 'summer lands' or more correctly 'land of summer'. The Celtic Otherworld is often described as being a land of paradise, happiness, and eternal summer and this is exactly how Chrétien describes his Isle de Voirre in Eric et Enide.


Isles of the Dead
This Otherworld was thought to be similar to the Elysium of Greek mythology and believed to be located on an island in the Western Sea in the area of the setting sun. A place where there was no sickness, old age or death, a place of eternal happiness and in Irish mythology variously called Tír na mBeo ("Land of the Living"), Mag Mell ("Delightful Plain"), and Tír na nÓg ("Land of Youth").

Isles of the Blessed

We noted above in Chrétien de Troyes' Lancelot, or the Knight of the Cart, that on immediately crossing the Sword Bridge to the Land of Gorre, the knight immediately encountered king Bademagu in his tower. In the Isle Of Glass this can be no less than the Tower of Glass. One of the earliest literary references we have to a glass tower in the ocean appears in the 9th century Historia Brittonum:

“Long after this, the Scots arrived in Ireland from Spain. The first that came was Partholomus, with a thousand men and women, these increased to four thousand; but a mortality coming suddenly upon them, they all perished in one week. The second was Nimech, the son of …..who, according to report, after having his ships shattered, arrived at a port in Ireland, and continuing there several years, returned at length with his followers to Spain. After these came three sons of a Spanish soldier with thirty ships, each of which contained thirty wives; and having remained there during the space of a year, there appeared to them, in the middle of the sea, a tower of glass, the summit of which seemed covered with men, to whom they often spoke, but received no answer. At length they determined to besiege the tower; and after a year's preparation, advanced towards it, with the whole number of their ships, and all the women, one ship only excepted, which had been wrecked, and in which were thirty men, and as many women; but when all had disembarked on the shore which surrounded the tower, the sea opened and swallowed them up.”

This episode immediately brings to mind the classic Celtic story of a raid on the Otherworld to retrieve the magic cauldron. Remnants of this tale appear in Preiddeu Annfwn (Spoils of Annwn), the  Second Branch of the Mabinogi and Cuwlwch and Olwen. The cauldron is wrested by the deity Bran, the Blessed, in The Second Branch, the Mabinogi of Branwen, substituting Arthur from Preiddeu Annfwn. But there is also a wrested Irish cauldron in Culhwch and Olwen. In the latter of these two accounts of the raid on the Otherworld has became on a raid on Ireland showing its similarity to the story of the glass tower from the Historia Brittonum passage on the peopling of Ireland.

It is possible that Ireland may have been perceived as a kind of "Otherworld" in Welsh lore, an island to the west, which would explain the Irish name given to the first mention of the fortress, Caer Siddi, in the Spoils of Annwn. Indeed, this Arthurian poem shares the episode of the of the difficulty of conversing with three score watchmen on the wall in the Historia Brittonum. These are clearly the souls of the dead; in Celtic mythology the supernatural cauldron has the power to bring the dead back to life but without the power of speech. The indications here seem quite clear; a raid on the Otherworld by Arthur and his retinue to retrieve a supernatural cauldron; the Celtic cauldron of plenty was never empty and supplied great quantities of food and the cauldron of rebirth brought slain warriors to life again. As we in Part IV: White Phantom, many of Arthur's possessions, including his wife Gwenhwyfar, came from the Otherworld.

The Historia Brittonum passage also states that only one ship survived; Spoils of Annwn recalls that none, save seven returned from three full shiploads of Arthur's ship Prydwen and the Mabinogi of Branwen reveals that only seven men survived with Bran. The abduction epsiode in Caradoc's Vita Gildae has the same Otherworldly adventure feel about it; a journey to the Isle of Glass. Indeed, in the Vita Gildae, Saint Gildas has come down to the Land of Summer from the Orcades in the North. Orcades is usually referred to as the Orkney Isles but Orcus is yet another name for the Otherworld.

Ancient geographers on the journey to Thule referred to passing by 'Orc Island,' or 'Innis Orc' to use the old Gaelic name. However, this name may have originated from the tales of superstitious mariners referring to Islands of the Dead at the far ends of the ocean rather than a physical place. Consider the account of the 6th century historian Procopius of Caesarea who recorded that many people had told him that the inhabitants of an island off the coast of Brittia was where the souls of the dead are ferried. Brittia is interpreted by many historians to mean Britain.

It is seemingly not of Celtic origin as 'Orca' is the Latin name for a sea creature, nowadays applied to the killer whale. The Latin  word 'Orc' has the literal meaning of 'the dead, death,' or the 'underworld.' In Roman mythology we find Orcus was a god of the underworld, punisher of broken oaths. The Romans sometimes conflated Orcus with other gods such as Pluto, Hades, and Dis Pater, all deities of the land of the dead. Therefore, Orcus can mean both 'the underworld' or 'the god of the underworld.' Thus, Orcades may refer to the island abode of Orcus, god of the dead.

