#rhitta gawr

[gingersnaptaff]

Shwmae pawb! (That's 'hi everyone!' in Welsh. :3)

So, GIANTS. Giants are stock characters in both Arthurian AND Celtic legends. Wales has many giants and almost all of them are absolute BASTARDS. Fun. Also, some are connected to mountains. Also fun!

Anyways, I thought I'd do a quick lil thing about them cuz honest we have so many you can - and somebody probably will - do a book about them.

So, just a quick thing about Welsh. 'Fawr,' which is an appellation means 'the Great. It can also mean big. It's why when people swear in Welsh and say 'Iesu Fawr' what they're saying is, "BIG JESUS!"

Two diddy things:

I enjoy the fact that 'Giant' is doing double duty. Can be bastard, can be nice. Spin the cauldron and see which u get.

Now, I was gonna do your biggies like Arthur, Gwenhwyfar, Cai, Gwalchmai, Uthyr, etc, etc. But, honestly, you probably know that they were, at one point or another, seen to be giants in Welsh mythology. (And Arthur was probably on the Bastard side more than good if you believe Gildas. But he is biased cuz Arthur killed his brother so 🤷🏻‍♀️)

So, a lot of the giants are connected to places like Cader Idris - who is probably the most famous giant lad after Bendigeidfran - or Y Cath Palug who prowled around Môn (modern-day Anglesey.)

I kinda debated on whether or not to cover Ysbaddaden Pencawr but I decided to because he is probably a giant you've all heard of and weaves into the 'giants associated with places' because his fort is supposed to be in their Preseli Hills which are in western Wales, mainly in the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. They also have really pretty bluestone and slate too!

Now, you all know the story in Culhwch and Olwen but I just kinda like the fact that Ysbaddaden means 'Hawthorn,' because it supposedly symbolised love and protection in Celtic mythology which, if u think about it, Ysbaddaden kinda loves Olwen in his own way. (I mean he'll die if she marries but, y'know. Doesn't mean he doesn't love her.)

Next up, IDRIS GAWR.

Yes, he of chair fame. If you go up it then supposedly you'll either come back down mad or a poet. I would seriously pray to become a poet. The walk down would make me mad enough. It's STEEP!

Now, before Arthur killed him and buried him up there, he was a king - who may have been a real-life dude. UNCLEAR! - and it was said that he could sit on the mountain and survey his whole kingdom which is COOL AS FUCK. Apparently, his motley band of giants: Yscydion, Ophrom, and Ysbryn also have mountains named after them in the vicinity of Cader Idris.

Next: Rhitta Gawr.

I distinctly remember him being one of my first brush-ins with Welsh Arthurian legends cuz I read about him on the back of a leaflet about Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon). If I recall, the detail that got me the most was the fact that Arthur supposedly defeated him by tricking him and pretending to eat a large amount of food but secretly depositing it into a sack and when Rhitta Gawr asked Arthur told him that he'd 'cut a hole in his stomach.' Rhitta, trusting this dude, who he LITERALLY WANTED TO FUCKIN KILL EARLIER, chopped a hole in his stomach and promptly died. 👌🏻👏🏻 Da iawn Rhitta. Now, also, I want to say that one of the various spellings of his name, 'Ricca' also pops up in 'Culhwch and Olwen' as Arthur's half-brother, the King of Cornwall. Idk if they are supposed to be the same person or not but, like, Arthur was a giant. It's possible.

Now, onto some little lads.

You'll notice that most of these lads were slain by Gwalchmai. I fear he was That Lad. For the Gawain Girlies, how does it feel to have Wales' best Giant fighter for your character?

(Also, NO LAUGHING AT PYSCOC. IT'S PRONOUNCED PEE-SCOC. Don't say, as my friend did, 'Castell Cock' when you mean Castell Coch. I will murder.)

Now, for the Cath Palug, tumblr with NOT let me add an image (boo!) So, I will write it up for you and then YAP.

'Palug (legendary)

Cath Palug is mentioned in a triad (YTP n. 26) where we are told that sow, Hen Wen (white head), while being followed by the magician Coll ap Collfrewy, brought forth a kitten at Maen Du in Llanfair in Arfon. Coll threw the kitten into the Menai (pls don't. The Swellies, man. THE SWELLIES.) and she was afterwards Cath Palug. Another version, (26 W) adds that the sons of Palug fostered it to their own harm. And that was Cath Palug and it was one of 'The Three Great Oppressions' nurtured therein.

