In Welsh mythology, Gwythyr ap Greidawl was a rival of Gwyn ap Nudd, a

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

connected with the otherworld. In the Middle Welsh prose tale '' Culhwch ac Olwen'', he is named as a member of

Arthur's Arthur's was a London gentlemen's club, now dissolved, which was established in 1811 and was disbanded in 1940. Between 1827 and 1940 it was based at 69 St James's Street. It is now best remembered for having built the London clubhouse currently ...

retinue and takes part in the quest to win the hand of Olwen for Arthur's cousin, Culhwch. Gwthyr would join Arthur on a journey to Pennant Gofid in

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

to retrieve the blood of the witch Orddu. His father is Greidawl Galldonyd, a fellow knight in Arthur's court. In ''Bonedd yr Arwyr'', his genealogy is given as Gwythyr son of Greidawl the son of Enfael the son of Deigyr the son of Dyfnwal the son of Ednyfed the son of Maxen the son of Llywelyn.Bromwich, Rachel. ''Trioedd Ynys Prydein.'' The Welsh Triads name him as the father of

second wife, also named Gwenhwyfar. Sometime before the main events of ''Culhwch and Olwen'', Gwythyr was engaged to marry Creiddylad, daughter of Lludd, who was stolen from him by her brother, Gwyn ap Nudd. In a violent battle, Gwyn defeated his rival, kept Creiddylad and took a number of Gwythyr's chieftains prisoner. When Arthur heard of this, he forced Gwyn to release the noblemen and made peace between the two adversaries. Every Calan Mai, the two would fight over Creiddylad, until a battle on Judgment Day, in which the victor would keep her forever. Their rivalry has been taken to represent the contest between summer and winter and is a variant of the Holly King myth.''The White Goddess: A Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth''.

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 Celtic ...

. Octagon Books. 1978. ,

References

Welsh mythology Arthurian characters {{Europe-myth-stub