recognise in Arthur and Gorlagon an example of the genre. Thus by the end of the fourteenth century at the latest, a Celtic and characteristically Celtic folktale was put into Latin, probably suffering in this transition from a vernacular to a learned language those modifications which are immediately apparent, as also, possibly, others. The Latin narrator had a Welsh original, as is proved by the forms of the names: this original was almost certainly complete and homogeneous, as is evident from the "folk" character of the incidents and framework.
Let us now turn to the consideration of parallels. The closest is a folktale still widely current in Gaeldom (Professor Kittredge bases his analysis on some ten versions ranging over the entire Gaelic area from Kerry to the Hebrides), the type-example being Morraha (Larminie, West Irish Folk-Tale, reprinted in Jacobs, More Celtic Fairy Tales). Briefly, it runs thus:
The hero games with a supernatural being, wins twice, loses third time, has task laid upon him to obtain the sword of light and knowledge of the one story about woman. Acting on the advice of his (fairy) wife, hero rides to her father, is there furnished with another horse that brings him to owner of the sword of light, Niall. At a third attempt he secures the sword, and threatening the owner with it, learns, at the persuasion of latter's wife, the story. Niall knew language of animals, and casually learnt thereby the existence of the magic rod; he laughed, had, on his wife's insistence, to explain why, was by her changed first into a raven, then into a horse, fox, wolf. As wolf he is hunted by, but secures protection of. King, guards the latter's child against the attack of a monstrous hand, is accused, but, trusted by King, recovers the child, whose attendant he becomes, and whom he ultimately persuades to strike him with the magic rod and thereby effect his re-transformation to human shape. His wife offers to drown herself, but Niall says if she will keep the secret, he will. Niall afterwards tracks the monster of the hand, slays him, recovers the elder children of the King, and directs the hero how to deal with his supernatural adversary, who is the brother of the monster of the hand.[1]
- ↑ In this summary and in the references to Morraha in the following pages, use is made of the other variants; no one version preserves all the incidents and traits.
