; "Gwrhyr, Interpreter of Languages" is a hero and

shapeshifter In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, sorcery, spells or having inherited the ...

of early Welsh literature and

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

and a warrior of King Arthur's court at

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 ...

. He appears most prominently in the early

Arthurian King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a Legend, legendary king of Great Britain, Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest tradition ...

tale ''

Culhwch and Olwen ''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 Whit ...

'', in which he is handpicked among Arthur's knights to accompany

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 ...

on his quest to win

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 ...

Role in Welsh tradition

After being cursed by his

stepmother A stepmother, stepmum or stepmom is a non-biological female parent married to one's preexisting parent. A stepmother-in-law is a stepmother of one's spouse. Children from her spouse's previous unions are known as her stepchildren. Culture Ste ...

so that he marry no one but

, daughter of the giant

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. ...

, 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 in his

quest A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. The word serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of ever ...

, with Gwrhyr as the fourth. Each warrior has his own unique skill; Gwrhyr described being able to speak every language, including those of the birds and the animals. Culhwch

He plays a conspicuous part in the tale; he is able to utilise his ability to converse with the oldest animals to free

Mabon ap Modron Mabon ap Modron is a prominent figure from Welsh literature and mythology, the son of Modron and a member of Arthur's war band. Both he and his mother were likely deities in origin, descending from a divine mother–son pair. He is often equated ...

from his imprisonment, and he is later sent as an emissary to the

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 ( ...

whilst in the shape of a bird. ''

The Dream of Rhonabwy ''The Dream of Rhonabwy'' ( cy, Breuddwyd Rhonabwy) is a Middle Welsh prose tale. Set during the reign of Madog ap Maredudd, prince of Powys (died 1160), its composition is typically dated to somewhere between the late 12th through the late 14th c ...

'' names him as one of Arthur's chief councillors at the

Battle of Badon The Battle of Badon /ˈbeɪdən/ also known as the Battle of Mons Badonicus ( la, obsessio isBadonici montis, "Blockade/Siege of the Badonic Hill"; ''Bellum in monte Badonis'', "Battle on Badon Hill"; ''Bellum Badonis'', "Battle of Badon"; Ol ...

, while the character also appears in the romance ''

Geraint and Enid Geraint () is a character from Welsh folklore and Arthurian legend, a valiant warrior possibly related to the historical Geraint, an early 8th-century king of Dumnonia. It is also the name of a 6th-century Dumnonian saint king from Briton hagi ...

'', in which he accompanies Geraint ab Erbin to

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. Gwrhyr is also mentioned in the late twelfth century ''Englynion y Clyweit'', a collection of proverbial

englyn (; plural ) is a traditional Welsh and Cornish short poem form. It uses quantitative metres, involving the counting of syllables, and rigid patterns of rhyme and half rhyme. Each line contains a repeating pattern of consonants and accent know ...

s attributed to various historical and mythological heroes. The text describes him as "perfect in all languages" and claims that he once sang the proverb "Who practices deceit will be deceived.
''Englynion y Clyweit''

References

Welsh mythology Arthurian characters {{Europe-myth-stub