Monday 12 September 2016

Finding the Real King Arthur part eight

The glen copyright SusanMorrisonJones


Holy, Extraordinary and Prominent places: -

Camelot
well by now you know I am looking into the phonetic spelling of Welsh words. I looked for this under every conceivable break down, Cam Caem Camm Ca Cama and variations thereof and discovered a possible: -
Not from welsh to English translations but through the old meanings of names.

Caem is the word in welsh names for FORT Mael is the welsh word used for PRINCE and Lodd or 'awdd'(double d being T ) being part of a word for eloquent...possible the eloquent Princes Fort remembering that Camelot is supposedly Arthurs Castle and built in the fairest of places which would be Gwynedd as far as the (then) Welsh would believe due to the presence of the holy islands the power bases for the three most powerful sects of Druids, the fairness of produce from Mona and the presence of Vortigerns previous dominance and Uther’s powerful ruler ship. The mountains the lakes all would provide a belief in the land being the most beautiful of Welsh countryside, challenged only by the Lake District (also at that time part of Wales). Of course that’s such a nice easy fit in a way, too easy so I kept digging.
so many forts the Tre'r with its giant walls, some reaching 13 foot and built in stone...the Fadryn which is a possible only because I thought perhaps Fydd dryn (fadryn) which means interfaith...a possibility as Christian and Pagan combined under Arths banner. Of course the jury is still out and the research continues.

Bardsey Island

The Llyn (Lleyn) Peninsula’s importance.

Historically, the peninsula was used by pilgrims en route to Bardsey Island (Welsh: Ynys Enlli),
Y Enlli in a literal translation means The Island...Bards is (I believe) an English inclusion to describe the islands purpose. When Ynys is used in this modern day it is to state Bardsey Island which is modern welsh, I have no ancient welsh text to compare but I do know the lazy foreign tongues would not have coped with Y ynys beirdd sanctaidd.


Putting- Bards Sea Island- together into Bardsea Island becomes the lazy way and Bardsey Island is suddenly our modern counterpart. The island where Bards went to study, relax, recover and meet. The special importance of the island was built upon after Rome’s' invasion and the introduction of Christianity and as a result many considered a pilgrimage to Bards Island as good as going to Rome itself.



Anglesey

Môn is the Welsh name of Anglesey.

Recorded by the Romans as Mona; it is the Mona of Tacitus (Ann. xiv. 29, Agr. xiv. 18), Pliny the Elder (iv. 16) and Dio Cassius (62).

Giraldus Cambrensis calls it Môn Mam Cymru ("Môn, Mother of Wales") by,

Other old Welsh names are Ynys Dywyll ("Dark Isle"),

Ynys y Cedairn (cedyrn or kedyrn; "Isle of brave folk").

Clas Merddin, and Y fêl Ynys (honey isle) are other names.

The English name Anglesey is in fact derived from the Old Norse, meaning 'Ongull's Island'. Possibly (stretching it a bit) this is also a shortening of another name Owen (meaning Noble Warrior) and Gwylan which means Seagull or Gull....a name for someone famous in his day from the Mother of Wales, a noble warrior Owen Gwylan....Ongull.... it’s a possible.

As the Bards had a sacred island so did the Druids. Anglesey was their sacred island. A place held to be special, fertile and almost flat, this island was supposed to be capable of growing enough food at any one time to feed the whole of Wales (though if honesty was to be the first call, most probably it refers to that specific part of wales including Gwyness, a sizeable portion of the lands.


The Romans famously slaughtered a great many druids on the island, so afraid of the gathered men of great renown and their acolytes that it was only by betrayal that the Roman soldiers found a way to storm the beaches...where upon the Druids in their thousands walked onto the swords and lances of the soldiers screaming imprecations, curses and threats to their dying breath. The fall of Rome would be ensured by their sacrifice.

Sadly, Vate is not a welsh word, it is a shortening of the Irish Ovate, an English word for prophet. The welsh word for prophet not even close to Vate and I felt a little lost trying to find their holy island because the other two streams from the Druid class had one apiece and I could not believe that the Vate would not also have something similar.

Strabo, Geography, 4.4.4
As a rule, among all the Gallic peoples three sets of men are honoured above all others: The Bards, the vates, and the Druids. The bards are singers and poets, the vates overseers of sacred rites and philosophers of nature, and the Druids, besides being natural philosophers, practice moral philosophy as well. They are considered to be the most just and therefore are entrusted with settling both private and public disputes, so that in earlier times they even arbitrated wars and could keep those intending to draw themselves up for battle from so doing and it was to these men most of all that cases involving murder had been entrusted for adjudication. And whenever there is a big yield from these cases, they believe that there will come a yield from the land too. Both these men and others aver that and the universe are imperishable, although both fire and water will at sometimes prevail over them.

Diodorus Siculus, ¶31

(n part). They also make use of seers, who are greatly respected. These seers, having great authority, use auguries and sacrifices to foresee the future. When seeking knowledge of great importance, they use a strange and unbelievable method: they choose a person for death and stab him or her in the chest above the diaphragm. By the convulsion of the victim's limbs and spurting of blood, they foretell the future, trusting in this ancient method. They do not sacrifice or ask favours from the Gods without a Druid present, as they believe sacrifice should be made only by those supposedly skilled in divine communication. Not only during peacetime but also in war, the Gauls obey with great care these Druids and singing poets, both friend and enemy alike. Often when two armies have come together with swords drawn these men have stepped between the battle-lines and stopped the conflict, as if they held wild animals spell-bound. Thus even among most brutal barbarian’s angry passion yields to wisdom and Ares stands in awe of the Muses.
 All I could find which with a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge stretch of imagination 'might' fit the bill is the famous Holyhead.
 To the Romans, it was Sacrum Promentarium, which translates exactly as Holyhead. It is believed the name originally referred to the mountain which dominates this part of Anglesey. Note that Holyhead is always pronounced Hollyhead. I would wish to state here I have no proof (again) only that this was a very famous site indeed prior to any Christian Saints it was a place of learning. What better place to hold a sacred island and name it for the Vate, people whose heads contained such diverse skills and knowledges.

Never the less I truly believe the Vate or Ovate would have had their own special Island, it would have had some connection and closeness to Anglesey and Bardsey Islands. With the number 3 so sacred to Druids it is genuinely inconceivable that they would stop at 2 sacred Isles when 3 would be the sacred of all energies and true to their shamanic calling.

Well that’s enough for now, too much imagining and not enough research by half, but I am now heading towards the Isle of Avallon and that will be 3 x 3 chapter or part 9 of my journey.

So many very erudite people who may have read this page, are by now up in arms......good.
You can think I am an uneducated brat poking her nose into places she has no right to be....so go think it through from an uneducated person’s viewpoint.

I am not trying to be the finest scholar, I think, and I think like an ordinary person, who follows thoughts to a conclusion, rightly or wrongly. I haven't cherry picked, so much as tried to find...not quite the same thing.

I hold to the arbitrary nature of the usurpers, the dominant despots and pillaging armies, the religious and historical accounts.

I believe genuinely that the true Arth was Welsh, did genuinely live, was a real person, whose exploits and capabilities have been deliberately removed.

Rather like the removal of royal figureheads in Egypt for political reasons.

 I believe the Romans and the English feared the Welsh, feared their loyalty to their own Draig and feared the Welsh would rise up and take back their country.

The only leader capable  (then) of inspiring the people was Draig Arth he of the golden, the bear, the warrior, the giant whose eloquence and skill at battle was the pride and the glory of his people...I think 'they' wiped him out and I believe it was deliberate and that the arbitrary use of English and Latin to spell a complex language , deliberately altering, mocking, undermining the truth was perhaps one of the cleverest and one of the most evil conniving actions of the ruling mob at that time.

right.... rant over...Avalon...I'm off to get my notes on that fair place and decide which bits to write first 9...coming up.













Thursday 8 September 2016

Finding the Real King Arthur part seven

Dragon copyright Susan Morrison Jones



What on earth is the Welsh Dragon based on..........
Most of modern day hypothesis believe that a dragon is really some sort of pre historic animal which has survived the many climatic changes and the centuries that have passed.

In Celtic myth and legend, it is possible that mountains could be perceived as the back bone of a mythical beast. Stories of monsters that flew and ate large animals, predators from an ancient memory perhaps.
Earthquakes and aftershocks could be perceived by an uneducated, unawares peoples as a large monster underground roaring its head off.
But as the Dragon is the effigy on the welsh Flag, it has a more ingrained importance to its peoples.

The myths, the legends of Dragons being living creatures in Welsh lands are numerous with the word Ddraig or draig being the Welsh for Dragon. Goch means red and the Ddraig Goch  (red dragon pronounced Draig Gox)) is the heraldic emblem on the Welsh flag.

From The Book of the Three Dragons to the Mabinogian the dragon is featured as a part of myth, legend and simple storylines.

Are there other possibilities to add to the truths of dragons in Wales?

The prehistoric bones of Giant Bears, Lions Leopards and enormous rhinoceros have been found in Wales. Could our ancient Welsh, with no understanding of such animals have simply decided the rhinoceros’ teeth which are huge flat and triangular be those of the mythical dragon? did the enormous thigh bone of an ancient giant bear look more like a dragon’s thigh to those people. If you have no real references it is a possibility I suppose.

Dracoraptor hanigani, dates back 201 million years and is one of the oldest known Jurassic dinosaurs. Remains of this dinosaur (a juvenile one) were discovered in Wales in 2014, who is to say if such bones were found back in the 5th century to give rise to the idea of dragons.

Such thoughts continue unabated. I pounce on new writings, articles and the like if they mention Dragons, looking for something to explain where the myth started and why it became so important.

I've read so many fables, legends and stories, books and extracts i could probably write my own book but here, in this part of my quest for knowledge it is the word Pendragon that began my first thoughts.

Pen is welsh, no doubt about it, it means Head as in the top man, the head of the dragon I suppose but the English didn't record Uther as Pendraig they used the term Pendragon, perhaps arbitrarily deciding it read more romantically. More inspiringly.

Pendraig is the proper name and Draig (dragon) was a term for the most fearful, the most dominant and I suppose makes sense in that way as a title for a Prince or a King. Perhaps as recording Uther as the Pendraig the English wished to display his fearful strengths and capabilities and his infamous raging temper.

Killing a Dragon, the stories of so many Knights tales, may actually be no more than a mixed up record and fable of a Knight killing a despot of a ruler a Draig whose ruler ship was both cruel and bloody. Perhaps that is why we don't find a dragon’s skeleton somewhere in the land, we, the English and the Romans didn't understand what was meant by Draig.

But that would have been such a poor storyline wouldn't it. Historically, most of the rulers of any country or tribe appeared to have been very strong, quite cruel to our modern way of thinking. But a story about a beast, legendary creature with flames and huge teeth, that was worthy of telling.

