The Mammoth Book of King Arthur

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The Mammoth Book of King Arthur Page 63

by Mike Ashley

Brandelis. This same derivation points to Brandin/Brandus/Brian of the Isles being somehow connected. Brandin of the Isles was the Master of Dolorous Garde who was ousted by Lancelot. As Brian of the Isles he turns up in Malory as the Lord of Pendragon Castle whom Lancelot once again defeats. Like Brandiles, Brian becomes hostile to Arthur, even treacherous. He also has an affair with Niniane and learns some magic arts. This character is almost certainly based upon the historical Brian De Lisle (d.1234) who was one of King John’s cronies. He held several castles throughout England, including Knaresborough and Peveril, and was forced to give them up after the death of King John. This same Brian is one of the likely candidates for the Sheriff of Nottingham in the Robin Hood story (he was the Forrester of Nottingham), thus providing an interesting link between Britain’s two great legendary heroes.

  Breuse Saunce Pyté, see Brunor.

  Brian of the Isles, see Brandiles.

  Bron. The original name for the Fisher King. See entry and also Chapter 16.

  Brunor or Breunor la Cote Male Tailée, “the badly cut coat”, also known as Brunor the Black. Brunor turns up at Arthur’s court wearing the very coat in which his father had been hacked to death by Tristram (others say by Gareth). Kay, with his usual belligerence, gives him the nickname. His father was also called Brunor or Breuse and was so evil and violent that he was known as the Brown Knight Without Pity (Saunce Pyté). The son turns out to be very different from his father, bold, brave and bright. He saves the queen from a lion and undertakes a quest to help the lady Maledisant who first mocks him and then confesses her love for him; they later marry. After ousting Brian of the Isles, Lancelot makes Brunor Lord of Pendragon Castle. Brunor is the brother of Dinadan. Brunor’s father is something of an enigma. In Palamedes he becomes confused with the knight known simply as Le Bon Chevalier, sometimes with the epithet “san Peor”. He is an elder knight of the previous generation, highly regarded by Uther Pendragon, but he is held captive by the giant Nabon and loses his wits. There is a curious episode in which he explores a cave and finds the remains (plus a survivor) of the kings of old, all of whom seem to be giants. Although he recovers his wits he is later murdered by Briadan and Ferrant. Briadan is yet another version of Brandiles/Brian of the Isles, whilst Ferrant is almost certainly Alan Fergeant, Duke of Brittany (d.1112).

  Calogrenant. The unlucky stooge of the Arthurian romance. It is his failure to defeat Esclados at the magical spring in Broceliande that sets Yvain on his first quest in Chrétien’s tale. He gets the rough end of a joust in Meraugis de Portlesguez, and he gets in the way in Queste del Saint Graal when Lionel attacks Bors and is killed. He redeems himself slightly in Claris and Laris where, in the search for Laris, he succeeds in ridiculing Mordred. Loomis has suggested that his name is a conflation of Cai-lo-grenant, “Cei the grumbler”, which is what Cei/Kay does well. Calogrenant doesn’t really grumble, though; he’s just something of a failure, which is increasingly how Kay is portrayed in the later romances. Calogrenant takes it a stage further. In some versions he is confused with Colgrevance, a knight who’s little more than a name most of the time and whose moment of fame comes when, waiting the other side of the bedroom door where Lancelot and Guenevere are in bed together, he is killed when Lancelot rushes out. To add insult to injury, Lancelot then takes his armour and makes his escape. This knight is called Tanaguin in the Vulgate version.

  Carados. There are two by this name; to avoid confusion, see Karados for the second. The first is a corruption of Caradog Vreichfras, Arthur’s chief counsellor, who also turns up in later tales as Craddock or Cardock. He has his own adventures in the Livre de Carados. He is initially one of the rebellious kings but subsequently fights valiantly for Arthur and is killed in Gaul.

  Cei, see Kay.

  Cerdic. Leader of the Gewisse and founder of the West Saxon dynasty. It has been suggested that he was one of Arthur’s opponents at Badon. Others suggest he may be the same as Caradog Vreichfras. He is discussed extensively in Chapters 4, 7 and 8.

  Colgrevance, see Calogrenant.

  Conmor or Cunomorus. Wrongly called Mark Cunomorus and identified as Mark, King of Cornwall in the Tristan story. In fact he was a Count of Léon who usurped power over Domnonée in the 550s. See Chapter 13.