In some mythologies it is common to find the Otherworld is located in the north. Remnants of this belief seem to have perpetuated into Celtic mythology; in Cuhwhch and Olwen, Arthur went to the North to resolve the issue with Gwyn and Gwrythr; later in Cuhwhch Arthur travels to Uffern, in the north, to obtain the blood of the Very Black Witch. Gwyn is there also. Uffern is used as another name for the Otherworld in Spoils of Annwn.

“Said Arthur, "Is there any one of the marvels yet unobtained?" Said one of his men, "There is--the blood of the witch Orddu, the daughter of the witch Orwen, of Pen Nant Govid, on the confines of Hell." Arthur set forth towards the North, and came to the place where was the witch's cave. And Gwyn ab Nudd, and Gwythyr the son of Greidawl, counselled him to send Kacmwri, and Hygwyd his brother, to fight with the witch”. [6]

Gwyn ap Nudd's association with the Otherworld is beyond doubt. In Part III: White, The Winter King we saw that in abducting Creiddylad, Gwyn takes the place of Hades in the Greek Persephone myth. In the medieval tales this role has been passed on to Melwas, or his later namesakes.

In the poem The Dialogue of Gwyn ap Nudd and Gwyddno Garanhir from the Black Book of Carmarthen, Gwyn is described as “the hope of armies” and boasts how he has been where the soldiers of Britain were slain. This would appear to be  a reference to his role as psychopomp, escort of the souls of the dead. The poem also recalls how he witnessed a conflict before Caer Vandwy, yet another Otherworldy fortress named in the Spoils of Annwn.

• Conclusion: City of Glass? 
  

*

Notes:
1. Chrétien de Troyes: Arthurian Romances, Erec and Enide, trans. Carleton W Carroll, Penguin Books, 1991, pp.37-122.
2. Chrétien de Troyes: Arthurian Romances, The Knight of the Cart (Lancelot), trans. William W Kibler, Penguin Books, 1991, pp.215-246.
3. Constantius' Life of St. Germanus, written about fifty years after the death of the saint, makes no mention of any school founded by him or indeed his presence in Wales. As ever with these early Saints tales we must exercise caution in considering their historical value.
4. For translations see: John B. Coe and Simon Young (ed. and trans.), The Celtic Sources for the Arthurian Legend, Llanerch, 1995. For discussion of the Saints’ Lives see B.F. Roberts, ‘Culhwch ac Olwen, the Triads, Saints’ Lives’, in R. Bromwich et al, The Arthur of the Welsh, Welsh University Press 1991, and Oliver J Padel, Arthur in Medieval Welsh Literature, University of Wales Press, 2000.
5. R. Bromwich and D. Simon Evans, editors, Culhwch and Olwen. An edition and study of the oldest Arthurian tale, Welsh University Press, 1992, pp. Xxviii-xxix.
6. Ibid.

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White Phantom

The Abduction of Guinevere Part IV

Throughout Arthurian Romance  Guinevere is commonly portrayed with two weaknesses; her love affairs with Arthur's best knight, and very susceptible to being abducted.

• Part I: The Abduction of Guinevere in Medieval Arthurian Romance
• Part II: The Modena Archivolt 
• Part III: White, The Winter King
• Part IV: White Phantom
• Part V:  The Isle of Glass
• Part VI: The Isle of Glass (2) 
• Appendix I: The Celtic Messiah 
• Appendix II: The Legend of Arthur's Survival

Arthur's Otherworld Possessions
As we have seen above the abduction of Gwenhwyfar receives a first literary mention in Caradoc of Llancarfan's Vita Gildae, written c.1130. Caradoc's tale is probably following a traditional account as we find a similar abduction motif in the earlier Culhwch ac Olwen,  c.1100 with Gwyn ap Nudd duelling with Gwythyr son of Greidiawl for the maiden Creiddylad.

It is in Culhwch that Gwenhwyfar is first named as Arthur's queen  but this is merely a passing mention in the court list as chief lady along with her sister Gwennhwyach and earlier in the tale in a list of Arthur's possessions that Culhwch is not granted by Arthur. It is significant that here she appears amongst Arthur's companion Kei and Bedwyr, characters from the earliest stratum of the Arthurian legend. From this we can hold with reasonable confidence that Gwenhwyfar is not an invention of the later continental writers of Arthurian romance but has her origins in Welsh vernacular tradition.

