The Mabinogion (Oxford World's Classics) (50 page)

‘
Cai, and Bedwyr
,
¹
and Greidol Gallddofydd, and Gwythyr son of Greidol, and Graid son of Eri, and Cynddylig the Guide, and Tathal of Manifest Treachery, and Maelwys son of Baeddan, and Cnychwr son of Nes, and Cubert son of Daere, and Ffercos son of Poch, and Lluber Beuthach, and Corfil Berfach,
²
and Gwyn son of Esni, and Gwyn son of Nwyfre, and Gwyn son of Nudd, and Edern son of Nudd,
³
and Cadwy son of Geraint, and the ruler Fflewddwr Flame,
⁴
and Rhuawn the Radiant son of Dorath, and Bradwen son of Moren Mynog, and Moren Mynog himself, and Dalldaf son of Cimin Cof, and the son of Alun Dyfed, and the son of Saidi, and the son of Gwryon, and Uchdryd Battle-Sustainer, and Cynwas Pointed-Staff, and Gwrhyr Fat-Cattle, and Isberyr Cat-Claw, and Gallgoid the Killer, and Black and Stab and Strength, sons of Gwawrddydd the Hunchback (from the uplands of hell did those men come), and Cilydd Hundred-Holds, and Hundred-Holds Hundred-Hands, and Cors Hundred-Claws, and Esgair Gulhwch Gofyncawn, and Drwst Iron-Fist, and Glewlwyd Mighty-Grasp, and Lloch of the Striking Hand, and Anwas the Winged, and Sinnoch son of Seventh, and Wadu son of Seventh, and Nine son of Seventh, and
Gwenwynwyn son of Nine son of Seventh, and Bedyw son of Seventh, and Gobrwy son of Echel Mighty-Thigh, and Echel Mighty-Thigh himself, and Mael son of Roycol, and Dadwair Blind-Head, and Garwyli son of Gwythog Gwyr, and Gwythog Gwyr himself, and Gormant son of Rica, and Menw son of Three Cries, and Enough son of Surfeit, and Selyf son of Sinoid, and Gusg son of Achen, and Strength son of Might, and Drudwas son of Tryffin, and Twrch son of Perif, and Twrch son of Anwas,
⁵
and Iona, king of France, and Sel son of Selgi, and Teregud son of Iaen, and Sulien son of Iaen, and Bradwen son of Iaen, and Moren son of Iaen, and Siawn son of Iaen, and Caradog son of Iaen—they were men of Caer Dathyl, Arthur’s family on his father’s side. Contempt son of Caw, and Iustig son of Caw, and Fame son of Caw, and Angawdd son of Caw, and Gofan son of Caw, and Celyn son of Caw,
[185]
and Stalk son of Caw, and Mabsant son of Caw, and Gwyngad son of Caw, and Path son of Caw, and Red son of Caw, and Meilyg son of Caw, and Cynwal son of Caw, and Sustainer son of Caw, and Ergyriad son of Caw, and Someone son of Caw, and Gildas son of Caw, and Calcas son of Caw, and Huail son of Caw … and Samson Dry-Lip,
⁶
and Taliesin Chief of Bards, and Manawydan son of Llŷr, and Llary son of Casnar Wledig, and Sberin son of Fflergant, king of Brittany,
⁷
and Saranhon son of Glythfyr, and Llawr son of Erw, and Anynnog son of Menw Three-Cries, and Gwyn son of Nwyfre, and Flame son of Nwyfre, and Geraint son of Erbin,
⁸
and Ermid son of Erbin, and Dywel son of Erbin, and Gwyn son of Ermid, and Cyndrwyn son of Ermid, and Hyfaidd One-Mantle, and Eiddon the Magnanimous, and Rheiddwn Arwy, and Gormant son of Rica … And Llawnrodded the Bearded, and Nodawl Cut-Beard, and Berth son of Cado, and Rheiddwn son of Beli, and Isgofan the Generous, and Ysgawyn son of Banon, and Morfran son of Tegid …
⁹
And Sandde Angel Face … And Cynwyl the Saint, one of the Three Who Escaped from Camlan;
¹⁰
he was the last to part from Arthur, on Old Skin his horse.’