The latter version treats Palug as a personal name but it's been also suggested that it could mean 'Scratching Cat.' (Very apt if u ask me.)

The only other mention of it is in 'Who is the Porter?' in the Black Book of Carmarthen:

'Cai the Fair went to Môn

To destroy hosts [or lions]

His shield was a fragment

Against Cath Palug

Nine score fierce [warriors]

Would fall as her food.'

The poem breaks off at this point but it's assumed Cai was the slayer.'

And then in Arthurian Legend: 'in the Vulgate either Arthur slayed the cat or was slayed by it. The Welsh version, which says Cai was the slayer, was also known to John Fordun who, in his Scotichromincon writes: 'But we have heard old hags tell some such fable - that it so happened that one of Arthur's soldiers - Kayus - had to fight an enormous tom-cat; which, seeing the soldier prepared to fight obstinately, climbed to the top of a great rock, and coming down, after having made its claws wondrous sharp for the fight, it gashed the rock with sundry clefts and winding paths beyond belief. Kayus, however, they say killed the cat.'

It's interesting that in the different versions of the triads the reason how Y Palug got her name is different. I'd argue that, perhaps, the Scratching Cat is the more likely reason for the name, as it has the common root 'pal' which might mean cut, lop, scratch claw, or dig pierce. It also shares the same root as palu (dig) and paladr (spear shaft.)

Also, the fragmentary poem says that Cai's shield is 'mynud' against the cat which can plausibly mean polished or mirrored. So he's a bit like Perseus against Medusa! Also, Cai as a giant is probably the perfect combative against a giant cat considering his powers. Like, I would NOT wish to fuck with Cai or Cath.

Anyways, that it for today! Hope u all enjoyed!! Also, I do absolutely think that Gwalchmai was justified in killing all those giants. He needed enrichment. The Giants probs pissed him or Gwenhwyfar off. I think she probably even helped him with some cuz I would.

Hwyl fawr!

(Also, if u have any suggestions as to what u wanna read about next lmk! Marriage laws will be up this Sunday!).

[gawrkin]

I like how this version of the Rhitta Gawr story makes "Knights of the Round Table = the Wild Hunt" comparisons more explicit.

(Source: Welsh Legends and Folktales by Dyfed Lloyd Evans)

[dasenergi]

The Pheryllt were the legendary Priests of Pharon from the Lost Continent of Atlantis. According to myth, when Atlantis disappeared "in a single day and night of misfortune," many of its Sun-Priests washed ashore onto the Western banks of Wales, and there re-established their sun worshipping spiritual practices.

"Yr Wyddfa" is the Welsh name for Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales and the highest point in the British Isles outside of Scotland. The name Yr Wyddfa translates to "The Tomb" or "The Barrow" in English. The legendary figure Rhitta Gawr, is said to have been buried on the summit.

It is at the roots of this mountain that the Pheryllt Priesthood was said to have had its chief sanctuary. And over time they became better known to the Roman Empire and romantic Greek writers as The Druids.

[themodernsouthernpolytheist]

Hi! I'm hard of hearing and I'm having a hard time trying to understand how Rhitta Gawr is pronounced. Can you help me with this if possible? Thank you!

Hello! So, Welsh isn’t my strong suit lol, but I found an audio file online that should help! Welsh has kind of a rolled r (I think the term is trilled), but not like Spanish and “w” makes an “oo” sound. But once you learn the phonetics, it’s a lot like Irish and Spanish in that it’s very regular (unlike English which does whatever tf it wants 😂). So I recommend doing some beginner welsh lessons online, preferably with native speaker audio, to help you out more than I can. But I’m so glad you asked! I’ve been working on my ability to pronounce Welsh lately, too 😊

ETA: I forgot to include the freakin audio 😂 It’s here!

ETA2: I totally spaced on the HoH part! I’m sorry, I hope I didn’t come off as an asshole. 🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️ I answered this in like 3 separate chunks of time and just forgot. Ok, so, let’s start with the first word: Rhitta. This is the giantess’ name. The “r” at the beginning is trilled (if I’m using the right word) so, it’s like a breathy sound followed by the tongue vibrating against the teeth (as opposed to the palette like in Spanish). The vowel there is long, so “eeeee” and the rest is pretty close to English.

