Gwenhwyfach
Gwenhwyfach or
Gwenhwyvach, sometimes
Anglicized as
Guinevak, is a sister of
Gwenhwyfar (Guinevere) in early
Welsh Arthurian legend. Most of the tradition surrounding her has been lost; she is mentioned only in two of the
Welsh Triads and in the
Mabinogion tale
Culhwch and Olwen. As Rachel Bromwich notes, the name Gwenhwyvach may have derived from "Gwenhwy-fach", or "Gwen the Lesser", in contrast to "Gwenhwy-fawr", "Gwen the Great".
Gwenhwyfach first appears in
Culhwch, where she is just one of the 200 men, women, dogs, and horses that the hero
Culhwch invokes to punctuate his request that
King Arthur help him find his love
Olwen. Both Triads that mention Gwenhwyfach speak of the enmity between her and her sister that led to the
Battle of Camlann; much has been made of this in recent years. Triad 53 lists as one of the "Three Harmful Blows of the Island of Britain" the slap Gwenhwyvach gave to her sister that caused the Strife of Camlann. In calling Camlann one of Britain's "Three Futile Battles", Triad 84 mentions it was started because of a dispute between the sisters.
Triad 54 describes
Medrawd (Mordred) raiding Arthur's court and throwing Gwenhwyfar to the ground and beating her, leading some to suggest Gwenhwyfach was a mistake for Medrawd in Triad 53. This interpretation does not explain Triad 84, however.
Gwenhwyfach's association with Camlann has made some modern writers associate her with Mordred as well. She appears as the traitor's wife in
Thomas Love Peacock's
Misfortunes of Elphin.
*Rachel Bromwich (1963)
Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain, University Of Wales Press. ISBN 0708313868. Triads: 53 and 84
*
Gwenhwyfach at celtnet.org.uk
