Henwen, meaning "Old White", is in

Welsh legend Welsh mythology (Welsh: ''Mytholeg Cymru'') consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of the predominantly oral societies Celti ...

a sow (female

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus s ...

) which according to the

Welsh Triads The Welsh Triads ( cy, Trioedd Ynys Prydein, "Triads of the Island of Britain") are a group of related texts in medieval manuscripts which preserve fragments of Welsh folklore, mythology and traditional history in groups of three. The triad is a ...

gave birth to

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 t ...

, a monstrous

cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

depicted as combating with either Cai (

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. ...

) or

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

of Arthurian Legends.

Triads

According to the triad "Three Powerful Swineherds of the Isle of Britain", the sow was kept by one Coll, son of Collfrewy, a pigkeeper for Dallwyr Dallben (also spelt Dallweir). The variant ''

Red Book of Hergest The ''Red Book of Hergest'' ( cy, Llyfr Coch Hergest, Oxford, Jesus College, MS 111) is a large vellum manuscript written shortly after 1382, which ranks as one of the most important medieval manuscripts written in the Welsh language. It preser ...

'' (RBH) and ''

White Book of Rhydderch The White Book of Rhydderch (Welsh: ''Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch'', National Library of Wales, Peniarth MS 4-5) is one of the most notable and celebrated surviving manuscripts in Welsh. Mostly written in southwest Wales in the middle of the 14th century ...

'' (WBR) texts add that the Dallwyr held a valley named after him, the Glen of Dallwyr in

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 ...

. The sow was ready to give birth, but this boded ill for the Isle of Britain, according to prophecy, so she was chased until she plunged into the sea at Penrhyn Awstin in Cornwall. The sow eventually re-emerges on land at Aber Tarogi in Gwent Is-coed (a subdivision of Gwent).

Offspring

Subsequently at various locales, the sow engenders various creatures as offspring, some bountiful, some baneful. * At Wheat Field (Maes Gwenith) in Gwent, a grain of wheat and a bee * At Llonion in Pembroke/Dyfed, a grain of barley and a bee (26)/ wheat (26W) / piglet (R=Guest) * At Lleyn in Arfon, a grain o rye (RBH) * At the Hill of Cyferthwch in Eryri; a wolf-cub and eaglet * At Llanfair in Arfon under the Black Rock (Maen Du), a kitten. The wolf and eagle were adopted by eminent men but "they were both the worse for them". The swineherd took the kitten and cast in into the

Menai Strait The Menai Strait ( cy, Afon Menai, the "river Menai") is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales. It varies in width from from Fort Belan to Abermenai Point to from ...

. Then on the isle of Môn (or Mona, i.e.

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

), which is across the strait, the sons of Palug reared the cat which became the

Analysis

Don Carleton suggests that the tale of Henwen is an allegorical account of the harrying of a female religious leader across south-west Britain by Arthur.Carleton, Don (2018), ''Arthur:Warrior and King'', Amberley Publishing, Stroud, pp. 153-155

In popular culture

In ''

The Chronicles of Prydain ''The Chronicles of Prydain'' is a pentalogy of children's high fantasy Bildungsroman novels written by American author Lloyd Alexander and published by Henry Holt and Company. The series includes: ''The Book of Three'' (1964), ''The Black Cauld ...

'' by

Lloyd Alexander Lloyd Chudley Alexander (January 30, 1924 – May 17, 2007) was an American author of more than 40 books, primarily fantasy novels for children and young adults. Over his seven-decade career, Alexander wrote 48 books, and his work has been tran ...

, Hen Wen is depicted as a clairvoyant pig kept by Dallben and Coll and looked after by Taran, the young protagonist of the series. Hen Wen also appears in '' The Black Cauldron'' (1985), the

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

adaptation of the first two books in Alexander's series. In ''

The Seven Deadly Sins The seven deadly sins is a classification of vices used in Christian teachings. Seven deadly sins may also refer to: Art * ''The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things'', a 1485 painting by Hieronymus Bosch * '' The Seven Deadly Sins of Moder ...

'' manga and anime there is a character who is based on Henwen.

Notes

References

(Triads) * * * * {{Citation , last = Skene, first = William Forbes, year = 1868, title = The Four Ancient Books of Wales , volume=2, location=Edinburgh, publisher=Edmonston and Douglas, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4N1fAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA458, format=Google Triads re Arthur p. 457-,Canu y Meirch (Book of Taliesin XXV) p. 175-7 (text) an
Vol. 1, p.307-
(translation)

External links

* Hwch Ddu Gwta (Welsh Wikipedia)