‘And Uchdryd son of Erim, and Eus son of Erim, and Old Servant the Winged son of Erim, and Old Walker son of Erim, and Sgilti Light-foot son of Erim …

     ‘Teithi the Old son of Gwynnan, whose kingdom the sea overran
¹
…
[186]
And Carnedyr son of Gofynion the Old, and Gwenwynwyn son of Naf … and Red-Eyed Stallion, and Gwrfoddw the Old … Culfanawyd son of Goryon, and Llenlleog the Irishman from the headland of Gamon
²
and Dyfnwal the Bald
³
and Dunarth, king of the North, Teyrnon Roar of the Flood-tide, and Tegfan the Lame, and Tegyr Talgellog. Gwrddywal son of Efrei, and Morgant the Generous, Hostage son of Nwython, and Rhun son of Nwython, and Llwydeu son of Nwython, and Gwydre son of Llwydeu by Gwenabwy daughter of Caw, his mother …’

‘Sight son of Seer, who from Celli Wig in Cornwall
¹
could see a fly rise in the morning with the sun as far away as Pen Blathaon in Pictland
²
. And Eidoel son of Ner and Glwyddyn the Craftsman who built Ehangwen, Arthur’s hall.
³
Cynyr Fair Beard—Cai was said to be his son …’

‘Old Servant, and Old Face, and Old Friend, Gallgoig another … Berwyn son of Cyrenyr, and Peris, king of France … Osla Big Knife who would carry Breast-Blade Short Broad … Gwyddog son of Cupbearer … Long Shank son of Cai, and Amren son of Bedwyr, and Eli, and Myr, and Rheu Rhwyddyrys, and Rhun Rhuddwern, and Eli, and Trachmyr, Arthur’s chief huntsmen
[187]
And Llwydeu son of Cilcoed, and Huabwy son of Gwryon, and Gwyn Godyfron, and Gwair Bird-Servant, and Gwair son of Cadellin Silver-Brow, and Gwair of False Valour, and Gwair White Spear—Arthur’s uncles, his mother’s brothers; the sons of Llwch of the Striking Hand from beyond the Tyrrhenian Sea,
¹
Llenlleog the Irishman, and the Exalted One of Prydain,
²
Cas son of Saidi, Gwrfan Fair Hair, Gwilenhin, king of France, Gwitardd son of Aedd, king of Ireland, Garselyd the Irishman, Panawr Head of the Host, Atlendor son of Naf, Gwyn the Wrathful, overseer of Cornwall and Devon … Celli, and Cuelli, and Gilla Stag-Leg …’

‘Heel, and Sole of Heel, and Blazing Sole … Erwm the Tall, and Atrwm the Tall …

‘Huarwar son of Halwn … Gwarae Golden Hair,
¹
the two whelps of the bitch Rhymhi, Gwyddrud, and Gwydden the Cunning, Suck son of Sucker … Cacamwri, Arthur’s servant … Gulp, and Swallow, and Foolish the Bold, and Weak the Tall, and Amren the Tall … and Lip son of Placid …
[188]
Uchdryd Cross Beard … Elidir the Guide, Ysgyrdaf and Ysgudydd—they were two of Gwenhwyfar’s servants … Brys son of Brysethach from the top of the black fernland in Prydain,
²
and Gruddlwyn the Dwarf.’

Bwlch and Cyfwlch … maidservants:
Here, the acoustic dimension has taken over completely, as names are fabricated solely for the purpose of rhythm and sound, so as to make translation extremely challenging. I have divided the prose into short lines in an attempt to highlight the repetitive, alliterative, and rhyming elements of the passage. The passage, with slight changes, is repeated later in the tale, when Ysbaddaden makes his demands of Culhwch (
p. 200
). The first three lines play on the word
bwlch
, meaning ‘gap’ or ‘breach’.
Cyfwlch
means ‘perfect or complete’, and
Difwlch
is ‘without a breach’;
cleddyf
is the common word for ‘sword’.
Glas
means ‘grey, silver’ and
Gleisiad
means ‘salmon’.
Call
means ‘shrewd’ while
Cuall
can mean ‘foolish’ or ‘speedy’.
Cafall
, from Latin
caballus
(‘horse’) is the name of Arthur’s dog. The last four lines translate as follows:

Late Bearer and Evil Bearer and Complete Bearer their three wives;

Alas and Scream and Shriek their three grandchildren;

Flash of Lightning and Desire and Need their three daughters;

Bad and Worse and Worst of All their three maidservants.

‘Eheubryd son of Cyfwlch, Big-Bone son of Strength, Gwaeddan son of Cynfelyn Ceudog, Pwyll Half-Man,
¹
Dwn Vigorous Chieftain, Eiladar son of Pen Llarcan, Cynedyr the Wild
²
son of Hetwn Silver Brow, Sawyl High Head,
³
Gwalchmai son of Gwyar,
⁴
Gwalhafed son of Gwyar, Gwrhyr Interpreter of Languages …
⁵
and Cethdrwm the Priest. Ear son of Hearer … Aim son of Aimer … Gwiawn Cat-Eye … Track son of Tracker … Bedwini the Bishop …’
⁶

