Culhwch and Olwen
Also known as: Culhwch ac Olwen, The Story of Culhwch and Olwen, How Culhwch Won Olwen
A Middle Welsh Arthurian tale in which Culhwch, cursed to marry only Olwen, seeks King Arthur’s aid to win her from her giant father Ysbaddaden. Arthur’s retinue undertakes a sprawling series of near-impossible tasks—most famously the boar-hunt for Twrch Trwyth—culminating in Ysbaddaden’s doom and the lovers’ union.
Description
This expansive prose narrative, among the earliest substantial Arthurian tales, blends courtly petition, folkloric geas, and heroic catalogue. Culhwch, son of Cilydd, is bound by his stepmother’s curse to marry only Olwen, daughter of the giant Ysbaddaden Bencawr. At Arthur’s court Culhwch receives fellowship from an immense roster of champions whose names and powers form a celebrated roll of Britain’s heroes. To win Olwen, the company must fulfill the giant’s exorbitant demands: freeing the captive Mabon ap Modron, seizing cauldrons and hunting-gear, and, above all, taking the comb, razor, and shears set between the ears of the enchanted boar Twrch Trwyth. The tale ranges across Wales, Ireland, and Cornwall, interweaving mythic beasts, shapeshifters, and marvels, until Ysbaddaden is shorn and slain and Culhwch gains Olwen.
Historiography
The text is preserved chiefly in two fourteenth-century manuscripts, the White Book of Rhydderch and the Red Book of Hergest, which transmit a broadly similar narrative with minor variants and scribal normalizations. Modern editors treat the story as an early Arthurian prose narrative distinct from the Four Branches of the Mabinogi. Its vast name-catalogue suggests compilation from older heroic lore and triadic materials. Scholarly dating often places composition in the twelfth century with possible oral antecedents in earlier Welsh tradition.
Date Notes
Survives in Middle Welsh prose in the White Book of Rhydderch (c. 1350) and Red Book of Hergest (late 14th c.); composition likely earlier.
Major Characters
- Culhwch
- Olwen
- Ysbaddaden
- Arthur
- Cai
- Bedwyr
- Gwalchmei
Myths
- Culhwch’s Geis and Quest
- Hunt of the Twrch Trwyth
- Feats of Arthur’s Retinue
- Winning of Olwen
Facts
- Among the earliest extended Arthurian prose narratives in Welsh.
- Preserved primarily in the White Book of Rhydderch and Red Book of Hergest.
- Language is Middle Welsh; tale is outside the Four Branches of the Mabinogi.
- Contains one of the largest catalogues of Arthur’s warriors in medieval literature.
- Central quest is to obtain a comb, razor, and shears from the boar Twrch Trwyth.
- Features the liberation of Mabon ap Modron with aid from the world’s oldest animals.
- Narrative ranges across Wales, Cornwall, and Ireland, reflecting a pan-Celtic geography.
- Cai (Kay) and Bedwyr (Bedivere) display distinct pre-romance heroic powers.
- Ysbaddaden’s death follows ritual shaving fulfilled by the quest’s spoils.
- Often dated to the twelfth century in written form, with earlier oral elements likely.