The Mabinogion (Oxford World's Classics) (53 page)

Iddog Cordd Prydain:
an onomastic tale, explaining how Iddog received his nickname ‘Agitator of Britain’. He is almost unknown outside this tale, although he is included in a fifteenth-century version of the triad the Three Men of Shame (
TYP
51) as one who caused strife between Arthur and Medrawd at the battle of Camlan. For further triads reflecting a strong Welsh tradition concerning Arthur’s last battle, see
TYP
, pp.
167–70
, as well as the many references in ‘How Culhwch Won Olwen’. See note to
p. 68
for further details of Medrawd. This reference to Iddog would suggest that the battle of Camlan has already taken place; however, Arthur is then introduced later in the story. Rather than read this reference to Iddog as an anachronism, it could be viewed as a deliberate attempt at parody on the part of the author, where the expected chronological sequence of events is reversed. On the notion of the story ‘running backwards’, see Edgar Slotkin, ‘The Fabula, Story, and Text of
Breuddwyd Rhonabwy’, Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies
, 18 (1989), 89–111.

Y Llech Las in Prydain:
the Grey Rock in Pictland.

Rhuawn Bebyr son of Deorthach Wledig:
Rhuawn the Radiant, one of the Three Fortunate Princes of the Island of Britain (
TYP
3), appears in Arthur’s Court List as Rhuawn Bebyr son of Dorath (
p. 184
).

Bedwin the Bishop … Gwarthegydd son of Caw:
Bishop Bedwin is mentioned in Arthur’s Court List (
p. 188
), while Gwarthegydd (‘Cattleraider’) is killed while hunting Twrch Trwyth (
p. 210
).

Addaon son of Taliesin … Elphin son of Gwyddno:
Addaon (sometimes Afaon) appears in the triads as one of the Three Bull-Chieftains (
TYP
7, and one of the Three Battle-Rulers (
TYP
25); his death was one of the Three Unfortunate Slaughters of the Island of Britain (
TYP
33). Elphin is associated with the saga of Taliesin; see note to
Morfran
(
p. 264
).

battle of Baddon … Osla Gyllellfawr:
this was traditionally one of Arthur’s famous battles (see
AOW
for references in Welsh sources). Osla ‘Big Knife’ plays a prominent role in the hunting of Twrch Trwyth, where he is portrayed as one of Arthur’s own men rather than his enemy (
p. 212
).

Caradog Freichfras son of Llŷr Marini:
Caradog Strong Arm appears in the triads, and also in ‘Geraint son of Erbin’ (see note to
p. 152
).

Cefn Digoll:
Long Mountain, south of Welshpool.

March son of Meirchawn:
the King Mark of the Tristan romances. Welsh sources suggest that there existed many traditions about him. In
TYP
14, for example, he is one of the Three Seafarers/Fleet Owners, which perhaps explains his association with the men of Scandinavia in the dream— they were renowned for their seafaring exploits. He is also associated with the Three Powerful Swineherds of the Island of Britain (
TYP
26) through his nephew Trystan. For a discussion of ‘The
Tristan
of the Welsh’, see Rachel Bromwich in
AOW
209–28.

Edern son of Nudd:
a character who appears in ‘Geraint son of Erbin’ (
p. 148
) and also ‘How Culhwch Won Olwen’ (
p. 184
).

Cai:
one of Arthur’s foremost warriors, who appears in five of the
Mabinogion
tales. See note to
p. 68
.

Cadwr, earl of Cornwall:
a borrowing from Geoffrey’s
History of the Kings of Britain
.

Eiryn Wych Amheibyn:
Eiryn the Splendid, son of Peibyn.

Gwen was the name of the mantle:
a reference is made to Arthur’s mantle in ‘How Culhwch Won Olwen’ (
p. 183
); it is also listed as one of the Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain—‘whoever was under it could not be seen, and he could see everyone’ (
TYP
,
p. 240
)—compare Caswallon’s mantle in the Second Branch (
p. 33
).

Owain son of Urien:
one of Arthur’s men, and the hero of the tale ‘The Lady of the Well’. See note to
p. 66
.

gwyddbwyll:
a board game not unlike chess; see discussion in the note to p. 86. The chess motif is often used to parallel real battles; however, here Arthur and Owain are on the same side, although ironically, when they begin to play their men begin to fight.