  Constantine. The name Constantine, made popular by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great, crops up several times in the Arthurian story. The Celtic version is Custennin, but in the Arthurian stories the name Constantine prevails. To clarify, here is a quick note on each of them.

  (1) Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306–337, son of Constantius. Legend makes his mother Helena the daughter of Coel, Duke of Colchester.

  (2) Constantine II, Roman Emperor of Britain and Gaul, 337–340, son of the above.

  (3) Custennin, son of Magnus Maximus, claimed as ancestor of rulers of Dyfed (spurious). Legend makes him Overlord of Britain from 388 onwards, but there is no evidence for this and his fate is not known.

  (4) Constantine III, Roman Emperor of Britain and Gaul, 407–411, not to be confused with the above, as he was apparently a soldier raised from the ranks.

  (5) Constantine, brother of the Breton king Aldroenus. Geoffrey makes this Constantine become the first post-Roman British king. He may be a confused merging of (4) and (6).

  (6) Custennin Fendigiad (“the Blessed”), believed to be a Prince of Dumnonia c470s.

  (7) Custennin or Constantine of Dumnonia, fl 505–535, identified as son of Cador and treated as the successor to Arthur. He is the one castigated by Gildas.

  Cunomorus, see Conmor.

  Custennin, see Constantine.

  Cydfan or Kyduan. Identified as a son of Arthur in the Hanesyn Hen batch of pedigrees. His mother is Eleirch, daughter of Iaen of Caer Dathyl – Culhwch and Olwen refers to the men of Caer Dathyl as being “kindred to Arthur on his father’s side.” Evidently Arthur was quite close to his relatives. We know nothing more about Cydfan or his relatives. Caer Dathyl is at the start of the Lleyn Peninsula, a location that suggests a connection with Artúir of Dyfed.

  Cynwyl or Cynfelyn, see Griflet.

  Dagonet. Arthur’s court jester and the butt of everyone’s jokes. Although knighted because Arthur believes him to be brave, Dagonet is really a coward, but goes so far as to dent his own shield to look as if he has been fighting. However, when pushed he will fight. He turns on Tristram in anger on one occasion (though is beaten by Tristram and goes mad), pursues Mark but dressed in Mordred’s armour, and tracks down and kills Helior when he abducts Dagonet’s wife.

  Dinadan. Although he is the son of the evil Breuse Saunce Pyté, Dinadan is a likeable if lazy knight who sees no point in questing for the sake of it but first weighs up all the pros and cons. Dinadan rather likes practical jokes but can take as good as he gives. His appearances are always light hearted and he is particularly close to Tristram. However, he upsets Mordred and Agravaine and they kill him during the Grail Quest.

  Drudwas or Drydwas. Listed in the Twenty-Four Knights of Arthur’s Court but not amongst his Counsellors. He was known as one of the “Three Golden-Tongued Knights” of Arthur’s court and no one could deny him his wishes. There is a story told about him called “The Birds of Llwch Gwin”. Drudwas’s sister was Arthur’s mistress, and Drudwas schemed to have Arthur killed by some vicious birds. However Drudwas fell into his own trap and died. Drudwas is called the son of Tryffin, but this does not appear to be the Tryffen of Dyfed, grandfather of Vortipor. If the genealogies are correct, Drudwas may have been the nephew of Gwyddno Garanhir, who is discussed in Chapter 8.

  Drust or Drystan, see Tristan.

  Dubricius or Dyfrig. Bishop of Ergyng who lived c460-c530AD. According to Geoffrey he crowned Arthur. See discussion in Chapter 9.

  Ector, Hector or Antor. The father of Kay, and Arthur’s foster father. He is called Antor in the Vulgate Merlin and Ector in Malory, but in the earliest references to him in the Prose Merlin he is called Auctor, a name which some have suggested is merely a corruption
of Arthur itself. Arthur has no idea that he has been fostered and is upset when he learns that Ector is not his real father. Ector fights on the side of Arthur against the rebel kings and against the Saxons, but we hear no more of him. In Welsh tradition Kay’s father is Cynyr (see Kay).

  Ector/Hector de Maris. One of the great knights of the Arthurian saga yet a strangely undervalued one. He is the illegitimate son of Ban of Benwick and the Damsel of les Mares, so is half-brother to Lancelot. He’s also considerably more sensible than Lancelot, and although he can do little to curb Lancelot’s impulsive actions, is always supportive of him. The name Hektor in the original Greek means “to resist”, and that seems to be Ector’s role here, to serve as a balance to Lancelot. In the Vulgate version Ector searches for Lancelot after the death of Arthur and spends his final days with him in the monastery. In Malory, however, by the time he finds Lancelot, the knight has just died. Ector ends his days on Crusade.

