#geraint and enid | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

gingersnaptaff · 2 months ago

Text

Gwalchy/Geraint comparison

Shwmae! Back on my bullshit once again!! Gonna be talking about Gwalchmai, and Geraint, while also comparing them, cuz it's fun and I read an essay that made me freak out.

Firstly, some background:

What is a Penteulu?

‘The medieval household surrounding a Welsh lord,’ writes Sean Davies, ‘was one of the key Welsh institutions throughout the Middle Ages.’ A teulu - or family - was essentially a household army attached to a lord, or king. Not all members of the Teuluoedd were of high status, and they were entitled to any booty won on campaign. The Penteulu, or ‘head of the family’, was the commander of said force. It was his job to ‘maintain discipline and harmonious relations within the teulu to ensure its effectiveness,’ as well as ‘mustering and organising the teulu for any given campaign or raid.’ Furthermore, the laws demeaned specific duties from him: he was to accompany the king or prince at all times - sort of like a proto-bodyguard - and be ready to do his bidding, only leaving his monarch’s side when performing an errand for him.

The position of Penteulu was held in high esteem as it allowed unfettered access to the king or lord. This meant that the position was highly coveted as he was ‘one of the king's chief ministers,’ equal to a distain, or steward. (Distain’s could sometimes be like a proto-prime minister, like in the case of Ednyfed Fychan!) The role of Penteulu, therefore, went to a kinsman of the lord or king. (Owain Gwynedd made his son, Hywel, Penteulu of his forces in 1157 when Henry II led an ill-fated expedition on Anglesey.’)

So, with that out of the way, onto Gwalchy and Geraint!

First off, Gwalchmai is, I would argue, a main character within the three Arthurian Romances included in The Mab. With this in mind, I'll try and only refer to him just in his appearance in ‘Geraint ac Enid,’ but, if they're relevant, I'll chuck in refs to Owain and Peredur. Also, pls note, I am biased in my opinion towards Geraint, so bear that in mind. I'll try to be as objective as possible, but yeah.

Now, at the start of G+E, Geraint is a ‘junior knight.’ He holds no office of import unlike say Cai, Gwalchmai, or even Peredur. As the Knight of the Sparrowhawk's dwarf notes: ‘your status is not high enough to entitle you to speak to my lord.’ This puts him on a lower pedestal than Edern - and his retinue - as well as Gwenhwyfar. This can be seen in the blatantly deferential tone that he takes up when speaking to Gwen at the start of the tale, and the fact that it is she who enquires of him why he did not hunt with ‘his lord.’

Much is also made of Geraint's lands and holdings within the first half of the tale and, when he fucks off back to Cornwall in order to take them up from his father, you could say that this is when the real problems begin for him. Geraint is easily insulted as can be seen from his reactions to the dwarf, Edern, and, most importantly, his own wife.

This stands in sharp contrast to Gwalchmai. Much is made of his ‘golden-tongue’ and courteous nature within all three Arthurian Romances within The Mabinogion, and ‘Geraint ac Enid’ is no exception.

He is immediately concerned by Geraint and, presumably, Enid's appearances when they reunite in the forest where Arthur's pavilion is situated, as well as when Cai brings news of there being ‘a wounded knight’ who has been ‘seen in the forest there wearing armour that's in poor condition.’ Upon hearing this - as well as the fact that said knight beat Cai shitless - Gwalchmai goes to meet with him and address the slight that Cai committed.

It is Gwalchmai then who ensures that Geraint and Enid receive care - medical or otherwise - from Arthur’s court, as well as, perhaps more pertinently, smoothing over Cai and Geraint’s spat. In this he would be doing his duty as his lord's Penteulu in smoothing over disputes that erupted within the court/within the ranks of his teulu. It is not much of a stretch to assume that Geraint is - at this point - still in service to his lord, and, therefore, bound to his will – which has been carried out by Gwalchmai.

It is also he who sends a squire to ‘tell Arthur that Geraint was there,’ and to ‘ask Arthur if he will move his tent closer to the road for [Geraint] won't come to see him of his own free will.’ In doing this Gwalchmai upholds the harmony of the Penteulu as well as his lord's will, while also enabling Geraint’s wounds to heal.

This system of redress and addressing conflict is one of the key tenets of Cyfraith Hywel - or The Laws of Hywel Dda. Three copies of said laws are extant - the Cyfnerth, Blegywryd, and Iorwerth and all have their own redactions within the texts. These are ‘the principal… Codifications of Welsh Law.’ All set down ‘a series of tractates’ that deal with the Laws of Court, Laws of the Country, and also include the Justices’ Test Book, although no text is similar to another. It is no accident then that the Mab as a whole deals with conflict and the ways it can both destroy and be soothed. Each of the Arthurian texts deals with an insult done towards somebody, be it queen, knight, lady, or lord, and ‘Geraint’ is perhaps the clearest in bringing that to the fore.

Geraint's receival of a blow from the dwarf after Gwenhwyfar's maid has been similarly struck is the first to address this. Geraint reflects that ‘it would be no vengeance for him to slay the dwarf and have the armed horseman take him cheaply and without arms.’ Therefore he must avenge the wrong done to both him and the queen by the Knight of the Sparrowhawk through other means - a tournament.

Like Cai, Geraint is rash. He changes into most of his adventures with nary a care, and also takes immense satisfaction from them. He seeks to increase his own glory by winning tournaments and booty - for example, the horses he gathers from the slain knights - while also both grievously wounding Edern, and, although the text does not state it, inflicting serious psychological damage on Enid. It is he who allows her to be treated so cruelly by himself and other men, and in doing so exposes the complex views Welsh men had about women.

