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Sir Kay
In Arthurian legend, Sir Kay ( cy, Cai, Middle Welsh ''Kei'' or ''Cei''; la, Caius; French: ''Keu''; Old French: ''Kès'' or ''Kex'') is King Arthur's foster brother and later seneschal, as well as one of the first Knights of the Round Table. In later literature he is known for his acid tongue and bullying, boorish behaviour, but in earlier accounts he was one of Arthur's premier warriors. Along with Bedivere, with whom he is frequently associated, Kay is one of the earliest characters associated with Arthur. Kay's father is called Ector in later literature, but the Welsh accounts name him as Cynyr Ceinfarfog. Cai in Welsh tradition Cai or Cei is one of the earliest characters to be associated with the Arthurian mythology, appearing in a number of early Welsh texts, including ''Culhwch ac Olwen'', '' Geraint fab Erbin'', '' Iarlles y Ffynnon'', ''Peredur fab Efrawg'', ''Breuddwyd Rhonabwy'', ''Pa Gur'', and the Welsh Triads. His father is given as Cynyr Ceinfarfog (Fork-Beard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Graves
Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celticists and students of Irish mythology. Graves produced more than 140 works in his lifetime. His poems, his translations and innovative analysis of the Greek myths, his memoir of his early life—including his role in World War I—''Good-Bye to All That'', and his speculative study of poetic inspiration ''The White Goddess'' have never been out of print. He is also a renowned short story writer, with stories such as "The Tenement" still being popular today. He earned his living from writing, particularly popular historical novels such as ''I, Claudius''; '' King Jesus''; ''The Golden Fleece''; and ''Count Belisarius''. He also was a prominent translator of Classical Latin and Ancient Greek texts; his versions of ''The Twelve Caesars'' and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Twrch Trwyth
Twrch Trwyth (; also Trwyd, Troynt (MSS.''HK''); Troit (MSS.''C1 D G Q''); or Terit (MSS. ''C2 L'')) is an enchanted wild boar in the ''Matter of Britain'' great story cycle that King Arthur or his men pursued with the aid of Arthur's dog Cavall ( cy, Cafall, la, Cabal). The names of the hound and boar are glimpsed in a piece of geographical onomasticon composed in Latin in the ninth century, the ''Historia Brittonum''. However, a richly elaborate account of the great hunt appears in the Welsh prose romance ''Culhwch and Olwen'', probably written around 1100. A passing reference to Twrch Trwyth also occurs in the elegy ''Gwarchan Cynfelyn'' preserved in the Book of Aneirin. The name in Welsh can be construed to mean "the boar Trwyth", and may have its analogue in the boar Triath of Irish mythology (see #Etymology and Irish cognate below). ''Historia Brittonum'' The earliest reference to the boar Trwyth occurs in the tract ''De Mirabilibus Britanniae'' (or ''Mirabilia'' in sho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Menw
Menw, son of Three-Cries ( wlm, Menw fab Teirgwaedd), is a hero and shapeshifter in early Welsh literature, an "Enchanted Knight" of King Arthur at his court at Celliwig. He appears most prominently in the early Arthurian tale ''Culhwch and Olwen'', in which he is handpicked among Arthur's warriors to accompany Culhwch on his quest to win Olwen. An "Enchanter Knight" of Arthur's court, he learned one of the Three Enchantments from Uther Pendragon. He is ascribed a son named Anynnawg. Role in Welsh tradition After being cursed by his stepmother so that he marry no one but Olwen, daughter of the giant Ysbaddaden, Culhwch ap Cilydd seeks assistance from his cousin Arthur to win her hand in marriage. Arthur agrees to help him, sending six of his many warriors to assist him on his quest, with Menw as the sixth. Each warrior has his own unique skill; Menw is a skilled magician, able to place he and his companions under an illusion of invisibility so as to protect them in savage lands. P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goreu Fab Custennin
