Notes on Pwyll Prince of Dyfed
	Pwyll (pronounced ‘pooith’) is rare as a personal name, but is a common word in Welsh, meaning ‘mind’ or ‘sense’ as in ‘common sense’, so it is likely that this meaning is significant to the tale. The three parts of the tale of Pwyll show on one level how Pwyll learns the three keys to kingship – wise fighting taught by Arawn, wise generosity taught by Rhiannon, and in the third part, wise judgement. In many instances, the first part of the story parallels the Irish tale of the Wasting Sickness of Cuchulain. In this story, Cuchulain kills two birds that are joined by a golden chain (i.e. otherworldly animals) in spite of the advice of others. He then goes into the otherworld to fight a battle for them.	Contents Part 1 Pwyll meets Arawn In the otherworld Return to Dyfed Part 2 Pwyll meets Rhiannon Pwyll’s foolish boon Badger in the bag Otherworld Queen Part 3: To follow
	Pwyll meets Arawn Annwvyn (pronounced ‘annoovn’) is the Welsh name for the ‘un-world’ or otherworld, and the opening of the tale contains hints that Pwyll is embarking on an otherworld experience. He loses contact with his courtiers, a conventional opening for a noble to be alone in order to ‘meet with adventures’. The pack of red and white hounds is a sign of the otherworld. Was Pwyll aware of this? Should he have been? Pwyll and Arawn first greet each other as ‘chieftain’ - in the Welsh unban - a term of ambiguous courtesy used to someone who is recognised as noble, but when it is not clear exactly what their rank is. Arawn uses this term even though he says he knows who Pwyll is, which indicates his disfavour. When Arawn says he will dishonour Pwyll, this is worse than death. ‘un-fame’ attacks the fundamental Celtic value of honour. Once Pwyll is told that Arawn is a king, he greets him using ‘Lord’, now fully aware of his status. When Arawn reveals how Pwyll can help him, we wonder if it is just coincidence that Pwyll acts so badly and puts himself in Arawn’s debt just when it turns out that Arawn has need of Pwyll. Coincidence or has Arawn arranged it so? Why does Arawn need a mortal to fight his enemy? One explanation is that the otherworld is eternal and unchanging, so Arawn fighting Havgan just repeats forever (‘whenever I hit him again, he was ready the next day for more’). A mortal, however, brings the gift of closure. He can finish the battle for good. Arawn offers ‘firm friendship’ to Pwyll in exchange for his help. This is a kind of diplomatic agreement between two kings to tie their lands together so that, for example, the protection of the kings applies to subjects of the other kingdom whilst in their land. Otherwise, a man from one kingdom visiting another has no rights at all.
	In the Otherworld It was believed that there were certain times of year where it was easier to pass back and forth from the other world - May eve (particularly favoured in Wales), and Samhain (Savhain), particularly favoured in Ireland. This explains why Pwyll is to enter the otherworld on the day he meets Arawn – which we can guess is May eve, and to leave a year later, when again the boundaries are thin. It is notable that Pwyll is not referred to by name whilst in the otherworld. He only regains his name once he regains his shape. This perhaps indicates that whilst in Arawn’s shape he is not fully ‘Pwyll’. One other way of looking at the transfer is that Pwyll’s soul went into the otherworld, whilst an otherworld spirit (Arawn) inhabited Pwyll’s body, so that the episode begins to look like an out of the body or shamanic experience. Again there are parallels with the tale of Cuchulain. When he went into the otherworld he fell into a trance for a year (his soul went into the otherworld). The wise would not let his body be moved whilst he was in this trance, because if it were moved, then the soul would not be able to find its way back. Pwyll’s chastity with the Queen of Annwyvn was not just a Christian gloss, but wise: in his tale, Cuchulain was not chaste, and fell in love with an otherworld woman, which caused terrible trouble. When he returned, he went mad, and could only be cured by making him forget the whole experience, and Manannan’s cloak had to be shaken between him and the otherworld woman so that they would never meet again. This is the only example of someone returning from the otherworld after sex - in all other cases, the mortal remained trapped there. The fact that the battle with Havgan is to be at night hints at its otherworld nature. At the battle in the ford, Havgan says ‘Chieftain (unban), what right have you to cause my death?’ This is odd, first of all Havgan using ‘unban’ instead of ‘King’, and secondly protesting at ‘the man who was in Arawn’s stead’ killing him. It seems to indicate that Havgan, presumably through having been struck a mortal blow, recognises that this is not Arawn, but another, who has brought a finality to the eternal battle between Arawn and Havgan.
