InArthurian legend,Ywain/ɪˈweɪn/,also known asYvainandOwainamong other spellings (Ewaine,Ivain,Ivan,[1]Iwain,Iwein,Uwain,Uwaine,Ywan,etc.), is aKnight of the Round Table.Tradition often portrays him as the son of KingUrienof Gorre and of either the enchantressModronor the sorceressMorgan le Fay.The historicalOwain mab Urien,the basis of the literary character, ruled as the king ofRhegedin Britain during the late-6th century.
| Ywain | |
|---|---|
 "Sir Ewaine, Knight of the Fountain",Howard Pyle's illustration fromThe Story of Sir Launcelot and His Companions(1907) | |
| Based on | Owain mab Urien |
| In-universe information | |
| Title | Prince, Sir |
| Occupation | Knight of the Round Table |
| Family | Urien(father),Modron(mother),Morgan(mother or step-mother),Morfydd(twin sister),Mabon(maternal half-brother) |
| Spouse | Laudine |
| Origin | Kingdom of Gorre |
| Nationality | Celtic Briton |
Yvain was one of the earliest characters associated withKing Arthur.He was also one of the most popular, starring as the eponymous hero inChrétien de Troyes' late-12th-centuryYvain, the Knight of the Lionand 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.
Medieval literature
editYwain (Yvain) takes his name fromOwain mab Urien(Owain son ofUrien), a historical figure of the 6th-century Brythonic kingdom ofRheged(in today's northern England and southern Scotland) at the time of theAnglo-Saxon invasion of Britain.His name was recorded in thebardictradition ofTaliesinand became a legendary character in theWelsh 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 sisterEsyllt(Iseult,Tristan's love). InGeoffrey of Monmouth'sHistoria Regum Britanniaec. 1136, he is only mentioned in passing, as succeeding his uncle, Auguselus (Angusel), King of Albany (northern Scotland).
The settlers ofBrittanybrought much of their insular British culture when they came to the continent, and in the 12th century, updated versions ofBreton laisand stories became popular with French audiences. The French poet Chrétien de Troyes wrote the romanceYvain, the Knight of the Lionat the same time he was working onLancelot, the Knight of the Cartduring the 1170s. In it, the eponymous hero Yvain seeks to avenge his cousinCalogrenantwho had been defeated by anotherworldlyknight beside a magical storm-making fountain in the forest ofBrocéliande.Yvain defeats the knight,Esclados,and falls in love with his widowLaudine.With the aid of Laudine's servantLunete,Yvain wins his lady and marries her, but his cousinGawainconvinces him to embark on chivalric adventure. Yvain's wife assents but demands he return after 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[2]), but eventually is cured byMorganand decides to win back his love. A lion he rescues from 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'sYvainhad a huge impact on the literary world; German poetHartmann von Aueused it as the basis for hisMiddle High Germancourt epicIwein,while the author ofOwain, or the Lady of the Fountain,one of theWelsh Romancesincluded in theMabinogion,tells essentially the same story, recasting the work in a Welsh setting. The story exists in several further versions in different languages, including theMiddle EnglishYwain and Gawain.However, the mysterious[3]14th-century so-called ProseYvainis a mostly unrelated text and not an actual prosification of Chrétien's poem. It contains only one Yvain episode, telling of his rescue of the lion, followed by several more unrelated episodes in which Yvain is no longer main character.[4]Yvain appears also in numerous other romances. In some of them he has alternate family relations, for example his father inSir Perceval of Gallesis named Asoure and inClaris et Laris(where Yvain kills the king of Turkey, Corsabrin) he has a sister named Marine.[5]
AsYvain the Great(or Yvain the Tall), he appears in all the 13th-century prose accounts of theVulgate Cycleand thePost-Vulgate Cycle,and consequently inThomas Malory'sLe Morte d'Arthur.Yvain's mother is often said to beKing Arthur's half-sister, making him Arthur's nephew. This sister is Morgan in the Post-Vulgate Cycle andLe Morte d'Arthur(causing Yvain to be banished from the court ofCamelotafter Morgan's attempts on Arthur's life), but other works name another of their siblings, such as Queen Brimesent in the VulgateMerlin.Yvain is nephew ofMorgauseandKing Lot,and thus cousin to Gawain,Agravain,Gaheris,GarethandMordred.He has a half-brother (with whom he is often confused) namedYvain the Bastard,son of Urien and hisseneschal's wife (and also another half-brother named Galeguinant in the ProseLancelot). In his version, Malory merged Yvain the Great with the character ofYvain of the White Hands,previously an unrelated Knight of the Round Table, and also made him father ofYder.[5]
In the cyclical prose tradition, Yvain fights in Arthur's war against theSaxons(Saracensin the English versions),Lucius,ClaudasandGalehaut,and undergoes in many various quests and adventures, some of these during his banishment fromCamelotfollowing the conflict between King Arthur and his mother. These include his failed attempt to defeat the evil giant Malduit (eventually slain byBors the Younger), his participation in the liberation of theCastle 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 theMort Artusection of theLancelot-Grailcycle where he is one of the last to die beforeKing Arthurat theBattle 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 the best and most valiant men in the world."[6]The chronicleScalacronicauses the cyclical prose narrative but vastly expands of Yvain's roles in the battle, having him replace Arthur as Mordred's slayer as well asGrifletin the final scenes.[7]
Yvain's birth by the fay (fairy) Morgan may have its roots inWelsh legends:two of the Triads claim the goddess-like figure ofModronas his mother. Travelling throughDenbighshire,Urien comes across 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, seeMorrígan). 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 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'sKnight of the Lionas a healer but the author does not imply she is the protagonist's mother.) Calogrenant or Colgrevance fromKnight of the Lionis his another important cousin in the romances.
