Gwern

Gwern is the son of Matholwch and Branwen, born in Ireland after his parents’ return there. Welcomed as a child and publicly entrusted with sovereignty, he briefly embodies the possibility of peace between the two peoples; his killing during the settlement turns that hope into the immediate cause of renewed fighting.

Identity and Birth

After Matholwch and Branwen sailed to Ireland, they were received with celebration. Branwen spent the following year enjoying honour and friendship, and in due time gave birth to a son, named Gwern. He was the child of the Irish king and Branwen, whose marriage had connected their families and peoples.

Gwern was sent to be fostered among what the narrative describes as the best men of Ireland. His upbringing therefore began within the country whose court would later receive him as a prospective ruler, rather than in his mother’s homeland.

Fosterage and Public Role

At a later peace gathering, the Irish and the men accompanying Bendigeid Fran entered a newly built hall from opposite sides. Once they were seated, concord was established and sovereignty was conferred upon Gwern. The child’s position made him more than a family member passing between the assembled leaders: he stood at the center of the settlement’s public promise.

The gathering also presents Gwern as warmly received. He passes from Bendigeid Fran to Manawyddan and then, at his own uncle Evnissyen’s invitation, is welcomed by him as well. The narrative emphasizes the child’s affectionate response and the fondness he inspires in those present. That welcome makes the violence that follows a rupture not only of the political settlement but of the household’s apparent trust.

Killing and the Collapse of Peace

Evnissyen asks for Gwern to come to him, presenting the request as a wish to fondle his sister’s son. Once the child approaches, Evnissyen kills him by thrusting him into the fire before anyone can stop him. The act is deliberate: the narrative states that Evnissyen had resolved to commit slaughter, while those around him had not anticipated what he would do.

Branwen tries to leap into the fire after her son, but Bendigeid Fran restrains her. The hall erupts into confusion as those present rush to arm themselves. The peace ceremony has become the opening of a battle, and Gwern’s death is the decisive break between the two sides.

Consequences and Narrative Significance

The fighting that follows brings further devastation. The Irish use the cauldron of renovation to restore their dead as combatants, while the men of the Island of the Mighty do not return in the same way. Evnissyen, recognizing the desperate position into which his actions have helped bring them, destroys the cauldron at the cost of his own life. The battle ends without a clear victory for Bendigeid Fran’s forces: only seven of his men escape, and he is wounded by a poisoned dart.

Gwern’s short life is thus framed by two forms of public recognition: fosterage among Ireland’s leading men and the grant of sovereignty at the peace gathering. Neither protects him when the gathering’s gestures of kinship are betrayed. His death exposes how quickly a political accord founded on the child’s place in both families can collapse, and makes the intimate violence of the hall the turning point into open war.