Earl Ynywl’s dispossession

Ynywl’s dispossession is the consequence of a family inheritance dispute that turns against him: after he withholds his nephew’s property, the nephew makes war and strips him of his earldom and possessions. The loss reduces Ynywl to poverty, but Geraint’s intervention at the Sparrow-Hawk tournament brings a settlement that restores his lands, authority, and property down to the smallest jewel.

The Inheritance Dispute

Ynywl explains that the palace where Geraint is lodging, along with the city and castle Geraint had seen, once belonged to him. He had built the palace and possessed a great earldom as well. The reversal began when Ynywl took his nephew’s possessions for himself. Once the nephew, his brother’s son, came of age, he demanded his property back; Ynywl refused. The nephew then made war on him and wrested away everything he possessed. The account gives the dispossession a clear cause: Ynywl’s loss follows his own withholding of an inheritance, rather than an unexplained attack or accident.

Life After the Loss

By the time Geraint meets him, Ynywl has lost not only his earldom but also the palace, city, and castle he once built and owned. His household’s reduced circumstances are visible in the modest food they can obtain: his daughter returns from town with purchased mead, a quarter of a young bullock, and white bread, explaining that she could secure nothing better and would not have been trusted with finer provisions. Ynywl nevertheless receives Geraint as a guest and shares what the household has managed to find.

His poverty also shapes his daughter’s prospects. Geraint has no lady to accompany him to the Sparrow-Hawk tournament, where a knight must joust with the woman he loves best at his side. Ynywl agrees that Geraint may challenge for his daughter, provided she will remain unsullied if Geraint does not survive. Geraint promises that, if he escapes the tournament, he will love her for life. The dispossessed earl’s family thus enters the contest through a promise that joins the daughter’s future to Geraint’s success.

Geraint’s Intervention and Restoration

After the tournament, Geraint refuses an invitation to remain with the young Earl and says he will instead take Ynywl and his family to Arthur’s court. He insists that Ynywl should not remain in poverty and declares that the earl’s possessions must be restored unless death prevents him from securing them. The young Earl agrees to abide by Geraint’s judgment in the dispute. Geraint asks for the return of what belongs to Ynywl, including what should have been paid from the time of his dispossession onward.

Geraint makes the settlement public and immediate. He calls on everyone present who owes homage to Ynywl to come forward and perform it there, and all the men comply. The young Earl restores Ynywl’s castle, town, and possessions; the recovery extends even to the smallest jewel. Ynywl’s dispossession therefore ends not merely with a verbal concession but with the return of property and the renewed recognition of his authority.

Narrative Significance

The episode links Ynywl’s earlier loss to the obligations of the Sparrow-Hawk tournament. Geraint first accepts the daughter as the lady for whom he will joust; after proving his strength, he uses his position to repair the household’s material ruin. The reversal is precise: an inheritance withheld from a nephew led to war and dispossession, while Geraint’s judgment leads to homage and restitution. Ynywl’s story makes his poverty a present, concrete consequence of the earlier conflict, and his restoration demonstrates how Geraint’s martial achievement can be turned into a public settlement.