A legendary creature from Welsh tradition depicted as very large and intelligent

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

, often considered to be related to the

griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...

.Rose, Carol: ''Giants, Monsters and Dragons''. Norton 2000.

Lore

The Adar Llwch Gwin were given to a warrior named

Drudwas ap Tryffin Drudwas ap Tryffin is a knight of King Arthur's court in early Arthurian mythology and the owner of the magical Adar Llwch Gwin. His father, Tryffin, is described as the king of Denmark, while his sister, Erdudwyl, was, according to The Death of ...

by his

fairy A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...

wife. The name derives from the

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

words ("bird"), ("dust"), and ("wine"). These birds were said to understand human speech and to obey whatever command was given to them by their master. However, when Drudwas was about to do battle with the hero

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

he commanded them to kill the first man to enter the battle. Arthur himself was delayed and the birds ultimately turned on Drudwas when he walked onto the battlefield first, tearing him to pieces. A WELSH CLASSICAL DICTIONARY page 232. Later, in medieval Welsh poetry, the phrase came to describe all types of raptors including

hawks Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and othe ...

falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...

s, and brave men.

References

John & Caitlin Matthews (2005). The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures. HarperElement A WELSH CLASSICAL DICTIONARY. DRUDWAS ap TRYFFIN Welsh legendary creatures Legendary birds Mythological birds of prey

External links

"Welsh Classical Dictionary"
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