Birth and early life Pryderi was born in
Arberth to
Pwyll, Lord of
Dyfed, and
Rhiannon, daughter of Hyfaidd Hen. On the night of his birth, he disappeared while in the care of six of Rhiannon's ladies-in-waiting. To avoid the king's wrath, they smeared dog's blood onto a sleeping Rhiannon, claiming that she had committed
infanticide and
cannibalism by eating her child.
Teyrnon, Lord of
Gwent Is Coed, had a mare which gave birth each year but whose foals had all disappeared. Teyrnon watched his stables and saw a mysterious clawed beast coming to take the foal; Teyrnon cut off the beast's arm and found the child outside the stable. He and his wife claimed the boy as their own and named him Gwri Wallt Euryn (English:
Gwri of the Golden hair), for "all the hair was as yellow as gold." The child grew to adulthood at a superhuman pace and, as he matured, his likeness to Pwyll grew more obvious; and eventually Teyrnon realised Gwri's true identity. The boy was eventually reunited with Pwyll and Rhiannon and was renamed
Pryderi. From then on, he was fostered by Pendaran Dyfed and was "brought up carefully, as was proper, until he was the most handsome lad, and the fairest, and the most accomplished at every worthy feat in the kingdom." This section of the poem suggests an enmity between Pryderi and a certain Gweir ap Gwystyl, who has been imprisoned in an otherworldly fortress through the "ebestol" of Pwyll and Pryderi. The exact meaning of the word "ebestol" is unclear, but has been variously translated as "epistle", tales", "account", "spite" and "lies." Pryderi is named once in the
Welsh Triads, as one of the three powerful swineherds while the
Stanzas of the Graves refer to his final resting place as: "Aber Gwenoli...where the waves beat against the land." The
Book of Taliesin poem
Song before the sons of Llyr also mentions Pryderi and, as in other texts, associates him both with
Manawydan fab Llyr and with the otherworldly fortress of
Caer Sidi: :Complete is my chair in Caer Sidi, :No one will be afflicted with disease or old age that may be in it. :It is known to
Manawyd and Pryderi. :Three utterances, around the fire, will he sing before it, :And around its borders are the streams of the ocean. :And the fruitful fountain is above it, :Is sweeter than white wine the liquor therein. The character is also referred to in the works of a number of bards, including Einion fab Gwalchmai, Howel Foel ap Griffri and
Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr. The famous fourteenth century poet
Dafydd ap Gwilym referred to
Dyfed as
Pryderi Dir (The Land of Pryderi.) The children's fantasy series
The Chronicles of Prydain features a character named
King Pryderi. The character appears in the final book of the series,
The High King. King Pryderi is a powerful monarch and warlord who betrays his liege lord, High King Math son of Mathonwy, and the House of Don, to side with Arawn Death-Lord. However, King Pryderi succumbs to his pride and ambition. When he ventures to Caer Dallben in an attempt to murder Dallben the enchanter and steal the Book of Three, he is killed by an enchantment protecting the book. ==References==