Arthur and Twrch Trwyth

Arthur and Twrch Trwyth are adversaries in a long, costly hunt: Arthur seeks three precious objects carried by the transformed boar, while Twrch Trwyth resists capture and devastates the lands through which he passes. Their conflict grows from a specific demand into a pursuit spanning Ireland, Wales, and Cornwall, testing Arthur’s host and ending without a clear account of the boar’s fate.

The boar and the cause of the pursuit

Twrch Trwyth is no ordinary quarry. When the warriors ask about his origin, Arthur tells them that he was once a king whom God transformed into a swine for his sins. The hunt therefore places a former ruler, now an animal, against a king and his assembled warriors. The transformation explains Twrch Trwyth’s strange status, but it does not soften the conflict: he remains formidable, and Arthur’s people must pursue him as both a dangerous adversary and the keeper of the objects they seek.

The immediate goal is to obtain the comb, razor, and scissors positioned between Twrch Trwyth’s ears. Arthur’s demand does not persuade the boar to surrender them. Grugyn Gwrych Ereint answers on his behalf that Twrch Trwyth will not give up the objects unless Arthur first takes his life. He also announces that the boar and his young pigs will enter Arthur’s country and do as much harm as they can. The exchange makes the terms of the relationship stark: the treasures can be taken only through a contest of pursuit and force, and Twrch Trwyth intends to carry the struggle onto Arthur’s own ground.

The pursuit across Ireland and Wales

Arthur first gathers an immense force, summoning warriors from the islands of Britain and neighboring islands, as well as from France, Armorica, Normandy, and the Summer Country. In Ireland, the local people bring him provisions, and the saints ask for his protection, which he grants. This welcome contrasts with the destruction surrounding the hunt. Near Esgeir Oervel, Twrch Trwyth is found with his seven young pigs. The Irish fight him from daybreak until evening, but he lays waste to a fifth of Ireland. On the next day Arthur’s household takes up the struggle without gaining an advantage; on the third, Arthur himself fights for nine nights and nine days without killing even one little pig.

The boar then crosses the sea toward Wales, with Arthur and his forces following in Prydwen. Twrch Trwyth lands at Porth Cleis in Dyved, while Arthur reaches Mynyw. By the time Arthur catches up, the boar has passed through the country killing cattle and destroying lives. The pursuit becomes a series of regional encounters rather than one decisive battle. Near Preseleu, Arthur sends hunters and dogs to close in on him, dividing them across the terrain. Twrch Trwyth makes a stand at Cwm Kerwyn, where the fighting brings deaths among Arthur’s champions, including Gwydre, Arthur’s son. Twrch Trwyth is wounded there, but the resistance does not end.

As the chase continues, the boar’s route is marked by further losses. His companions Grugyn Gwrych Ereint and Llwydawg Govynnyad kill nearly all the huntsmen sent after them in Dyffryn Llychwr. When Arthur’s forces reach the place, their attack draws Twrch Trwyth back to help his companions. The pursuit resumes with the boar’s party moving through successive districts; at Mynydd Amanw, some of the young pigs are killed, and after Dyffryn Amanw only Grugyn and Llwydawg remain alive with Twrch Trwyth. The changing strength of the party does not settle the contest: the survivors continue to resist, and the chase pushes onward.

The struggle at the Severn

Arthur eventually gathers forces at the estuary of the River Severn and declares that Twrch Trwyth will not be allowed into Cornwall. He resolves to oppose him rather than continue an open-ended pursuit, arranging for knights and the island’s dogs to drive the boar toward the river. This is a change in method: instead of trying to catch Twrch Trwyth wherever he goes, Arthur’s forces attempt to direct his movement and make the river the decisive point of interception.

Mabon son of Modron catches up with the boar at the Severn, joined by Goreu and Menw. Arthur and the champions of Britain fall upon Twrch Trwyth there. Osla Kyllellvawr, Manawyddan, Kacmwri, and Gwyngelli seize the boar by the feet and plunge him into the river. In the confusion, Mabon takes the razor and Kyledyr Wyllt takes the scissors. The comb, however, remains beyond their grasp: before they can secure it, Twrch Trwyth regains the bank. From that moment, no dog, man, or horse can overtake him on his way to Cornwall.

The river encounter brings the pursuit closest to a complete victory, but success comes with danger for Arthur’s own followers. Kacmwri is dragged into the deep by two millstones as the men pull him out. Osla’s knife slips from its sheath; the sheath fills with water and weighs him down as he too is being rescued. These reversals underline the cost of trying to seize the treasures in the very moment Twrch Trwyth is forced into the water. Arthur’s side recovers two of the three objects, but the remaining comb keeps the hunt alive.

Cornwall and the unresolved ending

Arthur and his host overtake Twrch Trwyth again in Cornwall, where obtaining the comb proves even more difficult than the earlier encounters. At length they secure it. With all three objects recovered, Arthur’s immediate purpose in the hunt is fulfilled, and Twrch Trwyth is driven out of Cornwall and straight into the deep sea. His destination afterward is not known; Aned and Aethlem go with him, and the account gives no further meeting or capture.

The relation therefore ends in an uneven victory. Arthur achieves the object of the pursuit, but he does not kill or permanently take Twrch Trwyth, whose disappearance leaves the adversary’s final fate open. Across the episode, the contest repeatedly shifts between attack, escape, and renewed pursuit: the boar’s journey draws Arthur’s forces across wide distances, while each apparent chance to finish the hunt carries fresh risk. The ending closes the task by recovering the treasures, yet leaves the central quarry beyond the story’s reach.