Culhwch and Olwen: Hunting the Twrch Trwyth
"Culhwch and Olwen: Hunting the Twrch Trwyth" is a significant tale from the Welsh mythological collection known as the Mabinogion. The story centers on Culhwch, who, cursed by his stepmother, can only marry Olwen, the daughter of Ysbaddaden, a giant who is fated to die when Olwen marries. To delay this fate, Ysbaddaden imposes forty daunting tasks upon Culhwch, the most perilous of which involves hunting the Twrch Trwyth—a boar transformed from a human king— to retrieve grooming tools essential for Ysbaddaden. The narrative unfolds as King Arthur, Culhwch's cousin, joins the quest, gathering a formidable band of heroes across various kingdoms to assist in this epic hunt.
The pursuit of the Twrch Trwyth spans Ireland and Wales, showcasing Arthur's men as they confront the boar and its offspring, leading to intense battles and significant losses. Despite their efforts, the hunt proves difficult, emphasizing themes of fate, sacrifice, and the intertwining of myth and reality. Notably, the story reflects ancient motifs of transformation and the necessity of death for renewal, drawing parallels with other mythological traditions. This tale not only enriches Arthurian literature but also offers insights into the cultural and historical context of medieval Wales.
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Culhwch and Olwen: Hunting the Twrch Trwyth
Author: Traditional
Time Period: 1001 CE–1500 CE
Country or Culture: Wales
Genre: Legend
PLOT SUMMARY
When Culhwch declines to marry his stepsister, his stepmother curses him so that the only woman he can marry is Olwen, the daughter of Ysbaddaden, king of the giants. Ysbaddaden is fated to die when his daughter marries, so to prevent this, he declares that Culhwch must first complete forty tasks. The greatest and potentially most dangerous of these tasks is acquiring the razor, comb, and shears that the Twrch Trwyth, a former king who has been transformed into a boar, keeps between his ears. Only with these legendary implements can Ysbaddaden’s hair and beard be groomed.
Half of Ysbaddaden’s forty challenges to Culhwch relate in some way to the hunt for the Twrch Trwyth, and many of these mention the monstrous boar by name. Most of the tasks associated with the boar hunt address the people, animals, and equipment the hopeful groom will require to undertake the hunt in the first place, and the most significant among them is procuring the assistance of King Arthur and his huntsmen. As Arthur is Culhwch’s cousin, Culhwch is easily able to enlist his aid. Once allied with Culhwch, Arthur and his men take over the hunt for the Twrch Trwyth and all the challenges related to it.
Arthur and his knights criss-cross kingdoms in Ireland, Wales, England, France, and Brittany to secure the aid of several heroes Ysbaddaden has identified as necessary partners in the boar hunt. Some of these men have access to mysterious objects needed for the hunt; for instance, the Irish king Odgar appeals to his steward Diwrnach to give up a magical cauldron. Others possess magical abilities, such as the shape-shifter and interpreter Gwrhyr, who can assume the shape of a bird and speak the boar language of the Twrch Trwyth’s brood. With Arthur’s retinue assembled, the hunt begins in Ireland, where the Twrch Trwyth and his seven children live.
Arthur’s men pursue the Twrch Trwyth and his brood for two days. They are unsuccessful, and the boar devastates the Irish countryside. Arthur himself pursues the Twrch Trwyth for nine days and nights but kills only one piglet. The king sends Gwrhyr to parley with the boars. The Twrch Trwyth’s son Grugyn Silver-Bristle refuses their terms and declares that his father will only part with the razor, comb, and scissors between his ears upon his death. The boars then swim across the sea to lay waste to Arthur’s own lands in Wales.
Once in Wales, the boars and Arthur’s men wage war across the landscape. After both sides suffer devastating losses, the huntsmen overtake the Twrch Trwyth in Wales at the mouth of the Severn River. Driving the boar into the river, Arthur’s men retrieve the razors and scissors from between his ears, but the Twrch Trwyth escapes before they can get the comb. Arthur finally corners the beast in Cornwall and takes the comb. Driven into the sea by two monstrous hounds, the Twrch Trwyth disappears. His whereabouts remain unknown.
SIGNIFICANCE
The legend of Culhwch and Olwen is one of eleven stories included in a collection of Welsh myths and folktales commonly referred to as the Mabinogion. While scholars agree that this collection was gathered during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the legend of Culhwch and Olwen was probably composed around the eleventh century, as references to some of the events and characters described in it appear in other Welsh works predating the arrangement of the Mabinogion.
The Culhwch and Olwen tale is a unique contribution to Arthurian literature for several reasons. First, it is of Welsh origin and so locates Arthur’s life and exploits in specifically Welsh contexts, especially in terms of landscapes and medieval tribal customs. Along these lines, it is also an extraordinary example of an onomastic tale, in which names of people and places are cited in order to imbue with a special significance the real locations in which these epic events are said to have occurred. For example, in the episode described here, in which Arthur and his men hunt for the Twrch Trwyth, the names of Arthur’s companions, the boar’s children, the lands they traverse, and the places where they wage war are recorded in detail. As a result, real places in Ireland and Wales assume mythical importance and lend historical credibility to the astonishing events set in these locales.
The story of the hunting of the Twrch Trwyth contains very old mythical themes that resonate in multiple folklore traditions and that can be traced in subsequent literary works, such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (late fourteenth century) and Moby-Dick (1851). The idea that the chief giant Ysbaddaden must die before Olwen and Culhwch can marry calls to mind the mechanism of divine succession in Greek mythology, wherein the Olympian deities overthrow the Titans and so establish a new order. Ysbaddaden does not willingly embrace death; he refuses to accept that Culhwch’s marriage to Olwen is preordained. The apparent impossibility of the deeds demanded of the hero by the giant underscore Ysbaddaden’s refusal to accept fate, Culhwch and Olwen’s as well as his own.
The hunt for the Twrch Trwyth corresponds to Ysbaddaden’s refusal of Culhwch in the sense that the boar and the giant king both possess something necessary to initiate great change in the world. Ysbaddaden has his daughter Olwen, while the Twrch Trwyth possesses the implements that Arthur’s men will use to vanquish the giant. Likewise, as his son Grugyn Silver-Bristle makes clear, the great boar will only give up the razor, scissors, and comb upon his death. It is unclear why these monstrous beings must die in order for change to occur, though readers may speculate that their deaths prepare the way for a new kind of power structure based on civilized kinship rather than brutality. After all, earlier in the tale, Ysbaddaden greets Arthur’s men by throwing spears at them, and the Twrch Trwyth was a human king before God transformed him into a boar on account of his sins.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bromwich, Rachel, and D. Simon Evans, eds. Culhwch and Olwen: An Edition and Study of the Oldest Arthurian Tale. Cardiff: U of Wales P, 1992. Print.
Jones, Gwyn. Kings, Beasts and Heroes. London: Oxford UP, 1972. Print.
Jones, Gwyn, and Thomas Jones, trans. The Mabinogion. Rev. ed. London: Dent, 1974. Print.
Sheehan, Sarah. “Giants, Boar-Hunts, and Barbering: Masculinity in Culhwch ac Olwen.” Arthuriana 15.3 (2005): 3–25. Print.
Wilson, Anne. The Magical Quest: The Use of Magic in Arthurian Romance. Manchester: Manchester UP, 1988. Print.