For “Gawr,” this seems to mean giant and it’s a typical G sound, “aww” for the vowel. The “w” adds an “oo” sound after the “aww” sound and then the final r is trilled again.

I hope that’s a better explanation! And again, so sorry for my space casing on this!

[apenitentialprayer]

Arthur and the Giant of Mont St. Michel, by IanHinley.

Once, I picked up an illustrated version of the legends of King Arthur and his knights, and found myself reading about another legendary mountain, this one in Wales. It served as the fortress of a tyrannical giant Rhitta Gawr, who refused to accept that the age of his reign had passed and that in the future the world would be ruled by human kings, whom he considered tiny and weak. Determined to keep himself in power, he descended from his peak, attacking kingdom after kingdom and vanquishing their armies. Eventually he managed to defeat and kill every single king in Wales and Scotland. Upon killing them he shaved off their beards and wove them together into a cloak, which he wore as a gory trophy. Then he decided to challenge the strongest king of Britain, King Arthur, giving him a choice: Arthur could either shave off his own beard and surrender, or Rhitta Gawr would decapitate the king and remove the beard himself. Enraged at his hubris, Arthur set off for Rhitta Gawr's mountain fortress. The king and the giant met on the highest peak and battled each other for days, until Arthur was gravely wounded. Just as Rhitta Gawr grabbed the king by the hair and prepared to cut off his head, Arthur summoned a last measure of strength and sank his fabled sword through the eye of the giant, who toppled over dead. Arthur and his knights then went about piling up a funeral cairn atop Rhitta Gawr's corpse, but before they could complete the work, snow began to fall. As they departed, the giant's bloodstained beard-cloak returned to perfect whiteness. The mountain was called Snaw Dun, which, a note explained, was Old English for "snow mound." Today, Snaw Dun is called Mount Snowdon. A long-extinct volcano, it is, at 3,560 feet, the highest peak in Wales. I remember the feeling of encountering my name in this context -it was thrilling- and the archaic spelling gave me my first palpable sense that the world was older than I was, even older than my parents were. The name's association with the heroic exploits of Arthur and Lancelot and Gawain and Percival and Tristan and the other Knights of the Round Table gave me pride - until I learned that these exploits weren't historical, but legendary.

- Edward Snowden (Permanent Record, pages 23-24). Bolded emphasis added. Format slightly edited to avoid a large wall of text.

[concerningwolves]

me: ugh I have a migraine I just don't feel like doing anything

Also me: *writes almost 3k words of enthusiastic infodumping about welsh/cornish arthuriana then spends like an hour refining it into a retelling of the tale of Rhitta Gawr to demonstrate how integral Arthur is to Welsh mythology*

[tobacconist]

weaving the stolen beards of all your defeated opponents into a massive robe like the giant rhitta gawr

[bluesman56]

Snowdon in the distance by Tony Via Flickr: the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of 1,085 metres (3,560 ft) above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside the Scottish Highlands. The name Snowdon is from the Old English for "snow hill", while the Welsh name – Yr Wyddfa – means "the tumulus" or "the barrow", which may refer to the cairn thrown over the legendary giant Rhitta Gawr after his defeat by King Arthur.

[the-endless-storm]

Rough sketches of my legendary trio. They are based on the three tallest mountains in Wales.

The smallest (red) is based on Pen Y Fan in the Brecon Beacons. The beacons are named after the signal fires that would be lit on the peaks (yes like they did in Lord of the Rings). This pokemon would be Rock/Fire

The second (gold) is Cadair Idris and is mainly focused on the mythological giant, Idris, who was versed in astronomy. This would be Rock/Dark

The largest (blue) is Snowdon and again is based on a giant, Rhitta Gawr. Rhitta wore a cape made of the beards of the armies he defeated (which no weirder than any other mythology). This would be Rock/Ice

[ao3feed-mythology]

In The Teardrop Of A Giant

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/31Q3Lfs

by Sashataakheru

Greg's tall enough already without some mythical giant turning up in his dreams to awaken the real giant bloodlines within him and transform him into a giant.

This summary has the word 'giant' in it too many times. But that's the best you're getting right now. I can't think of anything better.

