Arthur, Lucan, Bedivere, And Griflet Incorrect Quote

Little reminder that in at least one version of this story, Tristan shoved the tongue of a dragon he defeated down his pants. This nearly killed him.

Brangaine finds him later in the swamp after Isolde deduces the crime scene. My personal headcanon is that every time he gets on her nerves Brangaine threatens to expose him.

I've only messaged people on Tumblr three times: the third when I didn't have an answer for an ask (I'm still working on it), the second when I had a question to ask someone which didn't seem big enough to be ask-worthy, and the first to a very prominent Arthurian blog which wasn't strongly related to my admittedly odd and random comment about the Grail questers but was the only Arthurian blog I'd encountered at that point, since I hadn't yet figured out how Tumblr worked or that I could post things. I'm a little mortified about that last one, but all three people were nice about it. Anyway, I don't make a habit of messaging people on here because I'm worried it would seem weird and invasive. Then again, if someone messaged me, I wouldn't find it either of those things. I don't think I'm alone in this: I can vaguely remember seeing a post where someone said they would feel like they were ambushing someone in a dark alley if they messaged someone but would be happy if someone messaged them.

Anyway, all that is to say I'm not really sure how Tumblr messaging culture works, but if you want to message me, feel free to. I won't think it's weird.

POLL 5❤️✨️🐓🌳

It's TIME FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF... Who do you think is Welsh mythology Arthuriana's most sexy man, lady, God or dubious entity (Part 5)

Notes:

Cerridwen/Taliesin: these two go hand in hand. Cerridwen is seen as the goddess of inspiration and healing who looks after the cauldron of Awen (Inspiration in Welsh). She's best known for being the mother of Morfran and Creirwy as well as for being the main instigator of the potion of inspiration debacle. Cerridwen was trying to brew it for her son, Morfran, to offset his hideousness. It didn't quite work because her servant, Gwion, accidentally splashed his finger with the hot liquid when he was stirring it and Cerridwen WENT APESHIT. Long story short she and he have a battle of sorts where they shape-shift into various animals until Gwion eventually transforms into a piece of grain and hides amongst the grain. Cerridwen, not be outdone, transforms into a hen and swallows Gwion-as grain. Nine months later she gives birth to Taliesin. She can't bring herself to kill Gwion/Taliesin so she throws the baby into a river. Happily, he gets discovered by Elffin - son of Gwyddno Garanhir - and is adopted. His name means radiant brow and he's the chief of bards. Is hot shit. He haunts me. Accompanied Arthur on his quest to Annwfn and wrote about it presumably in a fugue state.

Tristan/Esyllt: U know the drill: boy loves girl, girl loves boy, girl is given away to boy's ass-earred uncle. It all ends unhappily right? Right? WRONG!!! Esyllt and Tristan run to King Arthur after being outlaws and are like 'EXCUSE ME CAN U TELL MARCH TO S T O P?' Arthur is like 'okay one of U can have her when the trees have leaves and another can have her when they don't.' March chooses the second option cuz the nights are longer and Esyllt is like 'SUCKS TO BE U. There are three trees that are good of their kind, holly and ivy and yew, which keep their leaves as long as they live. I am Trystan's as long as he lives.' #GETREKTMARCH!!! Also, Tristan HAS INVUNERABILITY and is besties with Gwalchmai.

Finally, King Arthur. Here he is. Portrayed as both a warlord and a noble, level-headed lad in later stories Arthur is many things and one of them is Dumbo. I love him. He's a himbo. Goes on a quest and doesn't do anything, tries to kidnap a lady and his two besties have to drag him off, battles a guy (Hueil) and kills him cuz Hueil has the audacity to try and mack off with his mistress and thus incurs Gildas' wrath. Has a fuckin huge dog (Cafall) and a fuckin huge horse (Llamrei.) His wife is a giantess and Arthur recognises he's punching above his weight with her. Has Caledfwlch - his sword- and Rhongomyniad - his spear - and a fuckin boat that he loves more like his wife. He also fucks off Cai with an englyn so bad it makes me genuinely want to hit him with my shoes. Be nice, Arthur. Cai, by rights, should've lopped off his head. Is probably Wales' best boi after Cadwaladr, also has two gods in his retinue and I will take every opportunity to yell about that until I fuckin DIE.

