Cavall (Middle RBH & WBR; modernized: ''Cafall''; ; ', var. ''Caball'' (ms.K)) was

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 ...

's dog, used in the hunt for the great boar, Twrch Trwyth (). Cavall was Arthur's "favourite dog", and during a stag hunt, he was customarily the last dog to be let loose to chase after the game ('' Gereint Son of Erbin'').

''Historia Brittonum''

Linked to the Welsh literature regarding Arthur's dog Cafall is the mention Arthur's dog Cabal's pawprint, preserved in rock, in the Latin tract of ''

Historia Brittonum ''The History of the Britons'' () is a purported history of early Britain written around 828 that survives in numerous recensions from after the 11th century. The ''Historia Brittonum'' is commonly attributed to Nennius, as some recensions ha ...

'' (9th century). The print was preserved in rock while the dog was pursuing the boar Troynt. The lore is preserved in the '' Wonders of Britain'' (''De Mirabilibus Britanniae'' or ''Mirabilia'' in shorthand) appended to the ''Historia Brittonum''. The wondrous nature of this

cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

of stones was that even if someone removed that foot-printed stone to another spot, it would be back at its original heap the next day. Lady Charlotte Guest was aware of the local lore that placed the monument at a mountain situated in the "district of Builth", the name by which that area was still being remembered from what was the ancient Buellt

cantref A cantref ( ; ; plural cantrefi or cantrefs; also rendered as ''cantred'') was a Wales in the Early Middle Ages, medieval Welsh land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law. Description Land in medieval Wales was divid ...

of medieval Wales. writes: "a mountain in the district of Builth, to the South of Rhayader Gwy .e., on the River Wye">River_Wye.html" ;"title=".e., on the River Wye">.e., on the River Wye/nowiki>, and within sight of that town", then on p. 360, quotes the correspondence from her informant that: "Carn Cavall..generally pronounced Corn Cavall, is a lofty and rugged mountain, in the upper part of the district anciently called Buellt, now written Builth, in Breconshire". Nowadays, this mountain is known as Carn Gafallt,: "Carn Cabal is a cairn.. now.. Carn Gafallt, Corn Gaffalt, a hill.. in north Brecknockshire, between Rhaeadr [i.e., Rhayader, Radnorshire] and

Builth Wells Builth Wells (; ) is a market town and community in the county of Powys and historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire), mid Wales, lying at the confluence of rivers Wye and Irfon, in the Welsh (or upper) part of the Wye Valley. In 20 ...

". but this identification is uncertain according to Geoffrey Ashe. The "Buelt" name is also preserved in present-day

(in historic county of

Brecknockshire Brecknockshire ( or ), also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon, was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was created in 1 ...

) now part of county

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

Culhwch ac Olwen

Unlike the simple primitive lore, the late Welsh romance '' Culhwch and Olwen'' weaves a much more intricate tale, naming many dogs besides Cavall in the hunting party, and the

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

is no longer just the boar Twrch Trwyth itself, its seven offspring (with names), and yet another boar named Yskithyrwyn besides.

Ysgithyrwyn Chief-Boar

Yskithyrwyn Penbaedd (or Ysgithyrwyn Chief Boar) was yet another boar to be hunted by Arthur's band; its tusk, which needed to be extracted while still alive, being another of the "impossible tasks" (''anoeth''; pl. ''anoethiau'') prescribed by Ysbaddaden Chief-Giant. This tusk was the tool necessary for shaving the giant to groom him up, him being the father of the bride Olwen. In ''Culhwch and Olwen'', Arthur's dog Cavall is specifically credited with the slaying of Yskithyrwin (or at least with cornering the beast to its doom). Caw of Prydain who rides Arthur's mare Llamrei cleaves Yskithyrwyn's head with a hatchet. Afterwards, "Bedwyr leading Cavall, Arthur's own dog", joins the other hunters and dogs to pursue the great boar Twrch Trwyth and its piglets. But the specific role played by Cavall is not told.

List of dogs

The other hounds, which either belonged to Arthur's retinue or were recruited elsewhere, include: * The two (wolf?) pups of Gast Rhymhi (two whelps of the bitch Rhymhi), **The pups/cubs are possibly named Gwyddrud and Gwyddneu Astrus, though they are introduced as members of Arthur's court. * Aned and Aethelm. * Glas, Glessic, and Gleisad belonging to the three sons of Cleddyf Kyfwlch, named Bwlch, Kyfwlch, and Sefwlch. * Drudwyn, the pup of Greid the son of Eri. * two dogs of Glythmyr Ledewic (Glythfyr Ledewig).

Cavall the horse

Glas, Glesig, and Gleisad are referred to as dogs, and Call, Cuall, and Cafall as horses, and so on down the line, in the list of belongings of sons of Cleddyf, or, at least they are nowadays in modern translations. However, in the first English translation by Lady Guest, Glas, etc. were construed as sword names and Call, Cuall, Cavall as dogs, respectively.

Etymology

Ifor Williams has made a study of occurrences of Cafall in old Welsh poetry. A number of scholars have commented upon the similarity of the dog's name to the Latin word ''caballus'' for "horse". In an article from 1936, R. J. Thomas said that "the name Cabal is from Latin ''caballus'' 'horse', which he considers a quite natural metaphor since the dog was strong and swift, and he compares the horse of Conall Cernach which had a dog's head"., summarizing from R. J. Thomas, "Cysylltiad Arthur gogledd Ceredigion", ''Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies'' 8 (2): 124–125. Furthermore, the form existed in

Old Welsh Old Welsh () is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic around 550, ha ...

. Bromwich further remarks, "Since ''carn'' means both 'hoof' and 'cairn' it seems more probable that ''Cabal/Cafall'' originally designated Arthur horse.. rather than his hound".

Explanatory notes

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * *: ''Geraint ab Erbin'' Welsh, p. 4; English, p. 67. ''Kilhwch ac Olwen'' Welsh, p. 195; English, p. 249. * * * (Revised edition 1993; Indexed 1989; first published Everyman Library 1949) * * * * * {{Welsh mythology Legendary dogs Welsh mythology Arthurian characters Dogs in literature