InThe Dream of Rhonabwy,a Welsh tale associated with theMabinogion,Owain is one of Arthur's top warriors and plays a game of chess against him while the Saxons prepare to fight theBattle 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 the chess men. The Saxon leaders arrive and ask for a truce of two weeks, and the armies move on toCornwall.Rhonabwy, the dreamer of theDream,awakens, and the reader is left as confused as he is. TheDream of Rhonabwyhas never been satisfactorily interpreted.
Later Arthuriana
edit- He appears inChild Ballad34,Kemp Owyne,as the title hero, where his role is to disenchant a maiden turned into a dragon by kissing her three times. This story has no parallels in Arthurian legend, and it is not clear how he came to be attached to this story, although many other Arthur knights appear in other ballads with as little connection to their appearances in Arthurian legend.[8]
- He appears in Marion Zimmer Bradley'sMists of Avalon;but as Morgan le Fay's foster son, not her biological son.
- InBernard Cornwell'sThe Winter King,Owain is the chief warlord ofUther Pendragonand the champion ofDumnonia,with no connection to Morgan whatsoever; he is depicted as an accomplished and much-feared soldier, but is morally corrupt and a war profiteer. After accepting money to massacre innocent tin miners to frame a foreign power, Owain is accused of dishonour by Arthur (representing Tristan), who challenges Owain to trial-by-combat and kills him in a duel.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Wilhelm, James J. (22 May 2014).The Romance of Arthur: An Anthology.Routledge.ISBN9781317959854.
- ^Wright, Edith A. (1939). "Medieval Attitudes Towards Mental Illness".Bulletin of the History of Medicine.7(3): 352–356.JSTOR44440437.
- ^Arthurian Studies in Honour of P.J.C. Field.Vol. 57. Boydell & Brewer. 2004.ISBN9781843840138.JSTOR10.7722/j.ctt81s3x.
- ^Muir, Lynette R. (1964)."A Reappraisal of the Prose Yvain (National Library of Wales, Ms. 444-D)".Romania.85(338): 355–365.doi:10.3406/roma.1964.2950.
- ^abBruce, Christopher W. (15 January 1999).The Arthurian Name Dictionary.Taylor & Francis.ISBN9780815328650– via Google Books.
- ^Lacy, Norris J. (15 January 2010).Lancelot-Grail: The death of Arthur.Boydell & Brewer Ltd.ISBN9781843842309– via Google Books.
- ^Morris, Rosemary (15 January 1982).The Character of King Arthur in Medieval Literature.Boydell & Brewer Ltd.ISBN9780859910880– via Google Books.
- ^Child,The English and Scottish Popular Ballads,Volume I, p. 306.
Sources
edit- Bromwich, Rachel(1963).Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain.University Of Wales Press.ISBN0-7083-1386-8.
- Child, Francis James,(1965).The English and Scottish Popular Ballads,Volume I, p. 306. New York: Dover Publications.
- Chrétien de Troyes; Owen, D. D. R. (translator) (1988).Arthurian Romances.Tuttle Publishing, reprinted byEveryman's Library.ISBN0-460-87389-X.
- Chrétien de Troyes;Raffel, Burton(translator) (1987).Yvain, the Knight of the Lion.Yale University Press.ISBN0-300-03837-2.
External links
edit
- Yvainat The Camelot Project