In Wales the sea mists can roll across the Llyn in seconds, they still call it the Dragons Breath in some places. The curling mists from the valleys can be seen stealing down the land, rising from streams in a curling wispy trail like some huge beast breathing out smoke.

All these 'little' things combine to make a body of thoughts that don't take a heap of imagination to turn into the fable of a true dragon. A winged beast, capable of breathing fire and flying across the land, hiding itself in the mountains and the deep caves around the country.

But in our old books there are references to other things that might add a little to the myth.


Mythical Monsters, by Charles Gould, [1886]

Thus, the author of British Goblins suggests that for the prototype of the red dragon, which haunted caverns and guarded treasures in Wales, we must look in the lightning caverns of old Aryan fable, and deduces the fire-darting dragons of modern lore from the shining hammer of Thor, and the lightning spear of Odin.

The stories of ladies guarded by dragons are explained on the supposition * that the ladies were kept in the secured part of the feudal castles, round which the walls wound, and that an adventurer had to scale the walls to gain access to the ladies; when there were two walls, the authors of romance said that the assaulter overcame two dragons, and so on. St. Romain, when he delivered the city of Rouen from a dragon which lived in the river Seine, simply protected

p. 201

the city from an overflow, just as Apollo (the sun) is symbolically said to have destroyed the serpent Python, or, in other words, dried up an overflow. And the dragon of Wantley is supposed by Dr. Percy to have been an overgrown rascally attorney, who cheated some children of their estates, but was compelled to disgorge by a gentleman named More, who went against him armed with the "spikes of the law," whereupon the attorney died of vexation.

The dragon plays an important part in Celtic mythology. Among the Celts, as with the Romans, it was the national standard.

While Cymri's dragon, from the Roman's hold
Spread with calm wing o’er Carduel's domes of gold. *
The fables of Merllin, Nennius, and Geoffry describe it as red in colour, and so differing from the Saxon dragon which was white. The hero Arthur carried a dragon on his helm, and the tradition of it is moulded into imperishable form in the Faerie Queen. A dragon infested Lludd's dominion, and made every heath in England resound with shrieks on each May-day eve. A dragon of vast size and pestiferous breath lay hidden in a cavern in Wales, and destroyed two districts with its venom, before the holy St. Samson seized and threw it into the sea.

In Celtic chivalry, the word dragon came to be used for chief, a Pendragon being a sort of dictator created in times of danger; and as the knights who slew a chief in battle were said to slay a dragon, this doubtless helped to keep alive the popular tradition regarding the monster which had been carried with them westward in their migration from the common Aryan centre.


WELSH ROMANCES AND ENGLISH LEGENDS

Celtic invaders from the continent possessed themselves of Ireland, Cornwall, Wales and western Scotland, even before the beginning of the Christian era, expelling or absorbing the previous native occupants, also many savage notions. They brought with them, and all sections share the substructure of, a body of faiths and fancies, poetic and superstitious, engaging demonic creatures, supermen and personifications of nature, that form a more or less unified mythology known to antiquarians as the great Celtic dragon-myth. Its stories, in which prehistoric fiction and legendary or real incidents and personages are inextricably mingled, abound in giants, semi-human ogres, serpents and dragons of land, water and air, sea-monsters, mermaids and fairies. J. F. Cambell has devoted a whole book to this matter, and an awesome belief in much of its mystery still lingers among the peasantry about the Irish lakes, in the glens of wilder Wales, and among the lochs and sea-isles of Scotland. Dreadful 'warrums,' half fish, half dragon, still inhabit some Irish lakes, while on others the boatmen will speak with bated breath of monstrous beasts that formerly lurked in their depths; and the 'water-horses' of certain Scottish lochs are near cousins to them.


these are just two examples of older books which mention our dragon myth or legend as part of a cultural heritage.
Many such books exit. A search through ancient library collections brings a hoard of treasure of such stories.

Arthur is said to have used the Cross of Christ on a banner into battle. He would have had to represent two separated people, the Pagan and the Christian, he reportedly did so by wearing emblems of both paths. A red dragons image on his helmet and a banner for the army to see from afar. Romantic writers create myths to make stories nicer, more acceptable or readable to a people who had no TV or film, but waited for a book, a tale from the Druid or a whispered terrorising from a sibling when they had gone to bed. the scarier the better as long as love featured in it somewhere. People the world over still 'go' for the same kind of stimulation.


Just a little aside: -
My Father was what is known as a Shot firer, it meant he would go down into the Coal Pit and explode part of the earth to reveal a seam of coal. One such incident occurred and the seam was not coal, but a fault line which dispersed a vast amount of water from an underground source, into the pit itself. The men barely escaped with their lives. My Father called the fault Roaring Meg, he told me it was the name for the 'old dragon fault' from the Llyn Peninsular, through Snowdonia and up into the area now known as Merseyside.



Robert Holdsworth, a structural geologist at Durham University, says the Llyn peninsula earthquakes are an enigma to researchers: "This area seems to be a hotspot for tremors. It's part of a wider band of activity that spreads from north Wales, up through north-west England into Scotland. We don't really understand what's causing them, unlike, say, the San Andreas fault line in California, which lies on a plate boundary. And we don't understand why they localise where they do."

The Llyn is known locally as 'the arm of Wales though’. Some would romanticise a bit and call it the dragons tail'...  which I doubt but then...who’s to say otherwise

Wednesday 7 September 2016

Finding the Real King Arthur part six

Tremadog Bay copyright Susan Morrison Jones

So many historians can find NO true reference at all to Merlin's. Mysterious powerful personages. Some try to say it was a name for the local Druid...prove it! I have seen historical accepted reference to one Myrddin a Bard and possibly a Druid. Other than that every English speaking historian seems to think there are no references prior to Gildas or Ninnien or some other writers mostly from the 12th century. I digress let’s get back to my hypothesis.......

I do know about the Lleyn.

Pronounced like the Scottish ch in loch, then a soft L the 'Chlen' is a long and beautiful peninsular half way down the current welsh map, across from southern Ireland divided by The North Sea and Harlech divided by Tremadog Bay.......it is has a turbulent history.
Lleyn is the anglicised name, the old welsh name is Llyn

As recently as this millennium an earthquake hit Tremadog bay and shunted a fair few buildings on both sides of the bay. Structural damage was caused and it is conceivable that such phenomena happened back in the 5th and 6th centuries as much as it did provably in the millennium.

One possible reason as to why Vortigerns newly built castle kept falling down is earthquakes...or else...well anyone familiar with the Lleyn are aware of the many hollow sounds from beneath the surface as the sea has encroached under the shoreline, creating caves deep with the land. Causing unstable foundations.

The island itself is composed geologically of mostly Volcanic rock with a massive fault line the Llyn Sheer Zone and granite and rhyolite mountainous regions to add to the mix.
This is believed to be the area Vortigern attempted to build a new castle.

Adding a little more

Part of the history of Wales records the sad and sometimes terrifying judgements of Irish Celts on anyone believed to be a witch. They would cast the witch and all her or his family into a boat. No oars, food or water and leave them to their long drawn out fate.

However, it is recorded more than once of 'witches' landing on the Lleyn shoreline and the rules of the times were that once a witch had stepped foot on the shore line and drunk fresh water they were allowed to stay.
The natural flow and eddy of tides and the underlying courses of the sea heading from Ireland towards Wales brought survivors of those boats.

The many streams cascading from the shorelines cliffs and dunes, down into the sea, were the opportunity to drink fresh water and so some of those witches stayed.


One of the reasons the fate of witches fascinated me, is the story of the Fisher King. The annual Salmon runs were much prized by the local Kings and could be gifted to people as compensation or as a reward. One such event produced not salmon but a child. Taliesin is supposedly found in a leather bag by a prince in the nets and it is the reference to a leather bag which drew my inspection.

After trawling uncountable stories and legends I discovered several references to a type of boat basket or a leather bag...waterproofed and used to deliver a child to the shores of another place.

Taliesin was not the only one to have been found in such a way. It is conceivable that a witch, wanting her child to survive would manage to send her child to sea in a pitch covered coracle, a small circular wicker boat, with another coracle upturned and bound as a lid to cover the child from harm. Delivering such a child up to the age of four or five years of age would be easy enough, with food and water. Survival would be almost assured given the shape of the coracle making it almost unsinkable no matter what the weather (perhaps with the exception of really awful storms).

There are one or two stories which have Merlin and Taliesin as son and father, one or two which make the same claim for both being found. It is a jumble of information, hard to decide which could possibly be true. So I decided they were probably from the same tribe, probably both sons of 'witches' and at differing times of the century they suffered the same fate.......stranger things have happened. There is even the possibility that both were siblings who arrived in a coracle together, having been cast out as the sons of a witch. Maybe a father and son were cast to sea and Dad flipped over the side near the shore, pushing his son to safety and hid, to appear later as Shining Brow the great Talesin to reclaim his son by adopting him? Arbitrary I know but I had to make a decision so this became so problematic I left Talesin to his own stories and concentrated on Merlin.

Nearly there just a little more info

Welsh names tend to be a description of the person as much as a name in itself. Daffyd ap Owain for instance is David son of Owen. Daffyd ap Owain yr heliwr would be David son of Owen the Hunter. Owen Hunter indeed!

If you have been a foundling of any description, then where you were found would be either your name or added to a name as possibly a description of your 'place' within the land or the tribe who took you in?
 For instance, if you were found in the sea, that's your father and where you were found would be added to describe your tribal link.

 As an example of confusions; Taliesin is translated throughout Wales as Shining Brow for some reason which is weird because its actually 'disgleirio ael ' but if you break the name up into separate words then; Tal is Tall y is The and Syn means 'which' possibly is a play on the word witch?

Maybe...then again the welsh for white is gwyn. Tal y Gwyn the tall white doesn't make sense really but Tal y Syn the Tall Witch could be a possibility. But was Taliesin a witch and when did the name change? because in older records Talesin is the English spelling I read here and there, not Taliessin or Taliesin. Another example of English translation misspelling or spelling phonetically a language that holds a host of different meanings within its lexicon as y is i and w is i that is i is eye and i is ih...see complex indeed.

Anyway I concentrated on Merlin.......... I thought a bit and 'imagined' (as you do) a lad, maybe 7 or so, clever, using his wits to survive, found at the shore in a coracle over on the Lleyn. Vortigern has been told he needs a son born of no father to sacrifice to enable his castle to be built. Maybe the Druid who told that believed no one was ever born without a father so no child would be harmed, maybe the Druid knew of Merlin and thought...ah well he isn't one of us...whatever reasons; there is this lad, only 7 but his father is the sea.

The word for sea is Mor and he was found on the Lleyn Mor-lleyn is a clever lad, who doesn't look like the people he is living with, dark haired and dark eyes and very clever. The Gangani are Tall and Blonde. He gets around the peninsular doing jobs for people. Running errands. he is a child so he is safe, no harm comes to a child in the welsh tribes, but he is different and noted as that and Vortigern needs a sacrifice. No one is going to say 'her, you can have my son to kill for your castle'.

