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40-458: In Arthurian legend , Ywain / ɪ ˈ w eɪ n / , also known as Yvain and Owain among other spellings ( Ewaine , Ivain , Ivan , Iwain , Iwein , Uwain , Uwaine , Ywan , etc.), is a Knight of the Round Table . Tradition often portrays him as the son of King Urien of Gorre and of either the enchantress Modron or the sorceress Morgan le Fay . The historical Owain mab Urien ,

80-527: A Celtic source). It survives in the White Book of Rhydderch and the Red Book of Hergest , both from the 14th century. The romance concerns the love of Geraint , one of King Arthur 's men, and the beautiful Enid . Geraint, son of King Erbin of Dumnonia , courts Enid. The couple marry and settle down together, but rumors spread that Geraint has gone soft. Upset about this, Enid cries to herself that she

120-614: A Welsh tale associated with the Mabinogion , Owain is one of Arthur's top warriors and plays a game of chess against him while the Saxons prepare to fight the Battle of Badon . Three times during the game, Owain's men inform him that Arthur's squires have been slaughtering his ravens, but when Owain protests, Arthur simply responds, "Your move." Then Owain's ravens retaliate against the squires, and Owain does not stop them until Arthur crushes

160-432: A dragon proves to be a loyal companion and a symbol of knightly virtue, and helps him complete his quest, which includes defeating the giant Harpins and two demons. In the end, Laudine, rescued from the stake, allows him and his lion to return to her fortress. Chrétien's Yvain had a huge impact on the literary world; German poet Hartmann von Aue used it as the basis for his Middle High German court epic Iwein , while

200-686: A historical figure of the 6th-century Brythonic kingdom of Rheged (in today's northern England and southern Scotland) at the time of the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain . His name was recorded in the bardic tradition of Taliesin and became a legendary character in the Welsh Triads , where his father, sister, horse and personal bard are all acclaimed but his wife Penarwan is named one of the "Three Faithless Wives of Britain", along with her sister Esyllt (Iseult, Tristan 's love). In Geoffrey of Monmouth 's Historia Regum Britanniae c. 1136, he

240-454: A set period of time, but he becomes so enthralled in his knightly exploits that he forgets his lady, and she bars him from returning. Yvain goes mad with grief and lives naked in the woods (probably the earliest instance of a hero's mental illness in French literature, which later became a popular motif), but eventually is cured by Morgan and decides to win back his love. A lion he rescues from

280-479: Is a central component of the Matter of Britain. Geoffrey drew on a number of ancient British texts, including the 9th-century Historia Brittonum . The Historia Brittonum is the earliest known source of the story of Brutus of Troy . Traditionally attributed to Nennius , its actual compiler is unknown; it exists in several recensions. This tale went on to achieve greater currency because its inventor linked Brutus to

320-732: Is also possible to read the Arthurian literature, particularly the Grail tradition, as an allegory of human development and spiritual growth, a theme explored by mythologist Joseph Campbell amongst others. Welsh Romances The Three Welsh Romances are: Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain is analogous to Chrétien de Troyes ' Old French poem Yvain, the Knight of the Lion . It survives in

360-559: Is happily reconciled in the end, and Geraint inherits his father's kingdom. Enid does not appear in Welsh sources outside of this romance, but Geraint was already a popular figure. Some scholars hold that the Erec from Chrétien's poem is based on Geraint, but others think the Welsh author simply replaced an unfamiliar French name with one his audience would recognize and associate with heroism. Alfred, Lord Tennyson based two of his Idylls of

400-403: Is not a true wife for keeping her husband from his chivalric duties, but Geraint misunderstands her comment to mean she has been unfaithful to him. He makes her join him on a long and dangerous trip and commands her not to speak to him. Enid disregards this command several times to warn her husband of danger. Several adventures follow that prove Enid's love and Geraint's fighting ability. The couple

