Narberth, Pwyll’s chief palace in Dyved, is both a seat of hospitality and a threshold to the uncanny. Its courtly feasts frame changes in rule and family life, while the nearby mound of Gorsedd Arberth and the palace grounds become settings for marvels that disrupt ordinary life.

Setting and Royal Seat

Narberth is identified as Pwyll’s chief palace and a place from which he sets out to hunt in Glyn Cuch. The palace anchors his rule over Dyved: it is where a feast is prepared for him and where the court gathers around its lord. Later, Narberth remains a royal centre for Pryderi and his companions, linking Pwyll’s reign to the next generation’s adventures.

The Mound and the Court’s Customs

A mound above the palace, called Gorsedd Arberth, carries a local tradition: whoever sits there must either suffer wounds or blows or witness a wonder. Pwyll chooses to test the claim while surrounded by his retinue. From the mound, the court sees Rhiannon approaching on a large white horse; a man sent to intercept her cannot catch up on foot, however fast he runs. The episode makes the landscape beside Narberth a place where the limits of ordinary pursuit become apparent.

Feasting, Gifts, and Rule

Narberth hosts a feast after Pwyll and Rhiannon return to Dyved. Rhiannon gives the assembled noble men and women rich gifts, including bracelets, rings, and precious stones, and the couple rule prosperously through that year and the next. The palace is also the setting for a feast attended by Pryderi, Manawyddan, and their companions. These gatherings establish Narberth as a centre of shared bounty and political fellowship, as well as the home from which its rulers travel and to which they return.

The Deserted Court and the Enchanted Castle

During a later feast at Narberth, Pryderi, Manawyddan, and their two companions sit on Gorsedd Arberth when thunder and a dense mist overtake them. Once the air clears, the court’s people and the surrounding signs of habitation have vanished: there are no houses, cattle, smoke, fires, or people, and only the four companions remain. They search the palace and its buildings in vain, then live by hunting and wild honey as their provisions run out. After their return to Narberth, Pryderi follows a white boar to a newly appeared castle despite Manawyddan’s warning. Inside, an empty courtyard holds a fountain, a golden bowl, and a marble slab; when Pryderi takes hold of the bowl, he is trapped. The sequence turns Narberth from a hospitable royal seat into the starting point of an enchantment that empties the land and draws its rulers toward danger.