… continued from my previous post
In the fourth branch of
The Mabinogion we are told how Lleu was practically invincible. Only under extreme circumstances could he be slain. When asked by Blodeuwedd, Lleu reveals it must be from a wound inflicted by a special spear – but there were other conditions:
“ ‘And I cannot be slain within a house, nor without. I cannot be slain on horseback nor on foot.’ ‘Verily,’ said she, ‘in what manner then canst thou be slain?’ ‘I will tell thee,’ said he. ‘By making a bath for me by the side of a river, and by putting a roof over the cauldron, and thatching it well and tightly, and bringing a buck, and putting it beside the cauldron. Then if I place one foot on the buck’s back, and the other on the edge of the cauldron, whosoever strikes me thus will cause my death.’ ‘Well,’ said she, ‘I thank Heaven that it will be easy to avoid this.’ ”
–
The Mabinogion, translated by Lady Charlotte Guest, Volume III – pg. 243, 1849 edition
Tolkien must have had a good laugh – for I have a strong suspicion he knew the story behind one of the most famous of Welsh deities*. Looking past the comical side – just as I have tried to do – he might have observed that Lleu’s vulnerability occurred while naked. Perhaps his personage was missing a vital piece of clothing? Perhaps it was garb associated to another legend largely set in Wales, namely:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight**?
Then perhaps Lleu was only susceptible when deprived of a certain ‘green girdle’. And maybe the other requirements were mere fluff. Speculation I know – but, it’s beyond curiosity that Bombadil too possessed a green girdle. Still, that’s what mythology is all about. Piecing together fragments of truth from various legends might lead to one not unreasonably guessing what lay behind a bizarre ‘Achilles heel’.
‘Lleu rises as an Eagle’, The Mabinogion, Lady Guest translation, 1877
(Courtesy of Wikipedia)
* Tolkien was certainly familiar with Lady Guest’s translation of
The Mabinogion (see
Bibliography of
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Tolkien & Gordon, 1925). The account of Lleu occurs in the fourth branch. Also, Tolkien taught medieval Welsh at the University of Leeds (see
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien – Letter #7, Edited by H. Carpenter, 1981). The Mabinogion would likely have been part of the curriculum.
** Gawain has also been noted as a sun-hero. John Rhys has observed how the Beheading Game, involving Cuchulainn – another sun-hero, also appears in ‘The Champions Bargain’ (which Tolkien knew of per his co-authored*
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight publication of 1925). This cross-fertilization of Celtic legends with Arthurian tales is a matter Tolkien was undoubtedly aware of.