In
Welsh tradition, Teyrnon Twryf Lliant is the lord of the
Kingdom of Gwent and the foster father of the divine son,
Pryderi. He appears most prominently in ''
Pwyll Pendefig Dyfed'', the first of the
Four Branches of the Mabinogi
The ''Four Branches of the Mabinogi'' or are the earliest prose stories in the literature of Great Britain, Britain. Originally written in Wales in Middle Welsh, but widely available in translations, the is generally agreed to be a single work i ...
, but also features briefly in the early tale on the
Matter of Britain, ''
Culhwch and Olwen'', as a knight of
King Arthur
According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...
. The name Teyrnon is widely acknowledged as deriving from the
Common Brittonic
Common Brittonic (; ; ), also known as British, Common Brythonic, or Proto-Brittonic, is a Celtic language historically spoken in Britain and Brittany from which evolved the later and modern Brittonic languages.
It is a form of Insular Cel ...
*tigernonos, "great lord".
Role
A
son is born in
Arberth to
Pwyll, Lord of
Dyfed, and
Rhiannon, daughter of Hyfaidd Hen. On the night of his birth, the child disappears while in the care of six of Rhiannon's ladies-in-waiting. To avoid the king's wrath, they smear dog's blood onto a sleeping Rhiannon, claiming that she had committed
infanticide
Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose being the prevention of re ...
and
cannibalism through eating her child.
Teyrnon, meanwhile, owns a mare who gives birth each year but whose foals have all disappeared. He guards his stables and sees a mysterious clawed beast coming to take the foal; Teyrnon cuts off the beast's arm and finds the child outside the stable. He and his wife claim the boy as their own and name him Gwri Wallt Euryn (English: ''Gwri of the Golden hair''), for "all the hair was as yellow as gold."
[''The Mabinogion.'' Davies, Sioned. 2005.]
The child grows to adulthood at a superhuman pace and, as he matures, his likeness to Pwyll grows more obvious and, eventually, Teyrnon realises Gwri's true identity. The boy is eventually reconciled with Pwyll and Rhiannon and is renamed ''Pryderi''. From then on, he was fostered by Pendaran Dyfed and was "brought up carefully, as was proper, until he was the most handsome lad, and the fairest, and the most accomplished at every worthy feat in the kingdom."
Pwyll agrees to maintain both Teyrnon and his lands until the day he dies in gratitude. Teyrnon and his wife return to
Gwent, amidst "gladness and rejoicing". He is offered many fine treasures but refuses them.
References
{{Celtic mythology (Welsh)
Welsh mythology
Mabinogion