This boy, well he has had to sharpen his wits to be safe, always being useful to earn his place at the tribe’s tables. He is learning from the Bards and the Druids, he knows this is probably the safest skills for him to learn, he isn't really seven, but he is definitely not the same size as the tribe and can get away with saying he is younger. He is probably two or three years older with the brain power that goes with that, it’s even possible he had an exceptional IQ, not all that improbable given the skills his legends accredit him with.......and Vortigern is about to meet a whizz kid,

Looking for a sacrifice, many would tell their king of the boy whose father is the sea and of course that is perfect.... but he is a sharp witty lad who will survive the proposed sacrifice because he knows how to make the castle work.

He has recognised the seas tides and the earthquakes as being the problem, he knows of the places that Will one day be recognised as the Llyn Sheer Zone and spins a tale of dragons fighting beneath the land and chooses a stronger place to build. One his bare feet has never felt move, even when the earth shook a while back.

A strong granite place where rocks would stand firm and tall, he points to the place and they rebuild an old fort Caer Fadryn; into something much more substantial, with stones and many walls. The walls must only reach to a certain point; the sentries must be able to see over the top. Most forts have walls just over a metre high, the Gangani are giants in comparison to other tribes, 2-metre-high walls are just right and Vortigern is a happy man.

well its possible isn't it :)

But it is also just my story. What I believe to be truth even though I have no proof to support my theory is simple. If you’re a survivor of the Irish casting out, if your clever and think things through. No matter your true age, you will be younger by choice, a child is safe in the tribe. You will listen and learn fast and hard. You will remember as much as you can about everything.

The times didn't have writing then, memory was sharp, it had to be. Druids could study for years before attaining their status, they had to remember genealogies, laws, all sorts of stuff. You would remember the stories and the tales told by the Bards, you would become adept at using such managing tactics to survive. You would make yourself 'needed' and you would learn the art of diplomacy as a matter of survival.

Being 'of the sea' Mor, being 'of the Lleyn' Mor-Llyn and the lazy tongues of the foreigners who could not pronounce the Archaic Welsh of those times... it isn't too big a leap to think Morlin or Merlin especially as the Roman soldiers of the times were mostly French or Italian (as recorded) and Mer was their word for sea...what if one of them pointed to the boy and gestured for his name, what if they translated Mor to Mer out of simple ease of understanding.

So I 'think' Merlin is Merlyn and I do believe it is more than possible his origins were as I describe, why else was he perceived from youth, to be magical, mystical. If he were already believed to be of '‘which’' stock then yes, he would be seen as magical by his very birth. Witches were not disregarded by the Celts; they were not as powerful as Druids but they were heeded. Disliked or even hated by Druids they were often at loggerheads with each other.

I believe Merlin was as real as Arthur and I truly believe the bastardisation of the Welsh language, the lazy tongues of the foreigners and the long winding roads of time and its changes have hidden far too much of the truth.

It’s a jigsaw and I haven't got all the pieces yet, heck! I don't even have all the edges and supposition is not a theory or a hypothesis, but it’s at least a small window into possibilities.

Now I can truly start peeling the layers of time back and looking for the histories, the provable and the possible must become closer for all of this to work properly.

oh yes...I should be honest with myself as much as any readers.

 That other spelling Myrddin ...what if that is the true spelling because if so 'y' is 'i' in English and the phonetic sound is mair so Myr is wrong.... in welsh it would be Maer which means Mayor and Ddyn means man...mayor man...a man of importance perhaps :) I am not playing silly games either. we have no true understanding of many of the archaic welsh words of those times, one 'guess' is as good as another. The fact that Welsh is translated into English using English sounds not welsh writings is one of the many issues this trail has.
A Mayor was known, Romans had been around for a few centuries, they had Mayors, maybe a wise man a person who understood the laws just as the Druids did, after all a lot of Druids where annihilated by the Romans at Anglesey, perhaps a Mayor or Maer was needed to fill a few gaps.

So little is truly known of Celtic Law, the King could have his say, Druids did too but Celtic Law was believed to be close to the Brehon (judges) Law of Ireland.  Kinship and wading through the costs and the many diverse ways a law could be interpreted...perhaps Maer Ddyn was also Maer Llyn the Mayor of Llyn...so it is possible...we just don't know. If it were true, then such a man would be a powerful influence in the area.


still playing devil’s advocate and still laying down some of the ground work...we will get to the trail proper...eventually

Finding the Real King Arthur part five

Snowdon Brooding copyright Susan Morrison Jones

Snowdon.


Take a good long look at the top of it.
Does that strike you as natural?
that is an honest to god’s pyramid is it not?

I have NO idea if anyone ever tried looking into the old mountain range known as the Dragons Bones lies.

'These days we use the English word Snowdon for the King mountain but in those days the old grey mountain was named Y Wyddfa in English that is The Tumulus and in Welsh it means ‘grave mound’ it is a description of a pile of stones placed in a pyramid style over a grave of importance. And before it was Wyddfa it was probably simply known as Merthyr (a burial place) or maybe Garth which is part of several mountain names or as some would have it ‘the place where eagles live’ which is simply Eryrod Nyth the eagles nest...whatever it was known as its current name is Snowdon and in those times it was Wyddfa.'

So IF as can be supposed Wyddfa is the old name it is actually calling Snowdon a Grave Mound, for someone of extreme importance, who? not a clue, pre dates Arth and Vortigern (even though Vortigerns’ bones have never been found). But oh how wonderful if what was on top of Snowdon was a burial mound of some great King...... but then that would mean lots of archaeological investigations and money is tight and even if they found something of real importance for the Welsh Nation...it would all get carted off to London, it usually does. Which by the way is a real grouch amongst the Welsh, half their artefacts are not in Wales at all...end of mini rant.

However, Arth is also an issue with names. Y Arth and Arth Aur are the names commonly attributed to him.
Descriptions refer to him being Big, Strong, Golden, some liken him to a Lion some to a Bear but all make reference to his great size. Possibly Arth was a Gangani and then we have to look at the references made to a tribe of peoples who were Golden Haired, tall, striking looking.

Was Arth Blonde? is that why Arth Aur the Bear Golden was his given name?

Son of Prince Eurthur (oothur or Uther)

The lazy English tongue and the resident Roman soldiers are recorded as mostly Italian or French at that time in that area would have slid the two names together. Welsh introductions can be notoriously long even now.
The Arth, Gold, son of Prince Eurthur, pride of his tribe is a pretty big mouth full even in English.
In Welsh it is tortuous for the unwary tongue: -

Mae'r Arth Aur mab Tywysog Eurthur, balchder ei lwyth

and even the fact no such writing or spelling was used in those far off days...just reading it now makes my teeth ache. Myer Ath oor mab twsoc oothur balkkder ee lwith sorting out the sibilant and harsher sounds ...nightmare stuff for the uninitiated.

I honestly believe that the local Romans and many English would be lazy and simply put Arth and Aur together and call the man Arthur.

I can make some really cheeky assumptions about other names too one of them is the mysterious Merlin.


but for now I am happy to settle that once I had made my mind up that Arth was in fact the real Arthur of old legends...I could continue the trail.

Finding the Real King Arthur part four

The Estruary copyright Susan Morrison Jones

Arthur (as a legend) is mentioned in many writings. Often as a legend or mythical being and as an historical figure less so. Never the less I began collecting what I could in English translations of tales of the man. Here are the beginnings of other aspects of Arth descriptions of mannerisms and tales and weaning through them began a long year of study.

The majority of the following are not historical records 'of the times' but where possible I have included the notations simply because so many people continually refer to Monmouth or someone similar. These people had their ideas from somewhere, they don't always say how or when they read whatever inspired their own versions of legends, tales, myths and in some cases historical records. But they spent a great deal of effort and time to write....

ARTHUR THE NATIONAL HERO, —A.D. 600 TO 1066.
King Arthur is the centre of the ancient national Traditions of Wales; he is the single root of a gigantic tree, whose branches, for nearly ten centuries, spread over the whole of Europe, until in modern times it withered away together with the last remains of Chivalry.

The oldest accounts of the Chronicles of King Arthur are short and meagre. The Anglo-Saxon Bede knows nothing of the British Kings, nor of the origin of the Britons, whom he derives from Eneas and Brutus. He names Cassibelaunus, Androgens, St. Albanus, Vortigern; he mentions the wars of the Britons and the Saxons against the Romans; Hengist and Horsa, St. Oswald, and his miracles; but he is entirely silent upon the subject of Arthur. In concluding his History with the words, "Hsec de Historia ecclesiastica Brittanorum Qi maccime gentis Anglorum prout vel ex literis antiquorum, vel ex traditione majorum^ vel ex mea ipsa cognitione scire potui digessi Beda,'"* he leads us to suppose, that he found nothing remarkable in the Traditions of the eighth century. Besides Bede was an Anglo-Saxon, which, from the hostile separation
of the two nations, is a sufficient reason for supposing that the Welsh Traditions were unknown to him.

 INFLUENCE OF WELSH TRADITION
Nennius, who wrote about the year 858, speaks of Arthur, and at the same time gives us an interesting explanation of his name in these words: —"At that time the Saxons greatly increased in strength and numbers in Britain; and after the death of Hengist,'' (at the end of the fifth century,) "his son Ochta passed over from the northern part of Britain to the kingdom of Kent; and from him are descended the Kings of that country.
Arthur together with the Kings of the Britons fought against the Saxons; but he was the commander in battle, and was victorious in every engagement. (Arthur when translated signifies the terrible Bear or the Iron Hammer of the teeth of Lions

In the 63rd Chapter, Nennius continues, —"Arthur went to Jerusalem, and there made a cross of the same dimensions with the real cross, which was consecrated there; and for three successive days he fasted and watched and prayed before the holy cross, that the Lord would, by this standard, give him the victory over the Pagans; which was granted to him.

 Pieces of this cross are still preserved at Wedale Avith with great veneration. Wedale (an English word, signifying the Valley of Grief,) is a village in the Province of Lothian.'

He mentions the twelve expeditions of Arthur, and in the last record he wrote that Arthur slays 840 enemies with his own hand.


Further extracts

Gildas, a Chronicler, (who claims he was born in the year in which the Battle of Badon Mount was fought, and who died in 570, -SMJ)

 wrote a Book "De excidio Britannise." We have not seen it, but Henry of Huntingdon quotes it, affirmino
' that Gildas speaks of the twelve expeditions of Arthur against the Saxons, which that king conducted in the most courageous and brilliant manner. In the eighth expedition he carried the image of the Holy Virgin on his shoulders;
It was through the means of this image, and the assistance of God, that he was enabled to vanquish the Saxons.

