Menw map Teirgwaedd: a Cymric Arthurian Hero (Little/Rare son of Three-shouts)

Menw mab Teirgwaedd is known from the Mabinogion of Culhwch ac Olwen and Breuddwyd Rhonabwy as well as three triads within the Trioedd Ynys Prydein. Triad 27 names Menw mab Teirgwaedd as one of the 'Three Enchanters of the Island of Britain'. In a similar vein, the Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch version of Triad 28 names the enchantment of 'Uthyr Pendragon, which he taught to Menw son of Teirgwaedd' as one of the 'Three Great Enchantments of the Island of Britain'. Again, Appendix IV (originating from Peniarth 127 MSS) names Menw son of Teirgwaedd as 'One of the Three Enchanter Knights of the Island of Britain.

Menw is also named in the Mabinogion of Breuddwyd Rhonabwy as being amongst Arthur's retinue though none of his abilities are mentioned. We see a far fuller picture of this hero in the Mabinogion of Culhwch ac Olwen. In this tale Menw is first enumerated amongst Arthur's knights. He is also named in the list of warriors of whom Culhwch asks his boon; their aid in attaining the hand of his love, Olwen. As the tale progresses he is called upon to accompany Cei, Bedwyr, Gwalchmei, Cynddelig the Guide, Gwrhyr Gwalstawd Ieithoedd and Culhwch himself, on the first of Culhwch's quests — that for the location of Olwen. Menw is included so that if they went into a savage country, he might cast a charm and an illusion over them, so that none might see them whilst they could see every one. On the was theny encounter Custennin mab Dyfnwal Cei and Gwrhyr approach him and parlay, but before they do this Menw places an enchantment on the giant's dog so that he will not harm them. Eventually they reach the hall of Ysbaddaden Pencawr the giant father of Olwen. Culhwch asks Ysbaddaden for the hand of his daughter but the giant delays them, saying that he needs to consult with Olwen's great grandmothers and grandfathers. As he leaves the feast table he took up a dart and cast it at them. But Menw caught this and threw it back at him, wounding him in the centre of the breast so that the dart came out the small of his back.

We next encounter Menw on the hunt for the Twrch Trwyth where Arthur asks him to fly and ensure that the precious things requested by Ysbaddaden were still caught between the boar's ears. Menw sought the beast and caught up with him at Esgair Oerfel (The Cold Ridge) in Ireland. Menw took the form of a bird and alighted at the great boar's lair and made to snatch away one of the precious trinkets from between the twrch's ears. The boar roused himself, tossing his head so that some of the venom from his maw fell upon Menw, who was never the same thereafter.

The meaning of Menw's name is uncertain, though it may be related to the reconstructed proto-Celtic lexical elements *menwo- (small, little, tiny); though it may equally be equated to the parental proto Indo-European parental root of this word *manwos- (rare). The form of the name 'Little' is entirely compatible with Menw's ability to shape-shift into a bird. Menw's ability to create illusion and to shape-shift also hearken back to an older tradition and thus Menw might represent the survival of the concept of the Bird-shaman of the stone age into the Middle Ages. It should also be noted that a certain Me(n)waed of Arllechwedd is mentioned in Triad 18 of the Trioedd Ynys Prydein as one of the 'Three Battle Horsemen of the Island of Britain'. It is quite probable that this Menwaed represents a concatenation of Menw and Gwaedd and is in fact the same character as Menw mab Teirgwaedd where Teirgwaedd is derived from Tair (three) and Gwaedd (shout).

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