On arriving at Arthur's court Culhwch seeks the sovereign’s assistance in obtaining Olwen, daughter of the giant Ysbaddaden Bencawr. Arthur tells him, "Though you do not reside here, chieftain, you shall have the gift your mouth and tongue shall name, as far as the wind dries, as far as the rain soaks, as far as the sun reaches, as far as the sea stretches, as far as the earth extends, except my ship; and my mantle; and Caledfwlch, my sword; and Rhongomyniad, my spear; and Wynebgwrthucher, my shield; and Carnwennan, my dagger; and Gwenhwyvar, my wife.” [1]

All Arthur's possessions listed above appear to have originated in the Otherworld as most contain the element (G)wen or Gwyn which can mean 'white, sacred, pure, holy'. The Otherworldly connotations continue with Arthur's mantle of invisibility which is not named in Culhwch but is listed in the later Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain and in Rhonabwy's Dream where it is named 'Gwen'.

In Culhwch Arthur's ship is also named as Prydwen as in the earlier Taliesin poem Preiddeu Annwn (The Spoils of Annwn) in which he carries out a raid on the Otherworld to retrieve a magic cauldron. This tale is echoed in Culhwch, although in the later tale the Otherworld Island is replaced by a raid on Ireland.

The Irish influence on the Arthurian legend is undeniable and many similarities between the cycles have been presented. [2] There is the possibility of an an early tradition of the abduction of Gwenhwyfar reflected in Geoffrey of Monmouth's account of Mordred which is closely paralleled by the abduction of Fionn's wife Grainne by his nephew Diarmaid. However, this is dependant upon acceptance of Mordred as Arthur's nephew, a relationship which seems to be the creation of Geoffrey.

Caledfwlch
Caledfwlch, Arthur's  sword, is rendered into the Latin Cailburnus by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain). According to Geoffrey, Arthur's sword was forged in the Isle of Avalon. Geoffrey only mentions Avalon twice in his Historia and not all in his later Vita Merlini, but on both occasions he clearly means an Otherworld Island. Contrary to popular belief Geoffrey does not equate Avalon with Glastonbury, in fact he makes no effort to identify its location.

We find an episode of Arthur's sword in the Otherworld in Culhwch in which Arthur's sword is used to slay Diwrnach the Irishman: “Llenlleog seized Caledfwlch and swung it in a circle, and slew Diwrnach the Irishman and all his host.”

This one sentence describes Llenlleawc's (Llenlleog) only action in Culhwch, an obscure character mentioned twice in the list of people invoked by Culhwch. In the first instance he is referred to as Llenlleawc “from the headland of Gamon”, which has been suggested as Garmon as in Llwch Garmon the Welsh name for Wexford harbour in southern-east Ireland, attested in the 10th century prophetic poem Armes Prydein. [3]

There is considerable debate amongst scholars to Llenlleawc's identity. He has been identified as a manifestation of the Irish deity Lug but it has been argued that any connection with Lug that may be drawn from Llenlleawc is possibly a misreading of Lleu lleawc, “Lleu, the death-dealing”, where Lleu is the Welsh cognate of Irish Lug, but derived from Celtic Lugus and not a borrowing of Lug. Llenlleawc could therefore be seen as a ghost persona who arose from misinterpretation of a problematic line in the Taliesin poem The Spoils of Annwn, [4] where we find  a very similar episode involving the theft of a cauldron from the Otherworld: [5]

“...Neu peir pen annwfyn pwy y vynut
gwrym am yoror amererit     
Ny beirw bwyt llwfyr ny rytyghit
cledyf lluch lleawc idaw rydyrchit    
Ac yn llaw leminawc yd edewit...”

“..The cauldron of the chief of Annwfyn: what is its fashion?
A dark ridge around its border and pearls
It does not boil the food of a coward; it has not been destined.
The flashing sword of Lleawch has been lifted to it
And in the hand of Lleminawc it was left...” [6]

Lluch Lleawc has been seen as a variant of the name of Llwch Llawwynnawc (Lloch Llawwynnyawc) who is also invoked by Culhwch. Llawwynnyawc of Culhwch is often seen as synonymous with Lleminawc of  Preiddeu Annwn, adding further confirmation that the theft of the cauldron from the Otherworld is the same episode.  Llwch Llawwynnawc has been interpreted as 'Lug of the Striking-Hand', or 'Lug of the Windy-Hand', common epithets for the Irish deity.

