The Twrch Twryth [Welsh mythology; Arthurian legend]
Culhwch is a folk hero from Welsh mythology. As the story goes, he was a hero of royal blood, being the son of a prince. Culhwch at one point fell in love with a beautiful girl named Olwen, despite having never met her in person.
Yet their love seemed impossible, for Olwen was the daughter Yspaddaden Penkawr, a monstrous giant. The giant offered his daughter’s hand in marriage to the hero who could overcome his trials, but nobody had ever succeeded. Culhwch however, was the cousin of Arthur, and asked for his help to gain the giant’s favour and marry his daughter. If they could overcome these tasks, the giant would die.
And so, Arthur and his knights set out to accomplish the seemingly impossible trials of Yspaddaden Penkawr: for the first task, he had to plough a hill, sow grain and ripen it, all in single day. Though biologically impossible, the heroic Arthur and his men employed magical aid and managed to have the ripened grain all ready before nightfall.
For the second trial, Arthur was tasked with finding Mabon, who had been missing since she was an infant and could now be anywhere in the world. He eventually succeeded by enlisting the aid of the oldest animals of the land: the stags, the eagles, the owls, the salmon and the blackbirds. Together they tracked down Mabon and moved on to the other trials.
But then Arthur and Culhwch received their hardest challenge yet: long ago, a sinful king was punished for his wicked ways and transformed into a monstrous boar called the Twrch Trwyth (pronounced something like ‘Toork Trooweet’). A comb, scissors and razor were lodged in the fur of the creature’s forehead, even as it rampaged across the land. If Culhwch were to marry Olwen, he had to collect these items.
And so heroic Arthur travelled to Ireland to find the beast. Wishing for a peaceful solution, he asked the boar to give him the items without a fight, but the Twrch Trwyth was so enraged at his punishment that he refused to talk. So angered was he at Arthur’s request, even, that he decided to teach the Welsh people a lesson: the beast gathered his seven young swine and embarked on a journey to Wales (supposedly, he arrived at Porth Clais).
Not one to sit idly by, Arthur gathered his men and his hunting dogs and formed a tracking party to follow the monstrous boars. What he found was an empty wasteland, for the murderous Twrch Trwyth and its children had slain all people and all animals in their path. Arthur eventually managed to corner the monsters in Nanhyfer (Nevern) but the cursed boar proved a ferocious foe and killed four of Arthur’s champions before escaping. Later, Arthur cornered the monster again and fought it, but he again lost four of his champions. This time, however, the Twrch Trwyth was wounded before escaping. The next day, the beast engaged Arthur’s forces a third time, and for the third time it killed four of his champions before making its escape.
Arthur refused to give up, however, and continued chasing the monster. At Llandissilio, they clashed again, with the outcome being the same as the previous fights, as the monster escaped after slaying four members of Arthur’s party. The boar’s rampage continued as it was being chased across Wales, often fighting his pursuers whenever they caught up, and always escaping after killing some of Arthur’s soldiers.
At long last, Arthur cornered his foe, who was alone as all seven of his children had been slain. The Twrch lost the razor and the pair of scissors in the ensuing battle but, like every other time, managed to escape, this time to Cornwall.
One final time, Arthur pursued his relentless opponent, as he still needed the comb. Though he succeeded in collecting the final treasure, the monstrous boar escaped by diving in the ocean. It swam away, and has never been seen since.
Though Arthur lost many of his soldiers, and the beast had slain many innocents, he had finally collected the three requested items. And so Arthur and Culhwch returned to Yspaddaden Penkawr victoriously. They decapitated the giant and Culhwch finally married Olwen.
Source:
Roberts, T., 1984, Myths and Legends of Wales, Abercastle Publications.
(image source 1: welshoverlandsafari)
(image source 2: legendsofwales.com)
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