Cordovan leather:
see note to
p. 38
.

your ravens:
Owain is traditionally associated with ravens; compare the ending of ‘The Lady of the Well’, where reference is made to the ‘Flight of Ravens’ (see note to
p. 138
). ‘Raven’ is a common metaphor for warrior in Welsh poetry. Here, in the dream, Owain’s troops behave literally like ravens who swoop down and attack Arthur’s men. Owain’s ravens are commemorated in the coat of arms of the family of Sir Rhys ap Thomas of Abermarlais, which claimed descent from Owain and his father Urien.

thin totnes cloth:
twtnais
, from Middle English
totenais
, a type of cloth from the town of Totnes.

His horse was of a very strange colour:
it is difficult to know whether the descriptions of this horse, and the two that follow, should be taken at face value. Ambiguity arises as to whether the colours, here and elsewhere in the tale, refer to the horses themselves or to their apparel. Some have attempted to link the colours with thirteenth-century heraldry, while others argue that the colours themselves are not important—this is all part of the author’s attempt to parody the formulaic descriptions of
medieval narrative. See Sioned Davies, ‘Horses in the
Mabinogion
’, in Davies and Jones (eds.),
The Horse in Celtic Culture
, 121–40.

Spanish latten:
a yellow metal, either identical with, or very like, brass.

Selyf son of Cynan Garwyn … Gwgawn Gleddyfrudd:
Selyf was king of Powys at the beginning of the seventh century; he lost his life fighting the Northumbrians at the battle of Chester (
c
.615). His reputation as a fierce warrior is reflected in the triads, where he is named as one of the Three Battle-Rulers of the Island of Britain (
TYP
25). Gwgawn Red Sword, too, is comemmorated as someone who holds his ground in battle (
TYP
24). According to the genealogies, he was a local ruler in Ceredigion, in West Wales (see
TYP
, p. 384).

Blathaon son of Mwrheth … Hyfaidd Unllen:
for Blathaon, compare the place-name (see note to p. 182 on
Pen Pengwaedd
); Hyfaidd One-Mantle appears in Arthur’s Court List (p. 185).

Bedwin the Bishop … many men from Greece:
compare the lists in ‘Geraint son of Erbin’ (p. 155) and ‘How Culhwch Won Olwen’ (pp.
184
–
9
). It would seem that the author has borrowed extensively from the latter, and also from the triads. The following names do not appear in the above lists, neither are they mentioned elsewhere in the dream: Gwenwynwyn son of Naf (one of the Three Fleet Owners,
TYP
14); Daned son of Oth, Gwair son of Gwystyl (meaning ‘hostage’, one of the Three Diademed Battle-Leaders,
TYP
21); Dyrstan son of Tallwch (for Trystan, see note to
p. 219
on
March
); Granwen son of Llŷr; Llacheu son of Arthur (mentioned in the triads, see
TYP
, pp. 408–10); Rhyawdd son of Morgant (a ‘frivolous/amateur bard’, according to
TYP
12); Gilbert son of Cadgyffro (son of Battle Tumult, see
TYP
, pp. 360–1); Gyrthmwl Wledig (see
TYP
, p. 383); Cawrdaf son of Caradog Strong Arm (see
TYP
, p. 308).

Rhun son of Maelgwn Gwynedd … Cadyriaith son of Saidi:
Maelgwn, king of Gwynedd (d. 547), is one of the five rulers of sixth-century Britain condemned by Gildas for his crimes. His son Rhun is mentioned in more than one source regarding a dispute with Maelgwn’s son-in-law Elidir Mwynfawr (see
TYP
, pp. 491–2). For Cadyriaith (‘Fine Speech’) see note to
p. 141
.

it was in praise of Arthur:
the author is probably satirizing the court poets here—their poetry is so complex that no one understands! Madog himself was a renowned patron of poets: eulogies were composed to him by men such as Gwalchmai ap Meilyr and Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr.

in Cornwall:
a memory of the older, pre-Geoffrey of Monmouth tradition that associated Arthur with Celli Wig in Cornwall.