There is clearly much confusion here and the lines in question in Preiddeu Annwn may contain a garbled version of the name of the weapon, the “sword of Lleawch” (cledyf lluch lleawc); 'lluch lleawc' may be taken to be separate adjectives meaning "flashing" and "death-dealing." Further, the mention of 'llaw leminawc' in the next line of Preiddeu Annwn may derive from a misinterpretation of 'cledyf lluch....llaw leminawc' which could have given rise to the persona of Llwch Llaw Leminawc/Llawwynnawc who became associated with Llwch Garmon, who became confused with the similar character of Llenlleawc emerging from a variant interpretation of the same lines of the poem. [7]

Perhaps it is is possible to untangle this confusion when we consider that the word 'leminawc' is an adjective meaning 'leaper' or 'leaping one' used in reference to an attacker and very aptly may be an epithet for Arthur in this instance. In prophetic poems it can refer to the deliverer. [8] We can offer an alternative interpretation of this passage without the need for the Irish divinity Lug, this is not to say that Arthur was not accompanied on his Otherworld journeys with deities from the Celtic pantheon, but there is no reason not to see this slaying as being executed by Arthur himself with Caledfwlch his own sword: “The flashing sword of death-dealing was thrust into it, and it was left in the hand of the leaping one...” [i.e. the attacker, Arthur].

The literary evidence indicates that Caledfwlch is most likely an Otherworldy weapon and cognate with the Irish sword Caladbolg, probably both derived independently from the generic name for a mythical sacred, death-dealing sword, capable of consuming everything. [9] It was said to be a two-handed sword that made a circle like an arc of rainbow when swung, which is exactly how it is described in Culhwch, “Llenlleog seized Caledfwlch and swung it in a circle, and slew Diwrnach the Irishman and all his host.”  In in the Irish epic Táin Bó Cuailnge, Caladbolg is the name of the sword that Fergus mac Róig inherited from the Ulster King Fergus mac Leite who had brought it from the land of the Sidhe, or Otherworld.

Caledfwlch is  a compound word constructed from the elements 'caled' which can have the adjective meaning 'hard' or the noun 'battle'. The second element 'bwlch' means 'breach, gap, notch', and may mean 'hard-notch' or 'battle-notch' suggesting such a sword strong enough make notches or break through enemy lines. It could also mean it is notched through prolonged use in battle, or even deliberately serrated. However, the meaning 'battle-breach' or 'breach of battle' is seen as preferable. [10] The early occurrence of Arthur's ship, Prydwen in Preiddeu Annwn, dated to the 8th century, [11] and its pairing with Arthur's sword Caledfwlch in the later Culwhch attests the weapon's antiquity.

Interestingly, if listed in order of merit Arthur's material possessions appear to take precedence over his wife. Gwenhwyfar's name is generally agreed to mean 'white phantom', indicating her Otherworldly origins, from the first element Gwen or Gwyn meaning 'white, pure, sacred, holy', with the second element meaning 'phantom, spirit, fairy or enchantress', cognate with the Irish 'siabair'. Indeed, Gwenhwyfar corresponds with Findabair daughter of King Ailill and Queen Medb in the Irish epic Táin Bó Cuailnge, The Cattle Raid of Cooley, from the Ulster Cycle.

From the evidence of the earliest Arthurian literature we have it is reasonable to suggest that Arthur brought these possessions, his sword, shield, dagger, mantle, back from a raid on the Otherworld, including his wife, Gwenhwyfar. Indeed it would not seem unreasonable to suggest that Arthur himself has an Otherworld origin; he is often associated with deities who travel with him and seems to be able to journey to the Otherworld and return at will, whereas for his mortal companions it is fraught with danger and but few return.

Yet the retrieval of Gwenhwyfar from the Otherworld is completely compatible with the central motif of the abduction stories of the flower maiden, in which we see the likes of Persephone and Creiddylad carried off to the Otherworld by a supernatural figure such as Haides, or Gwyn ap Nudd.

Where was this Otherworld Island that Caradoc of Llancarfan identified as Ynys Wydrin, the Isle of Glass?

>> Part IV: The Isle of Glass

*

Notes:
1. Sioned Davies, The Mabinogion, Oxford University Press, 2007, p. 183 “How Culhwch won Olwen”.
2. A. G. Van Hamel, Aspects of Celtic Mythology, Proceedings of the British Academy, 20, 1934.
3. Patrick Sims-Williams, Irish Influence of Medieval Welsh Literature, Oxford University Press, 2011, p.160.
4. Ibid. pp. 160-161.
5. A similar account is told in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi.
6.  Sarah Higley, Text and Translation, Preiddeu Annwn: "The Spoils of Annwn", online at The Camelot Project, University of Rochester, General Editors: Alan Lupack and Barbara Tepa Lupack,
7.  Sims-Williams, op.cit. pp.162-163.
8.  Marged Haycock, Legendary Poems from the Book of Taliesin, CMCS, 2007, p.444. See note p.384.
9. Thomas Green, Concepts of Arthur, Tempus, 2007, p.156.
10.  Rachel Bromwich and D Simon Evans, Culhwch and Olwen: An edition and Study of the Oldest Arthurian Tale, University of Wales, 1992, pp.64-5.
11.  Kenneth H Jackson, Language and History in Early Britain, 1953,  endorsed by John T Koch.

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