May 1

May 1 is the recurring date of a mystery at Teirnyon Twryv Vliant’s household: his mare foals each year, but her colt vanishes. On the night he finally watches, the disappearance is interrupted, and the colt’s recovery coincides with the discovery of a baby boy.

Annual Recurrence

The mare belonging to Teirnyon Twryv Vliant, lord of Gwent Is Coed, is described as exceptionally beautiful. Every May 1 she foals, yet no one knows what becomes of the colt. The repetition turns the date into a clear marker of an unresolved, yearly loss. Teirnyon’s decision to watch that night follows from this pattern: he resolves to discover what takes the foals.

The Night Watch

During Teirnyon’s vigil, the mare gives birth to a large, beautiful colt. A great tumult follows, and a claw reaches through the window and seizes the newborn by the mane. Teirnyon strikes it with his sword, cutting off the arm at the elbow; the severed portion and colt remain inside. He hears wailing outside and rushes into the darkness after the noise, but cannot see what caused it.

The Child Found at the Door

When Teirnyon returns, he finds a baby boy at the open door, wrapped in a satin mantle. The child is unusually strong for his age. Teirnyon takes him to his wife, and she recognizes the fine garment as a sign that the boy is of gentle lineage. The couple raise him as their own, have him baptized, and name him Gwri Wallt Euryn for his golden hair. The annual May 1 disappearance thus ends, on this watched occasion, in a paired discovery: the colt is saved, and a child is found where the unknown assailant had vanished.