neither poet nor storyteller … without a book:
a much-quoted phrase in any discussion regarding the relationship between the poet and the storyteller. This could well be a doublet, and does not necessarily prove that poets and storytellers were two autonomous groups. The reasons given for dependence on a book are hardly plausible, considering the mnemonic
feats of the medieval storytellers; moreover, the elaborate descriptions found in the dream, although detailed, all follow a similar pattern, so facilitating the task of committing them to memory.
Without a book
probably refers to the fact that this tale had always been a literary tale, and had no dynamic oral life prior to its being committed to manuscript, although the author certainly draws on traditional sources. It is perhaps appropriate that this is the last tale in our
Mabinogion
‘collection’, for with it medieval Welsh narrative moves in a new direction.

This list is not meant to be exhaustive. For the names included in the Court List and Ysbaddaden’s list of tasks in ‘How Culhwch Won Olwen’, see pp.
184
–
9
and
195
–
200
.

Amhar son of Arthur
one of Arthur’s chamberlains 141, 256 n.

Amhren son of Bedwyr
one of Arthur’s chamberlains 141, 186

Angharad Law Eurog Angharad
Golden Hand, with whom Peredur falls in love 82, 86

Aranrhod daughter of Dôn
mother of Lleu and Dylan, sister of Gwydion and Gilfaethwy, niece of Math son of Mathonwy, ruler of Gwynedd 54–8, 242 n.

Arawn
king of Annwfn (the Otherworld) 3–8

Arthur
‘chief of the kings of this island’ in ‘How Culhwch Won Olwen’, but ‘emperor’ in the three ‘romances’ 66–71, 73–4, 79–82, 84–6, 94–6, 98, 102, 116–17, 121, 124, 127–31, 134, 137–8, 139–41, 145, 147–9, 150–7, 168–72, 179–91, 199–200, 202–13, 216–26, 245 n.

Bedwin the Bishop
Arthur’s bishop 188, 217, 225

Bedwyr son of Bedrawd
one of Arthur’s men, closest companion to Cai 141, 155, 184, 186, 189–90, 193, 202, 203–5, 206, 208, 210, 263 n.

Beli
(the Great)
son of Manogan/Mynogan
ruler of the Island of Britain, father of Lludd, Caswallon, Nyniaw, and Llefelys 22, 33, 36, 107, 111, 112, 115, 233 n.

Bendigeidfran son of Llŷr
crowned king of the Island of Britain, brother to Branwen and Manawydan, and half-brother to Efnysien; he is sometimes known as
Brân
(meaning ‘raven’ or ‘crow’) 22–34, 35, 232 n., 235 n.

Bleiddwn
the son of the brothers Gwydion and Gilfaethwy, conceived and born while they were in the shape of a wolf and she-wolf; his name means ‘Dark-red Wolf’ 54

Blodeuedd
meaning ‘flowers’; she is created out of flowers by Math and Gwydion as a wife for Lleu, but is transformed into an owl for her infidelity with Gronw Pebr, and her name changes to
Blodeuwedd
(‘Flower-face’) 58–64

Branwen
daughter of Llŷr; sister of Bendigeidfran and Manawydan, and half-sister to Efnysien; she is given in marriage to Matholwch, king of Ireland 23–4, 27–34, 233 n., 236 n.

Cadwri son of Gwrion
a member of Geraint’s escort to Cornwall 155

Cadyriaith son of Porthor Gandwy
‘Fine-speech’ son of the porter Gandwy, one of Arthur’s chamberlains; his patronymic varies––he is sometimes the son of Saidi 140, 150, 156, 171, 225

Cai son of Cynyr
sometimes portrayed as the steward at Arthur’s court; he is often given the epithet
Gwyn
(‘fair’) or
Hir
(‘Tall’) 68–71, 74, 79–82, 85, 116–21, 129, 155, 169–70, 182–3, 184, 186, 188, 189–92, 201–2, 203, 205, 206–7, 219, 226, 246 n., 254 n.

Caradog son of Brân
one of the men left behind to guard Britain when Bendigeidfran (Brân) and his troops go to Ireland to wage war 28, 33, 234 n.