The two with the most votes go through so vote, vote, vote!!! (Also no poll on Sunday! We chill on Sundays!)

I hadn’t noticed that, but I think that you’re right and that that was the artist’s way of reminding us it’s made of Percival’s sister’s hair. Neat. Or not neat. There’s a lot to be said of hair belts as a fashion choice and most of it is negative, but you can’t say it’s not bold.

The Grail Heroine leading Galahad to the ship, where Percival and Bors wait

Stained glass by Veronica Whall for King Arthur’s Great Halls at Tintagel

I love speculating about medieval Welsh poetry! As a Cauldron Kids enthusiast, I'd like to elaborate a little about the poetic bit with Creirwy and Garwy Hir. Here it is in Welsh and English:

Whether Hywel ab Einion Llygliw (yes, a different Hywel) is drawing a parallel between his feelings for Myfanwy Fychan and Garwy's feelings for Creirwy or whether he's referencing two unconnected characters, one known for being beautiful and the other known for an unhappy love life or just a lot of generalized woes, is kind of ambiguous, so while I would be happy to have more Creirwy lore, unless there's some other source which mentions this, I don't think we can say that it's supposed to mean they were in a relationship for certain. There's also another Creirwy, daughter of Saint Gwen the Triple-Breasted, though I don't think she's as likely to be the one referenced here.

I'd also like to add that one really dubious Wikipedia entry claims Myfanwy married Goronwy ap Tudur Hen. This is a fun tidbit because he's yet another guy named Goronwy, though almost certainly not the "Cad Goddeu" poet's pal Goronwy, and because if it were true, that would make her a direct ancestor of the House of Tudor.

Hello, it's me. I am back again to bore you all to utter DEATH.

Okay, so I was doing some reading in my lil book nook and I came across this poem:

(Sorry it's sideways. I hate it too.)

It's Ode Five by Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd (who is awesome in his own right. Might do a post about him if anybody would like it.) Anyways, there are two (2) things that jumped out straight off that I have highlighted:

1. The reference to Ogrfan Fawr who is Gwenhwyfar's dad. It's super interesting to me that it reads a bit like Hywel (or whoever is narrating the poem) uses Ogrfan to imply that he's being kept apart from his lover. (Presumably the fair - pls remember Gwen is another word for fair, or white, in Welsh - shy girl lady he mentions in the second line.)

Who's got fair in their name? Gwenhwyfar. "Okay, Sarah," I imagine you're saying. "Cool stuff. But what the fuck does this have to do with a twelfth-century poet dude and a fictional queen?"

Ah, okay. WELL. LEMME REFER U TO GARWY HIR:

He's the father of Indeg who is one of Arthur's mistresses, AND lover of Creirwy, daughter of Cerridwen. Now, I find the author's insinuation that the poem is specifically about Garwy Hir to be a bit of a stretch, because why tf is Ogrfan mentioned in the same breath as Garwy? They have little connection to each other in all honesty. (And I have never heard of Ogrfan, Garwy, being Cerridwen being connected.)

Well, there's a Very Prominent Lad who is connected to both of those ladies.

ARTHUR!!!!!

Husband to Gwenhwyfar, lover of Indeg. The dumbass boi himself. (Respectfully. He is just... look, a lot of Welsh sources are mixed about him. Gildas has Proper Beef with Arthur cuz he killed his brother. Also, this is the same man who called Maelgwn Gwynedd, 'a sodomitical grape.' So. He's not fuckin about.)