Goreu fab Custennin (also spelled as Gorau) is a hero of Welsh and early Arthurian mythology, the son of Custennin, and cousin to Arthur, Culhwch and Saint Illtud through their grandfather Amlawdd Wledig. He is a significant character in the Middle Welsh Arthurian tale ''Culhwch and Olwen'', and also appears in a number of other medieval texts. His name may be derived from ; "of Cornwall."Bromwich, Rachel. ''Trioedd Ynys Prydein.'' Role in Welsh tradition How Culhwch won Olwen While on the quest to locate the stronghold of Ysbaddaden Bencawr, Culhwch ap Cilydd and his six companions come across a shepherd and his flock. They learn that he is Ysbaddaden's brother, and that the giant has murdered twenty-three of his twenty four children. In a bid to save their youngest son from suffering the same fate, the shepherd and his wife hide him away in a chest. Cai, one of Arthur's foremost knights, offers to take the boy with him on the quest for Olwen, promising to fight to the deat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Celliwig
Celliwig, Kelliwic or Gelliwic is perhaps the earliest named location for the court of King Arthur. It may be translated as 'forest grove'. Literary references It is mentioned in the Welsh tale ''Culhwch and Olwen'' whose manuscript dates from the 11th century, though the story is much older. The story describes the court as being at Celliwig in Cernyw (the Welsh name for Cornwall), otherwise known as the kingdom of Dumnonia including modern Devon. The hall is guarded by Glewlwyd Gafaelfawr, Arthur's porter, and Culhwch has difficulty gaining entrance due to the special laws that restrict entry once a feast has begun. Though there is no description of the place the implications of the story are of great wealth and splendour. It describes Arthur's warriors at the court in depth and says that: "From here, one of his Warband, Drem, could see a gnat as far away as Scotland; while another, Medyr, could shoot an arrow through the legs of a wren in Ireland!" Some of the ''Trioedd Ynys Pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olwen
In Welsh mythology, Olwen (or Olwyn) is the daughter of the giant Ysbaddaden and cousin of Goreu. She is the heroine of the story ''Culhwch and Olwen'' in the Mabinogion. Her father is fated to die if she ever marries, so when Culhwch (sometimes spelled as Kilhwch) comes to court her, he is given a series of immensely difficult tasks which he must complete before he can win her hand. With the help of his cousin King Arthur, Culhwch succeeds and the giant dies, allowing Olwen to marry her suitor. Description In the tale ''Culhwch and Olwen'' in the Mabinogion, she is described as a vision of beauty: wearing a flaming-red dress with a red-gold torc and many golden rings, she has "hair yellower than the broom", red (ruddy) cheeks, white skin and pale hands. She is also depicted as having the ability to spring white flowers from every step she takes. Other tales The name "Olwen" reappears in the non-Arthurian folktale ''Einion and Olwen'', about a sheep herder who travels to the Oth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goleuddydd
Goleuddydd ("light of day" from the Welsh ''golau'', "light", and ''dydd'', "day"), in the Middle Welsh prose tale ''Culhwch ac Olwen'', is the daughter of Amlawdd Wledig, and is desired by Cilydd, who marries her. She becomes pregnant with his child, but becomes mad and turns to wandering the countryside. When she is near to giving birth, her senses return, and she takes shelter with a swineherd. Frightened by the pigs, she gives birth to a boy, apparently in a pig run. The swineherd takes the baby away to be baptised as Culhwch Culhwch (, with the final consonant sounding like Scottish "loch"), in Welsh mythology, is the son of Cilydd son of Celyddon and Goleuddydd, a cousin of Arthur and the protagonist of the story ''Culhwch and Olwen'' (the earliest of the medieval W ...; he becomes the protagonist of ''Culhwch and Olwen''. Following the birth, Goleuddydd becomes fatally ill and, before dying, exhorts her husband not to remarry until he sees a briar with two blossoms on her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cilydd