Gildas would have had people available to him, who had been at the battle itself, survivors and nobles who would have given him much information. WHY would a notable Historian lie about a battle or a chieftain, king, leader? why is this man’s work dismissed as made up or lies?

Geoffrey of Monmouth expressly states in his History, that neither Gildas nor Bede mention anything of Arthur, or of several other celebrated kings and yet I have just included a comment which says entirely differently.

William of Malmesbury, who wrote about 1143, in quoting a written History of Arthur, relates a heroic action of that King-

"We read in the acts of the most illustrious King Arthur, that when, on a certain Christmas at Caerlleon, he had conferred military honours upon a valiant youth named Ider the son of King Nuth; and for the purpose of proving him, led him to the Hill of Frogs, now called Brentenol, where he had learnt there were three giants notorious for their crimes, in order to fight with them;

 the youth preceding Arthur and his companions without their knowledge, boldly attacked the giants, and slew them with a surprising slaughter. Hurrying on, Arthur finds Ider dying from exhaustion after the combat; he leaves him to procure help, but it comes too late. On his return he finds Ider is dead. He was buried in the Abbey of Glastonbury, and Arthur established twenty-four Monks, and assigned lands and money for their maintenance.

 Johannes Fordun (Testorum Hist. Thomas Gale, p. 639.) mentions the Tradition, according to which Arthur was to live for ever among his people. —
"Note, that in the year 542, Arthur, being mortally wounded in battle, went to be healed of his wounds to the Island of Avallon. We do not know how he died; but as he is said to have been buried in the Abbey Church of Glastonbury with an epitaph in this manner, so we believe him to remain there still, whence the line
 'Here lies Arthur, a King that was, and a King to be,"*
for some of the race of the Britons believe that he is to come alive again, and restore them from a state of servitude to liberty."^ Here we see clearly the political reason which preserved the memory of Arthur among the Welsh as a Hero, who still existed, in order that he might avenge on the Saxons the subjugation of his people.

 This Tradition is also found in Hartman von Aue, (v. 8 to 17,) but the political reason is unknown to him.

Though his body is dead, Yet his name lives for ever.

William of Malmesbury, who cannot avoid speaking of the Arthur of History, ridicules the fabulous stories relating to him. —"This is the Arthur, of whom at this day the tales of the Britons rave. One who evidently deserved to be celebrated in the records of History rather than in the dreams of Fables." And after referring to the valour of Arthur, and his repressing the encroachments of the barbarians, that is, of the Saxons, he says, —
'Lastly in the attack of Badon Mount, trusting in the image of the Virgin which he placed upon his arms, he alone put to flight nine hundred of his enemies with incredible slaughter.

Malmesbury and Monmouth are 12th century and venerated by many for their skill with words, their records and writings.
Bede is a saint to some and he lived in the later than Gildas and his works are quoted as often as Monmouth’s and Malmsbury's....BUT, according to what is available. Gildas never mentions Arthur by name. He apparently had an older brother whom Arthur killed in battle!!!!!!!!!
which is one of the reasons he is supposedly avoiding Arthurs name and yet
'We have not seen it, but Henry of Huntingdon quotes it, affirmino
' that Gildas speaks of the twelve expeditions of Arthur
So who is telling fibs I wonder and of course it is highly unlikely that we will ever find out the truth, unless some unknown treasite eventually surfaces to clarify the situation.

(all spelling within this tale is of the times it was written  SMJ )


 WELSH HISTORICAL REFERENCE: -

It is in Wales that the memory of this valiant king is principally cherished, and it was there that the tomb of Gawain (G-walchmai) son of King Lot of Norway, was discovered in 1087.

"In a Province of Wales called Rhos, the grave of Walwen was found, who was the worthy nephew of Arthur, the son of his sister.
 He reigned in that part of Wales which is still called Walwertha;
a warrior greatly renowned for valour; but being first driven from his kingdom by the brother and nephew of Hengist, of whom I have spoken in the first book, he avenged his exile by much injury to them; adding deservedly to his uncle's fame, inasmuch as he for many years delayed the fall of his tottering country.
But the grave of Arthur is nowhere to be seen, whence ancient fables feign that he is yet too come

 The Annals of Margam, which go as far as 1231, state, —

"The bones of the renowned Arthur, formerly king of Britain, were discovered in a very ancient sarcophagus; near which stood two pyramids, on which were inscribed some letters; but which, on account of their barbarous and uncouth form, could not be read.
The occasion of their being found was this.
Whilst some persons were digging the earth between the aforesaid pyramids, in order to bury a certain monk, who had purchased permission to be buried there, they found a sarcophagus, in which they observed what appeared to be the bones of a woman, with the hair still undecayed ; which being removed, they found another laid before the first, in which were the bones of a man; and having removed that also, they found a third below the other two, upon which was placed a leaden cross, on which was inscribed, '
Here lies buried the renowned King Arthur in the Island of Avellan.'
For that place, being surrounded by marshes, is called The Island of Avalon that is, the Island of Apples; because an apple is called in British aval. (British being the Welsh language Aval -Apple)
Then opening this sarcophagus, they found the bones of the aforesaid prince, very large and long, which the monks placed with due honours in a marble tomb within their church [of Glastonbury.]
The first grave is said to have been that of Queen Gwenever, the wife of the said Arthur; the second that of Modred his nephew; and the third that of Arthur himself."'

 The Waverlev Annals (1283) acquaint us that—
"In the year 1283 also the crown of the celebrated King Arthur, who was long held in the greatest honour by the Welsh, was together with other precious jewels presented to the King [Edward I.] and thus the glory of the Welsh was, though unwillingly, transferred to the English.
It is evident that this presentation of the crown of Arthur to him, who had suppressed the independence of the Welsh Princes, must have been a humiliation to them; and this trait proves how deeply the above tradition of Arthur was rooted in their hearts, and how piously they cherished his memory.

The Monk Alberic des Trois Fontaines, who wrote in the middle of the thirteenth century, does not fail to remark, under the year 1091, —
"That mention is made of the grave of Gauxain which was fourteen feet long;
and under the year 1193,
 "that about this year the body of the great Arthur was discovered in England in the Island of Avallon, where the Abbey of St. Dunstan stands, commonly called St. Peter's of Glastonbury, in the Diocese of Bath. And this was effected by the industry of a certain monk of the same Church of the New Abbey, who caused the whole cemetery of the place to be diligently searched by excavating; being animated by the words which formerly a monk had heard from the mouth of Henry the father of Richard; and there was found a stone tomb buried deep in the earth, upon which was a leaden plate inscribed with certain lines, ‘Here lies Arthur, the flower of Kings, the glory
of sovereignty,
'Whose honourable life enjoys everlasting fame;
'Here lies Arthur the King of the Britons, the avenger, unavenged.

Guillaume le Petit, in the fifth Book of his Hist. rer. Anglic,
 goes so far as to stigmatize Geofirey of Monmouth as a most impudent liar, and extravagant visionary, who would endeavour to introduce the stories of Arthur, Merlin, Uther Pendragon, and others into authentic history.

(Welsh tradition and histories did not question the reality of Arthur as a genuine person SMJ)

The Chronicle of Geofirey of Monmouth, which was written after the year 1140.book, De Origine et gestis regum Britanniae,
is so generally known, that any detailed extracts would be unnecessary. He likewise wrote Vita Merlini Caledonii; Arturi regisgesta; et Commentaria in Merlini prophetias; and, although we have not ourselves seen these works, a good idea of them may be formed from the contents of the book first mentioned; throughout which it is apparent, that Geoffrey's principal object was to collect all the ancient traditions of Wales, and that

 ''A certain very ancient book in the British tongue, which in most beautiful language, continuously, and in order, relates the acts of all the kings of the Britons from Brutus, their first king, to Cadwalader, the son of Cadwallon, and which book Walter, Archdeacon of Oxford, brought out of Britain,'"- was not the only book he had in view, but also many others, which he frequently quotes, particularly Le Brut d^Angleterre in Bas Breton,^ (nieder bretonische,) written towards the middle of the twelfth century, which he translated into Latin,

at the same time that Maister Grasse (Wace, 1155,) translated it into the Langue d’oui. * Also the Laws of Dyfnwal Moelmud, (Leges Mulmutinge,) which Gildas is said to have rendered from British into Latin; King Alfred's in Anglo-Saxon; and another works, whose contents he does not give, because they are not to be found in Walter of Oxford.

The Prophetia Merlmi, which he introduced in the seventh Book, is a sublime fiction which no doubt existed before his time: It is a perfect Apocalypse, which maintained a high degree of importance even during the Wars of the Roses; and historians refer to it, as to the Prophets of the Holy Scriptures, Ut impleretur prophetia Merlini. As Geoffrey's History approaches the time of Arthur, his language, generally dry and simple, becomes spirited, rich, and florid, until his work appears to assume the character of a complete epic poem.

The deeds of Arthur himself form the basis of the history; and although the well-known names of Mazadan, Oaradoc, Oador, Lot, Vortigern, Uther Pendragon, (i. e. Uter Caput draconis,) Maugantius, and Merlin are mentioned, they belong too secondary and less important personages. Above all, we must remark, that Geoffrey does not mention the institution of the Round Table, as a society of Knights ; which leads us to presume, that the Liber vetustissimus contained nothing on the subject of the Round Table,

 although at Chap. 11. of the ninth Book there is an indication of it, where it is said that the renown of Arthur had become so much extended over the world, that all valiant men were armed and dressed in imitation of the Knights (Milites) of King Arthur. Besides the Historians we have quoted, and to whom we might add Leland, (Assertio Arturii,) and some other writers of that period, there remains to us a much more important source, which gives us not only a description of facts, but (if we may be permitted the expression) a direct reflection of the person of Arthur and his companions, in the wars against the Saxons: —
We allude to the ancient poems of Aneurin, Taliesin, Llywarch Hen.


AN ESSAY ON THE INFLUENCE OF WELSH TRADITION UPON LITERATURE
of GERMANY, FRANCE, AND SCANDINAVIA;
WHICH OBTAINED THE PRIZE OF THE ABERGAVENNY
CYMREIGYDDION SOCIETY, AT THE EISTEDDVOD OF 1840.
TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN OF ALBERT SCHULZ,
AUTHOR OF THE LIFE OF WOLFRAN VON ESCHENBACH, &C. &C.


KING ARTHUR was at Caerlleon upon Usk and one day he sat in his chamber; and with him were Owain the son of Urien and Kynon the son of Clydno 3e, and Kai the son of Kyner and Gwenhwyvar and her handmaidens at needlework by the window. And if it should be said that there was a porter at Arthur's palace, there was none. Glewlwyd Gavaelvawr was there, acting as porter, to welcome guests and strangers, and to receive them with honour, and to inform them of the manners and customs of the Court; and to direct those who came to the Hall or to the presence-chamber, and those who came to take up their lodging.
In the centre of the chamber King Arthur sat upon a seat of green rushes over which was spread a covering of flame-coloured satin 3k, and a cushion of red satin was under his elbow.