It sounds like - to me - this Ode could be perceived as a quest - much like his quest to Annwfn (Not outside of Hywel's subject matter. Man LOVED to intertwine war and love. Read his Gorhoffedd. You'll see what I mean.) - that's been forgotten about over the intervening centuries. One that Arthur went on to get Gwenhwyfar from her father's hall. Perhaps this is also - maybe - a far older version of the Gwenhwyfar/Guinevere and Melwas/Melegaunt myth, but idk. I cannot say for certain.

Now. You can think that this is all a bit tenuous. It very much is, I grant you. In 'The Arthur of the Welsh,' O.J. Padel suggests that Hywel is imagining himself as a suitor for Gwenhwyfar's hand (entirely fair. Right there with you, fella. I too would want to be a suitor for Gwenhwyfar.) But I think it makes a little more sense for the Ode to be Arthur.

Also, yes, I admit the reference to Gwenhwyfar is an indirect one, and I am running on 12 cups of coffee, and this didn't go anywhere, but still. It's FUN.

Now, go read about Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd, pls!!!!! His dad, Owain Gwynedd, gets compared to Cai, Cynyr, Gwalchmai, and Dillus in an elegy by Cynddelw, while his court at Gwynedd is seen to be like Arthur's at Celli Wig. (Cynddelw did a praise poem about Hywel too, which also contains lots of Arthurian references.)

They could have snuck parts of Jaufre into Monty Python and the Holy Grail and no one would have noticed a stylistic difference.

--A wicked knight describing to Jaufre (Griflet) what a knight who touches his lance can do to obtain his mercy as an alternative to being killed after a fight

To add a little clarity, Jenny Rowland in that book isn't actually saying the poem is bad; she finds it very interesting and is mostly analysing it from a detached perspective for the antiquarian traditions it records. There's some commentary on the poetic skill, both positive and negative, which is where the section I posted is from; it's mentioning there's slightly less metrical, technical skill vis a vis the rules and forms of medieval Welsh poetry than some other saga *englynion*, supporting her proposition this dialogue dates from after the form's heyday. I just screencapped a bit I thought was funny out of context because I have a mutual who likes Gwyn a lot and thought they might enjoy seeing him getting kinda bullied, ahah

Fair enough, I can agree with that, and I probably should have read into it further before reblogging. I suppose from my own reading I've become accustomed to vicious authorly attacks on Welsh anti-blorbos. Like this:

Wow, Laurence Main, tell us how you really feel with those sarcastic parentheses on "St" Illtyd! (For the record, I have met that author, and he is a delight to know, but he does not hold back about "Old Ill-Tide" or Gildas and also hates Taliesin with a burning passion).

Or this, from Adam Ardrey:

More sarcastic quotation marks and more hate for Gildas, who was not gentle in his own works and didn't mention King Arthur in any of his surviving writing and is still getting flamed for it around a millenium and a half later by people who are Maelgwyn fans, are trying to prove Arthur was real,* or both. I have written mediocre Gildas fanfiction at two in the morning with this as the fuel, because I think he probably gets too much hate, though having never met him, I can't judge any better than the people who claim he burned his praise of Arthur for petty reasons.

Anyway, this post went off the rails a lot, but all that is to say that literary scholarship can get incredibly opinionated, it's easy to fall into one viewpoint or become overly cynical about it in general, and I think I have mostly done the latter. Also, that Jenny Rowland book sounds rather interesting; I might have to check it out.

*For the record, I have no firm stance on the matter, since as far as I can tell it can't be proven or disproven. In my head, he both was and was not real. Schrödinger's King. Or warrior, rather.

is this too niche

The top ten who come to my mind at the moment are Caradoc, Dagonet, Dinadan, Galahad, Gawain, Griflet, Kay, Lucan, Melora, and Mordred, in alphabetical order. That being said, if you mess with Gareth, Morvran, or really most of the others, I will offer to duel you on the spot, tell the magic trees about you, and (if all else fails) besiege you with flaming arrows.

To anyone who loves Arthurian legends, who’s your fav knight? Mine has been Sir Palomides and Sir Gareth lately.

Gawain's son Widwilt canonically packs pistols.

if you could give one (1) arthurian character a gun, who would it be and why?