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Sir Bedevere
Bedivere ( or ; cy, Bedwyr; la, Beduerus; french: link=no, Bédoier, also Bedevere and other spellings) is one of the earliest characters to be featured in the legend of King Arthur, originally described in several Welsh texts as the one-handed great warrior named Bedwyr Bedrydant. Arthurian chivalric romances, inspired by his portrayal in the chronicle ''Historia Regum Britanniae'', portray Bedivere as a Knight of the Round Table of King Arthur who serves as Arthur's marshal and is frequently associated with his brother Lucan and his cousin Griflet as well as with Kay. In the English versions, Bedivere notably assumes Griflet's hitherto traditional role from French romances as the one who eventually returns Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake after Arthur's last battle. Bedwyr In early Welsh sources, Bedwyr Bedrydant ("Bedwyr of the Perfect Sinew") is a handsome, one-handed warrior under Arthur's command. His father is given as Pedrawd or Bedrawd, and his children as Amh ...
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Matter Of Britain
The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Western story cycles recalled repeatedly in medieval literature, together with the Matter of France, which concerned the legends of Charlemagne, and the Matter of Rome, which included material derived from or inspired by classical mythology. History The three "Matters" were first described in the 12th century by French poet Jean Bodel, whose epic ' ("Song of the Saxons") contains the line: The name distinguishes and relates the Matter of Britain from the mythological themes taken from classical antiquity, the " Matter of Rome", and the tales of the Paladins of Charlemagne and their wars with the Moors and Saracens, which constituted the "Matter of France". King Arthur is the chief subject of the Matter of Britain, along with stories rela ...
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Tryfan
Tryfan ) is a mountain in the Ogwen Valley, Snowdonia, Wales. It forms part of the Glyderau group, and is one of the most recognisable peaks in Britain, having a classic pointed shape with rugged crags. At above sea level, it is the fifteenth-highest mountain in Wales. Tryfan was voted Britain's favourite mountain by ''Trail'' magazine. Between the mid-1980s and June 2010, its accepted height was . However, it was resurveyed using accurate GPS measurements and found to be 2.4 metres (eight feet) higher (which the pre-1980s surveys also recorded). Tryfan is said to be the final resting-place of Sir Bedivere (Bedwyr) of Arthurian legend. Naming The name "Tryfan" is thought to derive from the intensifying particle ''try–'' and the noun ''ban'' (‘top, peak’), giving the meaning ‘very high peak’. Routes of ascent There are many routes of ascent, ranging from easy ridge scrambling, to multi-pitch mountaineering rock climbs on the east face. A popular ascent route is ...
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Goreu Fab Custennin
Goreu fab Custennin (also spelled as Gorau) is a hero of Welsh and early Arthurian mythology, the son of Custennin, and cousin to Arthur, Culhwch and Saint Illtud through their grandfather Amlawdd Wledig. He is a significant character in the Middle Welsh Arthurian tale ''Culhwch and Olwen'', and also appears in a number of other medieval texts. His name may be derived from ; "of Cornwall."Bromwich, Rachel. ''Trioedd Ynys Prydein.'' Role in Welsh tradition How Culhwch won Olwen While on the quest to locate the stronghold of Ysbaddaden Bencawr, Culhwch ap Cilydd and his six companions come across a shepherd and his flock. They learn that he is Ysbaddaden's brother, and that the giant has murdered twenty-three of his twenty four children. In a bid to save their youngest son from suffering the same fate, the shepherd and his wife hide him away in a chest. Cai, one of Arthur's foremost knights, offers to take the boy with him on the quest for Olwen, promising to fight to the dea ...
