Culhwch ac Olwen as a Transitional Text within the Arthurian Matter

Abstract

Culhwch ac Olwen is a Middle Welsh prose tale dated to c. 1150 that combines, within the traditional motif of the “Giant’s Daughter”, a series of Arthurian themes and episodes from the legendary and literary traditions known in Wales about Arthur. On the one hand, Arthur is depicted in a heroic tone, that is, with a set of attributes that tend to characterise him in early Welsh poems, in which he appears as the leader of a band of warriors who fight supernatural creatures. On the other hand, Arthur is “chief of the princes of this island”, he possesses a renowned court, and jealously guards customs and values. His court also provides the narrative frame for adventures and the set for their retelling, as well as housing a stable cast of warriors.
Therefore, this paper seeks to analyse the figure of Arthur, his court and his warriors as a stage of transition in the Arthurian legend. It will be argued that an aspect that foreshadows the king of courtly literature is added here to the multifaceted character of Arthur. For this reason, this tale combines the heroic traits that characterises the primitive Arthur with others that could be called proto-courtly.

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