Morfran (
Middle Welsh
Middle Welsh ( cy, Cymraeg Canol, wlm, Kymraec) is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh ( cy, Hen G ...
: ''Moruran'' "cormorant"; literally "sea crow", from ''môr'', "sea", and ''brân'', "crow", from
Common Brittonic
Common Brittonic ( cy, Brythoneg; kw, Brythonek; br, Predeneg), also known as British, Common Brythonic, or Proto-Brittonic, was a Celtic language spoken in Britain and Brittany.
It is a form of Insular Celtic, descended from Proto-Celtic, a ...
*''mori-brannos'', as in
French ''cormoran'' < L ''corvus marinus'')
is a figure in
Welsh mythology
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 Cel ...
. Usually portrayed as a warrior under
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 ...
, he is noted for the darkness of his skin and his hideousness. He appears in the narratives about the bard
Taliesin
Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the '' Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to have sung at the courts ...
and in 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 ...
, where he is often contrasted with the angelically handsome
Sanddef Sanddef Pryd Angel (Middle Welsh: Sanddev; also spelled Sandde in Modern Welsh) is a figure of Welsh tradition. He usually figures as a warrior of King Arthur's court, and is distinguished by his great beauty, which gives him his epithet ''Pryd'' ...
.
Appearances
The character appears in the ''
Tale of Taliesin'', where he is depicted as the son of
Ceridwen
Ceridwen or Cerridwen ( ''Ke-RID-wen'') was an enchantress in Welsh mythology, Welsh medieval legend. She was the mother of a hideous son, Afagddu, and a beautiful daughter, Creirwy. Her husband was Tegid Foel and they lived near Bala Lake () in ...
and
Tegid Foel Tegid Foel is the husband of Ceridwen in Welsh mythology. His name rendered into English would be "Tacitus the Bald". In folklore, Tegid Foel is associated with Bala Lake, Llyn Tegid (Bala Lake) in Gwynedd and may have been the tutelary deity of tha ...
, and is given an extremely beautiful sister named
Creirwy
Creirwy () is a figure in the ''Mabinogion'' and the ''Hanes Taliesin'' (the story of Taliesin's life), daughter of the enchantress Ceridwen and Tegid Foel ("Tacitus the Bald"). The Welsh Triads name her one of the three most beautiful maids of the ...
. In later versions of this tale his characteristic ugliness is transferred to a brother, Afagddu (Middle Welsh: ''Avagddu''; from ''y fagddu'', "utter darkness"), though
Ifor Williams
Sir Ifor Williams, (16 April 1881 – 4 November 1965) was a Welsh scholar who laid the foundations for the academic study of Old Welsh, particularly early Welsh poetry.
Early life and education
Ifor Williams was born at Pendinas, Tregarth near ...
suggested this name arose as a nickname for the famously gruesome Morfran. In the story, Ceridwen tries to help her son make his way in the world by creating a potion whose first three drops would bestow the drinker with knowledge of the future. She gives Gwion Bach (the bard Taliesin) the job of stirring the brew; he splashes three drops on his fingers and licks them, whereupon he gains the knowledge intended for Morfran/Afagddu, who remains ugly and despised. The story has a parallel in the Irish tale ''
The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn
''The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn'' ( ga, Macgnímartha Finn) is a medieval Irish narrative belonging to the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. As its title implies, it recounts the boyhood exploits of Fionn mac Cumhaill, the cycle's central figure.
O ...
'', in which the young hero
Fionn mac Cumhaill
Fionn mac Cumhaill ( ; Old and mga, Find or ''mac Cumail'' or ''mac Umaill''), often anglicized Finn McCool or MacCool, is a hero in Irish mythology, as well as in later Scottish and Manx folklore. He is leader of the ''Fianna'' bands of ...
receives prophetic wisdom intended for his master
Finn Eces
Finn Eces (Finneces, Finegas, Finnegas) is a legendary Irish poet and sage, according to the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. He is the teacher of Fionn mac Cumhaill, according to the tale ''The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn''. For years he tries to catc ...
by consuming the
Salmon of Knowledge
The Salmon of Knowledge ( ga, An Bradán Feasa) is a creature in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology, sometimes identified with Fintan mac Bóchra, who was known as "The Wise" and was once transformed into a salmon.
Fenian Cycle
The Salmon sto ...
.
Morfran eil Tegid (Morfran son of Tegid) appears in several of 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 ...
. In Triad 24 he is recognized as one of the "Three Slaughter-Blocks of the Island of Britain", while Triad 41 celebrates his horse Guelwgan Gohoewgein (Silver-White, Proud and Fair) as one of the "Three Lover's Horses of the Island of Britain". Other manuscripts attribute this horse to Drystan (
Tristan
Tristan (Latin/ Brythonic: ''Drustanus''; cy, Trystan), also known as Tristram or Tristain and similar names, is the hero of the legend of Tristan and Iseult. In the legend, he is tasked with escorting the Irish princess Iseult to wed ...
) and
Ceredig ap Gwallawg
Ceretic of Elmet (or Ceredig ap Gwallog) was the last king of Elmet, a Britonnic kingdom that existed in the West Yorkshire area of Northern England in sub-Roman Britain.
Bede records that Hilda of Whitby (born 614), a member of the Deiran roya ...
. In other triads he is associated with
Sanddef Sanddef Pryd Angel (Middle Welsh: Sanddev; also spelled Sandde in Modern Welsh) is a figure of Welsh tradition. He usually figures as a warrior of King Arthur's court, and is distinguished by his great beauty, which gives him his epithet ''Pryd'' ...
, whose beauty is as notable as Morfran's ugliness. In a triad preserved in the prose 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 ...
'', Morfran and Sanddef are named as two of the three men who survived the
Battle of Camlann
The Battle of Camlann ( cy, Gwaith Camlan or ''Brwydr Camlan'') is the legendary final battle of King Arthur, in which Arthur either died or was fatally wounded while fighting either with or against Mordred, who also perished. The original leg ...
, in Morfran's case because his ugliness led everyone to believe he was "a devil helping, for there was hair on his face like the hair of a stag." This triad was adapted in the 15th-century triad collection known as "The Twenty-four Knights of Arthur's Court"; the pair are two of the "Three Irresistible Knights", as their peculiarities made it "repugnant to anyone to refuse them anything."
Morfran is further mentioned in the 12th-century prose tale ''
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 ...
''.
Rachel Bromwich
Rachel Bromwich (30 July 1915 – 15 December 2010) born Rachel Sheldon Amos, was a British scholar. Her focus was on medieval Welsh literature, and she taught Celtic Languages and Literature in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at ...
notes that a 12th-century poem by
Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr
Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr ("Cynddelw the Great Poet"; wlm, Kyndelw Brydyt or ; 1155–1200), was the court poet of Madog ap Maredudd, Owain Gwynedd (Owen the Great), and Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd, and one of the most prominent Welsh poets of the 12 ...
contains a reference to an otherwise forgotten early poet named Morfran, and suggests a connection with the Morfran of ''The Tale of Taliesin'' who was the intended recipient of the cauldron of poetic inspiration. Scholar Caitlin Green further suggests a connection with the character called "Osfran's Son", who is buried at Camlann according to the ''
Englynion y Beddau
The ''Englynion y Beddau'' ( en, The Stanzas or Verses of the Graves) is a Middle Welsh verse catalogue listing the resting places (''beddau'') of legendary heroes. It consists of a series of ''englynion'', or short stanzas in quantitative meter, ...
'' (''Stanzas of the Graves'').
[Green, p. 76.]
Notes
References
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{{Celtic mythology (Welsh)
Arthurian characters
Welsh mythology