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Owain mab Urien (Middle Welsh Owein) (died c. 595) was the son of Urien, king of Rheged c. 590, and fought with his father against the Angles of Bernicia. The historical figure of Owain became incorporated into the Arthurian cycle of legends where he is also known as Ywain, Yvain, Ewain or Uwain. In his legendary guise he is the main character in Chrétien de Troyes's Yvain, the Knight of the Lion and the Welsh Romance Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain , which corresponds to Chrétien's poem.
The chief references to the historical Owain appear in the poems of Taliesin, Urien's bard. In one poem, he appears as the victor of the Battle of Alclud Ford. Another, Gweith Argoed Llwyfain ("The Battle of Argoed Llwyfain"), tells of Owain's part in a battle between the men of Rheged under Urien and the men of Bernicia under "Fflamddwyn" (Firestealer), possibly the Anglian king Theodric. When Fflamddwyn demands hostages, Owain shouts defiance and inspires the men of Rheged to fight rather than give tribute to the English.
Taliesin also composed Marwnad Owain, an elegy to Owain. In the poem, it is said that Owain slew Fflamddwyn:
He inherited the kingdom of Rheged when his father was killed, but was immediately beset by his British neighbours, Gwallawc Marchawc Trin of Elmet and Dunaut Bwr; the former attacking Owain's brother Elffin whilst Owain and Pasgen, another brother, fought Dunaut.
Owain was slain in battle against his father's old nemesis Morcant Bulc of Bryneich after a short reign. His death marked the end of Rheged as an effective power.
He is said to be buried at Llan-Forfael or Llan-Heledd, which local traditions place in the churchyard of St. Andrew's at Penrith, though it is possible that the grave is actually that of the later Owen Cesarius.
Owain is said to be the father of St. Kentigern Garthwys by Denw, the daughter of "Leuddun", commonly identified with Lot of Lothian. Owain is believed to have dressed as a woman and raped Saint Teneu, the mother of Kentigern.
Over the centuries, the history of Owain known to storytellers faded sufficiently that he was incorporated into Welsh Arthurian legend and stories about him spread to continental Europe. Chrétien's Yvain, the Knight of the Lion and the related Mabinogion story Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain are devoted to his exploits, and he appears prominently in the Mabinogion tale The Dream of Rhonabwy and briefly in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae . He also features as the knight Sir Owayne fytz-Vryene in the fifteenth century romance Awntyrs of Arthure at the Terne Wathelyne. [1] The character is portrayed as an excellent knight in the later romances, the Lancelot-Grail cycle and Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur , under one spelling of his name or another.
In The Dream of Rhonabwy, he plays a game of chess against Arthur while Rhonabwy looks on and the Saxons prepare to fight. The outlines of Chrétien's Yvain, the Knight of the Lion and Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain are essentially the same; Owain hears of a magical storm-making fountain in the forest of Brocéliande and seeks it out, only to find it defended by an excellent knight. He defeats this warrior and marries his wife Laudine, but forsaking his marital duties for knightly exploits, he loses her love. With the aid of a lion he rescues from a serpent, he completes several adventures and is eventually reunited with his lady. He appears in most of the later accounts, his importance indicated by his close friendship with Gawain and the passage in the Mort Artu section of the Lancelot-Grail cycle where he is one of the last knights to die before Arthur.
Almost all versions of the Arthurian story have Owain as Urien's son and Arthur's nephew, and the later accounts assume his mother is Morgan le Fay, if not one of the King's other half-sisters. He has a half brother called Owain (or Yvain) the Bastard after him, the product of a union between Urien and his seneschal's wife. The Welsh give him a twin sister, Morvydd, and as Arthur's maternal nephew he is a cousin to Gawain and the Orkney clan.
The Mabinogion are the earliest Welsh prose stories, and belong to the Matter of Britain. The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, created c. 1350–1410, as well as a few earlier fragments. The title covers a collection of eleven prose stories of widely different types, offering drama, philosophy, romance, tragedy, fantasy and humour, and created by various narrators over time. There is a classic hero quest, "Culhwch and Olwen"; a historic legend in "Lludd and Llefelys," complete with glimpses of a far off age; and other tales portray a very different King Arthur from the later popular versions. The highly sophisticated complexity of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi defies categorisation. The stories are so diverse that it has been argued that they are not even a true collection.
Kentigern, known as Mungo, was a missionary in the Brittonic Kingdom of Strathclyde in the late sixth century, and the founder and patron saint of the city of Glasgow.
Chrétien de Troyes was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on Arthurian subjects such as Gawain, Lancelot, Perceval and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's chivalric romances, including Erec and Enide, Lancelot, Perceval and Yvain, represent some of the best-regarded works of medieval literature. His use of structure, particularly in Yvain, has been seen as a step towards the modern novel.
