Part 25 (1/2)

She could could be the bridge between the old and new. She was, perhaps, the only one who had all the skills and all the friends, to do so. She could not make Arthur's dream of one kingdom come true in this lifetime, but she could plant the seeds for it to grow when the time was right. be the bridge between the old and new. She was, perhaps, the only one who had all the skills and all the friends, to do so. She could not make Arthur's dream of one kingdom come true in this lifetime, but she could plant the seeds for it to grow when the time was right.

A lightness began to trickle into that emptiness inside her. ”There is much that can be done here,” she said slowly.

Gwyn nodded. ”Yes, there is.”

She took a deep breath and felt her spirit come back to life. ”Then it is time to start doing it.”

Afterword.

I think every fantasy writer decides at one point or another to tackle ”the matter of Britain,” otherwise known as the legend of King Arthur. The genesis of my own stab at this came when I was looking into Welsh legends and came upon the curious Triad of ”The Three Guineveres.” Triad 56 of the Trioedd Ynys Prydein, translated as ”The Triads of the Island of Britain,” lists the ”Three Great Queens” of Arthur's court. think every fantasy writer decides at one point or another to tackle ”the matter of Britain,” otherwise known as the legend of King Arthur. The genesis of my own stab at this came when I was looking into Welsh legends and came upon the curious Triad of ”The Three Guineveres.” Triad 56 of the Trioedd Ynys Prydein, translated as ”The Triads of the Island of Britain,” lists the ”Three Great Queens” of Arthur's court.

Three Great Queens of Arthur's Court: Gwennhwyfar daughter of Cywryd Gwent, And Gwenhwyfar daughter of Gwythyr son of Greidawl, And Gwenhwyfar daughter of (G)ogfran the Giant.

[Trans. By Rachel Bromwich]

Well that certainly piqued my curiosity, as did the mention of yet another ”Guinevere,” the ”False Guinevere” or Gwenhwyfach, translated as ”Little” or ”Lesser” Guinevere. She is often said to be the b.a.s.t.a.r.d daughter of King LLuedd Ogrfan Gawr, or Ogrfan the Giant, born on the same day as her sister.

Yet another triad, Triad 53, describes the ”Three Harmful Blows” of Britain and states that the third was when Gwenhwyfach struck Gwenhwyfar and caused the battle of Camlann.

And last of all I found this extremely interesting item in my researches, three stanzas found by Jenny Rowland: ”in the margin of the Dingestow 8 copy of Ymddiddan Arthur a'r Eryr (Aberysywyth, National Library of Wales, MS 5268, p. 461).”