The Mabinogion (Oxford World's Classics) (49 page)

Morgan Tud … chief of physicians:
according to the laws, the physician was one of the king’s twenty-four officers at court (see
LHDd
24–5). His role was to give medical attention free of charge, except for the three dangerous wounds for which he was paid: these were a blow to the head reaching the brain, a blow to the body reaching the bowels, and breaking one of the ‘four posts’ (i.e. thighs and arms). Here, Morgan Tud is a male character; however, in Chrétien’s romance the name is given to Arthur’s enchantress sister, Morgan le Fay, daughter of Arthur’s mother by her first husband, Gorlois, duke of Cornwall. In later tradition Morgan is portrayed as Arthur’s enemy, although the links with healing remain as she takes Arthur to the Isle of Avalon to be healed of his wounds.

Enid:
this is the first time she is mentioned by name.
Enid
(French
Enide
) may derive from
Bro Wened
, the Breton name for Vannes (see note to
p. 141
on
Geraint
). Indeed, it has been suggested that this tale is based ultimately on a sovereignty theme, whereby Erec, the founder of the Breton kingdom of
Bro Weroc
, mated with Enide, the goddess of the land. The tale was then transferred to the south-west of Britain, where the local hero Geraint replaced Erec, but Enid(e) remained unchanged. See
TYP
, pp. 349–50.

Gwalchmai son of Gwyar … court steward to Arthur—:
many of the names occur in the lists found in ‘How Culhwch Won Olwen’ (pp.
184
–
9
) and ‘Rhonabwy’s Dream’ (
p. 225
). For
Gwalchmai
, see note to
p. 66
. The next four names form a distinct group, being the sons of rulers:
Rhiogonedd son of the king of Ireland, Ondiaw son of the duke of Burgundy, Gwilym
(i.e. ‘William’)
son of the king of France
, and
Hywel son of the king of Brittany. Elifri
, ‘Abundance of Skills’, may be identified with the chief squire mentioned earlier (
p. 140
); for
Gorau
, see note to
p. 202
; Gwair ‘of Great Valour’ is mentioned in the triads as one of the Three Enemy-Subduers (
TYP
19), as well as one of the Three Stubborn Ones
(
TYP
72)—he may be equated with Gwair son of Gwystyl who appears in ‘Peredur son of Efrog’ (
p. 65
) and ‘Rhonabwy’s Dream’ (
p. 225
). Peredur is the hero of ‘Peredur son of Efrog’ (see note to
p. 65
); as for
Gwyn Llogell Gwŷr
, the epithet is obscure—for the duties of a court judge or justice, see
LHDd
16–19.
Gwrei Gwalstawd Ieithoedd
may be identified with ‘Gwrhyr Interpreter of Languages’ in ‘How Culhwch Won Olwen’,
p. 188
. For
Bedwyr
and
Cai
, see notes on
p. 263
and to
p. 68
); Odiar the Frank was mentioned earlier in the tale (see note to
p. 139
). For a further discussion of these names, see Robert L. Thomson (ed.),
Ystorya Gereint Uab Erbin
(Dublin, 1997), 99–100.

sad and sorrowful:
a combination of two words which are to all intents synonymous and very often bound together by alliteration is a feature of most tales in the
Mabinogion
corpus. Where possible the alliteration has been preserved in the translation.

the Dun Earl:
Welsh
dwn
means ‘dark brown’; this probably refers to the colour of his armour; compare, for example, the Black Knight in ‘The Lady of the Well’ (see
p. 123
).

The French and the English … Y Brenin Bychan:
an interesting reference to the bilingual context—his name in Anglo-Norman is
Gwiffret Petit
(Little Gwiffret), corresponding to Chrétien’s
Guivret le petit
, while his name in Welsh is
Y Brenin Bychan
(‘The Little King’).

a newly wedded woman in her riding clothes, shrieking:
the Welsh
morwynwreic
(literally someone who is both a virgin and a wife) refers to someone whose marriage has not yet been consummated.

Earl Limwris:
this seems to be a foreign name, with the initial
L
- rather than the Welsh
Ll-. Limors
occurs in Chrétien’s poem, but as the name of a castle rather than an earl.