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Ysbaddaden
; "Ysbaddaden, Chief of Giants," is the primary antagonist of the Welsh romance ''Culhwch ac Olwen''.Helmut Birkhan: Kelten. Versuch einer Gesamtdarstellung ihrer Kultur. Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien 1997, , S. 473. A vicious giant residing in a nigh unreachable castle, he is the father of Olwen and uncle of Goreu fab Custennin. Culhwch's father, King Cilydd son of Celyddon, loses his wife Goleuddydd after a difficult childbirth. When Cilydd remarries, the young Culhwch rejects his stepmother's attempt to pair him with his new stepsister. Offended, the new queen puts a curse on him so that he can marry no one besides the beautiful Olwen, daughter of the giant Ysbaddaden. Though he has never seen her, Culhwch becomes infatuated with her, but his father warns him that he will never find her without the aid of his famous cousin Arthur. The young man immediately sets off to seek his kinsman. He finds him at his court in Celliwig in Cornwall and as ...
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Olwen
In Welsh mythology, Olwen (or Olwyn) is the daughter of the giant Ysbaddaden and cousin of Goreu. She is the heroine of the story ''Culhwch and Olwen'' in the Mabinogion. Her father is fated to die if she ever marries, so when Culhwch (sometimes spelled as Kilhwch) comes to court her, he is given a series of immensely difficult tasks which he must complete before he can win her hand. With the help of his cousin King Arthur, Culhwch succeeds and the giant dies, allowing Olwen to marry her suitor. Description In the tale ''Culhwch and Olwen'' in the Mabinogion, she is described as a vision of beauty: wearing a flaming-red dress with a red-gold torc and many golden rings, she has "hair yellower than the broom", red (ruddy) cheeks, white skin and pale hands. She is also depicted as having the ability to spring white flowers from every step she takes. Other tales The name "Olwen" reappears in the non-Arthurian folktale ''Einion and Olwen'', about a sheep herder who travels to the ...
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Culhwch
Culhwch (, with the final consonant sounding like Scottish "loch"), in Welsh mythology, is the son of Cilydd son of Celyddon and Goleuddydd, a cousin of Arthur and the protagonist of the story '' Culhwch and Olwen'' (the earliest of the medieval Welsh tales appended to Lady Charlotte Guest's edition of the Mabinogion). In this tale the etymology of ''Culhwch'' is explained as "sow run" (''cul'' "narrow, a narrow thing"; ''hwch'' "sow, pig"), but this is likely to be folk etymology. According to the narrative, Culhwch is born to his maddened mother Goleuddydd after she is frightened by a herd of swine. The swineherd finds Culhwch in the pigs' run, and takes him back to his father Cilydd. Culhwch is described as being "of gentle lineage". In ''Culhwch and Olwen'' Culhwch's father, King Cilydd son of Celyddon, loses his wife Goleuddydd after a difficult childbirth. When he remarries, the young Culhwch rejects his stepmother's attempt to pair him with his new stepsister. Of ...
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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 White Book of Rhydderch, c. 1325. It is the longest of the surviving Welsh prose tales. Overview Dating The prevailing view among scholars was that the present version of the text was composed by the 11th century, making it perhaps the earliest Arthurian tale and one of Wales' earliest extant prose texts,The Romance of Arthur: An Anthology of Medieval Texts in Translation, ed. James J. Wilhelm. 1994. 25. but a 2005 reassessment by linguist Simon Rodway dates it to the latter half of the 12th century. The title is a later invention and does not occur in early manuscripts. Editions Lady Charlotte Guest included this tale among those she collected under the title ''The Mabinogion''. Synopsis Culhwch's father, King Cilydd son of Celydd ...