I have talked about this before but in Welsh society ‘an insult to a woman was an insult against her husband and male relatives.’ It ‘called into question their ability to defend their women,’ and cast serious doubt upon their family honour. Not being able to protect their women was, arguably, seen as the worst thing a man could do. Michael Cichon has even suggested that that is why Welsh Arthuriana has no affair angle. It was unnecessary. An audience would've been just as aware of Arthur's failures because of his inability to retaliate against the affronts done to his wife - and him - for it suggests a ‘similar impotence’ to a Welsh audience the way the act of cuckoldry would to an Norman one. It's no accident that in all three Romances Gwenhwyfar is the main target for dishonour. Her honour is paramount for both the King and the kingdom's wellbeing.

In dragging Enid with him - ostensibly in recompense for her supposedly ‘contemplating love for another man instead of him’ - Geraint has, in fact, insulted not just her, but her family, and, furthermore, the queen herself. In abusing one of the queen's ladies, Geraint himself has committed an offence equal to that of the dwarf’s, and so would’ve been made to pay a sarhâd (a fine) for this.

As Jacob Michaud Black notes, ‘women are an unimpeachable excuse for a feud, whenever it can be held that a woman's reputation has been compromised.’ Geraint - in his own way - has created a feud in his mind and it is both the court and Gwalchmai’s task to set him right. They must ‘repair’ the bond between him and his wife. (Repairing in sarcasm quotes because GERAINT, THERE'S NO EXCUSE! I’m eating him alive. May he dessicate from the inside out and rats feast on his bloated corpse.) Furthermore, this is my own interpretation, but nothing much is made of his apparent reconciliation with his wife. The text does not treat it with as much gravity as it ought. Geraint sees that ‘Enid had lost her colour and appearance’ and acknowledges that she ‘was in the right’ but - although he does avenge the insult done by the lord who ‘clouted her on the ear’ - he does not fully strive for forgiveness from her. After all, he has committed a greater fault than said lord in abusing his queen's lady and his own wife.

Now, Gwalchmai is the one who advises both Geraint and Arthur on how exactly to redress and harmonise their courts. ‘It is best for you to satisfy the suitors today, and receive the homage of your men today,’ he says to Geraint once they have arrived in Cornwall. Geraint, for once, wisely follows this advice. Moreover, he is positioned as an advisor to the other members of the teulu within ‘Owain’ suggesting that they break Owain out of jail or avenge him if he's been slain. This fits within the realm of a penteulu’s job description, and much is made of said prudent council within the Welsh poetical tradition.

The Triads, for example, position him as one of the Three men who were ‘Most Courteous to Guests and Strangers’ while, in all three Welsh Romances, it is he who reconciled hero and court through words where others (Cai, my beloved) have failed. As O.J. Padel states in ‘Arthur in Medieval Welsh Literature,’ Gwalchmai was ‘used as an honourable comparison’ in a poem by the poet Cynddelw for his patron Owain Gwynedd, in the twelfth century. ‘Taerualch ual Gwalchmai’ or fervently strong like Gwalchmai, while his reputation for courtesy is further alluded to by his epithet ‘tafod aur’ or golden-tongue.

Geraint too is also mentioned within Welsh poetry- although the elegy written for him is for the historical Geraint. ‘Yn Llongborth llas y Arthur, gwyrdewr kymynynt a dur,’ or in Longborth they were killed, Arthur's loss, brave men, they struck down with steel. ‘This poem,’ Padel states 'is of interest … since a later section dwells on horses which took part in the battle.’ In his romance, Geraint gathers a collection of horses from the knights he has killed on his and Enid's journey and it is this intertwining or alluding that is so fascinating. Evidently whoever wrote or transcribed G+E had some inkling of this poem. Perhaps it was a tongue-in-cheek reference to it?

This interlinking of ‘history’ and poetry is intriguing as it allows us a glimpse into how the melting pot of Welsh Arthuriana came into being. Mythological figures - like Arthur, Gwalchmai, Cai, and Gwenhwyfar - enmesh with historical figures, or at least give basis to their mythological counterparts. Perhaps they used these stories as a way to remember facets of great leaders or venerate them in some way.

I've mentioned before that bards were the keepers of history as well as the primary sources for stories. Could it be a similar case to The Iliad where fact and fiction mixed? There are traces of fact and fiction mixed into Geraint and Gwalchmai. Gwalchmai is seen as a figure to emulate within the corpus of Welsh Arthuriana, so much so that he's a shorthand for honour well into the twelfth century. Geraint, meanwhile, offers a look into both the complexity of Welsh laws and how Ards could - and maybe did - certain aspects of story and history things together. (Not to say that I think any Arthurian character or tale is historical. I merely mean in terms of the Arthurian sandbox certain historical personages were drawn upon. As Sioned Davies notes in her intro to The Mabinogion ‘they have been completely adapted to the native culture, and remain stylistically and structurally within the Welsh narrative tradition.’) These tales are ‘not merely written versions of oral narratives, but rather the works of authors using and shaping traditional material for their own purposes,’ and are vitally important in our understanding about Welsh culture.

Sources

Sioned Davies - The Mabinogion'

Michael Cichton - Insult and Redress in Cyfraith Hywel Dda and The Mabinogion

Sean Davies - War and Society in Medieval Wales (633 - 1283)

Natalia I. Petrovskaia - Edling or Penteulu? Ambiguities in the Status of Gwalchmai, Nephew of Arthur

Cyfraith Hywel Dda

O.J. Padel - Arthur in Medieval Welsh Literature

Jacob Michaud Black - Cohesive Force: Feud in the Mediterranean and the Middle East