Cavall

Linked to the Welsh literature regarding Arthur's dog Cafall is the mention Arthur's dog Cabal's pawprint, preserved in rock, in the Latin tract of Historia Brittonum (9th century). The print was preserved in rock while the dog was pursuing the boar Troynt. The lore is preserved in the Wonders of Britain (De Mirabilibus Britanniae or Mirabilia in shorthand) appended to the Historia Brittonum.Ashe, Geoffrey. "Nennius", in: Lacy, Norris J., et al., edd., The Arthurian Encyclopedia, New York: Peter Bedrick Books, 1986, pp. 404–406: "The appendix of Mirabilia ("Marvels") may be a little later than the rest of the book, but not much" (p. 406). The wondrous nature of this cairn of stones was that even if someone removed that foot-printed stone to another spot, it would be back at its original heap the next day.{{sfnp|Rhys|1901|pp=537–539}}{{sfnp|Guest ed., tr.|1849|pp=358–360}}{{efn|Guest's notes also provides a sketch of the footprint (shown right) as well as facsimile of the Latin text from Harley 3859.}}

File:Cavall footprint stone Guest Mabinogion(1849) vol2 p360.png

{{Quotation|There is another marvel in the region which is called Buelt (≈Buellt{{Refn|"district of Builth" in Brecknockshire {{harvp|Fletcher|1906|p=15}}, n5 gives "Brecknock-Radnor", apparently meaning Brecknockshire and Radnorshire}}). There is a mound of stones there and one stone placed above the pile with the pawprint of a dog in it. When Cabal, who was the dog of Arthur the soldier, was hunting the boar Troynt (recté Troit{{harvp|Fletcher|1906|p=320}}: "Two names in the Mirabilia should be replaced by better variant readings, Troynt by Troit, and Anir by Amr".), he impressed his print in the stone, and afterwards Arthur assembled a stone mound under the stone with the print of his dog, and it is called the Carn Cabal (i.e., a cairn). And men come and remove the stone in their hands for the length of a day and a night; and on the next day it is found on top of its mound.|J. A. Giles tr., Wonders of Britain §73{{cite wikisource |title=Wonders of Britain, Ch. 73 |wslink=Six Old English Chronicles/Nennius's History of the Britons (Annotated)#1:73 |author= |translator=J. A. Giles |translator-link=John Allen Giles |wslanguage=en |quote=There is another marvel in the region which is called Buelt.. }}Cf. {{harvp|Guest ed., tr.|1849|p=359}} and {{harvp|Guest tr.|1877|p=289}}, notes, p. , translated from {{harvp|Stevenson|1838}}, §73}}

Lady Charlotte Guest was aware of the local lore that placed the monument at a mountain situated in the "district of Builth", the name by which that area was still being remembered from what was the ancient Buellt cantref of medieval Wales.{{harvp|Guest ed., tr.|1849|p=359}} writes: "a mountain in the district of Builth, to the South of Rhayader Gwy[i.e., on the River Wye], and within sight of that town", then on p. 360, quotes the correspondence from her informant that: "Carn Cavall..generally pronounced Corn Cavall, is a lofty and rugged mountain, in the upper part of the district anciently called Buellt, now written Builth, in Breconshire". Nowadays, this mountain is known as Carn Gafallt,{{harvp|Roberts|1991|p=90}}: "Carn Cabal is a cairn.. now.. Corn Gaffalt, a hill.. in north Brecknockshire, between Rhaeadr [i.e., Rhayader, Radnorshire] and Builth Wells". but this identification is uncertain according to Geoffrey Ashe. The "Buelt" name is also preserved in present-day Builth Wells (in historic county of Brecknockshire) now part of county Powys.The Latin text's editor also annotates on the place name "Buelt" as "Brecknock-Radnor", {{harvp|Fletcher|1906|p=15}}, n5

{{Further|Twrch Trwyth|Hunting of Twrch Trwyth}}

Unlike the simple primitive lore, the late Welsh romance Culhwch and Olwen weaves a much more intricate tale, naming many dogs besides Cavall in the hunting party, and the quarry is no longer just the boar Twrch Trwyth itself, its seven offspring (with names), and yet another boar named Yskithyrwyn besides.

