Entries on this page (click one to jump to it):
Gurgi
Gwydion
Gwyn the Hunter
Gwythyr son of Greidawl
Gurgi. A shaggy creature with a wolfhound odor. Gurgi lives in the forests, and he fears warlords and warriors who might hurt his "poor tender head." However, he recognizes who is friend and who is foe, shown by the fact that he approaches Taran and Gwydion instead of the Horned King. At first, Taran has little use for Gurgi, but the strange half-man, half-animal shows his loyalty and dedication, and Taran's heart softens toward him. Nearly always hungry, Gurgi frequently asks for "crunchings and munchings."
Gurgi came from Gwrgi, a "hideous gray human dog" mentioned in folklore collected by an eighteenth-century clergyman named Davies [8]. Alexander made him a significant part of the Prydain Chronicles and gave him a unique personality.
Gwydion. Son of High King Math and the Prince of Don. Gwydion is a strong and wise character whom Taran meets during his search for Hen Wen. At first, Gwydion sees Taran as something of a nuisance, but he comes to appreciate Taran's bravery and willingness. In their short time together during The Book of Three, Gwydion tries to teach Taran something about the ways of Prydain and being a warrior, which isn't as glorious and fantastic as the Assistant Pig-Keeper dreams.
In The Mabinogion, Gwydyon is the nephew of Math, a king in northern Wales. He has siblings, while any brothers or sisters of Alexander's Gwydion aren't mentioned. Gwydyon has powers of magic and can change his appearance; these abilities are reflected when Gwydion conjures up flame to protect himself and Taran against Achren's warriors (which he says he learned from Dallben). However, the noble character portrayed in The Book of Three is sometimes lacking in Gwydyon of The Mabinogion; he helped his brother Gilvaethwy fulfill his lust for a virgin and swindled Pryderi son of Pwyll out of the swine Arawn of Annwvyn had given him. The issue of the pigs caused a war, and Pryderi challenged Gwydyon to combat and lost his life. Gwydyon's better characteristics emerged when he took his nephew Lleu in and helped him counter all the curses his mother laid upon him. The more noble character of Alexander's Gwydion may have come from the fact that Taran admires him, and he represents the flawless person we see ourselves trying to become.
Gwyn the Hunter. Not much is known about Gwyn, who rides with his hounds throughout Prydain. His passing warns of battle and death. Taran and Gwydion hear Gwyn's hounds and hunting horn as they search for Hen Wen and shortly before seeing the Horned King's armies. The music roused fear in Taran, but "the echoes from the hills sang less of fear than of grief. Fading, they sighed that sunlight and birds, bright mornings, warm fires, food and drink, friendship, and all good things had been lost beyond recovery." Gwydion tells Taran that "Gwyn's music is a warning," and that those who listened too closely to the echoes "have wandered hopeless ever since" [pp. 49-50].
The name Gwynn appears frequently in The Mabinogion, held by different men. Gwynn son of Nudd matches the closest to the hunter in Prydain. One of Culhwch's tasks given by Chief Giant Ysbadadden was to bring Gwynn out of Annwvyn and to get for Gwynn the horse of Moro Battle Leader, which was called Du. Gwynn stole Creiddylad ("the most majestic girl ever in Britain or the three offshore islands" [7, p. 148]) before Gwythyr son of Greidyawl could marry her. Gwythyr gathered an army and attacked Gwynn's; Gwynn won and took prisoners that were later rescued by Arthur, who brought peace between Gwythyr and Gwynn. Still, the two men would fight every May Day for Creiddylad until the one who conquered on Judgment Day would win her. Gwynn gave little help in the quest to slay Twrch Trwyth, the giant boar. However, he advised Arthur in his attempt to get the blood of the Black Hag (one of the items Culhwch had to get to be able to marry Olwen).
Lady Charlotte Guest wrote further that Gwynn son of Nudd led the people of Tylwyth Teg and the Elves, and he was sometimes mischievous. Gwyn the Hunter's ability to predict battle and death in Prydain may have come from Gwynn's talent for astronomy; he could read the stars and know anything that would occur before the end of the world [8].
Gwythyr son of Greidawl. Medwyn tells Taran the story of Gwythyr, friend to Kilhuch. Gwythyr took upon him one of the tasks given to Kilhuch so he could marry Olwen. The task was to collect nine bushels of flax seed. Before accomplishing the task, Gwythyr saved a colony of ants from a fire. The ants helped him gather the flax seed and meet Yspaddaden's demands, the last seed brought by a lame ant.
This story is very similar to that from The Mabinogion, wherein Culhwch had to complete tasks given by Ysbaddaden before he could marry Olwen. Gwythyr used his sword to collapse the anthill, which smothered the fire that threatened the ants. The ants said, "Take God's blessing and ours, and what no person on earth can find we will deliver." They filled the "nine hestors of linseed" by nightfall, with the lame ant bringing in the last seed.