The tale of the
“Very Black Witch” is a story within a story. The story itself is found within
the medieval tale of “How Culhwch Won Olwen,” a part of the Welsh
Mabinogion. In “Culwhch and Olwen,” King
Arthur agrees to help his cousin complete a series of seemingly impossible
tasks to win the hand of Olwen. Arthur’s
knights are managing quite nicely until a question is asked and the story takes
another detour. Arthur says, “Is there
any one of the marvels yet unobtained.”
The answer comes, “There is the blood of the witch Orddu (that is, the
word black in Welsh) …” The focus is now on Arthur’s battle with the Very Black
Witch in an effort to obtain her blood.
Here is the
story as first translated by Lady Charlotte Guest in 1894.
Said Arthur,
“Is there any one of the marvels yet unobtained?” Said one of his men, “There is—the blood of
the witch Orddu, the daughter of the witch Orwen, of Pen Nant Govid, on the
confines of Hell.” Arthur set forth
towards the North, and came to the place where was the witch’s cave. And Gwyn ab Nudd, and Gwythyr the son of
Greidawl, counselled him to send Kacmwri, and Hygwyd his brother, to fight with
the witch. And as they entered the cave,
the witch seized upon them, and she caught Hygwyd by the hair of his head, and
threw him on the floor beneath her. And
Kacmwri caught her by the hair of her head, and dragged her to the earth from
off Hygwyd, but she turned again upon them both, and drove them both out with
kicks and with cuffs.
And Arthur was
wroth at seeing his two attendants almost slain, and he sought to enter the
cave; but Gwyn and Gwythyr said unto him, “It would not be fitting or seemly
for us to see thee squabbling with a hag.
Let Hiramreu and Hireidil go to the cave.” So they went.
But if great was the trouble of the first two that went, much greater
was that of these two. And Heaven knows
that not one of the four could move from the spot, until they placed them all
upon Llamrei, Arthur’s mare. And then
Arthur rushed to the door of the cave, and at the door he struck at the witch,
with Carnwennan his dagger, and clove her in twain, so that she fell in two
parts. And Kaw, of North Britain, took
the blood of the witch and kept it.
Women in
medieval Welsh literature are not warriors.
They do not engage in battle or fighting. Instead they passively await their knights’
return or cry in a survivor’s lament. In
the Mabinogion, however, witches prove to be the exception. The witches in these stories are strong, and
skilled in fighting. They instill fear in
men. In “How Culhwch Won Olwen,” the
Very Black Witch is identified with her mother, the Very White Witch. As in many folktales, she lacks definition -
whether she’s beautiful or hideous is unknown. The only important trait is her
strength and fighting ability. Fiona Winward contends, “Within the patriarchal
society, strength is regarded as a negative trait in a woman since it
necessarily threatens gender definitions.”
The Very Black
Witch lives alone in an isolated region described as “the head of the Valley of
Grief in the uplands of hell.” Arthur
was seeking a “wonder not yet attained.”
One of his men suggests acquiring the blood of the Very Black Witch. It is unknown why she was hunted, what harm
she caused, or whether her blood contains magical properties. There was a
belief in the Middle Ages that it was impossible to draw blood from a witch.
Doing so, therefore, might be considered a marvel or a wonder.
Surprisingly,
the knights find the location easily.
Arthur sends two men into her cave to fight her. As soon as they enter,
the Witch grabs one by the hair and throws him to the ground. When the other
man attacks her, the Witch retaliates.
She thrashes them both, disarms them, and then sends them out shrieking
and shouting. Arthur agrees to send more
men into the battle. These men received
an even greater beating. All in total,
the Very Black Witch fought and defeated four of Arthur’s men. Although she does not kill them, their
injuries are substantial. The Very Black
Witch’s strength is unlikely: her barbaric way of fighting, more humorous than
skilled. Arthur ultimately defeats her, but not by engaging her. He throws his knife from the entrance,
cleaves her head in two, and gathers her blood.
Angela Robinson claims the Very Black Witch is the perfect example of the “other.” She lives alone. “[L]iving near the border of the world and hell, she resists initial attacks but is defeated by a superior male, and she is then turned into a commodity. Her attachment only to her mother also indicates that she is outside of the society created by Arthur.” As the “other,” she is the exception. The qualities of strength, and fighting ability make her an “unlikely female” character.
While the story
of “Culhwch and Olwen” is a literary tale, it, like most of the Mabinogion, is
influenced heavily by folklore.
Nevertheless, the tale of the “Very Black Witch” feels as if a common
folktale has been dropped into a literary story. Perhaps the medieval audience of this story
(which was more often told than read) knew more about the Very Black Witch than
the modern reader does.