Yskithyrwyn Penbaedd (or Ysgithyrwyn Chief Boar) was yet another boar to be hunted by Arthur's band; its tusk, which needed to be extracted while still alive, being another of the "impossible tasks" (anoeth; pl. anoethiau) prescribed by Ysbaddaden Chief-Giant. This tusk was the tool necessary for shaving the giant to groom him up, him being the father of the bride Olwen.

In Culhwch and Olwen, Arthur's dog Cavall is specifically credited with the slaying of Yskithyrwin (or at least with cornering the beast to its doom). Caw of Prydain who rides Arthur's mare Llamrei cleaves Yskithyrwyn's head with a hatchet.

Afterwards, "Bedwyr leading Cavall, Arthur's own dog",{{harvp|Guest ed., tr.|1849|p=311}} / a bedwyr a chauall ki arthur ynyl w ynteu. p. 239 joins the other hunters and dogs to pursue the great boar Twrch Trwyth and its piglets. But the specific role played by Cavall is not told.

The other hounds, which either belonged to Arthur's retinue or were recruited elsewhere, include:

• The two (wolf?) pups of Gast Rhymhi{{harvp|Guest ed., tr.|1849|pp=266, 301}} / gast rymi p. 210, gast rymhi 235 (two whelps of the bitch Rhymhi),{{sfnp|Jones|Jones trr.|1993|pp=88, 105}}
• The pups/cubs are possibly named Gwyddrud and Gwyddneu Astrus, though they are introduced as members of Arthur's court.{{harvp|Bromwich|Evans|1992}}, Culhwch, pp. 100, 146n: "{{lang|cy|Gwydrut a Gwyden Astrus}}" make this identification. The family of wolves reverts to human form by grace of God, but it is rather a mystery how Culhwch's bridal quest was helped by this.
• Aned and Aethelm.{{harvp|Guest ed., tr.|1849}}, pp. 290, 316 / "anet ac aethlem", pp. 227, 246{{harvp|Jones|Jones trr.|1993|pp=100, 112}}
• Glas, Glessic, and Gleisad{{harvp|Bromwich|Evans|1992|p=27}}: "Glas , Glessic , Gleissat , eu tri chi; Call , Cuall , Cauall , eu tri meirch"{{Refn|Besides Bromwich's edition, several modern translations interpret these as dogs' name, e.g. Jones & Jones: "Glas, Glesig Gleisad, their three dogs"{{sfnp|Jones|Jones trr.|1993|p=89,100}} or Davis: "Glas [Grey], Glesig, Gleisad [Salmon]--their three dogs. Call [Clever], Cuall [Quick], Cafall [Steed]--their three horses", etc.}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|However, Lady Guest parsed the text so that these were the three "grinding gashers", i.e., sword names.{{harvp|Guest ed., tr.|1849}}, Welsh, pp. 211, 227; translation pp. 267, 291: "three grinding gashers, Glas, Glessic, and Clersag. Their three dogs, Call, Cuall, and Cavall. Their three horses, Hwyrdydwg, and Drwgdydwg, and Llwyrdydwg" Translator Gantz(2003) agreed with the possibility they are sword names.}} belonging to the three sons of Cleddyf Kyfwlch, named Bwlch, Kyfwlch, and Sefwlch.
• Drudwyn,{{harvp|Guest ed., tr.|1849|pp=286, 303, 306}} / drutywyn, pp. 225, 236, 237{{sfnp|Jones|Jones trr.|1993|pp= 98, 106, 110}} the pup of Greid the son of Eri.
• two dogs of Glythmyr Ledewic{{harvp|Guest ed., tr.|1849|pp=306, 311}} / deu gi glythmyr lewic, glythuyr ledewic, letewic, pp. 238, 242. (Glythfyr Ledewig).{{sfnp|Jones|Jones trr.|1993|pp=89, 100}}

Glas, Glesig, and Gleisad are referred to as dogs, and Call, Cuall, and Cafall as horses, and so on down the line, in the list of belongings of sons of Cleddyf, or, at least they are nowadays in modern translations.Such as Gwyn & Thomas Jones', 1949 and Jeffrey Gantz's, 1976. However, in the first English translation by Lady Guest, Glas, etc. were construed as sword names and Call, Cuall, Cavall as dogs, respectively.