Then Arthur spoke, "If I thought you would not disparage me," said he, "I would sleep while I wait for my repast; and you can entertain one another with relating tales, and can obtain a flagon of mead and some meat from Kai." And the King went to sleep. And Kynon the son of Clydno asked Kai for that which Arthur had promised them. "I, too, will have the good tale which he promised to me," said Kai. "Nay," answered Kynon, "fairer will it be for thee to fulfil Arthur's behest, in the first place, and then we will tell thee the best tale that we know." So Kai went to the kitchen and to the mead-cellar, and returned bearing a flagon of mead and a golden goblet, and a handful of skewers, upon which were broiled collops of meat. Then they ate the collops and began to drink the mead. "Now," said Kai, "it is time for you to give me my story." "Kynon," said Owain, "do thou pay to Kai the tale that is his due." "Truly," said Kynon, "thou are older, and art a better teller of tales, and hast seen more marvellous things than I; do thou therefore pay Kai his tale." "Begin thyself," quota Owain, "with the best that thou knowest." "I will do so," answered Kynon.
"I was the only son of my mother and father, and I was exceedingly aspiring, and my daring was very great. I thought there was no enterprise in the world too mighty for me, and after I had achieved all the adventures that were in my own country, I equipped myself, and set forth to journey through deserts and distant regions and at length it chanced that I came to the fairest valley in the world, wherein were trees of equal growth and a river ran through the valley, and a path was by the side of the river. And I followed the path until mid-day, and continued my journey along the remainder of the valley until the evening; and at the extremity of a plain I came to a large and lustrous Castle, at the foot of which was a torrent. And I approached the Castle, and there I beheld two youths with yellow curling hair, each with a frontlet of gold upon his head, and clad in a garment of yellow satin and they had gold clasps upon their insteps.