And so, if I
were to craft a variant of this story; one that might fill in some of those
blanks yet still reference the genre, the story would go something like this.
Arthur and his
knights continued to find the items the old giant requested. As Culhwch said “it was easy for me to get
that, though you may think it’s not easy.” That was especially true since
Culhwch ne’er did anything at all. How he became the hero of this tale, this
teller doesn’t know.
Arthur said,
“Is there anything else left undone? Any
wonder to seek? Any marvel to
find?” “Yes, Arthur,” was the reply,
“There is one wonder remaining. We must
acquire the blood of the Very Black Witch.”
They traveled to the north. Together they all made haste and soon found
themselves before a cave in the Valley of Grief in the uplands of hell. As you might imagine, this was not a place in
which anyone would wish to linger.
Soon the
knights began to argue among themselves.
What was the best way to get the Very Black Witch’s blood? Do they simply wait until she leaves the
cave? Does someone go in to talk to
her? Should they storm the cave to
defeat her? Arthur thought Merlin had
warned him about this witch, but he couldn’t remember any specifics. That’s why it was decided that Arthur’s two
attendants (who were brothers) would first enter the cave. They would ask the Very Black Witch for a cup
of her blood. If she agreed they would
leave her undisturbed. It was safer that
way.
The old witch
was waiting inside for the young men.
When they asked for her blood she said, “If you can answer my question,
I will give you my blood. If you can’t,
I will give you a thrashing.” The
brothers looked at each other and laughed.
“This old woman could be defeated by a child,” they thought. She smiled and said, “What crawls on the
earth, flies in the air and swims in the sea? You must know the answer, it’s
the stuff of your master’s dreams.” The eldest brother stepped forward and
spoke confidently. “A goose,” he said.
The Very Black
Witch gave no reply. Instead she caught
him by his hair and threw him on the ground.
A fight then ensued, with clothes, hair and skin flying. After a bit the two were tossed from the
cave. Dazed and bleeding they said nothing to Arthur about what had happened
inside.
Arthur was
angry. He was determined to go into the
cave himself, but his advisors convinced him that it wasn’t a fitting activity
for a king. This time he sent two knights inside. The old witch was waiting for them when they
entered. When the knights asked for her
blood she said, “If you can answer my question, I will give you my blood. If you can’t, I will give you a
thrashing.” The knights looked at each
other and laughed. “This crone is so
frail she could be tossed by the wind,” they thought. She smiled and said, “What crawls on the
earth, flies in the air and swims in the sea? You must know the answer, it’s
the stuff of your master’s dreams.” One
knight stepped forward and spoke confidently. “A swan,” he said.
The Very Black
Crone screeched and attacked the pair.
An even greater battle left the two knights bloodied and injured. She threw them out of the cave as if they
were sacks of floor. Arthur found his
two attendants and two knights sitting at the entrance to the cave, sad and
defeated. Unable to move, they were
hoisted onto Arthur’s mare.
Arthur looked
aghast at the men strapped to his mare. “How could this happen?” he thought. “I
don’t care what Merlin said. I’m getting
that witch’s blood.” In anger he ran to
the cave, pulled out his dagger and threw it inside. All was silent for a long
time. When he thought it was safe,
Arthur sent an attendant in to gather her blood. He found that Arthur’s dagger had cleaved her
body into two parts. She was lying
bleeding on the ground. The attendant
filled a cup with her blood. But before
he could even retrieve the dagger, the Very Black Witch disappeared. In her place was a white raven, glittering
and shinning brightly in the darkness. The bird flew quickly out of the cave
and landed at Arthur’s feet. “Caw,” the bird squawked. “The end is near,” it
said, before flying away.
Arthur asked
his knights. “What did that old hag ask you in the cave?” “It was a silly
riddle with no answer,” one replied.
“Tell me,” Arthur implored. “What
crawls on the earth, flies in the air and swims in the sea? You must know the
answer, it’s the stuff of your master’s dreams,” another one responded. Arthur stopped his horse. He held his head in his hands and a tear fell
from one eye. “I’ve been having dreams,”
he said “of snakes and dragons and all manner of water beasts. But how did she know?” He pondered and thought until sunset. Everyone waited quietly for him to resume the
journey. “Ahh, now I recall what Merlin
told me about the Very Black Witch,” was all he said. Even though many asked he would say nothing
more. He only looked at them sadly and
pointed to the white crow flying home to Nimue.
1 comment:
This is SO lovely, perfectly told! You've captured the feel of the tale and filled in a gap so nicely. I'll never think of the witch in quite the same way....
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