440-405: Is only mentioned in passing, as succeeding his uncle, Auguselus (Angusel), King of Albany (northern Scotland). The settlers of Brittany brought much of their insular British culture when they came to the continent, and in the 12th century, updated versions of Breton lais and stories became popular with French audiences. The French poet Chrétien de Troyes wrote the romance Yvain, the Knight of

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480-656: Is the best-known part of the Matter of Britain. It has succeeded largely because it tells two interlocking stories that have intrigued many later authors. One concerns Camelot , usually envisioned as a doomed utopia of chivalric virtue, undone by the fatal flaws of the heroes like Arthur, Gawain and Lancelot . The other concerns the quests of the various knights to achieve the Holy Grail ; some succeed ( Galahad , Percival ), and others fail. The Arthurian tales have been changed throughout time, and other characters have been added to add backstory and expand on other Knights of

520-479: The Battle of Camlann (known as the Battle of Salisbury Plain in the romances). There, he personally kills two of Saxon leaders allied to the traitorous King Mordred and rescues the unhorsed Arthur, before Mordred himself charges his half-brother and splits his helmet and head with a two-handed powerful downwards sword blow. The scene's narration declares that, by the time of his death, Yvain "was considered to be one of

560-486: The White Book of Rhydderch and the Red Book of Hergest , both from the 14th century. The tale's hero, Yvain , is based on the historical figure Owain mab Urien . The romance consists of a hero marrying his love, the Lady of the Fountain , but losing her when he neglects her for knightly exploits. With the aid of a lion he saves from a serpent, he finds a balance between his marital and social duties and rejoins his wife. It

600-504: The legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur . The 12th-century writer Geoffrey of Monmouth 's Historia Regum Britanniae ( History of the Kings of Britain) is a central component of the Matter of Britain. It was one of the three great Western story cycles recalled repeatedly in medieval literature, together with the Matter of France , which concerned

640-508: The Ford of Barking where dogs congregate and bark for some unknown reason. Only Urien is brave enough to go near the place and there he discovers Modron, endlessly washing clothes (a scene common in Celtic legend, see Morrígan ). He has his way with her, and she announces she had been destined to remain at the ford until she had conceived a son by a Christian. She tells Urien to return at the end of

680-503: The King on Geraint and Enid . They were originally published as a single poem called "Enid" in 1859; he later split it into two poems, "The Marriage of Geraint" and "Geraint and Enid". Peredur son of Efrawg is associated with Chrétien de Troyes ' unfinished romance Perceval, the Story of the Grail , but it contains many striking differences from that work, most notably the absence of

720-740: The Lion at the same time he was working on Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart during the 1170s. In it, the eponymous hero Yvain seeks to avenge his cousin Calogrenant who had been defeated by an otherworldly knight beside a magical storm-making fountain in the forest of Brocéliande . Yvain defeats the knight, Esclados , and falls in love with his widow Laudine . With the aid of Laudine's servant Lunete , Yvain wins his lady and marries her, but his cousin Gawain convinces him to embark on chivalric adventure. Yvain's wife assents but demands he return after

760-433: The Round Table . The medieval legend of Arthur and his knights is full of Christian themes; those themes involve the destruction of human plans for virtue by the moral failures of their characters, and the quest for an important Christian relic. Finally, the relationships between the characters invited treatment in the tradition of courtly love , such as Lancelot and Guinevere , or Tristan and Iseult . In more recent years,

800-402: The Saxons") contains the lines: Ne sont que III matières à nul homme atandant: De France et de Bretaigne et de Rome la grant There are only three subject matters for any discerning man: That of France, that of Britain, and that of great Rome. The name distinguishes and relates the Matter of Britain from the mythological themes taken from classical antiquity , the " Matter of Rome ", and

