From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Geraint is a character from Welsh folklore and Arthurian legend,
a king of Dumnonia and a
valiant warrior. He may have lived during or shortly prior to the
reign of the historical Arthur, but
some scholars doubt he ever existed. The name is a Welsh form of
the Latin Gerontius.
Historical
character
Geraint's father was Erbin, a herder of sheep, and according to
Culhwch
and Olwen, he had brothers named Ermind and Dywel. A
'Geraint of the South' appears at the Battle of Catraeth (circa 600) in
the poem Y
Gododdin, attributed to Aneirin. Geraint was one of the "Three
Seafarers of the Isle of Britain" according to the Welsh Triads. His
deeds at the Battle of Llongborth are celebrated in the poem Geraint
son of Erbin, written probably in 10th or 11th
century.[1]
A King Geraint also appears in the 'Life of Saint Teilo' and there are local legends of a King
Geraint, the patron
saint of Gerrans, near
Falmouth, being buried on Carne
Beacon near Veryan. His feast
day is 10 August.
Arthurian
legend
He is probably most famous as the protagonist in the Welsh tale
Geraint
and Enid, where he becomes the lover of Enid. Geraint and Enid is one of the
three Welsh
Romances associated with the Mabinogion. Its story closely parallels
the French writer Chrétien de Troyes' Erec and
Enide. Some scholars feel both works derived from a common
lost source, but most believe the Welsh version derives directly or
indirectly from Chrétien. In this case, the renowned figure of
Geraint would have been added to the story to suit Welsh audiences
unfamiliar with Chrétien's protagonist. Geraint and Enid
was reworked by Alfred, Lord Tennyson into the poems
The Marriage of Geraint and Geraint and Enid,
part of his Idylls of the King.
Notes
References
- Bollard, John K. (1994). "Arthur
in the Early Welsh Tradition". The Romance of Arthur: An
Anthology of Medieval Texts in Translation (Routledge):
11-23.
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