In the hand of each of them was an ivory bow, strung with the sinews of the stag and their arrows had shafts of the bone of the whale and were winged with peacock's feathers 5c; the shafts also had golden heads and they had daggers with blades of gold and with hilts of the bone of the whale. And they were shooting their daggers.
"And a little way from them I saw a man in the prime of life, with his beard newly shorn, clad in a robe and a mantle of yellow satin; and around the top of his mantle was a band of gold lace. On his feet were shoes of variegated leather fastened by two bosses of gold. When I saw him, I went towards him and saluted him, and such was his courtesy that he no sooner received my greeting than he returned it. And he went with me towards the Castle. Now there were no dwellers in the Castle except those who were in one hall. And there I saw four-and-twenty damsels, embroidering satin at a window. And this I tell thee, Kai, that the least fair of them was fairer than the fairest maid thou hast ever beheld in the Island of Britain, and the least lovely of them was more lovely than Gwenhwyvar , the wife of Arthur, when she has appeared loveliest at the Offering, on the day of the Nativity, or at the feast of Easter. They rose up at my coming 5 and six of them took my horse, and divested me of my armour; and six others took my arms, and washed them in a vessel until they were perfectly bright. And the third six spread cloths upon the tables and prepared meat. And the fourth six took off my soiled garments, and placed others upon me; namely, an under-vest and a doublet of fine linen, and a robe, and a surcoat, and a mantle of yellow satin with a broad gold band upon the mantle and they placed cushions both beneath and around me, with coverings of red linen; and I sat down. Now the six maidens who had taken my horse, unharnessed him, as well as if they had been the best squires in the Island of Britain. Then, behold, they brought bowls of silver wherein was water to wash, and towels of linen, some green and some white; and I washed. And in a little while the man sat down to the table. And I sat next to him, and below me sat all the maidens, except those who waited on us. And the table was of silver, and the cloths upon the table were of linen; and no vessel was served upon the table that was not either of gold or of silver, or of buffalo-horn 6a. And our meat was brought to us. And verily, Kai, I saw there every sort of meat and every sort of liquor that I have ever seen elsewhere; but the meat and the liquor were better served there than I have ever seen them in any other place.
"Until the repast was half over, neither the man nor any one of the damsels spoke a single word to me; but when the man perceived that it would be more agreeable to me to converse than to eat any more, he began to inquire of me who I was. I said I was glad to find that there was someone who would discourse with me, and that it was not considered so great a crime at that Court for people to hold converse together. 'Chieftain,' said the man, 'we would have talked to thee sooner, but we feared to disturb thee during thy repast; now, however, we will discourse.' Then I told the man who I was, and what was the cause of my journey; and said that I was seeking whether any one was superior to me, or whether I could gain the mastery over all. The man looked upon me, and he smiled and said, 'If I did not fear to distress thee too much, I would show thee that which thou seekest.' Upon this I became anxious and sorrowful, and when the man perceived it, he said, 'If thou wouldest rather that I should show thee thy disadvantage than thine advantage, I will do so. Sleep here to-night, and in the morning arise early, and take the road upwards through the valley until thou reachest the wood through which thou camest hither. A little way within the wood thou wilt meet with a road branching off to the right, by which thou must proceed, until thou comest to a large sheltered glade with a mound in the centre. And thou wilt see a black man of great stature on the top of the mound. He is not smaller in size than two of the men of this world. He has but one foot; and one eye in the middle of his forehead. and he has a club of iron, and it is certain that there are no two men in the world who would not find their burden in that club. And he is not a comely man, but on the contrary he is exceedingly ill-favoured; and he is the woodward of that wood. And thou wilt see a thousand wild animals grazing around him. Inquire of him the way out of the glade, and he will reply to thee briefly, and will point out the road by which thou shalt find that which thou art in quest of.'
"And long seemed that night to me. And the next morning I arose and equipped myself, and mounted my horse, and proceeded straight through the valley to the wood; and I followed the cross-road which the man had pointed out to me, till at length I arrived at the glade. And there was I three times more astonished at the number of wild animals that I beheld, than the man had said I should be. And the black man was there, sitting upon the top of the mound. Huge of stature as the man had told me that he was, I found him to exceed by far the description he had given me of him. As for the iron club which the man had told me was a burden for two men, I am certain, Kai, that it would be a heavy weight for four warriors to lift; and this was in the black man's hand. And he only spoke to me in answer to my questions. Then I asked him what power he held over those animals. 'I will show thee, little man,' said he. And he took his club in his hand, and with it he struck a stag a great blow so that he brayed vehemently, and at his braying the animals came together, as numerous as the stars in the sky, so that it was difficult for me to find room in the glade to stand among them. There were serpents, and dragons, and divers sorts of animals. And he looked at them, and bade them go and feed; and they bowed their heads, and did him homage as vassals to their lord.
"Then the black man said to me, 'Seest thou now, little man, what power I hold over these animals?' Then I inquired of him the way, and he became very rough in his manner to me; however, he asked me whither I would go? And when I told him who I was and what I sought, he directed me. 'Take,' said he, 'that path that leads towards the head of the glade, and ascend the wooded steep until thou comest to its summit; and there thou wilt find an open space like to a large valley, and in the midst of it a tall tree, whose branches are greener than the greenest pine-trees. Under this tree is a fountain 8a, and by the side of the fountain a marble slab, and on the marble slab a silver bowl, attached by a chain of silver, so that it may not be carried away. Take the bowl and throw a bowlful of water upon the slab, and thou wilt hear a mighty peal of thunder, so that thou wilt think that heaven and earth are trembling with its fury. With the thunder there will come a shower so severe that it will be scarce possible for thee to endure it and live. And the shower will be of hailstones; and after the shower, the weather will become fair, but every leaf that was upon the tree will have been carried away by the shower. Then a flight of birds will come and alight upon the tree; and in thine own country thou didst never hear a strain so sweet as that which they will sing. And at the moment thou art most delighted with the song of the birds, thou wilt hear a murmuring and complaining coming towards thee along the valley. And thou wilt see a knight upon a coal-black horse, clothed in black velvet, and with a pennon of black linen upon his lance; and he will ride unto thee to encounter thee with the utmost speed. If thou fleest from him he will overtake thee, and if thou abidest there, as sure as thou art a mounted knight, he will leave thee on foot. And if thou dost not find trouble in that adventure, thou needest not seek it during the rest of thy life.'
"So I journeyed on, until I reached the summit of the steep, and there I found everything as the black man had described it to me. And I went up to the tree, and beneath it I saw the fountain, and by its side the marble slab, and the silver bowl fastened by the chain. Then I took the bowl, and cast a bowlful of water upon the slab; and thereupon, behold, the thunder came, much more violent than the black man had led me to expect; and after the thunder came the shower; and of a truth I tell thee, Kai, that there is neither man nor beast that can endure that shower and live. For not one of those hailstones would be stopped, either by the flesh or by the skin, until it had reached the bone. I turned my horse's flank towards the shower, and placed the beak of my shield over his head and neck, while I held the upper part of it over my own head. And thus I withstood the shower. When I looked on the tree there was not a single leaf upon it, and then the sky became clear, and with that, behold the birds lighted upon the tree, and sang. And truly, Kai, I never heard any melody equal to that, either before or since. And when I was most charmed with listening to the birds, lo, a murmuring voice was heard through the valley, approaching me and saying, 'Oh, Knight, what has brought thee hither? What evil have I done to thee, that thou shouldst act towards me and my possessions as thou hast this day? Dost thou not know that the shower to-day has left in my dominions neither man nor beast alive that was exposed to it?' And thereupon, behold, a Knight on a black horse appeared, clothed in jet-black velvet, and with a tabard of black linen about him. And we charged each other, and, as the onset was furious, it was not long before I was overthrown. Then the Knight passed the shaft of his lance through the bridle rein of my horse, and rode off with the two horses, leaving me where I was. And he did not even bestow so much notice upon me as to imprison me, nor did he despoil me of my arms. So I returned along the road by which I had come. And when I reached the glade where the black man was, I confess to thee, Kai, it is a marvel that I did not melt down into a liquid pool, through the shame that I felt at the black man's derision. And that night I came to the same castle where I had spent the night preceding. And I was more agreeably entertained that night than I had been the night before; and I was better feasted, and I conversed freely with the inmates of the castle, and none of them alluded to my expedition to the fountain, neither did I mention it to any; and I remained there that night. When I arose on the morrow, I found, ready saddled, a dark bay palfrey, with nostrils as red as scarlet; and after putting on my armour, and leaving there my blessing, I returned to my own Court. And that horse I still possess, and he is in the stable yonder. And I declare that I would not part with him for the best palfrey in the Island of Britain.
"Now of a truth, Kai, no man ever before confessed to an adventure so much to his own discredit and verily it seems strange to me, that neither before nor since have I heard of any person besides myself who knew of this adventure, and that the subject of it should exist within King Arthur's dominions, without any other person lighting upon it."
"Now," quoth Owain, "would it not be well to go and endeavour to discover that place?"
"By the hand of my friend," said Kai, "often dost thou utter that with thy tongue which thou wouldst not make good with thy deeds."
"In very truth," said Gwenhwyvar, "it were better thou wert hanged, Kai, than to use such uncourteous speech towards a man like Owain."
"By the hand of my friend, good Lady," said Kai, "thy praise of Owain is not greater than mine."
With that Arthur awoke, and asked if he had not been sleeping a little.
"Yes, Lord," answered Owain, "thou hast slept awhile."
"Is it time for us to go to meat?"
"It is, Lord," said Owain.
Then the horn for washing  was sounded, and the King and all his household sat down to eat. And when the meal was ended, Owain withdrew to his lodging, and made ready his horse and his arms.
On the morrow, with the dawn of day, he put on his armour, and mounted his charger, and travelled through distant lands and over desert mountains. And at length he arrived at the valley which Kynon had described to him; and he was certain that it was the same that he sought. And journeying along the valley by the side of the river, he followed its course till he came to the plain and within sight of the Castle. When he approached the Castle, he saw the youths shooting their daggers in the place where Kynon had seen them, and the yellow man, to whom the Castle belonged, standing hard by. And no sooner had Owain saluted the yellow man than he was saluted by him in return.
And he went forward towards the Castle, and there he saw the chamber, and when he had entered the chamber he beheld the maidens working at satin embroidery, in chairs of gold. And their beauty and their comeliness seemed to Owain far greater than Kynon had represented to him. And they rose to wait upon Owain, as they had done to Kynon, and the meal which they set before him gave more satisfaction to Owain than it had done to Kynon.
About the middle of the repast, the yellow man asked Owain the object of his journey. And Owain made it known to him, and said, "I am in quest of the Knight who guards the fountain." Upon this the yellow man smiled, and said that he was as loth to point out that adventure to Owain as he had been to Kynon. However, he described the whole to Owain, and they retired to rest.
The next morning Owain found his horse made ready for him by the damsels, and he set forward and came to the glade where the black man was. And the stature of the black man seemed more wonderful to Owain than it had done to Kynon, and Owain asked of him his road, and he showed it to him. And Owain followed the road, as Kynon had done, till he came to the green tree; and he beheld the fountain, and the slab beside the fountain, with the bowl upon it. And Owain took the bowl, and threw a bowlful of water upon the slab. And, lo, the thunder was heard, and after the thunder came the shower, much more violent than Kynon had described, and after the shower the sky became bright. And when Owain looked at the tree, there was not one leaf upon it. And immediately the birds came, and settled upon the tree, and sang. And when their song was most pleasing to Owain, he beheld a Knight  coming towards him through the valley, and he prepared to receive him; and encountered him violently. Having broken both their lances, they drew their swords, and fought blade to blade. Then Owain struck the Knight a blow through his helmet, head-piece and visor, and through the skin, and the flesh, and the bone, until it wounded the very brain. Then the black Knight felt that he had received a mortal wound, upon which he turned his horse's head, and fled. And Owain pursued him, and followed close upon him, although he was not near enough to strike him with his sword. Thereupon Owain descried a vast and resplendent Castle. And they came to the Castle gate. And the black Knight was allowed to enter, and the portcullis was let fall upon Owain; and it struck his horse behind the saddle, and cut him in two, and carried away the rowels of the spurs that were upon Owain's heels. And the portcullis descended to the floor. And the rowels of the spurs and part of the horse were without, and Owain with the other part of the horse remained between the two gates, and the inner gate was closed, so that Owain could not go thence; and Owain was in a perplexing situation. And while he was in this state, he could see through an aperture in the gate, a street facing him, with a row of houses on each side. And he beheld a maiden  with yellow curling hair, and a frontlet of gold upon her head; and she was clad in a dress of yellow satin, and on her feet were shoes of variegated leather. And she approached the gate, and desired that it should be opened. "Heaven knows, Lady," said Owain, "it is no more possible for me to open to thee from hence, than it is for thee to set me free." "Truly," said the damsel, "it is very sad that thou canst not be released, and every woman ought to succour thee, for I never saw one more faithful in the service of ladies than thou. As a friend thou art the most sincere, and as a lover the most devoted. Therefore," quoth she, "whatever is in my power  to do for thy release, I will do it. Take this ring  and put it on thy finger, with the stone inside thy hand; and close thy hand upon the stone. And as long as thou concealest it, it will conceal thee. When they have consulted together, they will come forth to fetch thee, in order to put thee to death; and they will be much grieved that they cannot find thee. And I will await thee on the horseblock yonder; and thou wilt be able to see me, though I cannot see thee; therefore come and place thy hand upon my shoulder, that I may know that thou art near me. And by the way that I go hence, do thou accompany me."
Then she went away from Owain, and he did all that the maiden had told him. And the people of the Castle came to seek Owain, to put him to death, and when they found nothing but the half of his horse, they were sorely grieved.
And Owain vanished from among them, and went to the maiden, and placed his hand upon her shoulder; whereupon she set off, and Owain followed her, until they came to the door of a large and beautiful chamber, and the maiden opened it, and they went in, and closed the door. And Owain looked around the chamber, and behold there was not even a single nail in it that was not painted with gorgeous colours and there was not a single panel that had not sundry images in gold portrayed upon it.
The maiden kindled a fire, and took water in a silver bowl, and put a towel of white linen on her shoulder, and gave Owain water to wash. Then she placed before him a silver table, inlaid with gold; upon which was a cloth of yellow linen; and she brought him food. And of a truth, Owain had never seen any kind of meat that was not there in abundance, but it was better cooked there than he had ever found it in any other place. Nor did he ever see so excellent a display of meat and drink, as there. And there was not one vessel from which he was served, that was not of gold or of silver. And Owain ate and drank, until late in the afternoon, when lo, they heard a mighty clamour in the Castle; and Owain asked the maiden what that outcry was. "They are administering extreme unction," said she, "to the Nobleman who owns the Castle." And Owain went to sleep.
The couch which the maiden had prepared for him was meet for Arthur himself; it was of scarlet, and fur, and satin, and sendall, and fine linen. In the middle of the night they heard a woful outcry. "What outcry again is this?" said Owain. "The Nobleman who owned the Castle is now dead," said the maiden. And a little after daybreak, they heard an exceeding loud clamour and wailing. And Owain asked the maiden what was the cause of it. "They are bearing to the church the body of the Nobleman who owned the Castle."
And Owain rose up, and clothed himself, and opened a window of the chamber, and looked towards the Castle; and he could see neither the bounds, nor the extent of the hosts that filled the streets. And they were fully armed; and a vast number of women were with them, both on horseback and on foot; and all the ecclesiastics in the city, singing. And it seemed to Owain that the sky resounded with the vehemence of their cries, and with the noise of the trumpets, and with the singing of the ecclesiastics. In the midst of the throng, he beheld the bier, over which was a veil of white linen; and wax tapers were burning beside and around it, and none that supported the bier was lower in rank than a powerful Baron.
Never did Owain see an assemblage so gorgeous with satin, and silk, and sendall  And following the train, he beheld a lady with yellow hair falling over her shoulders, and stained with blood; and about her a dress of yellow satin, which was torn. Upon her feet were shoes of variegated leather. And it was a marvel that the ends of her fingers were not bruised, from the violence with which she smote her hands together. Truly she would have been the fairest lady Owain ever saw, had she been in her usual guise. And her cry was louder than the shout of the men, or the clamour of the trumpets. No sooner had he beheld the lady, than he became inflamed with her love, so that it took entire possession of him.
Then he inquired of the maiden who the lady was. "Heaven knows," replied the maiden, "she may be said to be the fairest, and the most chaste, and the most liberal, and the wisest, and the most noble of women. And she is my mistress; and she is called the Countess of the Fountain, the wife of him whom thou didst slay yesterday." "Verily," said Owain, "she is the woman that I love best." "Verily," said the maiden, "she shall also love thee not a little."
And with that the maid arose, and kindled a fire, and filled a pot with water, and placed it to warm; and she brought a towel of white linen, and placed it around Owain's neck; and she took a goblet of ivory, and a silver basin, and filled them with warm water, wherewith she washed Owain's head Then she opened a wooden casket, and drew forth a razor, whose haft was of ivory, and upon which were two rivets of gold. And she shaved his beard, and she dried his head, and his throat, with the towel. Then she rose up from before Owain, and brought him to eat. And truly Owain had never so good a meal, nor was he ever so well served.
When he had finished his repast, the maiden arranged his couch. "Come here," said she, "and sleep, and I will go and woo for thee." And Owain went to sleep, and the maiden shut the door of the chamber after her, and went towards the Castle. When she came there, she found nothing but mourning, and sorrow; and the Countess in her chamber could not bear the sight of any one through grief. Luned came and saluted her, but the Countess answered her not. And the maiden bent down towards her, and said, "What aileth thee, that thou answerest no one to-day?" "Luned," said the Countess, "what change hath befallen thee, that thou hast not come to visit me in my grief? It was wrong in thee, and I having made thee rich; it was wrong in thee that thou didst not come to see me in my distress. That was wrong in thee." "Truly," said Luned, "I thought thy good sense was greater than I find it to be. Is it well for thee to mourn after that good man, or for anything else, that thou canst not have?" "I declare to heaven," said the Countess, "that in the whole world there is not a man equal to him." "Not so," said Luned, "for an ugly man would be as good as, or better than he." "I declare to heaven," said the Countess, "that were it not repugnant to me to cause to be put to death one whom I have brought up, I would have thee executed, for making such a comparison to me. As it is, I will banish thee." "I am glad," said Luned, "that thou hast no other cause to do so, than that I would have been of service to thee where thou didst not know what was to thine advantage. And henceforth evil betide whichever of us shall make the first advance towards reconciliation to the other; whether I should seek an invitation from thee, or thou of thine own accord shouldst send to invite me."
With that Luned went forth: and the Countess arose and followed her to the door of the chamber, and began coughing loudly. And when Luned looked back, the Countess beckoned to her; and she returned to the Countess. "In truth," said the Countess, "evil is thy disposition; but if thou knowest what is to my advantage, declare it to me." "I will do so," quoth she.
"Thou knowest that except by warfare and arms it is impossible for thee to preserve thy possessions; delay not, therefore, to seek some one who can defend them." "And how can I do that?" said the Countess. "I will tell thee," said Luned. "Unless thou canst defend the fountain, thou canst not maintain thy dominions; and no one can defend the fountain, except it be a knight of Arthur's household; and I will go to Athur's Court, and ill betide me, if I return thence without a warrior who can guard the fountain as well as, or even better than, he who defended it formerly." "That will be hard to perform," said the Countess. "Go, however, and make proof of that which thou hast promised."
Luned set out, under the pretence of going to Arthur's Court; but she went back to the chamber where she had left Owain; and she tarried there with him as long as it might have taken her to have travelled to the Court of King Arthur. And at the end of that time, she apparelled herself and went to visit the Countess. And the Countess was much rejoiced when she saw her, and inquired what news she brought from the Court. "I bring thee the best of news," said Luned, "for I have compassed the object of my mission. When wilt thou, that I should present to thee the chieftain who has come with me hither?" "Bring him here to visit me to-morrow, at mid-day," said the Countess, "and I will cause the town to be assembled by that time."
And Luned returned home. And the next day, at noon, Owain arrayed himself in a coat, and a surcoat, and a mantle of yellow satin, upon which was a broad band of gold lace; and on his feet were high shoes of variegated leather, which were fastened by golden clasps, in the form of lions. And they proceeded to the chamber of the Countess.
Right glad was the Countess of their coming, and she gazed steadfastly upon Owain, and said, "Luned, this knight has not the look of a traveller." "What harm is there in that, lady?" said Luned. "I am certain," said the Countess, "that no other man than this chased the soul from the body of my lord." "So much the better for thee, lady," said Luned, "for had he not been stronger than thy lord he could not have deprived him of life. There is no remedy for that which is past, be it as it may." "Go back to thine abode," said the Countess, "and I will take counsel."
The next day the Countess caused all her subjects to assemble, and showed them that her earldom was left defenceless, and that it could not be protected but with horse and arms, and military skill. "Therefore," said she, "this is what I offer for your choice: either let one of you take me, or give your consent for me to take a husband from elsewhere to defend my dominions."
So they came to the determination that it was better that she should have permission to marry some one from elsewhere; and, thereupon, she sent for the bishops and archbishops to celebrate her nuptials with Owain  And the men of the earldom did Owain homage.
And Owain defended the Fountain with lance and sword. And this is the manner in which he defended it: Whensoever a knight came there he overthrew him, and sold him for his full worth, and what he thus gained he divided among his barons and his knights; and no man in the whole world could be more beloved than he was by his subjects. And it was thus for the space of three years.

