Twrch Trwyth

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Twrch Trwyth [ turx truiθ ] is the name of a mythical boar in Welsh mythology in the legendary circle of King Arthur .

Pig and boar among the Celts

Celtic boar standard

Pigs were the most important domestic animals of the Celts , according to some island Celtic legends they should come from the Otherworld (see Pwyll ). They were particularly popular as grave goods for survival in the Other World, to be found as standard symbols , helmet decorations on warriors (for example on the cauldron of Gundestrup ) and as decorations on torques ("neck rings"). In the Welsh saga of the Mabinogion, pigs, especially boars, are often the trigger for wars and forays into raids. The most famous boars of Wales are the Ysgithyrwyn and the Twrch Trwyth with his sons.

Etymology of the name

In the tales of Brigid a boar from is otherworld called Torc Triath known, who also rí torcraide is called ( "King of the boar"). The old Irish word torc has the meaning "boar" as well as "prince" or "hero"; tríath means "boar", "sea", "wave", but also "lord", "king". In the glossary of Sanas Cormaic (around 900 AD) orc treith is mentioned as an archaic name for the king's son ( orc , from the pre-Celtic * porcos , however, is etymologically not related to torc ). The Cymric version Twrch trwyth is z. B. still in the name of a mountain in Glamorganshire ( Wales ) - Cefn Twrch ("back of the Twrch") - received.

mythology

Twrch Trwyth and his boys, metal sculpture by Tony Woodman, Ammanford ( Carmarthenshire )

In the Welsh saga Kulhwch ac Olwen , one of the storylines is the hunt for the immense boar Twrch Trwyth . As the price for the hand of his daughter Olwen , the giant Ysbaddaden von Kulhwch asked for the "treasures that the boar wears between his ears" . These are a comb (the bristles on the forehead?) And a pair of scissors (probably not the tusks, because they are torn from the Ysgithyrwyn) so that Ysbaddaden can comb his hair.

“There is one more thing in the world there is no comb or scissors with which to put my hair in order, it is so stiff, except for the comb and the scissors that are between the two ears of Twrch Trwyth, the prince's son Taredd, are. He will not give it up voluntarily. "

The boar and the piglets accompanying him are enchanted royal sons, their place of residence is the Esgeir Oervel ( old Irish Sescann Úairbéoil ), a swamp in Ireland inhabited by eerie figures . From there they devastate the area until Kulhwch begins the hunt for the beasts with the help of King Arthur, Gwynn fab Nudd and the Knights of the Round Table. Despite Arthur's bravery, the boar manages to flee across Ireland, leaving a trail of devastation. An attempt by Gwrhyr Gwalstawd Ieithoedd to persuade him to give up fails. Finally he swims with his boys across the sea to Wales, into King Arthur's realm, and continues his work of destruction there. The piglets are killed, but the Twrch Trwyth swims through the mouth of the Severn and it is only in the water that Arthur, with Mabons and Drudwyn's help, succeeds in snatching a comb and scissors from him.

Mabon vab Modron, on one side, gave the steed the spurs and snatched the razor from [the boar] ; on the other side, Kyledyr the Mad jumped into the Severn on another steed and took the scissors. Before they could grasp the comb, however, [the boar] got to his feet, and as soon as he was on solid ground, neither dog nor man nor horse could keep up with him as he ran into Cornwall.

The boar devastates Cornwall , is overtaken again and the comb can be won in a bloody fight. He then swims out to sea and disappears forever.

The historical background of this Irish-Welsh tradition lies in the time of the Irish invasion of Britain, specifically Wales.

literature

  • Helmut Birkhan : Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-7001-2609-3 .
  • Helmut Birkhan: Celtic stories from the Emperor Arthur (= stories of the Middle Ages. Vol. 2). Part 2. 2nd edition. Lit-Verlag, Vienna 2004, ISBN 3-8258-7563-6 .
  • Ingeborg Clarus : Celtic Myths. Man and his otherworld. Walter, Düsseldorf et al. 1991, ISBN 3-530-70014-2 , pp. 290 ff. (2nd edition. Patmos, Düsseldorf 2003, ISBN 3-491-69109-5 ).
  • Bernhard Maier (Hrsg.): The legend book of the Welsh Celts. The four branches of the Mabinogi (= dtv 12628). Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-423-12628-0 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. 1997, p. 739 ff.
  2. ↑ a b Helmut Birkhan: Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. 1997, p. 739 f.
  3. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celtic stories from the emperor Arthur. Part 2. 2004, p. 61.
  4. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celtic stories from the emperor Arthur. Part 2. 2004, p. 88. As with Ysgithyrwyn, the tusks (the razor) are once again mentioned as prey.
  5. ^ Ingeborg Clarus: Celtic myths. Man and his otherworld. 1991, p. 290 f.
  6. ↑ Michael Richter : Ireland in the Middle Ages. Culture and history. CH Beck, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-406-40481-2 , p. 38 f.