Words: 5168, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 8 of The Ballad of Prince Alex and King Greg: A Royal AU

Fandoms: Taskmaster (UK TV) RPF, Welsh Mythology

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Greg Davies, Alex Horne (British Comedy RPF), Rhitta Gawr (Welsh Mythology), Y Ddraig Goch (Welsh Mythology), King Arthur (Welsh Mythology)

Relationships: Greg Davies/Alex Horne

Additional Tags: Spook Me Multi-Fandom Halloween Ficathon, mythfic, royal au, Giants, Dreams, Possession, Nightmares, Hurt/Comfort, Lucid dreams, Anxiety Dreams, Weird Shit, Sleep Deprivation, Cuddles, resisting the call, turning Greg into a giant

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/31Q3Lfs

[gingersnaptaff]

Kindly asking Welsh / Arthurian Mythology to calm down with the giants, pls. U have a serious giant problem. If it's not Brân, Rhitta Gawr, or Gwenhwyfar, then it's Gwalchmai, and if not, it's Cai or Arthur. If it's not any of these characters, then it's a bit-part guy who got mentioned in the Triads ONCE.

[sylvarwolf]

Legendary Welsh Stones - British Goblins CT031

Legendary Welsh Stones

British Goblins: Welsh Folk Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions (1881) Book 4 Chapter 3

by Wirt Sikes

Ancient Welsh stones that could move about by themselves and how the Saxon King Edgar the Peaceable passed a law forbidding Stone Worship. How stones could be linked to water, such as the healing powers of Canna's Chair which only worked after drinking from St. Canna's Well. Sikes also tells us about Talking Stones, Expanding Stones and the Stone of Invisibility which is one of the Thirteen Treasures of Britain.

Running Order:

Personal Attributes of Legendary Welsh Stones 1:46

Stone Worship 2:43

Canna's Stone Chair 3:40

Miraculous Removals of Stones 4:45

The Walking Stone of Eitheinn 5:32

The Thigh Stone 6:26

The Talking Stone in Pembrokeshire 7:47

The Expanding Stone 9:12

Magic Stones in the 'Mabinogion' 10:07

The Stone of Invisibility 10:15

The Stone of Remembrance 11:29

Stone Thief-catchers 12:45

Stones of Healing 14:09

Stones at Cross-roads 15:40

Memorials of King Arthur 17:19

Round Tables, Carns, Pots, etc. 17:38

Arthur's Quoits 19:14

The Gigantic Ross-tossers of Old 19:49

Mol Walbec and the Pebble in her Show 20:25

The Giant of Trichrug 22:10

Giants and the Mythology of the Heavens 23:21

The Legend of Rhitta Gawr 24:00

  Names Used in this Section

All proper names, and words in Welsh or other languages, are recorded here in the show-notes and we've done our best to get the pronounciations right for you.

Canna Eitheinn Mol Walbec Trichrug Rhitta Gawr Edgar the Peacable Canute Carmarthenshire Canna's Stone

Saint Canna's Chair

Llangan Ffynon Canna Parc y Fontwent      'Llangan, dyma'r fan'      (Llangan, here is the spot' Nennius Anglesea Cerevus Menai Builth King Arthur Cabal Troynt Carn Cabal Giraldus Maen Morddwyd Hugh, Earl of Chester King Henry I Llechlafar River Alyn St. David's Church, Pembrokeshire St. Gowan's Chapel Caerleon, Monmouthshire Ring of Luned Owen, son of Urien Ring of Gyges Rhonabwy Iddawc Peredur Etlym St. David's, Llanfaes Mowddwy St. Tydecho Maelgwyn Gwynedd Maenhir Dysgwylfa Crumlyn, Monmouthshire Llanberis Canrig Bwt Adrian Denbighshire Llanfihangel Dolwillim River Tawe Merlin River Sawdde Llangadock Mynydd Du Pen Arthur Cader Idris Dolgelly Machynlleth Castle of Hay Llowes Churchyard Hu Gadarn Cadwaladr Rhitta Gawr Brutus Idris Gawr Cymry Côr Gawr Killara Cardiganshire Gwydion Gwyn, son of Nudd

  British Goblins can be found on Archive.org

You can find out more about Wirt Sikes on Wikipedia.

Try the Celtic Myth Podshow for the Tales and Stories of the Ancient Celts at http://celticmythpodshow.com or on Apple Podcasts.

Our theme music is "Gander at the Pratie Hole" by Sláinte.  You can find their music on the Free Music Archive.

Check out this episode!