And on every stake … except for two stakes:
the severed heads are not explained, although it could be assumed that they are the heads of knights who have been unsuccessful at the game. For the cult of the head, compare Bendigeidfran,
p. 32
.

Because of the numerous characters listed in this tale, together with the many international motifs, notes have been supplied only on the most significant features. Some additional information is provided in the Indexes of Personal and Place-Names, while further details and references can be found in Rachel Bromwich and D. Simon Evans (eds.),
Culhwch and Olwen: An Edition and Study of the Oldest Arthurian Tale
(Cardiff, 1992) (
CaO
).

Cilydd son of Celyddon Wledig:
Cilydd
, meaning ‘companion’, may be one of a group of names in this tale which stems from the
Gododdin
poem.
Celyddon
corresponds to Caledonia, an area covering the south-west of Scotland. The title
(G)wledig
, meaning ‘lord’, is given to several
characters, including Maxen in ‘The Dream of the Emperor Maxen’ (see
p. 103
).

and was named Culhwch … pig-run:
an attempt to explain how Culhwch received his name:
hwch
means ‘pig’ and
cul
means ‘sty, run’. However, since
cul
in this sense is not attested until the fourteenth century, the older meaning of ‘slender, lean’ should be read here. Culhwch may have associations with the Celtic swine-god Moccus: (see Patrick K. Ford (trans.), The
Mabinogi
(Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London, 1977).

foster-parents:
see note to
p. 16
.

Olwen daughter of Ysbaddaden Bencawr:
her name, meaning ‘white track’, is ‘explained’ later in the story (see
p. 192
).
Ysbaddad
is the Welsh name for ‘hawthorn’ or ‘thorn bush’, while
Pencawr
means ‘Chief Giant’. There are no references to Olwen or her father outside this story. Here, the international theme of the jealous stepmother provides the catalyst for the ensuing events, interwoven with the theme of the Giant’s Daughter or Six Go Through the World (a reference to the six magic helpers that come to the hero’s aid).

to have your hair trimmed:
the cutting of the hair was a symbolic act by means of which a blood-relationship was recognized and accepted. See below,
p. 183
, where Arthur, upon combing Culhwch’s hair, recognizes him as a kinsman.

as your gift:
Culhwch is entitled to a gift (Welsh
cyfarws
) from his lord as he is accepted formally into the family.

The boy went off … to the gate of Arthur’s court:
in the
Mabinogion
characters’ physical attributes are usually described by means of traditional formulae. However, in this tale the descriptions of both Culhwch (and his horse) and Olwen are elaborate and rhetorical, lending themselves to a vocalized peformance. The description of Culhwch’s
gorwydd
(‘steed’) follows the rhythmical pattern employed consistently when describing horses in the native tales (see note to
p. 95
), reflecting the movement of the animal itself. The four clods of earth thrown up by Culhwch’s steed are paralleled by the four white clovers that grow in Olwen’s track (
p. 192
). There may well be a play on words here, for the clods are compared to swallows, Welsh
gwennol
, where the elements of Olwen’s name are transposed. Moreover,
gwennol
is also the name for the ‘frog’, i.e. the soft part in the middle of the horse’s hoof, which may well have been the inspiration behind the author’s comparison in the first place.

Pen Pengwaedd in Cornwall … Dinsol in the North … Esgair Oerfel in Ireland:
Pen Pengwaedd
can be identified with Penwith Point, near Land’s End; compare the reference in the White Book version of ‘The Names of the Island of Britain’, which claims that the length of this island, from the promontory of Blathaon in Pictland to the promontory of Penrhyn Penwaedd in Cornwall, is 900 miles (
TYP
,
p. 247
). See also the note to
p. 108
on
The Island of Britain. Dinsol
is probably Denzell, in the parish of
Padstow in Cornwall, a name that has for some reason taken the place of a location in the North of Britain, although the reference to
North
remains—if Culhwch’s shout is to have any effect, it makes sense for it to be heard in places as far away from each other as possible.
Esgair Oerfel
, the ‘Ridge of Coldness’, seems to have been a place on the east coast of Ireland, visible from the sea. For ‘The Irish Geography of Culhwch and Olwen’, see P. Sims-Williams in Liam Bretnach
et al
. (eds.),
Celtic Studies in Honour of Professor James Carney
(Maynooth, 1988).