Ifor Williams has made a study of occurrences of Cafall in old Welsh poetry.{{harvp|Bromwich|Evans|1992|p=153}}, notes that Ifor Williams has studied "..instances of cafall < Lat. caballus..in the Hengerdd(old poetry) CA 1203; CLlH vii, 22a; PT 38n. on caffon. (Ifor Williams, CA=Canu Aneirin, 1938; CLlH=Canu Llywarch Hen, 1935; PT=Poems of Taliesin)

A number of scholars have commented upon the similarity of the dog's name to the Latin word caballus for "horse". In an article from 1936, R. J. Thomas said that "the name Cabal is from Latin caballus 'horse', which he considers a quite natural metaphor since the dog was strong and swift, and he compares the horse of Conall Cernach which had a dog's head".{{citation|last=Ford |first=Patrick K. |title=On the Significance of some Arthurian Names in Welsh |journal=Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies |volume=30 |year=1982 |page=268 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GoNnAAAAMAAJ}}, summarizing from R. J. Thomas, "Cysylltiad Arthur gogledd Ceredigion", Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies 8 (2): 124–125. Furthermore, the form {{lang|owl|cabal}} existed in Old Welsh.{{sfnp|Roberts|1991|p=90}}

Bromwich further remarks, "Since carn means both 'hoof' and 'cairn' it seems more probable that Cabal/Cafall originally designated Arthur horse.. rather than his hound".{{sfnp|Bromwich|Evans|1992|p=153}}

• Husdent
• Hengroen

{{notelist}}

;Citations

{{Reflist|2|refs=

{{cite book|translator-last=Davis |translator-first=Craig |translator-link= |chapter=Arthur in Early Wales/Culhwch and Owen |editor1-last=Kibler |editor1-first=William W. |editor1-link= |editor2-last=Palmer|editor2-first=R. Barton |editor2-link=|title=Medieval Arthurian Epic and Romance: Eight New Translations |location=Jefferson, NC |publisher=McFarland |year=2014 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MFmDBAAAQBAJ&q=Cafall |pages=73, 74, 82, 89, (94, 96)|isbn=978-0-7864-4779-4}}

{{cite book|translator-last=Gantz |translator-first=Jeffrey |translator-link= |chapter= |title=The Mabinogion |location= |publisher=Penguin UK |year=2003|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VatVpD7AJBgC&pg=PT327 |at=fn71 |isbn=9780141920467}}

{{cite book|last=Higham |first=Nicholas J. |author-link=N. J. Higham |title=King Arthur: The Making of the Legend |place= |publisher=Yale University Press |date=2018 |orig-date=1932 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dn11DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA204 |pages=204–207 |isbn= 9780300240863}}

{{cite encyclopedia|last=Ashe |first=Geoffrey |author-link=Geoffrey Ashe |entry=Topography and Local Legends |editor1-last=Lacy |editor1-first=Norris J. |editor1-link=Norris J. Lacy |editor2-last=Ashe |editor2-first=Geoffrey |editor2-link=Geoffrey Ashe |editor3-last=Ihle |editor3-first=Sandra Ness |editor3-link= |editor4-last=Kalinke |editor4-first=Marianne E. |editor4-link= |editor5-last=Thompson |editor5-first=Raymond H. |editor5-link=Raymond H. Thompson |title=The New Arthurian Encyclopedia: New edition |location= |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |orig-year=1996 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hf6zAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA456 |page=456 |isbn=9781136606335 |quote=Buelt in central Wales, where Builth Wells preserves the name}}

{{cite encyclopedia|last=Tunnell |first=Michael O. |author-link=Michael O. Tunnell |entry=Glessic (GLES-sik), Prince |title=The Prydain Companion: A Reference Guide to Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles |place= |publisher=Henry Holt and Company |date=2003 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FZeGol6GICEC&pg=PA107 |page=107 |isbn= 9781429960007}}

{{cite encyclopedia|last=Stephens |first=Meic |author-link=Meic Stephens |entry=Rhymhi |title=The New Companion to the Literature of Wales |place=Cardiff |publisher=University of Wales Press |date=1998|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WoMYAAAAIAAJ&q=Gwyden+Astrus |page=634 |isbn= 9780708313831}}

}}

;Bibliography

{{refbegin}}

{{wikisource|1=The Mabinogion/Kilhwch and Olwen|2=Kilhwch and Olwen''}}

{{wikisource|1=The Mabinogion/Geraint the Son of Erbin|2=Geraint the Son of Erbin''}}

