#gwalchmai ap gwyar

[gingersnaptaff]

who are the main characters in welsh arthurian mythos?

Hi anon! You know, I looked at this question and just fuckin DIED with GLEE! Ehdhdjdhdjd I LOVE SHIT LIKE THIS!!!!! SHDJDJDH

First off, Arthur is pretty big. He's less a king and more of a warlord, but there's still a lot of cultural reverence for him in Welsh things. Seriously, Henry VII - a notable faux-Welshman - named his firstborn son Arthur purely because he was going to be Prince of Wales. Also, in Culhwch and Olwen his retinue has TWO Welsh GODS in it - Manawydan and Pryderi (my beloveds.) Idk what they're doing in it but I am inordinately pleased that they are there.

Also, Uther Pendragon / Uther Ben. Taliesin wrote a poem about him which is super fun. (Also, oddly enough Taliesin himself HAS been linked into Arthurian legends on multiple occasions. He's also another Arthur-type in that he's still regarded as tooling the line between mythical and real.)

Gwenhwyfar is also important even though she takes a back seat. Speculation is rife about whether she had a quest/myth about her (sorta like Culhwch and Olwen) and also her name means 'white phantom!' BRING IT BACK. I, for one, think she definitely did have a quest attributed to her in which Arthur had to do something to get her hand in marriage but idk WHAT.

Also, she's a GIANT!!!!!!!! EJDJDKDKDKD

Gwalchmai is also Super Important. There's speculation as to whether he was a mythical character who got implanted into the mythos or if he was always Atthur's nephew. Basically, he's a giant and he kills giants. Seriously, he's CONSTANTLY killing giants in the mythos. Plus he is called 'Gwalchmai Golden / Silver-tongued' in poetry too. In the Mabinogion, he's very often the one to soothe discord between the other knights so he's very diplomatic too.

Cai and Bedwyr, obviously! They come as a pair. Do Not Separate. Now, Cai is sometimes also seen to be a giant but his dad is Cynyr Ceinfarfog who was a real king. He ruled Dyfed and was the dad of Saint Non and, therefore, grandad to SAINT DAVID. (Wales' patron saint!) So Cai, like Arthur, has a saintly lineage. Before the French Romances shifted his character into the more recognisable Kay, Arthur's grumpy seneschal, Cai was a warrior of great renown. And literally superhuman. Like, nobody would received from.a blow from his sword, he could brave fire and water like nobody else, he has the ability to go nine nights and days without sleep or the need to breathe. He's a ledge.

Now, Bedwyr! Again he's a great warrior and ONE-ARMED. He's called Bedwyr Bedrydant (Bedwyr of the Perfect Sinew) and he's HOT SHIT. Seriously, he's like the most beautiful Knight in Arthur's court. The 10th-century poem 'pa gur' says that assailants 'fell by the hundred / before Bedwyr of the Perfect sinew ... fighting with Garwlwyd/ furious with sword and shield.' (Also, BTW Garwlwyd is possibly a werewolf.)

They have to put up with SO MUCH SHIT from Arthur's escapades it's ridiculous. They had to convince Arthur not to intervene in a King abducting a princess and carrying her back to his court, ffs. Give them a HOLIDAY. WITH SALMON TAXIS.

Now, I would say Merlin BUT he is added later into the mythology. He isn't there straight off. But he is Welsh. He's FUN. He was apparently based on Myrddin Wyllt. He went mad, and lived in a forest. His bestie was a king who died.

Now, I also think Owain, and Geraint on account of their having stories written about them but they're two kings who got folded into the mythos a bit later. Urien (Owain's dad) is another example.

Also, Macsen Wledig too. But again writers melded him in later. And I mean this in the sense that he and Arthur share similarities in how they're perceived in Welsh culture.

Anyways, anon, I hope this helps. I'm probably forgetting a TONNE of characters (Peredur, for one.) But I Don't want to bore you or make anybody trawl through this unwillingly so I shall stop! Hopefully, this helps! Thank u for the question!!!!