It befell that as Gwalchmai  went forth one day with King Arthur, he perceived him to be very sad and sorrowful. And Gwalchmai was much grieved to see Arthur in this state; and he questioned him, saying, "Oh, my lord! what has befallen thee?" "In sooth, Gwalchmai," said Arthur, "I am grieved concerning Owain, whom I have lost these three years, and I shall certainly die if the fourth year passes without my seeing him. Now I am sure, that it is through the tale which Kynon the son of Clydno related, that I have lost Owain." "There is no need for thee," said Gwalchmai, "to summon to arms thy whole dominions on this account, for thou thyself and the men of thy household will be able to avenge Owain, if he be slain; or to set him free, if he be in prison; and, if alive, to bring him back with thee." And it was settled according to what Gwalchmai had said.
Then Arthur and the men of his household prepared to go and seek Owain, and their number was three thousand, besides their attendants. And Kynon the son of Clydno acted as their guide. And Arthur came to the Castle where Kynon had been before, and when he came there the youths were shooting in the same place, and the yellow man was standing hard by. When the yellow man saw Arthur he greeted him, and invited him to the Castle; and Arthur accepted his invitation, and they entered the Castle together. And great as was the number of his retinue, their presence was scarcely observed in the Castle, so vast was its extent. And the maidens rose up to wait on them, and the service of the maidens appeared to them all to excel any attendance they had ever met with; and even the pages who had charge of the horses were no worse served, that night, than Arthur himself would have been in his own palace.
The next morning Arthur set out thence, with Kynon for his guide, and came to the place where the black man was. And the stature of the black man was more surprising to Arthur than it had been represented to him. And they came to the top of the wooded steep, and traversed the valley till they reached the green tree, where they saw the fountain, and the bowl, and the slab. And upon that, Kai came to Arthur and spoke to him. "My lord," said he, "I know the meaning of all this, and my request is, that thou wilt permit me to throw the water on the slab, and to receive the first adventure that may befall." And Arthur gave him leave.
Then Kai threw a bowlful of water upon the slab, and immediately there came the thunder, and after the thunder the shower. And such a thunderstorm they had never known before, and many of the attendants who were in Arthur's train were killed by the shower. After the shower had ceased the sky became clear; and on looking at the tree they beheld it completely leafless. Then the birds descended upon the tree, and the song of the birds was far sweeter than any strain they had ever heard before. Then they beheld a knight on a coal-black horse, clothed in black satin, coming rapidly towards them. And Kai met him and encountered him, and it was not long before Kai was overthrown. And the knight withdrew, and Arthur and his host encamped for the night.
And when they arose in the morning, they perceived the signal of combat upon the lance of the Knight. And Kai came to Arthur, and spoke to him: "My lord," said he, "though I was overthrown yesterday, if it seem good to thee, I would gladly meet the Knight again to-day." "Thou mayst do so," said Arthur. And Kai went towards the Knight. And on the spot he overthrew Kai, and struck him with the head of his lance in the forehead, so that it broke his helmet and the head-piece, and pierced the skin and the flesh, the breadth of the spear-head, even to the bone. And Kai returned to his companions.
After this, all the household of Arthur went forth, one after the other, to combat the Knight, until there was not one that was not overthrown by him, except Arthur and Gwalchmai. And Arthur armed himself to encounter the Knight. "Oh, my lord," said Gwalchmai, "permit me to fight with him first." And Arthur permitted him. And he went forth to meet the Knight, having over himself and his horse a satin robe of honour 20a which had been sent him by the daughter of the Earl of Rhangyw 20b, and in this dress he was not known by any of the host. And they charged each other, and fought all that day until the evening, and neither of them was able to unhorse the other.
The next day they fought with strong lances 20c, and neither of them could obtain the mastery.
And the third day they fought with exceeding strong lances. And they were incensed with rage, and fought furiously, even until noon. And they gave each other such a shock that the girths of their horses were broken, so that they fell over their horses' cruppers to the ground. And they rose up speedily, and drew their swords, and resumed the combat; and the multitude that witnessed their encounter felt assured that they had never before seen two men so valiant or so powerful. And had it been midnight, it would have been light from the fire that flashed from their weapons. And the Knight gave Gwalchmai a blow that turned his helmet from off his face, so that the Knight knew that it was Gwalchmai. Then Owain said, "My lord Gwalchmai, I did not know thee for my cousin  owing to the robe of honour that enveloped thee; take my sword and my arms." Said Gwalchmai, "Thou, Owain, art the victor; take thou my sword." And with that Arthur saw that they were conversing, and advanced towards them. "My lord Arthur," said Gwalchmai, "here is Owain, who has vanquished me, and will not take my arms." "My lord," said Owain, "it is he that has vanquished me, and he will not take my sword." "Give me your swords 21b," said Arthur, "and then neither of you has vanquished the other." Then Owain put his arms around Arthur's neck, and they embraced. And all the host hurried forward to see Owain, and to embrace him; and there was nigh being a loss of life, so great was the press.
And they retired that night, and the next day Arthur prepared to depart. "My lord," said Owain, "this is not well of thee; for I have been absent from thee these three years, and during all that time, up to this very day, I have been preparing a banquet  for thee, knowing that thou wouldst come to seek me. Tarry with me, therefore, until thou and thy attendants have recovered the fatigues of the journey, and have been anointed."
And they all proceeded to the Castle of the Countess of the Fountain, and the banquet which had been three years preparing was consumed in three months. Never had they a more delicious or agreeable banquet. And Arthur prepared to depart. Then he sent an embassy to the Countess, to beseech her to permit Owain to go with him for the space of three months, that he might show him to the nobles and the fair dames of the Island of Britain. And the Countess gave her consent, although it was very painful to her. So Owain came with Arthur to the Island of Britain. And when he was once more amongst his kindred and friends, he remained three years, instead of three months, with them.

