The Mabinogion · 101 of 192 · tr. Lady Charlotte Guest
Tale KILHWCH AND OLWENr
It is not possible to hunt the boar Trwyth without Gwynn the son of Nudd, whom God has placed over the brood of devils in Annwvyn, lest they should destroy the present race.
He will never be spared thence.” “It will be easy for me to compass this, although thou mayest think that it will not be easy.” “Though thou get this, there is yet that which thou wilt not get.
There is not a horse in the world that can carry Gwynn to hunt the Twrch Trwyth, except Du, the horse of Mor of Oerveddawg.” “It will be easy for me to compass this, although thou mayest think that it will not be easy.” “Though thou get this, there is yet that which thou wilt not get.
Until Gilennhin the king of France shall come, the Twrch Trwyth cannot be hunted.
It will be unseemly for him to leave his kingdom for thy sake, and he will never come hither.” “It will be easy for me to compass this, although thou mayest think that it will not be easy.” “Though thou get this, there is yet that which thou wilt not get.
The Twrch Trwyth can never be hunted without the son of Alun Dyved; he is well skilled in letting loose the dogs.” “It will be easy for me to compass this, although thou mayest think that it will not be easy.” “Though thou get this, there is yet that which thou wilt not get.
The Twrch Trwyth cannot be hunted unless thou get Aned and Aethlem.
They are as swift as the gale of wind, and they were never let loose upon a beast that they did not kill him.” “It will be easy for me to compass this, although thou mayest think that it will not be easy.” “Though thou get this, there is yet that which thou wilt not get; Arthur and his companions to hunt the Twrch Trwyth.
He is a mighty man, and he will not come for thee, neither wilt thou be able to compel him.” “It will be easy for me to compass this, although thou mayest think that it will not be easy.” “Though thou get this, there is yet that which thou wilt not get.
The Twrch Trwyth cannot be hunted unless thou get Bwlch, and Kyfwlch [and Sefwlch], the grandsons of Cleddyf Difwlch.
Their three shields are three gleaming glitterers.
Their three spears are three pointed piercers.
Their three swords are three griding gashers, Glas, Glessic, and Clersag.
Their three dogs, Call, Cuall, and Cavall.
Their three horses, Hwyrdydwg, and Drwgdydwg, and Llwyrdydwg.
Their three wives, Och, and Garam, and Diaspad.
Their three grandchildren, Lluched, and Vyned, and Eissiwed.
Their three daughters, Drwg, and Gwaeth, and Gwaethav Oll.
Their three hand-maids [Eheubryd, the daughter of Kyfwlch; Gorasgwrn, the daughter of Nerth; and Gwaedan, the daughter of Kynvelyn].
These three men shall sound the horn, and all the others shall shout, so that all will think that the sky is falling to the earth.” “It will be easy for me to compass this, although thou mayest think that it will not be easy.” “Though thou get this, there is yet that which thou wilt not get.
The sword of Gwrnach the Giant; he will never be slain except therewith.
Themes
◆Animismcosmology
The doctrine and worldview that natural phenomena, places, and objects possess inherent spirit, soul, or personality — and that the cosmos is populated by countless local, plural, embodied divine agents: kami in mountain and tree, sidhe in cairn and well, landwights in field and stone, nymphs in spring and grove, haltija in forest and lake, lares and penates in household and threshold, Iamblichean daemons in element and place. Distinct from monotheism (single transcendent God), pantheism (one underlying substance), and emanation_hierarchy (cascading single source); animism's signature is the plurality, locality, and embodied-in-landscape character of the divine.
The narrative world is populated by supernatural agents (devils, enchanted horses and dogs) inherent to the landscape and quest, characteristic of an animistic worldview despite the monotheistic gloss.
Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.
The passage establishes a conflict between God and the 'brood of devils' in Annwvyn, implying an ontological opposition between divine order and malevolent forces.
Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.
The text explicitly states that God has placed Gwynn over the devils to prevent them from destroying the present race, indicating active divine ordering for human preservation.