  Elaine. There are several Elaines in the Arthurian story, including the mother of Lancelot, but two individuals are significant and I believe they were really both aspects of the same person though developed separate identities. The more important is Elaine of Corbenic, the Grail Maiden and the daughter of King Pelles. Pelles contrives, through a secret potion, to make Lancelot believe Elaine is Guenevere. The two sleep together and Elaine conceives Galahad. Their union reunites the lines of descent of David and Joseph. Although Lancelot is furious that he has been deceived he forgives Elaine and in fact is gullible enough to be deceived again, when Elaine visits Camelot. Elaine of Corbenic does not reappear; in fact she is supposed to have died while Lancelot was away on the Grail Quest. Guenevere had been intensely jealous of Elaine because of her beauty, and this same jealousy re-emerges in Mort Artu when Lancelot is healed of wounds sustained at a tournament by the Lady of Astolat, or Shalott. She is not named in the Vulgate, but Malory calls her Elaine, and these two Elaines could easily be one. Lancelot does not return Elaine’s love and eventually she pines away and her body floats in a barge down the river to Camelot.

  There were likewise two Elens or Helens in British tradition who became confused and merged to form the basis for Elaine of Carbonek. The primary one is Elen, daughter of Eudaf Hen, who married the Emperor Magnus Maximus. Through her Magnus gains acceptance as emperor in Britain; he even has a dream of her like some of the later Grail visions. Elen, as both a name and a character, became symbolic of the bride in whom is invested an inheritance, whether the “kingdom” of Britain or the Grail kingdom. This was further embellished by the memory of Helen, mother of Constantine the Great. Regardless of the facts, Helen had long entered legend as a British princess, daughter of Coel of Colchester, who became the mother of an Emperor. Constantine the Great, who brought Christianity to the Roman Empire, could be seen in the role of Galahad. Helen undertook a pilgrimage to Palestine and founded several churches as well as confirming the sites of most of the key holy places. She was also supposed to have discovered the True Cross, fragments of which were brought back to Britain. Helen thus became another manifestation of the Grail Maiden. There are many churches and sites dedicated to Elen/Helen in North Wales, primarily the Caernarfon area where Elen ferch Eudaf lived.

  There is a third Elen in Geoffrey’s History, the niece of Hoel of Armorica who is abducted by the giant of Mont-St-Michel.

  Elidir, Eliffer or Eleuther. The names of three Men of the North. The most interesting is Eliffer of the Great Host, who was probably the son of Arthwys of the Pennines but who appears in some pedigrees as his brother. As Eleuther his name could easily be confused with Uther, especially when one triad gives him a child, Arddun, which becomes corrupted to Arthur. Although little written record survives of Eliffer’s activities, it may well be that Geoffrey had a copy of a northern history and converted Eliffer’s battles into Uther’s. The other two are Elidyr the Stout, uncle of Urien of Rheged, and Elidir the Wealthy. The latter believed he was entitled to the kingdom of Gwynedd and invaded Anglesey, an action that resulted in Rhun’s great march north. See also Artegall.

  Eliwlod or Liwlod. Listed in the Twenty-Four Knights of Arthur’s Court but not amongst his Counsellors. He was known as one of the “Three Golden-Tongued Knights” of Arthur’s court, like Drudwas, but we learn little about him. He is supposed to be the nephew of Arthur.

  Emyr Llydaw. One of the mystery men of fifth century British history. I have suggested that this was a title of the commander of the Gewisse, and also that he may be synonymous with Amlawdd Wledig. See Chapter 8 for discussion.

  Erec. The hero of Chrétien’s story Erec et Enide (see Chapter 18 for full discussion of name and character). Despite his prowess in that story Erec scarcely features in the later romances, which may be because Chrétien had created Erec out of Tristan and therefore his character was superfluous. It may be that Gareth also evolved from Erec’s original name, Guerec, and superseded him. Erec does reappear on the Grail Quest in the Post-Vulgate version where he is killed by Gawain.

  Ettard, see Pelleas.