And as Owain one day sat at meat, in the city of Caerlleon upon Usk, behold a damsel entered upon a bay horse 21d, with a curling mane and covered with foam, and the bridle and so
much as was seen of the saddle were of gold. And the damsel was arrayed in a dress of yellow satin. And she came up to Owain, and took the ring from off his hand. "Thus," said she, "shall be treated the deceiver, the traitor, the faithless, the disgraced, and the beardless." And she turned her horse's head and departed.
Then his adventure came to Owain's remembrance, and he was sorrowful; and having finished eating he went to his own abode and made preparations that night. And the next day he arose but did not go to the Court, but wandered to the distant parts of the earth and to uncultivated mountains. And he remained there until all his apparel was worn out, and his body was wasted away, and his hair was grown long. And he went about with the wild beasts and fed with them, until they became familiar with him; but at length he grew so weak that he could no longer bear them company. Then he descended from the mountains to the valley, and came to a park that was the fairest in the world, and belonged to a widowed Countess.
One day the Countess and her maidens went forth to walk by a lake, that was in the middle of the park. And they saw the form of a man. And they were terrified. Nevertheless they went near him, and touched him, and looked at him. And they saw that there was life in him, though he was exhausted by the heat of the sun. And the Countess returned to the Castle, and took a flask full of precious ointment, and gave it to one of her maidens. "Go with this," said she, "and take with thee yonder horse and clothing, and place them near the man we saw just now. And anoint him with this balsam  near his heart; and if there is life in him, he will arise through the efficacy of this balsam. Then watch what he will do."
And the maiden departed from her, and poured the whole of the balsam upon Owain, and left the horse and the garments hard by, and went a little way off, and hid herself to watch him. In a short time she saw him begin to move his arms; and he rose up, and looked at his person, and became ashamed of the unseemliness of his appearance. Then he perceived the horse and the garments that were near him. And he crept forward till he was able to draw the garments to him from off the saddle. And he clothed himself, and with difficulty mounted the horse. Then the damsel discovered herself to him, and saluted him. And he was rejoiced when he saw her, and inquired of her, what land and what territory that was. "Truly," said the maiden, "a widowed Countess owns yonder Castle; at the death of her husband, he left her two Earldoms, but at this day she has but this one dwelling that has not been wrested from her by a young Earl  who is her neighbour, because she refused to become his wife." "That is pity," said Owain. And he and the maiden proceeded to the Castle; and he alighted there, and the maiden conducted him to a pleasant chamber, and kindled a fire and left him.
And the maiden came to the Countess, and gave the flask into her hand. "Ha! maiden," said the Countess, "where is all the balsam?" "Have I not used it all?" said she. "Oh, maiden," said the Countess, "I cannot easily forgive thee this; it is sad for me to have wasted seven-score pounds' worth of precious ointment upon a stranger whom I know not. However, maiden, wait thou upon him, until he is quite recovered."
And the maiden did so, and furnished him with meat and drink, and fire, and lodging, and medicaments, until he was well again. And in three months he was restored to his former guise, and became even more comely than he had ever been before.
One day Owain heard a great tumult, and a sound of arms in the Castle, and he inquired of the maiden the cause thereof. "The Earl," said she, "whom I mentioned to thee, has come before the Castle, with a numerous army, to subdue the Countess." And Owain inquired of her whether the Countess had a horse and arms in her possession. "She has the best in the world," said the maiden. "Wilt thou go and request the loan of a horse and arms for me," said Owain, "that I may go and look at this army?" "I will," said the maiden.
And she came to the Countess, and told her what Owain had said. And the Countess laughed. "Truly," said she, "I will even give him a horse and arms for ever; such a horse and such arms had he never yet, and I am glad that they should be taken by him to-day, lest my enemies should have them against my will to-morrow. Yet I know not what he would do with them."
The Countess bade them bring out a beautiful black steed 24a, upon which was a beechen saddle, and a suit of armour, for man and horse. And Owain armed himself, and mounted the horse, and went forth, attended by two pages completely equipped, with horses and arms. And when they came near to the Earl's army, they could see neither its extent nor its extremity. And Owain asked the pages in which troop the Earl was. "In yonder troop," said they, "in which are four yellow standards. Two of them are before, and two behind him." "Now," said Owain, "do you return and await me near the portal of the Castle." So they returned, and Owain pressed forward until he met the Earl. And Owain drew him completely out of his saddle, and turned his horse's head towards the Castle, and though it was with difficulty, he brought the Earl to the portal, where the pages awaited him. And in they came. And Owain presented the Earl as a gift to the Countess. And said to her, "Behold a requital to thee for thy blessed balsam."
The army encamped around the Castle. And the Earl restored to the Countess the two Earldoms he had taken from her, as a ransom for his life; and for his freedom he gave her the half of his own dominions, and all his gold, and his silver, and his jewels, besides hostages.
And Owain took his departure. And the Countess and all her subjects besought him to remain, but Owain chose rather to wander through distant lands and deserts.
And as he journeyed, he heard a loud yelling in a wood. And it was repeated a second and a third time. And Owain went towards the spot, and beheld a huge craggy mound, in the middle of the wood; on the side of which was a grey rock. And there was a cleft in the rock, and a serpent was within the cleft. And near the rock stood a black lion, and every time the lion sought to go thence, the serpent darted towards him to attack him. And Owain unsheathed his sword, and drew near to the rock; and as the serpent sprang out, he struck him with his sword, and cut him in two. And he dried his sword, and went on his way, as before  But behold the lion followed him, and played about him, as though it had been a greyhound that he had reared.
They proceeded thus throughout the day, until the evening. And when it was time for Owain to take his rest, he dismounted, and turned his horse loose in a flat and wooded meadow. And he struck fire, and when the fire was kindled, the lion brought him fuel enough to last for three nights. And the lion disappeared. And presently the lion returned, bearing a fine large roebuck. And he threw it down before Owain, who went towards the fire with it.
And Owain took the roebuck, and skinned it, and placed collops of its flesh upon skewers, around the fire. The rest of the buck he gave to the lion to devour. While he was doing this, he heard a deep sigh near him, and a second, and a third. And Owain called out to know whether the sigh he heard proceeded from a mortal; and he received answer that it did. "Who art thou?" said Owain. "Truly," said the voice, "I am Luned, the handmaiden of the Countess of the Fountain." "And what dost thou here?" said Owain. "I am imprisoned," said she, "on account of the knight who came from Arthur's Court, and married the Countess. And he stayed a short time with her, but he afterwards departed for the Court of Arthur, and has not returned since. And he was the friend I loved best in the world. And two of the pages in the Countess's chamber traduced him, and called him a deceiver. And I told them that they two were not a match for him alone. So they imprisoned me in the stone vault , and said that I should be put to death, unless he came himself to deliver me, by a certain day; and that is no further off than the day after to-morrow. And I have no one to send to seek him for me. And his name is Owain the son of Urien." "And art thou certain that if that knight knew all this, he would come to thy rescue?" "I am most certain of it," said she.
When the collops were cooked, Owain divided them into two parts, between himself and the maiden; and after they had eaten, they talked together, until the day dawned. And the next morning Owain inquired of the damsel, if there was any place where he could get food and entertainment for that night. "There is, Lord," said she; "cross over yonder, and go along the side of the river, and in a short time thou wilt see a great Castle, in which are many towers, and the Earl who owns that Castle is the most hospitable man in the world. There thou mayst spend the night."
Never did sentinel keep stricter watch over his lord, than the lion that night over Owain.
And Owain accoutred his horse, and passed across by the ford, and came in sight of the Castle. And he entered it, and was honourably received. And his horse was well cared for, and plenty of fodder was placed before him. Then the lion went and lay down in the horse's manger; so that none of the people of the Castle dared to approach him. The treatment which Owain met with there was such as he had never known elsewhere, for every one was as sorrowful as though death had been upon him. And they went to meat; and the Earl sat upon one side of Owain, and on the other side his only daughter. And Owain had never seen any more lovely than she. Then the lion came and placed himself between Owain's feet, and he fed him with every kind of food that he took himself. And he never saw anything equal to the sadness of the people.
In the middle of the repast the Earl began to bid Owain welcome. "Then," said Owain, "behold, it is time for thee to be cheerful." "Heaven knows," said the Earl, "that it is not thy coming that makes us sorrowful, but we have cause enough for sadness and care." "What is that?" said Owain. "I have two sons," replied the Earl, "and yesterday they went to the mountains to hunt. Now there is on the mountain a monster  who kills men and devours them, and he seized my sons; and to-morrow is the time he has fixed to be here, and he threatens that he will then slay my sons before my eyes, unless I will deliver into his hands this my daughter. He has the form of a man, but in stature he is no less than a giant."
"Truly," said Owain, "that is lamentable. And which wilt thou do?" "Heaven knows," said the Earl, "it will be better that my sons should be slain against my will, than that I should voluntarily give up my daughter to him to ill-treat and destroy." Then they talked about other things, and Owain stayed there that night.
The next morning they heard an exceeding great clamour, which was caused by the coming of the giant with the two youths. And the Earl was anxious both to protect his Castle and to release his two sons. Then Owain put on his armour and went forth to encounter the giant, and the lion followed him. And when the giant saw that Owain was armed, he rushed towards him and attacked him. And the lion fought with the giant much more fiercely than Owain did. "Truly," said the giant, "I should find no difficulty in fighting with thee, were it not for the animal that is with thee." Upon that Owain took the lion back to the Castle and shut the gate upon him, and then he returned to fight the giant, as before. And the lion roared very loud, for he heard that it went hard with Owain. And he climbed up till he reached the top of the Earl's hall, and thence he got to the top of the Castle, and he sprang down from the walls and went and joined Owain. And the lion gave the giant a stroke with his paw, which tore him from his shoulder to his hip, and his heart was laid bare, and the giant fell down dead. Then Owain restored the two youths to their father.
The Earl besought Owain to remain with him, and he would not, but set forward towards the meadow where Luned was. And when he came there he saw a great fire kindled, and two youths with beautiful curling auburn hair were leading the maiden to cast her into the fire. And Owain asked them what charge they had against her. And they told him of the compact that was between them, as the maiden had done the night before. "And," said they, "Owain has failed her, therefore we are taking her to be burnt." "Truly," said Owain, "he is a good knight, and if he knew that the maiden was in such peril, I marvel that he came not to her rescue; but if you will accept me in his stead, I will do battle with you." "We will," said the youths, "by him who made us."
And they attacked Owain, and he was hard beset by them. And with that the lion came to Owain's assistance, and they two got the better of the young men. And they said to him, "Chieftain, it was not agreed that we should fight save with thyself alone, and it is harder for us to contend with yonder animal than with thee." And Owain put the lion in the place where the maiden had been imprisoned, and blocked up the door with stones, and he went to fight with the young men, as before. But Owain had not his usual strength, and the two youths pressed hard upon him. And the lion roared incessantly at seeing Owain in trouble; and he burst through the wall until he found a way out, and rushed upon the young men, and instantly slew them. So Luned was saved from being burned.
Then Owain returned with Luned to the dominions of the Countess of the Fountain. And when he went thence he took the Countess with him to Arthur's Court, and she was his wife as long as she lived.

And then he took the road that led to the Court of the savage black man, and Owain fought with him, and the lion did not quit Owain until he had vanquished him. And when he reached the Court of the savage black man he entered the hall, and beheld four-and-twenty ladies, the fairest that could be seen. And the garments which they had on were not worth four-and twenty pence, and they were as sorrowful as death. And Owain asked them the cause of their sadness. And they said, "We are the daughters of Earls, and we all came here with our husbands, whom we dearly loved. And we were received with honour and rejoicing. And we were thrown into a state of stupor 29a, and while we were thus, the demon who owns this Castle slew all our husbands, and took from us our horses, and our raiment, and our gold, and our silver; and the corpses of our husbands are still in this house, and many others with them. And this, Chieftain, is the cause of our grief, and we are sorry that thou art come hither, lest harm should befall thee."
And Owain was grieved when he heard this. And he went forth from the Castle, and he beheld a knight approaching him, who saluted him in a friendly and cheerful manner, as if he had been a brother. And this was the savage black man. "In very sooth," said Owain, "it is not to seek thy friendship that I am here." "In sooth," said he, "thou shalt not find it then." And with that they charged each other, and fought furiously. And Owain overcame him, and bound his hands behind his back. Then the black savage besought Owain to spare his life, and spoke thus: "My lord Owain," said he, "it was foretold that thou shouldst come hither and vanquish me, and thou hast done so. I was a robber here, and my house was a house of spoil; but grant me my life, and I will become the keeper of an Hospice  and I will maintain this house as an Hospice for weak and for strong, as long as I live, for the good of thy soul." And Owain accepted this proposal of him, and remained there that night.
And the next day he took the four-and-twenty ladies, and their horses, and their raiment, and what they possessed of goods and jewels, and proceeded with them to Arthur's Court. And if Arthur was rejoiced when he saw him, after he had lost him the first time, his joy was now much greater. And of those ladies, such as wished to remain in Arthur's Court remained there, and such as wished to depart departed. And thenceforward Owain dwelt at Arthur's Court greatly beloved, as the head of his household, until he went away with his followers; and those were the army of three hundred ravens 30a which Kenverchyn had left him. And wherever Owain went with these he was victorious.
And this is the tale of THE LADY OF THE FOUNTAIN.


Its easy to see the tales of old and how they made the new tales but oh this story was a true revelation and I hope you enjoyed it.

Invaluable help from sacred-text for this gem
The vast majority of all the above came from various books now well out of any copyright. Older books tend to have titbits in them that the newer models have cut out for various reasons, but those little bits often do far more than fill up a gap in a chapter, they give a more human element. something more than dry dusty dates.
I have so much 'stuff' that does exactly that, a thousand tributaries indeed.