Glewlwyd Gafaelfawr:
‘Glewlwyd Mighty Grasp’; see note to
p. 116.

I was once in Caer Se … this very moment:
this bombastic speech, listing exotic, faraway places, many unknown and probably invented, is characterized by repetition, alliteration, and rhyming pairs, reminiscent of metrical verse in the Black Book of Carmarthen. In the translation an attempt has been made to transmit the rhythm and essence of the oral performance visually to the printed page by dividing the prose into short lines.
Caer Oeth and Anoeth
is mentioned in the triads as a place where Arthur was imprisoned for three nights (
TYP
52). For further references, see
CaO
58–60.

By the hand of my friend:
see note on
Cai
(
p. 68
). This particular oath is restricted to Cai, perhaps on account of his closest companion, Bedwyr, having lost his hand (see
p. 189
).

the privileges of a prince, heir-apparent to the kingdom:
both manuscripts offer a gloss on the archaic term
gwrthrychiad
(‘heir-apparent’): the White Book gives the legal term
edling
(from Old English
aethling
), while the Red Book gives the more general term
teyrn
(‘prince’).

except my ship … Gwenhwyfar my wife:
the name of Arthur’s ship is
Prydwen
(see
p. 225
); his mantle, according to ‘Rhonabwy’s Dream’, is
Gwen
(
p. 220
), one of the Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain (
TYP
258–65), which renders its wearer invisible.
Caledfwlch
(‘Breach of Battle’) is Geoffrey of Monmouth’s
Caliburnus
, from which English
Excalibur
is derived. It is unclear whether these, together with
Rhongomyniad
(‘Striking-Spear’),
Wynebgwrthucher
(‘Evening-Face’), and
Carnwennan
(‘Little White Haft’), take precedence over his wife
Gwenhwyfar
(see note to
p. 68
).

and combed his hair:
see note to
p. 180
. As soon as he starts combing Culhwch’s hair, Arthur realizes that they are blood-relatives. Compare the description in the
History of the Britons
where Guorthegirn offers to shear a young boy’s head
and
comb his hair, only to be exposed as the boy’s father
and
grandfather—Guorthegirn committed incest with his own daughter. In this tale, however, the significance of the ritual has not been understood, as Arthur agrees to Culhwch’s request before realizing that they are related.

He invoked his gift:
there follows an extremely long list of Arthur’s companions (about 260 names in all), who are summoned by Culhwch as guarantors of the gift which he is demanding of Arthur. The list exists
within a frame, where the opening words are repeated in the closing lines (
p. 189
). Sections may have been taken from pre-existing lists; for example, an earlier, and much shorter, catalogue of names appears in the Black Book of Carmarthen poem ‘What Man is the Gatekeeper?’ (see Sims-Williams, ‘The Early Welsh Arthurian Poems’, in
AOW
38–46). One can also surmise that new names were added to the list at every stage up to the writing of the surviving manuscripts, in order to bring as many characters as possible under the umbrella of the Arthurian court. In this passage, with its patronyms and epithets, alliteration and rhyme predominate, and a beat or pulse emerges when the catalogue is read out loud, so facilitating the mnemonic process. Some characters are merely named, while others carry epithets that conjure up tantalizing images; the attributes of other characters are described in concrete terms. Those belonging to this last group, such as Ear son of Hearer and Track son of Tracker, were probably invented solely for the purpose of this tale—they conform to the stereotyped magical helpers that are an integral part of this tale-type (see note to
p. 180
). The list should be read as a single entity, as should the second list on pp.
195
–
200
, where Ysbaddaden describes forty tasks which Culhwch must accomplish if he is to win Olwen. However, to facilitate reading the passage has been subdivided into sections. The proper names in the translation itself appear in Welsh, but an alternative version is given below, where the epithets have been translated wherever possible, as have proper names that are clearly based on a play on words. Where a pun is not evident, the meaning of the name is noted. Further information on some of the names follows each section of the list below (for a detailed discussion of this Court List, and for more references to the individual characters, see
CaO
, pp. xxxiv–xlvi, and
67
–
110
).