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Caer
Caer Dathyl
Cantrev
Cantrev Rheged
Cauldron-Born
Coll son of Collfrewr
Caer. The first word in many castles or other places throughout Prydain. The two mentioned in The Book of Three are Caer Dallben, where Taran lives, and Caer Dathyl, the home of the Sons of Don. It seems more commonly used in Prydain than in ancient Wales.
In Welsh, "caer" means "fortified place" [7, p. 17]. It can be used as a noun, such as in the sentence, "The king rode back to his caer." Alexander's use of the word seems less suggestive of this meaning, unless one counts Dallben's magical protection of Caer Dallben as fortification.
Caer Dathyl. The home of Prince Gwydion, High King Math, and the other Sons of Don. Caer Dathyl sits at the edge of the Eagle Mountains in the northern part of Prydain; "standing high on a hill, the fortress alone was big enough to hold several Caer Dallbens" [p. 212]. It contains armories, stables, breweries, weaving rooms, and a great hall.
The name for this castle probably comes from Caer Dathal in the northwest of Wales. Math son of Mathonwy, in the story of the same name from The Mabinogion, lived there with his nephews, Gwydyon and Gilvaethwy, making it a logical home in Prydain for Math and Gwydion.
Cantrev. Prydain is made up of many cantrevs, which are small kingdoms ruled by kings (the reason Math has the title of "High King"). In The Book of Three, Gwydion finds out that Arawn and the Horned King have recruited some cantrevs to their side.
Similarly, Wales was once broken up into units called cantrevs. The word means "one hundred homesteads," which means a cantrev would have included the area held by about one hundred landowners [7, p. 46 note 2]. Cantrevs were further divided into commots. Pwyll Lord of Dyfed (from the first story in The Mabinogion) ruled over seven cantrevs.
Cantrev Rheged. A cantrev of Prydain's southern region. The forces of this cantrev join the Horned King's army against the Sons of Don.
Rheged is mentioned in The Mabinogion story of "How Culhwch Won Olwen" as the home of a king or leader named Uryen; Culhwch mentions this name along with dozens of others to back his request for Arthur's help. Rheged is also the name of the father of a man named Gwres in "The Dream of Rhonabwy" from The Mabinogion. Because of the brief mentionings in both Prydain and The Mabinogion, Rheged appears to be a name that Alexander simply transferred to his stories.
Cauldron-Born. Taran and Gwydion encounter a pair of these "deathless warriors" during their search for Hen Wen. Alexander describes them thus: "Their faces were pallid; their eyes like stones. Heavy bands of bronze circled their waists, and from these belts hung the black thongs of whips. Knobs of bronze studded their breastplates. They did not bear shield or helmet. Their mouths were frozen in the hideous grin of death" [p. 56]. The Cauldron-Born feel no pain, do not bleed, and make no sound. Arawn Death-Lord steals dead warriors from their graves, puts them in a cauldron, and brings them back to life. They have no memory of their lives as mortals; Gwydion says, "Among all Arawn's deeds, this is one of the cruelest" [p. 48]. If the Cauldron-Born leave Annuvin, their power begins to fade, and eventually they must return (as Taran and his companions see).
The concept of these warriors comes from The Mabinogion story of "Branwen Daughter of Llyr." Branwen was given to Mallolwch King of Ireland to be married. One of her brothers, Evnissyen, insulted Mallolwch by disfiguring his horses; he was angry his consent had not been asked. Bran the Blessed, the giant king of the island of Britain and another brother of Branwen, tried to make up for the insult to Mallolwch by giving him a cauldron. He said that if a slain warrior were put into the cauldron, he would come back to life and be able to fight; the only difference is that he would be unable to speak. In the Prydain Chronicles, Alexander mentions the Cauldron-Born's silence as one of their main features; even when they fight or are injured, they make no sound with their mouths.
Coll son of Collfrewr. Coll lives at Caer Dallben with Dallben and Taran. While Dallben teaches Taran about Prydain and its goings-on, Coll teaches him about smithing, farming, and raising animals. Coll is a good-natured man with a bald head that gleams when he is pleased about something. Gwydion tells Taran that Coll was once a warrior, and Taran cannot believe it because "Coll? A hero? But... he's so bald!" Gwydion replies, "I have never known courage to be judged by the length of a man's hair. Or, for the matter of that, whether he has any hair at all" [pp. 35-36].
In the Lady Charlotte Guest's notes on The Mabinogion, Coll ab Collfrewi is one of three powerful swineherds (or pig-keepers) in Britain, serving Dadweir Dallpenn. Coll was an enchanter himself and supposedly introduced wheat and barley to Britain [8]. These roles as a farmer and servant of Dallpenn became the ones attached to Coll in Prydain.
