Dyrnwch

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Dyrnwch , nickname "the giant", also Diwrnach , nickname "the Irish", Dyrnog , Tyrnog , Irish Diugurach , is a legendary figure from Welsh mythology .

Mythology and Etymology

In the story Kulhwch ac Olwen ("The Story of Kulhwch and Olwen") it is reported that Olwen's father, the giant Ysbaddaden , gives the suitor Kulhwch some difficult tasks before he is allowed to court his daughter. With the help of King Arthur and some companions, he finally solves them all.

One of the tasks is to get the kettle of the Irish giant Dyrnwch, called Diwrnach in the text, for the wedding feast. This cauldron has the mythical meaning of being able to distinguish bad from good people. He does not cook food for bad people, but with others he is ready to eat as quickly as possible. Diwrnach refuses to give up the kettle.

"God knows, even if it makes him happy just to look at the cauldron, it will not come to it."

So Bedwyr fab Bedrawg steals the kettle and has it taken away. His companions kill Diwrnach and all the Irish who want to fight for the cauldron. Although reinforcements arrive, Arthur and his men can reach his ship Prydwen and sail back to Britain, where they stop at the house of Llwydeu ap Cilcoed . This cauldron is one of the Tri Thlws ar Ddeg Ynys Prydain ("The Thirteen Treasures of the Isle of Britain").

The kymrische name Diwrnach is derived from the Irish Diugurach so the Irish origin of the vessel owner is emphasized. The Welsh variations Dyrnwch, Dyrnog or Tyrnog in the Trioedd Ynys Prydein ("The Triads of the Isle of Britain") are adaptations to the Irish version of the name.

Originally, the legends of the Dyrnwch kettle and the Diwrnach kettle were separate stories, but in Culhwch ac Olwen they have been combined into a single myth over time.

See also

literature

  • Helmut Birkhan : Celtic stories from the emperor Arthur. Part 2, Lit-Verlag, Vienna 2004, ISBN 3-8258-7563-6 .
  • Rachel Bromwich (Ed. & Transl.): Tri Thlws ar Ddeg Ynys Prydain , in Trioedd Ynys Prydein. University of Wales Press, Cardiff 1978; ISBN 9780708306901 , Appendix III, pp. 95 f.
  • Rachel Bromwich / D.Simon Evans (Eds.): Culhwch ac Olwen: An Edition and Study of the Oldest Arthurian Tale. University of Wales Press, 1992, ISBN 9780773494558 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celtic stories from the emperor Arthur. Part 2, p. 81 f.
  2. ↑ Chapter The Cauldron of Dyrnwch the Giant in the article Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain in the English language Wikipedia.
  3. ^ John T. Koch: Celtic culture: a historical encyclopedia , volumes 1-5, ABC-CLIO, 2006, ISBN 9781851094400, p. 359.