840-826: The Tall), he appears in all the 13th-century prose accounts of the Vulgate Cycle and the Post-Vulgate Cycle , and consequently in Thomas Malory 's Le Morte d'Arthur . Yvain's mother is often said to be King Arthur 's half-sister, making him Arthur's nephew. This sister is Morgan in the Post-Vulgate Cycle and Le Morte d'Arthur (causing Yvain to be banished from the court of Camelot after Morgan's attempts on Arthur's life), but other works name another of their siblings, such as Queen Brimesent in

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880-651: The Vulgate Merlin . Yvain is nephew of Morgause and King Lot , and thus cousin to Gawain, Agravain , Gaheris , Gareth and Mordred . He has a half-brother (with whom he is often confused) named Yvain the Bastard , son of Urien and his seneschal 's wife (and also another half-brother named Galeguinant in the Prose Lancelot ). In his version, Malory merged Yvain the Great with the character of Yvain of

920-689: The White Hands , previously an unrelated Knight of the Round Table, and also made him father of Yder . In the cyclical prose tradition, Yvain fights in Arthur's war against the Saxons ( Saracens in the English versions), Lucius , Claudas and Galehaut , and undergoes in many various quests and adventures, some of these during his banishment from Camelot following the conflict between King Arthur and his mother. These include his failed attempt to defeat

960-698: The author of Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain , one of the Welsh Romances included in the Mabinogion , tells essentially the same story, recasting the work in a Welsh setting. The story exists in several further versions in different languages, including the Middle English Ywain and Gawain . However, the mysterious 14th-century so-called Prose Yvain is a mostly unrelated text and not an actual prosification of Chrétien's poem. It contains only one Yvain episode, telling of his rescue of

1000-819: The basis of the literary character, ruled as the king of Rheged in Britain during the late-6th century. Yvain was one of the earliest characters associated with King Arthur . He was also one of the most popular, starring as the eponymous hero in Chrétien de Troyes ' late-12th-century Yvain, the Knight of the Lion and appearing prominently in many later accounts, often accompanied by his fierce pet lion. He remains Urien's son in virtually all literature in which he appears, whereas other Arthurian-legend characters based on historical figures usually lost their original familial connections in romance literature. Ywain (Yvain) takes his name from Owain mab Urien (Owain son of Urien ),

1040-564: The best and most valiant men in the world." The chronicle Scalacronica uses the cyclical prose narrative but vastly expands of Yvain's roles in the battle, having him replace Arthur as Mordred's slayer as well as Griflet in the final scenes. Yvain's birth by the fay ( fairy ) Morgan may have its roots in Welsh legends : two of the Triads claim the goddess-like figure of Modron as his mother. Travelling through Denbighshire , Urien comes across

1080-538: The chess men. The Saxon leaders arrive and ask for a truce of two weeks, and the armies move on to Cornwall . Rhonabwy, the dreamer of the Dream , awakens, and the reader is left as confused as he is. The Dream of Rhonabwy has never been satisfactorily interpreted. Arthurian legend By century The Matter of Britain ( French : matière de Bretagne ) is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and

1120-851: The diaspora of heroes that followed the Trojan War . As such, this material could be used for patriotic myth-making just as Virgil linked the founding of Rome to the Trojan War in The Æneid . Geoffrey lists Coel Hen as a King of the Britons , whose daughter, Helena marries Constantius Chlorus and gives birth to a son who becomes the Emperor Constantine the Great , tracing the Roman imperial line to British ancestors. It has been suggested that Leir of Britain, who later became King Lear,

1160-609: The early Arthurian and pseudo-historical sources of the Matter of Britain. The Scots , for instance, formulated a mythical history in the Pictish and the Dál Riata royal lines. While they do eventually become factual lines, unlike those of Geoffrey, their origins are vague and often incorporate both aspects of mythical British history and mythical Irish history. The story of Gabrán mac Domangairt especially incorporates elements of both those histories. The Arthurian literary cycle

1200-624: The evil giant Malduit (eventually slain by Bors the Younger ), his participation in the liberation of the Castle of Maidens , and saving the life of a younger Mordred injured in a tournament. Yvain's importance is indicated by his close friendship with Gawain and by the passage in the Mort Artu section of the Lancelot-Grail cycle where he is one of the last to die before King Arthur at