‘And also the gentle, golden-torqued ladies of this Island. Besides Gwenhwyfar, chief queen of this Island, and Gwenhwyfach her sister,
¹
, and Rathtien, only daughter of Clememyl, Celemon daughter of Cai, and Tangwen daughter of Gwair Bird-Servant, White Swan daughter of Cynwal Hundred-Hogs, Eurneid daughter of Clydno Eidin,
²
[189]
Eneuog daughter of Bedwyr, Enrhydreg daughter of Tuduathar, Gwenwledyr daughter of Gwaredur the Hunchback, Erdudfyl daughter of Tryffin, Eurolwyn
³
daughter of Gwddolwyn the Dwarf, Teleri daughter of Peul, Indeg daughter of Garwy the Tall,
⁴
Morfudd daughter of Urien Rheged,
⁵
Gwenllian the Fair, the magnanimous maiden, Creiddylad daughter of Lludd Silver-Hand, the most majestic maiden there ever was in the Three Islands of Britain and her Three Adjacent Islands. And for her Gwythyr son of Greidol and Gwyn son of Nudd fight each May day forever until the Day of Judgement.
⁶
Ellylw daughter of Neol Hang-Cock,
⁷
and she lived for three generations. Esyllt Fair Neck, and Esyllt Slender Neck. In the name of all of these did Culhwch son of Cilydd invoke his gift.’ (Few of these names are attested elsewhere, and many are daughters of the men already listed.)

Then Cai gets up:
of the long Court List, six individuals are chosen to go on the quest with Culhwch, reflecting the tale-type known as Six Go Through the World or The Giant’s Daughter, where magical helpers ensure that the hero wins the giant’s daughter.

Drych son of Cibddar:
Drych
(‘aspect, mirror’) is one of the Three Enchanters of the Island of Britain, according to the triads (
TYP
27).

She was happy that her nephew:
Custennin’s wife is therefore an aunt to both Culhwch and Olwen, since her husband the shepherd is Ysbaddaden’s brother.

She was sent for … called Olwen:
as in Glewlwyd’s bombastic speech (p. 182), the translation attempts to highlight the elaborate structure of the description by dividing the prose into lines based on repetition of syntactical patterns. The colour comparisons are conventional: see A. M.
Colby’s classic study,
The Portrait in Twelfth-Century French Literature
(Geneva, 1965); but the careful structuring of the passage sets it apart from any other description of female beauty in the
Mabinogion
. For ‘the flowers of the broom’, see the note on Blodeuedd (
p. 58
) and on the hideous black-haired maiden in ‘Peredur son of Efrog’ (
p. 94
). According to the Welsh laws, a ‘mewed’ hawk was more valuable after it had ‘moulted’ and grown new plumage, whereas a ‘thrice-mewed’ falcon was a bird in its prime (
LHDd
183). At the end of the passage we are given an onomastic explanation for the name Olwen—‘white track’. The track she leaves behind her is paralleled by that left by Culhwch and his horse (see note to
p. 181
).

he shall only live until I take a husband:
a common motif whereby the giant is fated to die once his daughter marries.

Ysbaddaden Bencawr snatched one of the three poisoned stone spears:
when these are hurled back at him, the giant complains of the ‘iron’ injuring him, suggesting that the point of each spear was made of stone, or perhaps flint, while the shaft was made of iron.

dowry and maiden-fee … must consult with them:
agweddi
(‘dowry’) and
amobr
(‘maiden-fee) are two legal terms associated with marital union: the former was given to the bridegroom by the bride’s father, but could be recovered by her if the marriage lasted less than seven years; the latter was the fee payable by the girl’s father to his lord on her marriage, originally perhaps payable for loss of virginity. The reference to the relatives reflects the family unit of four generations which shared legal responsibility for the maiden. See Jenkins and Owen (eds.),
The Welsh Law of Women
.

It is easy for me to get that, though you may think it’s not easy:
the beginning of a long list of tasks, forty in all, that Culhwch must accomplish to win the giant’s daughter. The author makes use of an external frame— the list opens with the words ‘When I get what I ask from you, then you shall get my daughter’, and closes with ‘And when you get those things, you shall get my daughter’. We are also reminded of the Court List, for Culhwch’s initial reaction to Ysbaddaden is ‘Name what you want’ (cf.
p. 183
). Each task is introduced by the same formula, which is summarized in both White and Red Book versions, in various permutations, until it is eventually reduced to two words:
Hawd. Kyt
(‘Easy. Although’). A second formula follows the naming of several tasks, when Ysbaddaden claims that an individual will not come of his own free will. This section is, therefore, linked together by verbal repetition which functions as a chorus of sorts, easing the process of listing, as well as listening, to the tasks; indeed, one could envisage a situation whereby the audience would join in the repetition, and so become active participants in the performance itself. Italics have been used in the translation to draw attention to this feature.

Amaethon … Gofannon son of Dôn:
Amaethon
(‘Great/Divine Plough-
man’) and his brother
Gofannon
(‘Great/Divine Smith’) may reflect Celtic gods associated with agriculture and craftsmanship. See note to
Gilfaethwy son of Dôn
on
p. 240
.