  Evalach or Evelake, also Mordrain. A pagan king of Sarras who is baptised by Joseph of Arimathea and adopts the name Mordrain. Mordrain’s shield is painted with a cross from the blood of Josephus and this same shield is the one later used by Galahad after Bagdemagus takes it from the White Abbey. Mordrain survives through many generations until he is able to die in Galahad’s arms. Whilst Mordrain is not himself a Fisher King or Grail King, his actions (with both the shield and the broken sword of Nascien, his brother-in-law) play a significant part in the Grail Quest. The name Evalach is derived from Afallach or Aballach, which appears in the pedigrees of the British kings (see Table 3.2). There he is the grandson of Bran the Blessed, whose counterpart Bron was the ancestor of the Fisher Kings. So although the legend and the tradition are at odds, the connection provides a holy authority to the British kings that would develop into the concept of the Divine Right of Kings. (See entry on Fisher King below.)

  Fisher King or the Rich Fisher. The role of the Fisher King was originally that of the Guardian of the Holy Grail, but both the role and the individuals who hold the title change as the Grail story develops. As described by Robert de Boron in Joseph d’Arimathie, the first Fisher King was Bron, brother-in-law of Joseph. The name Fisher King arose because Bron had supplied the fish for the Last Supper and, via the Grail, the quantity of fish multiplied and could feed all present. Thereafter one of the roles of the Fisher King was to provide food (which may be seen as spiritual succour) to those who visit the Grail castle. Food is always plentiful because of the Grail. Bron’s son Alain le Gros inherited the title and brought the Grail to the “isles in the West”. In this version Alain’s son Perceval is the final Fisher King, inheriting the kingship from his uncle, the hermit. Robert’s time scale is clearly truncated, only allowing three generations from the time of Joseph to Arthur.

  In the Vulgate Cycle, the Grail family was considerably enlarged, though there were still not sufficient generations. Here the title of Fisher King passed to Alain’s nephew Aminadep (son of Joshua), and then passed through each generation to Catheloys, Manaal, Lambor and Pellehan to Pelles, whose daughter (called Elaine in later versions) bore Galahad to Lancelot. Pellehan (Malory’s Pellam) is wounded in the thigh and is thus known as the Maimed King, but in other versions the Maimed King and the Fisher King are not necessarily the same. Most of the names are derived from Bible patriarchs (but see the separate entry on Pelles).

  In Wolfram’s Parzifal the names change again. The title Grail King is preferred to Fisher King, and the first of these is Titurel. His descent is not explained, but in terms of generations he equates to Lambor. Titurel passes the role on to his son Frimutel, but although Frimutel is killed Titurel lives on, sustained by the Grail. Frimutel is succeeded by Anfortas whose sister Herzeloyde is Parzifal’s mother. In this version Anfortas is the Maimed King (see Chapter 16 for the Grail story).

  Frimutel, see Fisher King.

  Gaheris or Gaheriet. The youn
gest son (variously third or fourth) of Lot and Morgause and brother of Gawain, Agravain and Gareth. The spelling of his name varies hugely and in some versions, such as Garriés, is sufficiently close to his brother Gareth (Gerrehés) to cause confusion and to suggest that the two were originally one. Loomis shows how all the names (including Gawain, Agravaine and even Bors) are derivations of Gwri (see Chapter 14). Gaheris serves as Gawain’s squire until he is knighted. After Gawain he is Arthur’s favourite nephew, suggesting that Arthur is oblivious to Gaheris’s vicious streak. In fact, Gaheris is clearly troubled. He kills Pellinore in revenge for his father’s death, and years later kills his own mother because she has taken Pellinore’s son Lamorak as a lover. Gawain despatches Lamorak. At one stage Arthur even offers him Lot’s kingdom of Orkney but Gaheris refuses until the Grail Quest is over. He is killed by Lancelot during his rescue of Guenevere, and it is this act that incurs Gawain’s enmity and leads to the war with Lancelot.

  There is another Gaheris of Karaheu who, in the Vulgate Cycle, eats the poisoned apple intended for Gawain, which leads to Guenevere being accused of murder. His brother is Mador. In Malory his name is changed to Patrise. Nevertheless, the similarity of the name, and that of his brother Mador to Gaheris’s half-brother Mordred, suggests that at some stage there was a version in which it was Gawain’s brother who died from poison.

  Galahad or Galaad. The son of Lancelot and Elaine and the purest knight in the world, the only one able to achieve the Grail Quest (see Chapter 16). Lancelot’s baptismal name was also Galaad, as was the name given to the younger son of Joseph of Arimathea. The name is derived from the Biblical Gilead.

 

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