In Arthurian legend, Sir Kay is King Arthur's foster brother and later seneschal, as well as one of the first Knights of the Round Table. In later literature he is known for his acid tongue and bullying, boorish behaviour, but in earlier accounts he was one of Arthur's premier warriors. Along with Bedivere, with whom he is frequently associated, Kay is one of the earliest characters associated with Arthur. Kay's father is called Ector in later literature, but the Welsh accounts name him as Cynyr Ceinfarfog.
Red Knight is a title borne by several characters in Arthurian legend.
The Black Knight appears in various forms in Arthurian legend.
Yvain, the Knight of the Lion is an Arthurian romance by French poet Chrétien de Troyes. It was written c. 1180 simultaneously with Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, and includes several references to the narrative of that poem. It is a story of knight-errantry, in which the protagonist Yvain is first rejected by his lady for breaking a very important promise, and subsequently performs a number of heroic deeds in order to regain her favour. The poem has been adapted into several other medieval works, including Iwein and Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain.
Urien, often referred to as Urien Rheged or Uriens, was a late 6th-century king of Rheged, an early British kingdom of the Hen Ogledd of the House of Rheged. In Arthurian legend, he inspired the character of King Urien of either Garlot (Garloth) or Gore (Gorre). His most famous son, Owain mab Urien, similarly turned into the character of Ywain.
This is a bibliography of works about King Arthur, his family, his friends or his enemies. This bibliography includes works that are notable or are by notable authors.
Sir Ywain, also known as Yvain and Owain among other spellings, is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend, wherein he is often the son of King Urien of Gorre and either the enchantress Modron or the sorceress Morgan le Fay. The historical Owain mab Urien, on whom the literary character is based, was the king of Rheged in Great Britain during the late 6th century.
The Three Welsh Romances are three Middle Welsh tales associated with the Mabinogion. They are versions of Arthurian tales that also appear in the work of Chrétien de Troyes. Critics have debated whether the Welsh Romances are based on Chrétien's poems or if they derive from a shared original. The Romances survive in the White Book of Rhydderch and the Red Book of Hergest, both from the 14th century, though the material is at least as old as Chrétien.
Theodric or Ðeodric ruled from 572 to 579. He was the fifth known ruler of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Bernicia.
Laudine is a character in Chrétien de Troyes's 12th-century romance Yvain, or, The Knight with the Lion and all of its adaptations, which include the Welsh tale of Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain and the German epic Iwein by Hartmann von Aue. Usually known as the Lady of the Fountain, she becomes the wife of the poem's protagonist, Yvain, one of the knights of King Arthur's Round Table, after he kills her husband, but later spurns the knight-errant when he neglects her for heroic adventure, only to take him back in the end.
In Arthurian legend, Lunete is a handmaiden and advisor to the Lady of the Fountain (Laudine). It is she who is responsible for convincing Laudine to accept Ywain in marriage. She is described in Chrétien de Troyes' Yvain, the Knight of the Lion as "a charming brunette, prudent, clever and polite..."
The Dream of Rhonabwy is a Middle Welsh prose tale. Set during the reign of Madog ap Maredudd, prince of Powys, its composition is typically dated to somewhere between the late 12th through the late 14th century. It survives in only one manuscript, the Red Book of Hergest, and has been associated with the Mabinogion since its publication by Lady Charlotte Guest in the 19th century. A diplomatic version of the text is published by the University of Wales Press as Breuddwyt Ronabwy, edited by Grafton Melville Richards, first published in 1948. The bulk of the narrative describes a dream vision experienced by its central character, Rhonabwy, a retainer of Madog, in which he visits the time of King Arthur. The text seems to use the fictional trope of time travel.
The Battle of Argoed Llwyfain was fought between the forces of the Kingdom of Rheged under the command of Urien and Owain mab Urien and the forces of the Kingdom of Bernicia under Fflamddwyn . Most of what is known about the battle comes from the early Welsh poem Gwaith Argoed Llwyfain by the poet and bard Taliesin. Supposedly on one Saturday, Fflamddwyn had surrounded the seat of power within Rheged and demanded that King Urien submit and provide hostages. Urien's son Owain used the memory of his ancestor Ceneu son of Coel and denied giving hostages. Urien then stirred his men and fighting began. In the ensuing combat Fflamddwyn was slain, temporarily freeing Rheged from Anglian domination.
Cynon ap Clydno or in some translations Kynon or Cynan was an Arthurian hero from Welsh mythology. His quest to the Castle of Maidens and his subsequent trial against the Black Knight, serve as a prelude to the adventure of Owain and The Lady of the Fountain. Cynon is closely associated with Sir Calogrenant, who takes his role in other versions of the tale.
Ywain, also called Owain, Yvain, Ewain or Uwain, is a Knight of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend.
The House of Rheged or the House of Rhun was an informal royal dynasty who ruled in the brittonic Kingdom of Rheged. The line is traced back to Coel Hen whose descendants are often referred to as the Coeling. The dynasty includes Urien, King of Rheged and his son Sir Ywain a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend.