Some of the magical objects listed can be shown to have earlier origins in Welsh narrative tradition. Items 2 (hamper), 7 (cauldron) and 13 (Mantle of Arthur), for instance, are also described in the
Middle Welsh tale
Culhwch ac Olwen (tentatively dated to
c. 1100), in which Ysbaddaden the Giant gives
King Arthur's cousin
Culhwch a list of impossible tasks (
anoetheu) which he has to complete in order to win the hand of
Olwen, the giant's daughter.
Myrddin Wyllt Later lore claims that
Myrddin Wyllt (≈
Merlin of the Arthurian romances) took possession of the Thirteen Treasures and evacuated them to his House of Glass.
Dyrnwyn The Dyrnwyn ("White-Hilt"), the Sword of
Rhydderch Hael the Generous, one of the Three Generous Men of Britain mentioned in the
Welsh Triads. When drawn by a worthy or well-born man, the entire blade would blaze with fire. Rhydderch was never reluctant to hand the weapon to anyone, hence his nickname
Hael meaning "the Generous", but the recipients, as soon as they had learned of its peculiar properties, always rejected the sword. Rhyedderch was one who
Myrddin Wyllt feared most in the aftermath of the
Battle of Arfderydd according to allusions in the poems contained in the
Black Book of Carmarthen. He is the equivalent of Rodricus rex Cumborum (with the epithet '''') who appears in
Geoffrey of Monmouth's
Vita Merlini.
Hamper of Gwyddno Garanhir It is told that
Gwyddno Garanhir ("Long-shank") possessed a
hamper (
mwys) which would multiply food: if one was to put food for one man in the basket and open it again, the food was found to be increased a hundredfold. This is identified by Bromwich as the oldest item among the Thirteen to be attested, being one of the
anoethau of
Culhwch ac Olwen.
Horn of Brân Galed The Horn of Brân Galed ("the Stingy" or "the Niggard") from the North is said to have possessed the magical property of ensuring that "whatever drink might be wished for was found in it". Marginal notes to the text in Peniarth MS 147 (
c. 1566) elaborate on this brief entry by saying that
Myrddin had approached the kings and lords of Britain to request their treasures. They consented on the condition that he obtained the horn of Brân Galed, supposing that the task would be impossible to fulfill (whether owing to Brân's reputation for being close-fisted or for some other reason). However, Myrddin somehow succeeded in obtaining the drinking horn and so received the other treasures as well. He took his hoard to the "Glass House" (
Tŷ Gwydr), where it would remain forever. Tracing the prehistory of the horn to the Greek mythological past, the same notes tell that
Hercules had removed the horn from the head of the
centaur he had slain, whose wife then killed the hero in bloody revenge. The discrepancy between Brân's nickname ("the Stingy") and the special property of the enchanted horn appears to be explained by the Welsh poet
Guto'r Glyn, who lived in the mid-15th century and was therefore contemporary with the earliest attestations of the
Tri Thlws ar Ddeg. He relates that Brân Galed was a northern nobleman, whom
Taliesin transformed into a man superior to the Tri Hael, i.e. the three most generous men in Britain according to one of the Welsh Triads. Later bards to allude to the treasure include
Tudur Aled and Iorwerth Fynglwyd. The identity of Brân Galed (not to be confused with
Brân the Blessed) is uncertain. His northern background, which is usually described in general terms, is specified in one place elsewhere. A 16th-century note written by the scribe
Gruffudd Hiraethog (died 1564) identifies Brân as the son of one
Emellyr, which appears to refer to the Brân son of Ymellyrn who is depicted in the
Llywarch Hen cycle of poems as an opponent of the kings of
Rheged. The latter has also been equated with the Brân fighting at
Cynwyd (northern Wales) in the poem
Gwarchan Tudfwlch, possibly against
Owain of Rheged.
Chariot of Morgan Mwynfawr The chariot belonging to
Morgan Mwynfawr ("the Wealthy") is described as a magical vehicle which would quickly reach whatever destination one might wish to go to.
