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Malgven
Malgven, or Malgwen(n), is a character introduced into the legend of the city of Ys, a mythical city on the coast of Brittany, at the end of the 19th century by Édouard Schuré, and is possibly based on a local legend from the Cap Sizun. She was made known by Charles Guyot (Géo-Charles) at the beginning of the 20th century, in his literary adaptation of the legend of Ys. As a valkyrie and queen of the "North", Malgven reigns over the land with her ageing husband, King Harold. She meets King Gradlon while he is raiding and falls in love with him. She persuades him to kill her husband and to flee with her on her horse Morvarc'h, towards Gradlon's lands in Brittany. The journey lasts a year, during which time she gives birth to a daughter, Dahut. Malgven dies in childbirth.
Although she may not be an authentic part of the legend of the city of Ys, Malgven provides a magical origin story for her daughter Dahut and contributes to the dramatic and romantic aspect of the legend. New representations of this character have appeared in a number of more recent productions, notably novels, a play and a graphic novel.
"Malgven" may be the most common spelling, but some recent texts use "Malgwen" or "Malgwenn". Françoise Le Roux and Christian-J. Guyonvarc'h do not explain the etymology of this name, but state that they consider it to be "neither Breton, nor Scandinavian".
Malgven is often cited as the wife of King Gradlon, and therefore the mother of the princess Dahut, in the legend of the city of Ys, after being popularised in this role by Charles Guyot at the beginning of the 20th century.
In the original legend of Dahut, there is no mention of her having a mother. No genealogy is given for her either. According to Le Roux and Guyonvarc'h, she represents a Celtic figure "with no age and no origin" and Malgven is therefore a later addition to the legend of the city of Ys.
Matthieu Boyd highlights the oldest known mention of Malgven in the essay Les Grandes légendes de France by Édouard Schuré, in 1892 (however, Schuré's text was pre-published in the academic journal Revue des deux Mondes the previous year). Schuré makes vague references to sources in oral tradition recorded near the Cap Sizun, according to which King Gradlon was looking for a princess of Hibernia (Ireland). This story is somewhat similar to the legend of Tristan and Iseult, and could give Malgven a more authentic origin, as Schuré engaged in extensive correspondence with his colleagues to collect legends. Malgven was then mentioned by name in a play in 1903, as the mother of Dahut. Her name also appeared in an English publication in 1906.
Boyd therefore disagrees with the conclusion that Malgven is purely a literary invention of Charles Guyot, although he remains cautious as to a possible origin in Breton mythology, as Schuré did not give precise sources. The lai of Graelent-Meur, recorded by La Villemarqué, mentions a relationship between King Gradlon (however, the identification of this character as the king from the legend of Ys remains controversial, as does the authenticity of this text) and a woman from the Otherworld. Based on this lai, Jean Markale — whose theories are strongly criticised by Le Roux et Guyonvarc'h — developed the hypothesis that after meeting the woman from the Otherworld, the "knight Gradlon" returned with Dahut, "a small girl with long hair". There are no sources confirming that this woman from the Otherworld is related to Dahut, or that she is Malgven, but in Celtic tradition, these women bring good fortune to their husbands and are capable of having children with them, which could provide clues as to her identity.
Françoise Le Roux et Christian-J. Guyonvarc'h (2000) consider Malgven and the horse Morvarc'h to be literary inventions by Charles Guyot, for his version of the legend of Ys. This version, which includes Malgven and Morvarc'h, is the one which has been recognised as the "canon version" of the town of Ys since the mid 20th century, notably by Jean Markale.
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Malgven
Malgven, or Malgwen(n), is a character introduced into the legend of the city of Ys, a mythical city on the coast of Brittany, at the end of the 19th century by Édouard Schuré, and is possibly based on a local legend from the Cap Sizun. She was made known by Charles Guyot (Géo-Charles) at the beginning of the 20th century, in his literary adaptation of the legend of Ys. As a valkyrie and queen of the "North", Malgven reigns over the land with her ageing husband, King Harold. She meets King Gradlon while he is raiding and falls in love with him. She persuades him to kill her husband and to flee with her on her horse Morvarc'h, towards Gradlon's lands in Brittany. The journey lasts a year, during which time she gives birth to a daughter, Dahut. Malgven dies in childbirth.
Although she may not be an authentic part of the legend of the city of Ys, Malgven provides a magical origin story for her daughter Dahut and contributes to the dramatic and romantic aspect of the legend. New representations of this character have appeared in a number of more recent productions, notably novels, a play and a graphic novel.
"Malgven" may be the most common spelling, but some recent texts use "Malgwen" or "Malgwenn". Françoise Le Roux and Christian-J. Guyonvarc'h do not explain the etymology of this name, but state that they consider it to be "neither Breton, nor Scandinavian".
Malgven is often cited as the wife of King Gradlon, and therefore the mother of the princess Dahut, in the legend of the city of Ys, after being popularised in this role by Charles Guyot at the beginning of the 20th century.
In the original legend of Dahut, there is no mention of her having a mother. No genealogy is given for her either. According to Le Roux and Guyonvarc'h, she represents a Celtic figure "with no age and no origin" and Malgven is therefore a later addition to the legend of the city of Ys.
Matthieu Boyd highlights the oldest known mention of Malgven in the essay Les Grandes légendes de France by Édouard Schuré, in 1892 (however, Schuré's text was pre-published in the academic journal Revue des deux Mondes the previous year). Schuré makes vague references to sources in oral tradition recorded near the Cap Sizun, according to which King Gradlon was looking for a princess of Hibernia (Ireland). This story is somewhat similar to the legend of Tristan and Iseult, and could give Malgven a more authentic origin, as Schuré engaged in extensive correspondence with his colleagues to collect legends. Malgven was then mentioned by name in a play in 1903, as the mother of Dahut. Her name also appeared in an English publication in 1906.
Boyd therefore disagrees with the conclusion that Malgven is purely a literary invention of Charles Guyot, although he remains cautious as to a possible origin in Breton mythology, as Schuré did not give precise sources. The lai of Graelent-Meur, recorded by La Villemarqué, mentions a relationship between King Gradlon (however, the identification of this character as the king from the legend of Ys remains controversial, as does the authenticity of this text) and a woman from the Otherworld. Based on this lai, Jean Markale — whose theories are strongly criticised by Le Roux et Guyonvarc'h — developed the hypothesis that after meeting the woman from the Otherworld, the "knight Gradlon" returned with Dahut, "a small girl with long hair". There are no sources confirming that this woman from the Otherworld is related to Dahut, or that she is Malgven, but in Celtic tradition, these women bring good fortune to their husbands and are capable of having children with them, which could provide clues as to her identity.
Françoise Le Roux et Christian-J. Guyonvarc'h (2000) consider Malgven and the horse Morvarc'h to be literary inventions by Charles Guyot, for his version of the legend of Ys. This version, which includes Malgven and Morvarc'h, is the one which has been recognised as the "canon version" of the town of Ys since the mid 20th century, notably by Jean Markale.