	Return to Dyfed Arawn’s gift to Pwyll was an example of perfect kingship, which Pwyll then pledges to keep up. In Celtic times, good qualities such as justice and truth were thought to come from the otherworld. The linking of the two kingdoms through gifts and ‘firm friendship’ gave Pwyll a link to the otherworld so he could be ‘Head of Annwvyn’. The proverb in the tale of Bran - ‘he who would be head, let him be a bridge’ - is relevant here. A head is successful by the links he makes with other kings (i.e. a network), but also by his link to the otherworld, forming a bridge so that justice and other kingly qualities can flow from there. (The kingly qualities referred to in the tale seem to be wisdom, generosity and justice). In calling Pwyll Pen Annwvyn, there is also a hint that he has become ‘two-sided’. In Irish tales, often a prophet is indicated as being one-eyed, or one-legged, implying that the other half is in the otherworld. Perhaps Arawn is Pwyll’s other half (his guardian angel as it were), and hence the tying of the kingdoms now that the two are one. Again, there is parallel in the Cuchulain tale. Whilst Cuchulain is in his trance, his son learns he is to be the next king, and comes to Cuchulain, who, from out of his trance, instructs his son on kingship. Again, there is the link to the otherworld, with the angel inhabiting the body of he who sojourns in the otherworld. Another Irish legend has all the Irish meeting for a feast in the King’s hall every Samhain. Anyone who does not come to the feast has his mind (Irish ‘cell’ = Welsh ’pwyll’) taken by the otherworld.
	Pwyll Meets Rhiannon The mound – Gorsedd Arberth – is an example of the otherworld being at the centre of things (i.e. next to Pwyll’s court) as opposed to on the fringes of the known lands as in the first part of tale. There are other examples of this – notably at Emain Macha in Ireland, which archaeological evidence points to as being a sacred spot before the Celts arrived, again a sacred site next to a court. One of the ‘proper things’ for a king of Ulster was to undergo the ‘deadly fear of Emain’ – spending the night on the mound at Emain Macha in full battle gear prior to a battle, echoing the possibility of ‘getting blows’ in the tale of Pwyll. The slowly moving yet fast-retreating Rhiannon parallels an episode in the Irish tale The Destruction of Da Derga’s Hostel, where the hero seeks to overtake ‘three red riders’ but cannot do so in the same. These anomalies of space and time (speed low but distance increases fast) are a sign of the otherworld. Pwyll first addresses Rhiannon as maiden (‘morwyn’), which is a term to address a young or low status woman, but after she unveils herself and he sees her face, he calls her ‘Lady’ – paralleling Pwyll’s meeting with Arawn in the first part of the tale. Note he talks to her on the third attempt. Maybe there is a parallel here with the grail question – one has to ask. Pwyll asks her ‘whence comest thou and whereunto dost thou journey?’ In Irish tales, it is said of otherworld figures that no one knows where they come from or where they are going. Rhiannon was a unique name at the time. Generally, names ending with ‘on’ seem to be those of old gods, and the rest of her name is the old Welsh for queen. Thus we see her as sovereignty come to this world to marry the king (note the distinction between marriage in this world, which is fruitful, and marriage in otherworld – as noted in part 1 – which can be disastrous). Rhiannon also features in other Mabinogion tales. In the tale of Branwen the birds of Rhiannon appear far away but clear – a similar distortion of space as seen with Rhiannon’s horse in this tale.