{{wikisource|1=History of the Britons#Wonders of Britain|2=History of the Britons (Wonders of Britain)''}}

• {{citation|last1=Bromwich |first1=Rachel |author-link=Rachel Bromwich |last2=Evans |first2=Daniel Simon |author-link2= |title=Culhwch and Olwen: an edition and study of the oldest Arthurian tale |publisher=University of Wales Press |year=1992 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zzkcAQAAIAAJ |isbn=9780708311271}}
• {{cite book|ref={{SfnRef|Guest ed., tr.|1849}}|last=Guest |first=Charlotte |author-link=Lady Charlotte Guest |title=The Mabinogion: From the Llyfr Coch o Hergest|volume=2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aFUAAAAAcAAJ|format=google|place=London|publisher= Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans|year=1849}}: Geraint ab Erbin Welsh, p. 4; English, p. 67. Kilhwch ac Olwen Welsh, p. 195; English, p. 249.
• {{cite book|editor-last=Fletcher |editor-first=Robert Huntington |editor-link= |title=The Arthurian material in the chronicles |publisher=Modern Language Departments of Harvard University/Ginn & Co. |year=1906 |pages=32–4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CdwWAAAAYAAJ |archiveurl=https://archive.org/details/arthurianmateri00fletgoog|archivedate=2008-03-11 |series=Studies and Notes in Philology and Literature 10 }}
• {{cite book|ref={{SfnRef|Guest tr.|1877}} |last=Guest |first=Charlotte |author-link=Lady Charlotte Guest |author-mask=2 |title=The Mabinogion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dU0JAAAAQAAJ|format=google|place=London|publisher=Quaritch|year=1877}}
• {{cite book|ref={{SfnRef|Jones|Jones trr.|1993}}|last1=Jones |first1=Gwyn |last2=Jones |author-link=Gwyn Jones (author) |first2=Thomas |author-link2=T. Gwynn Jones |chapter=Culhwch and Olwen |title=The Mabinogion |pages=80–113 |series=Everyman Library |place=London |publisher=J. M. Dent |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-460-87297-3}} (Revised edition 1993; Indexed 1989; first published Everyman Library 1949)
• {{cite book|last=Jones |first=Gwyn |author-link=Gwyn Jones (author) |author-mask=2 |chapter=Culhwch and Olwen |title=The Mabinogion |publisher=Read Books |year=2011|orig-year=1949 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3Dt8CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT101 |isbn=978-1446546253}}
• {{cite book|editor-last=Mommsen |editor-first=Theodor |editor-link=Theodor Mommsen |chapter=Historia Brittonvm cvm additamentis Nennii |title=Chronica Minora |volume=3 |place=Berlin |publisher=Weidmann |year=1898 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/chronicaminorasa13momm/page/110/mode/2up |pages=111–222 |series=Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctorum Antiquissimi xiii}}
• {{citation|last=Rhys |first=John |author-link=John Rhys |title=Celtic folklore: Welsh and Manx |volume=2 |year=1901 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ASXaAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA537 |pages=520–502; 537–539}}
• {{cite book|last=Roberts |first=Brynley F. |authorlink=Brynley F. Roberts |chapter=3 Cuhlhwch ac Olwen, the Triads, Saints' Lives |editor1-last=Bromwich |editor1-first=Rachel |editor1-link=Rachel Bromwich |editor2-last=Jarman |editor2-first=A. O. H. |editor2-link= |editor3-last=Roberts |editor3-first=Brynley F. |editor3-link=Brynley F. Roberts |title=The Arthur of the Welsh: The Arthurian Legend in Medieval Welsh Literature |location=Cardiff |publisher=University of Wales Press |year=1991 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=G4oEEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA90 |pages=73–96 |isbn=9781786837349}}
• {{citation|editor-last=Stevenson |editor-first=Joseph |editor-link= |title=Nennii Historia Britonum ad fidem codicum manuscriptorum|work=Publications of the English Historical Society|volume=4|publisher=sumptibus Societatis|year=1838|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VEUMAAAAIAAJ}}

{{refend}}

{{Arthurian Legend}}

{{Welsh mythology}}

Category:Legendary dogs

Category:Welsh mythology

Category:Arthurian characters

Category:Dogs in literature