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For other uses, see Caradog (disambiguation).
"The King Carados" (in blue at front) sits at the Round Table during the
appearance of the Holy Grail in a 15th-century miniature.
Caradoc Vreichvras (Welsh pronunciation: [kʰaˈɾɑːdak];[1][2] Modern
Welsh: Caradog Freichfras, lit. 'Caradoc Strongarm') was a semi-legendary
ancestor to the kings of Gwent. He may have lived during the 5th or 6th
century. He is remembered in the Matter of Britain as a Knight of the Round
Table, under the names King Carados and Carados Briefbras (French for "Carados
Shortarm").
Contents
1 Identification and historicity
2 Welsh Triads
3 French romances
3.1 Life of Caradoc
4 See also
5 References
6 Bibliography
Identification and historicity
Though the name "Caradoc" and its various forms were by no means uncommon
during the Middle Ages, it is probable some of the Caradocs referred to in
Welsh genealogies and hagiographies such the Life of St. Tatheus are the same
person. Due to the name's prevalence considerable confusion exists about
Caradoc's identity, both historical and literary. He may have become confused
with the British hero Caratacus (the Latin form of Caradoc), Cerdic of Wessex
and any number of British history's later Caradocs. His parentage varies from
text to text; he is called the son of Llŷr Marini (possibly implying Llŷr)
several times in the Mabinogion, and a probably-Breton legend found in the
first Perceval continuation has a certain Caradoc the Elder as the father,
furthering the obfuscation.
Some archaeologists interpret Caradog Freichfras as a plausible historical
figure, also known as Caradoc ap Ynyr, who may have been the ruler of Gwent
around the 6th century, and was based at Caerwent, the earlier Roman town of
Venta Silurum. They interpret his name as a remembrance of the earlier hero
Caratacus, implying a continuity of tradition from the pre-Roman culture of
the Silures who occupied the same area in what is now south-east Wales, and
which is also suggested by other material.[3]
Welsh Triads
Caradoc appears in the Welsh Triads, where he is described as Arthur's chief
elder at Celliwig in Cornwall and one of the three knights of the island of
Britain; his horse is named as Lluagor ("Host-Splitter"). His wife, Tegau
Eurfron [cy] (teg: "pretty"; eurfron: "golden-breast") is also celebrated in
the Welsh Triads as one of the Three Splendid Maidens at Arthur's court, and
the couple's great love is called one of the Three Surpassing Bonds of Love in
Ynys Prydain. This tradition is possibly dealt with in a 12th-century French
romance (see below).
French romances
King Karados' attributed arms
In Arthurian legend, Caradoc is said to have been a knight of the Round Table
during Uther Pendragon's time, but he joins other kings in rebellion when
Arthur takes the throne. He is eventually reconciled with the young king and
became one of his most trusted allies. In the Vulgate Mort Artu, he dies
heroically in Arthur's final battle when he is killed by Morded-appointed lord
of Scotland, Heliades, whom he also kills, after leading the rout of Irish
mercenaries.[4]
Other, unrelated characters named Caradoc[5] or Carados[6] also appear in the
French Arthurian prose romances and later works inspired by them.
Life of Caradoc
Caradoc appears frequently in Arthurian literature, even starring in his own
minor romance, the Life of Caradoc included in the First Continuation of
Chrétien de Troyes's Perceval, the Story of the Grail. The story, probably
based on Celtic Briton tradition, seems created to explain how Caradoc got his
nickname of 'Short Arm'. Caradoc the Elder marries the beautiful Ysave, but
she is soon seduced by an enchanter named Eliavres. Eliavres casts a spell
over Caradoc to make him mistake various farm animals for his wife, while the
wizard is busy fathering a son. Caradoc the Elder names the son after himself,
and the boy grows up to be a worthy young squire. Caradoc the Younger goes off
to King Arthur's court and is made a Knight of the Round Table like his
father. Before long, Eliavres enters the hall and asks for a beheading test (a
Celtic motif first appearing in the Old Irish text Fled Bricrenn ("Bricriu's
Feast") and subsequently in a number of Arthurian texts, of which the
best-known is the Middle English Sir Gawain and the Green Knight). Eliavres
asks for a knight to lop off his head, the only catch being that if he
survives, he may take the knight's head in return. Caradoc takes up the
challenge, and dutifully offers his own neck when the sorcerer magically
replaces his head. Eliavres declines to kill young Caradoc, but reveals that
he is his natural father. Caradoc the Younger is understandably chagrined at
the news. He embarks on a number of knightly adventures, whereupon he meets
his best friend Sir Cador, travelling with his sister Guinier. Back in his
kingdom, he reveals his father's cuckoldry, and Caradoc the Elder and Younger
exact humiliating vengeance upon Eliavres, involving various farm animals. The
offender is locked away from his mistress Ysave. All goes well until the
wizard attempts to escape. When Caradoc the Younger tries to stop him,
Eliavres summons a serpent that entwines itself around Caradoc's arm,
crippling it and draining his life energy away. Cador and Guinier travel
throughout the country trying to find how to remove the snake, and finally
return with the solution. Caradoc will sit in a tub of vinegar while Guinier
sits in a vat of milk with her supple breasts exposed. The serpent loaths the
vinegar and leaps towards Guinier, but Cador kills it with his sword.
Unfortunately he slices off Guinier's nipple in the process (it is later
replaced with a magical gold one). Though Caradoc is freed from the snake, his
arm is permanently damaged, leaving him with his nickname, "Caradoc Short
Arm". Guinier and Caradoc are married, and after a fidelity test involving a
drinking horn, they live happily ever after.
The tale exists in all three redactions of the First Continuation and is
embedded, in abridged form, in one of the Reynard romances. Though it does not
appear before the last decade of the 13th century, it is most likely based on
a Welsh version, allusions to which can be found in the Welsh Triads. The
Triads note Caradoc's wife Tegau for her love and fidelity, and her sobriquet
Eurfron (Gold-Breast) would suit Guiner from the Life of Caradoc.
Additionally, there is mention of Tegau's fidelity-testing mantle, which is a
common substitute for the drinking horn in chastity test stories. Several
versions of the Mantle of Chastity test involving Caradoc's wife were
translated into Norse during the reign of King Hakon Hakonarson, and a version
of the chastity test from The Book of Caradoc in the First Continuation of the
Old French Perceval is found in the Norse Möttuls saga. The story survives in
the traditional English folk ballad The Boy and the Mantle, collected by
Bishop Thomas Percy in Percy's Reliques. The chastity test involving the
drinking horn was narrated in the Lai du Cor (1160) by the jongleur Robert
Biket, who said that Cirencester was awarded to Caradoc for winning the
drinking horn through the fidelity of his wife, and that the horn was on
display there. In 1698, Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force rewrote the tale
under the title L'Enchanteur ("The Enchanter"). The story was essentially the
same, despite a few changes, including the renaming of several characters:
Caradoc the Younger, Cador, Guinier and Ysave became Carados, Candor, Adelis
and Isène.