	Pwyll’s foolish boon Rhiannon’s suitor, Gwawl son of Clud can be interpreted as representing the negative face of the otherworld. Gwawl is a unique name, which could be translated as ‘wall’, used in Welsh in referring to a roman wall. Clud was the name of the Firth of Clyde, so perhaps Gwawl son of Clud is referring to the Antonine wall separating the Picts from the Celts –the boundary of ‘civilisation’. A Byzantine historian, Procopius, related some tales of Britain, which generally seem to have a basis in British lore. He describes Britain as the Isle of the dead (with the fishermen carrying the dead across from Brittany), but also he speaks of a great wall separating East form West – the eastern side fertile and populous, but the western side ghostly and poisonous. Perhaps this is part of the same tradition (but instead of a north-south divide, corrupted to a west-east divide which the Byzantines would understand). So Gwawl’s name might carry an indication that he represents the ghostly and poisonous side of the otherworld. When Pwyll offers Gwawl anything he asks, he is making a terrible mistake, and on one level the story is about how Rhiannon teaches Pwyll how to be generous without being foolish. Gift giving was a very important part of social structure in Celtic society. Giving a gift obligates, and accepting a gift acknowledges subordination to the giver. The merchant culture of the Vikings shattered the gift ties of the old Irish. However, Gwawl also made a mistake which allowed Rhiannon to escape the consequences of Pwyll’s foolish boon. As well as asking for Rhiannon, Gwawl also asked for the wedding feast - his greed made him seek the material as well as the otherworld queen. Then at the delayed feast, when Pwyll returned in disguise, Gwawl gave him food that belonged to Rhiannon. In summary – Gwawl was a devourer, and in his avarice he missed the significance of Rhiannon.
	Badger in the Bag When Pwyll turns up disguised at Gwawl’s wedding feast, Gwawl offers him a boon, but it is a ‘reasonable’ boon, in contrast to Pwyll’s foolish grant to Gwawl. The magical bag that never gets full is a kind of antithesis of the traditional otherworld cauldron, which is always full of food. This reflects again on Gwawl’s portrayal of the negative side of the otherworld. There are parallels in the tale of Llud and Llewelys where one of the plagues that threatens Britain is a giant with a basket. Pwyll follows Rhiannon’s instructions to the letter, having learnt his lesson in foolishly giving away his bride, but the badger in the bag episode was not Rhiannon’s idea, and indeed there is a consequence of this activity in the tale of Manawyddan: the magician who imprisons Pryderi and Rhiannon says he did it to revenge his friend Gwawl for being beaten by Pwyll’s knights. The game of badger in the bag is probably based on a form of badger baiting, but also there was an old British king between the invasions of Caesar and Claudius called Tuscio Iunos (“badger beater”) – either the son or father of Cunobelinus, so perhaps some other significance as well. Note whilst Gwawl was in the bag he wasn’t referred to by name but as ‘the man in the bag’ – a parallel to the naming of Pwyll whilst he had Arawn’s form? Gwawl’s punishment was to pay out the boons of Pwyll, appropriate to the devourer. After the consummation of his marriage to Rhiannon, Pwyll can now grant boons to all who ask without bad consequences because Gwawl is actually paying the boons [or because the time is right now that he and her are one].
	The Otherworld Queen The tradition of the otherworld queen – sovereignty or the land - marrying the king was common. In some cases sovereignty came looking for the king, in other cases the king recognised sovereignty (for example kissing a hag who then drops her disguise and becomes the beautiful queen). Historically, the Irish kingship of Tara was connected with the ceremony of ‘fesh’ meaning ‘spending the night’ from which ‘wedding’ and then ‘feast’ were derived. This has been assumed to be a symbolic marriage – usually celebrated a few years into a king’s reign when his rule was certain. This seems to have been a Pagan ceremony that was discontinued in Saint Patrick’s time, and was once revived by a king who was promptly crushed by a Christian army. This suggests that the ceremony may have been sufficiently pagan to be strongly suppressed by the church. Because the otherworld woman came to this world, it was safe for Pwyll to marry her, in contrast to his necessary chastity during his stay with Arawn’s wife in the otherworld.