Ysgithyrwyn Benbaedd

Overview

Ysbaddaden requires a tusk plucked from the living boar and stipulates a particular extractor, Odgar, along with further hunting conditions. These demands connect a single animal to the elaborate chain of apparently impossible tasks imposed on Culhwch. The actual expedition brings Arthur, Mabon, named hounds and allies from different regions; the narrative gives the boar’s tusk a practical place among the extraordinary implements intended for the giant’s grooming.

Kaw of North Britain rides Arthur’s mare Llamrei and strikes the boar’s head with an axe, then takes its tusk. The narrator immediately adds that the boar was killed by Arthur’s own hound Cavall rather than the dogs Ysbaddaden specified. These neighbouring statements assign important roles to both hunter and dog; they should be retained without inventing an unseen reconciliation. The party returns to Cornwall before investigating Twrch Trwyth’s carried objects. Ysgithyrwyn’s body size, hide colour and capacity for speech are not supplied in this sequence. It is a named legendary individual, not another alias for Twrch or an ordinary boar inserted to inflate animal coverage.

Origins & earliest records

The selected Guest translation, first issued 1838–1849, gives this episode in Culhwch and Olwen. Medieval manuscript transmission predates the English translation; the precise oral beginning is unknown. Guest’s Yskithyrwyn Penbaedd is retained as a witness spelling beside the profile’s modernised form.

Records & interpretation

The task list and hunt provide textual evidence for a named animal in an Arthurian marvellous quest. The text does not supply preserved tusks or a zoological identification. Adjacent hunter and hound attributions remain visible rather than harmonised through invented events.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   The Mabinogion

   Anonymous medieval Welsh storytellers; Lady Charlotte Guest (translator) · Translation first published 1838–1849; selected electronic edition 2004

   Inspected complete selected episode “Kilhwch and Olwen” and linked quest demands.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Primary textGuest, Kilhwch and Olwen: Ysgithyrwyn BenbaeddResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.