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Hueil Mab Caw
In Welsh tradition, Hueil mab Caw (also spelled Huail or Cuillus) was a Pictish warrior and traditional rival of King Arthur's. He was one of the numerous sons of Caw of Prydyn and brother to Saint Gildas. The Latin ''Life of Gildas'' by Caradoc of Llancarfan describes Hueil as an "active warrior and most distinguished soldier", who led a number of violent and sweeping raids from Scotland down into Arthur's territory. As a result, Arthur marched on Hueil and pursued him as far as the Isle of Man, where he killed the young plunderer. Giraldus Cambrensis alludes to this tradition, claiming that Gildas destroyed "a number of outstanding books" praising Arthur after hearing of the death of his brother. A variation of Hueil's death, chronicled by Elis Gruffudd, is as follows: The feud between Hueil and Arthur is further alluded to in the early Arthurian tale ''Culhwch and Olwen'' in which Hueil alongside his many brothers is a knight of Arthur's court and is described as having "ne ...
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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 Tristan's uncle, King Mark of Cornwall. Tristan and Iseult accidentally drink a love potion during the journey and fall in love, beginning an adulterous relationship that eventually leads to Tristan's banishment and death. The character's first recorded appearance is in retellings of British mythology from the 12th century by Thomas of Britain and Gottfried von Strassburg, and later in the Prose ''Tristan''. He is featured in Arthurian legends, including the seminal text '' Le Morte d'Arthur'', as a skilled knight and a friend of Lancelot. The historical roots of Tristan are unclear; his association with Cornwall may originate from the Tristan Stone, a 6th-century granite pillar in Cornwall inscribed with the name ''Drustanus'' (a vari ...
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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 rhetorical form whereby objects are grouped together in threes, with a heading indicating the point of likeness; for example, "Three things not easily restrained, the flow of a torrent, the flight of an arrow, and the tongue of a fool." Contents The texts include references to King Arthur and other semi-historical characters from sub-Roman Britain, mythic figures such as Brân the Blessed, undeniably historical personages such as Alan IV, Duke of Brittany (who is called ''Alan Fyrgan'') and Iron Age characters such as Caswallawn ( Cassivellaunus) and Caradoc ( Caratacus). Some triads simply give a list of three characters with something in common (such as "the three frivolous bards of the island of Britain") while others include subst ...
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Brycheiniog
Brycheiniog was an independent kingdom in South Wales in the Early Middle Ages. It often acted as a buffer state between England to the east and the south Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth to the west. It was conquered and pacified by the Normans between 1088 and 1095, though it remained Welsh in character. It was transformed into the Lordship of Brecknock and later formed the southern and larger part of the historic county of Brecknockshire. To its south was the Kingdom of Morgannwg. The main legacy of the kingdom of Brycheiniog is etymological. It has lent its name to Brecknockshire (Welsh: ''Sir Frycheiniog'', the shire of Brycheiniog) and Brecon (known as ''Aberhonddu'' in Welsh). History Origins Brycheiniog belonged to the Demetae in pre-Roman times. In Welsh tradition, it was given by the Roman governor of Brittania, Magnus Maximus (''Macsen Wledig'' in Welsh), to a Greek named ''Antonius the Black'' (''Anwn Ddu''). Some Welsh legends describe Antonius as Maximus' son, ...
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Gwladys
Saint Gwladys ferch Brychan () or St Gladys ( la, Gladusa), daughter of King Brychan of Brycheiniog, was the queen of the saint-king Gwynllyw Milwr and the mother of Cadoc "the Wise", whose ''Vita'' may be the earliest saint's life to mention Arthur. Gwladys's other children were Cynidr, Bugi, Cyfyw, Maches, Glywys II and Egwine. Today her main church and associated school is in Bargoed. Traditional history The medieval lives of Cadoc (by Lifris c. 1086) and of Gwynllyw (c. 1120) preserve different legendary details of Gwladys. Among the best attested of all of Brychan's half-Irish saintly children, she is also mentioned in Welsh king-lists. Both saint's lives agree that Gwladys, daughter of Brychan married Gwynllyw and gave birth to Cadoc. In the ''Life of Saint Gwynllyw'', the king is just and fair and the marriage is accomplished peacefully, while the tale of Glwadys' marriage in Lifris' work seems similar to abduction stories in other saints' lives as well as in oth ...
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