''Culhwch and Olwen'' ( cy, Culhwch ac Olwen) is a Welsh tale that survives in only two manuscripts about a hero connected with Arthur and his warriors: a complete version in the Red Book of Hergest, c. 1400, and a fragmented version in the White Book of Rhydderch, c. 1325. It is the longest of the surviving Welsh prose tales. Overview Dating The prevailing view among scholars was that the present version of the text was composed by the 11th century, making it perhaps the earliest Arthurian tale and one of Wales' earliest extant prose texts,The Romance of Arthur: An Anthology of Medieval Texts in Translation, ed. James J. Wilhelm. 1994. 25. but a 2005 reassessment by linguist Simon Rodway dates it to the latter half of the 12th century. The title is a later invention and does not occur in early manuscripts. Editions Lady Charlotte Guest included this tale among those she collected under the title ''The Mabinogion''. Synopsis Culhwch's father, King Cilydd son of Celyddon, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Culhwch
Culhwch (, with the final consonant sounding like Scottish "loch"), in Welsh mythology, is the son of Cilydd son of Celyddon and Goleuddydd, a cousin of Arthur and the protagonist of the story ''Culhwch and Olwen'' (the earliest of the medieval Welsh tales appended to Lady Charlotte Guest's edition of the Mabinogion). In this tale the etymology of ''Culhwch'' is explained as "sow run" (''cul'' "narrow, a narrow thing"; ''hwch'' "sow, pig"), but this is likely to be folk etymology. According to the narrative, Culhwch is born to his maddened mother Goleuddydd after she is frightened by a herd of swine. The swineherd finds Culhwch in the pigs' run, and takes him back to his father Cilydd. Culhwch is described as being "of gentle lineage". In ''Culhwch and Olwen'' Culhwch's father, King Cilydd son of Celyddon, loses his wife Goleuddydd after a difficult childbirth. When he remarries, the young Culhwch rejects his stepmother's attempt to pair him with his new stepsister. Offended, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ysbaddaden
; "Ysbaddaden, Chief of Giants," is the primary antagonist of the Welsh romance ''Culhwch ac Olwen''.Helmut Birkhan: Kelten. Versuch einer Gesamtdarstellung ihrer Kultur. Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien 1997, , S. 473. A vicious giant residing in a nigh unreachable castle, he is the father of Olwen and uncle of Goreu fab Custennin. Culhwch's father, King Cilydd son of Celyddon, loses his wife Goleuddydd after a difficult childbirth. When Cilydd remarries, the young Culhwch rejects his stepmother's attempt to pair him with his new stepsister. Offended, the new queen puts a curse on him so that he can marry no one besides the beautiful Olwen, daughter of the giant Ysbaddaden. Though he has never seen her, Culhwch becomes infatuated with her, but his father warns him that he will never find her without the aid of his famous cousin Arthur. The young man immediately sets off to seek his kinsman. He finds him at his court in Celliwig in Cornwall and asks ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cath Palug
(also , , , literally 'Palug's cat') was a monstrous cat in Welsh legend, given birth in by the pig Henwen of Cornwall; the cat was later to haunt the Isle of Anglesey, and was said to have killed 180 warriors when Sir Kay went to the island to hunt it down. 's French name is (Old French and variant modern forms: , ). Vicious poems were composed by Frenchmen claiming it killed King Arthur, according to a 12th-century Anglo-Norman author. A cat analogous to (though not mentioned by name) is eradicated by Arthur in the Vulgate Cycle's prose . Etymology The name may mean "scratching cat", but this is just one of a range of possible meanings. The word () is theorized to have a common stem, which may mean: 'hit, strike', 'cut, lop', 'scratch, claw', or even 'dig, pierce'. , the French form can be broken down into 'cat' + 'bog', hence 'the bog cat'; and in the Anglo-Norman poem (see §Li Romanz des Franceis) and are connected in the story (the words are end-rhymed in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