1240-475: The legends of Charlemagne and his companions , as well as the Matter of Rome , which included material derived from or inspired by classical mythology and classical history . Its pseudo- chronicle and chivalric romance works, written both in prose and verse, flourished from the 12th to the 16th century. The three "matters" were first described in the 12th century by French poet Jean Bodel , whose epic Chanson des Saisnes  [ fr ] ("Song of

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1280-513: The lion, followed by several more unrelated episodes in which Yvain is no longer main character. Yvain appears also in numerous other romances. In some of them he has alternate family relations, for example his father in Sir Perceval of Galles is named Asoure and in Claris et Laris (where Yvain kills the king of Turkey, Corsabrin) he has a sister named Marine. As Yvain the Great (or Yvain

1320-451: The saint's father Owain tries to woo his mother, Lot of Lothian 's daughter, and which exhibit parallels to the narrative of Yvain . Geraint and Enid , also known by the title Geraint, son of Erbin , is analogous to Chrétien de Troyes ' 12th-century poem Erec and Enide ; some scholars think the two derive from a common lost source, while others believe Geraint is based directly or indirectly on Erec (though Chrétien may have had

1360-593: The tales of the Paladins of Charlemagne and their wars with the Moors and Saracens , which constituted the " Matter of France ". King Arthur is the chief subject of the Matter of Britain, along with stories related to the legendary kings of Britain , as well as lesser-known topics related to the history of Great Britain and Brittany , such as the stories of Brutus of Troy , Coel Hen , Leir of Britain (King Lear), and Gogmagog . The legendary history of Britain

1400-401: The trend has been to attempt to link the tales of King Arthur and his knights with Celtic mythology , usually in highly romanticized, 20th-century reconstructed versions. The work of Jessie Weston , in particular From Ritual to Romance , traced Arthurian imagery through Christianity to roots in early nature worship and vegetation rites, though this interpretation is no longer fashionable. It

1440-559: The year to receive his children and these are the twins Owain and Morvydd. However, Yvain is not associated with Morgan in the continental literature until the Post-Vulgate cycle. (Morgan appears in Chrétien's Knight of the Lion as a healer but the author does not imply she is the protagonist's mother.) Calogrenant or Colgrevance from Knight of the Lion is his another important cousin in the romances. In The Dream of Rhonabwy ,

1480-434: Was created partly to form a body of patriotic myth for the country. Several agendas thus can be seen in this body of literature. According to John J. Davenport, the question of Britain's identity and significance in the world "was a theme of special importance for writers trying to find unity in the mixture of their land's Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Roman and Norse inheritance." Geoffrey of Monmouth 's Historia Regum Britanniae

1520-660: Was interested in the legendary history of Britain, and was familiar with some of its more obscure byways. Shakespeare's plays contain several tales relating to these legendary kings, such as King Lear and Cymbeline . It has been suggested that Shakespeare's Welsh schoolmaster Thomas Jenkins introduced him to this material. These tales also figure in Raphael Holinshed 's The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland , which also appears in Shakespeare's sources for Macbeth . Other early authors also drew from

1560-468: Was once thought that Owain and Yvain were derived from a common lost source, but it now seems more likely that Owain was directly or indirectly based on Chrétien's poem, with local literary touches added to appeal to a Welsh audience. It is still possible that Chrétien in turn had a Welsh source, evidence of which can be found in certain episodes in the Life of St. Mungo (also called St Kentigern), where

1600-575: Was originally the Welsh sea-god Llŷr , related to the Irish Ler . Various Celtic deities have been identified with characters from Arthurian literature as well: for example Morgan le Fay was often thought to have originally been the Welsh goddess Modron or Irish the Morrígan . Many of these identifications come from the speculative comparative religion of the late 19th century and have been questioned in more recent years. William Shakespeare

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