[thepastisaroadmap]

[ID: part of a sentence from a Wikipedia page, which says "Gwalchmei ap Gwyar (meaning "son of Gwyar"), or Gwalchmai, and throughout the Middle Ages was known in Latin as Galvaginus, Gualgunus (Gualguanus, Gualguinus), Gualgwinus, Walwanus (Walwanius), Waluanus, Walwen, etc.; in Old French (and sometimes English) primarily as Gavain (Gavaine) and also as Gauvain (Gauvaine), Gauvan (Gauvayn), Gauven (Gauvein/Gauveyn), Gavan (Gavane) or Gavayn (Gavayne); in Middle High German as Gâwein or Gâwân; in Italian dialects as Gavino, Galvagin or Galvano; in Old Spanish as Galván; in Old Portuguese as Galvam or Galvão; and in Middle English also as Gawaine, Gawan (Gawane), Gawayn (Gawayne), Gawein (Gaweine), Gaweyn (Gaweyne), Gauwein (Gauweine), Gauweyn (Gauweyne) or Wawen (Wowen), among" [text cuts off]. End ID]

“average arthurian knight has 3 names" factoid actualy just statistical error. average knight has 1 name. names gawain, who lives in a castle & has over 10,000 names, is an outlier adn should not have been counted

[bloededhoine]

you know what's very important to me? that figures from the arthurian cycle be called by their original names. no english bullshit.

- guinevere = gwenhwyfar/gwenivar/gwynnever

- merlin = myrddin/marzhin/merzhin

- morgan le fay = môrgen y dylwythen deg/morgen an spyrys

- uther = uthyr

- mordred = medrawd

- gawain = gwalchmai ap gwyar

king arthur is an anti-english figure. why anglicise his story?

[gingersnaptaff]

I read the mention in your post about Gwalhafed ap Gwyar. It's such a shame he's not featured anywhere else, besides the places he features in the Welsh Arthuriana. I'd like have to know more about him.

Hi Anon!!! This is pretty much all we know about Gwalhafed. I've tried looking for the poem that he's mentioned in that's written by Llygad Gŵr (he was a eulogist active in the court of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last true Prince of Wales) but so far, I haven't found it. I'll add it to this post when I do! The fact that he's (apparently) seen as the origin of the name Galahad is, perhaps, a bit of a stretch. I'd say it's more because they sound similar than because they share any actual meaning or root.

(Also, Gwalchmai and Gwalhafed being named after birds of prey makes me think that his parents DEFO loved birds. I know they're fictional but still.)

[telomeke]

[ID text–

Screenshot of an extract from Wikipedia showing various versions of the name Gawain. The extract reads as follows:

Gwalchmei ap Gwyar (meaning "son of Gwyar"), or Gwalchmai, and throughout the Middle Ages was known in Latin as Galvaginus, Gualgunus (Gualguanus, Gualguinus), Gualgwinus, Walwanus (Walwanius), Waluanus, Walwen, etc.; in Old French (and sometimes English) primarily as Gavain (Gavaine) and also as Gauvain (Gauvaine), Gauvan (Gauvayn), Gauven (Gauvein/Gauveyn), Gavan (Gavane) or Gavayn (Gavayne); in Middle High German as Gâwein or Gâwân; in Italian dialects as Gavino, Galvagin or Galvano; in Old Spanish as Galván; in Old Portuguese as Galvam or Galvão; and in Middle English also as Gawaine, Gawan (Gawane), Gawayn (Gawayne), Gawein (Gaweine), Gaweyn (Gaweyne), Gauwein (Gauweine), Gauweyn (Gauweyne) or Wawen (Wowen), among

End ID.]

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“average arthurian knight has 3 names" factoid actualy just statistical error. average knight has 1 name. names gawain, who lives in a castle & has over 10,000 names, is an outlier adn should not have been counted

[booknerd71388]

Gawain Gwalchmei ap Gwyar Gwalchmai Galvaginus Gualgunus Gualgwinus Walwanus Waluanus Walwen Gavain Gauvain Gauvan Gauven Gavan Gavayn Gâwein Gâwân Gavino Galvagin Galvano Galván Galvam Galvão Gawaine Gawan Gawayn Gawein Gaweyn Gauwein Gauweyn Wawen you were named after my favorite Knight of the Round Table

“average arthurian knight has 3 names" factoid actualy just statistical error. average knight has 1 name. names gawain, who lives in a castle & has over 10,000 names, is an outlier adn should not have been counted