Melwas: a Cymric Arthurian Hero (Princely-youth)

Synonyms: Melegant
Cym: Princely Youth

Melwas features within the corpus of Arthurian mythology as the ruler of the 'Summer Lands' who abducted Arthur's queen, Gwenhwyfar. He is named in Caradog of Llancarfan's Vita Gildae (Life of Gildas) which states: 'He [Gildas] arrived at Glastonbury during the time that king Melwas reigned in the summer country ...it was beseiged by the tyrant, Arthur, with an innumerable host on account that his wife, Gwenhwyfar, whom the aforesaid wicked king [Melwas] had violated and carried off, bringing her there for protection, owing to the invulnerable position's protection due to the thicketed fortifications of reeds, rivers and marshes. The rebellious king had searched for his queen throughout the course of one year and at last heard that she resided there. Whereupon he roused the armies of the whole of Cornwall and Devon and war was prepared between the enemies. When he heard this the abbot of Glastonbury, attended by the clergy and Gildas the Wise, stepped-in between the contending armies and peacefully advised his king, Melwas, to restore the ravished lady. And so, she who was to be restored was restored in peace and good will. When these things had been done, the two kings gave to the abbot the gift of many domains.' This tale seems to be the same one as told by Chrétien de Troyes in his Le Chevalier de la Charette in which Meleagant (the Normanized form of Melwas) abducts Arthur's queen, Guenièvre, wounding Keu (Cei) in the process. Evidence for a native Cymric tale of the abduction of Gwenhwyfar by Melwas is found from two fragmentary poems included in the Wynnstay I and Llanstephan 122 manuscipts; another version of which is also known from the Myvyrian Archaiology. Though all the manuscripts are of late origin the language in them points to an eleventh or twelfth century origin. These poems are generally referred to as the Ymddiddan Melwas a Gwenhwyfar (The dialogue of Melwas and Gwenhwyfar) [though the editor of the Myvyrian Archaiology called it Ymddiddan Arthur a Gwenhwyfar]. The poem was written as a poetic narrative in the form of a dialogue. Most of the action is between Melwas and Gwenhwyfar though Cei appears at the end of the verses. Arthur himself is only briefly mentioned in the Llanstephan 122 manuscript (an does not figure in the others), though it may be that he is intended as one of the speakers in the Myvyrian Archaiology version. Thus it seems that the tale of Gwenhwyfar's abduction by Melwas was known prior to Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae and the later romances and thus represents a true native tradition. This tale was also known to the Gogynfeirdd (early bards) and Dafydd ap Gwilym refers to the abduction of Gwenhwyfar, daughter of Ogfran Gawr, by Melwas in his poem 'Rwyf Wenhwyfar' (I am Gwenwhyfar).

Melwas' name is probably derived from the reconstructed proto-Celtic lexical elements *maglo- (chief, noble, prince) which gives the middle Cymric mael prince and *wasto- (servant) but which, in its Cymric form of gwas can also mean 'youth'. Thus the name can be interpreted as 'princely youth'. The original form of the name may therefore have been Maelwas (cf Maelgwn Gwynedd). A name which fits with the tradition of Melwas as the ruler of Summerset (Gwlad yr Haf [literally 'the Summer Land'] in the Cymric tradition).

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