Halter of Clydno Eiddyn Belonged to
Clydno Eiddyn (Cebystr Clydno Eiddin). It was fixed to a staple at the foot of his bed. Whatever horse he might wish for, he would find in the halter. The Halter of Clydno Eiddyn was also called The Handy Halter, for it summons fine horses.
Knife of Llawfrodedd the Horseman Llawfrodedd Farchog (from
marchog "the Horseman"), or
Barfawc "the Bearded" in other manuscripts, is said to have owned a knife which would serve for a company of 24 men at the dinner table.
Cauldron of Dyrnwch the Giant The cauldron (
pair) of Dyrnwch the Giant is said to discriminate between cowards and brave men: whereas it would not boil meat for a coward, it would boil quickly if that meat belonged to a brave man. The earlier poem
Preiddeu Annwfn (
The Spoils of Annwfn), refers to an adventure by Arthur and his men to obtain a cauldron with similar attribute (it does not boil meat for cowards, according to the
Book of Taliesin. However, the cauldron of Dyrnwch the Giant among the Thirteen Treasures appears to derive from the cauldron among the
anoetheu in the Middle Welsh tale
Culhwch ac Olwen, i.e., the cauldron of Diwrnach the Irishman, steward (
maer) to Odgar son of Aedd, King of Ireland. King Arthur requests the cauldron from King Odgar, but Diwrnach refuses to give up his prized possession. Arthur goes to visit Diwrnach in Ireland, accompanied by a small party, and is received at his house, but when Diwrnach refuses to answer Arthur's request a second time,
Bedwyr (Arthur's champion) seizes the cauldron and entrusts it to one of Arthur's servants, who is to carry the load on his back. In a single sweep with the sword called
Caledfwlch, Llenlleawg the Irishman kills off Diwrnach and all his men. A confrontation with Irish forces ensues, but Arthur and his men fight them off. They board their ship
Prydwen and, taking with them the cauldron loaded with the spoils of war, return to Britain. In the poem
Preiddeu Annwfn, the owner of the cauldron is the king of
Annwn, the Welsh
Otherworld, whereas in
Culhwch tthw owner is an Irish king, suggesting a later attempt to
euhemerize an older tale. Diwrnach's name, which derives from Irish
Diugurach and exhibits no literary provenance, may have been selected by the author of
Culhwch ac Olwen to emphasize the Irish setting of his story. In
Culhwch Arthur's mantle is included in the list of the only things Arthur will not give to the protagonist Culhwch, but it is not named specifically or otherwise described. However, the names of several of the other items contain the element
gwyn, meaning "white; sacred; blessed", suggesting otherworldly connections for the whole list. In
The Dream of Rhonabwy, the mantle is specifically named Gwenn, and has properties analogous to those given in the lists of the Thirteen Treasures, though here it is those on top of the mantle who are made invisible.
Mantle of Tegau Gold-Breast Tegau Gold-Breast (
Tegau Eurfron, wife of
Caradoc) was a Welsh heroine. Her mantle would not serve for any woman who had violated her marriage or her virginity. It would reach to the ground when worn by a faithful woman but would only hang down to the lap of an unfaithful wife. The Mantle comes from a version of the
mantle of chastity story, of which there is a whole group of works in the Arthurian cycle; one representative work
Livre de Caradoc from the First Perceval Continuation features Caradoc as husband of Tegau-Guinier with the Gold Breast, but the chastity test employs a
drinking horn and not a mantle. One Arthurian chastity tale that does involve a mantle is
Le mantel mautaillié,
Ring of Eluned Eluned's stone and ring (Lunete's ring) come from the prose tale
Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain. The "Three Treasures" text itself explained that it was the ring that the girl Eluned gave to Owain son of Urien () when he was trapped between the
portcullis and the gate. One might describe it as a
ring of invisibility, as it hides the wearer "if the stone were hidden", according to the Thirteen Treasures text) that is to say, when he clasps his hand over the stone he becomes invisible, as described in the Welsh tale of
Owain of the
Mabinogion as well as
Chrétien de Troyes's French version
Yvain. ==See also==