ABSTRACT
The oldest Arthurian tale, Culhwch and Olwen, survives in two Welsh manuscripts of the fourteenth century, but evidence of language and allusion support the conclusion that the work was given substantially its present form toward the end of the eleventh century. Its language also suggests that it was composed in regions of South Wales where the great boar, Twrch Trwyth, is hunted in the tale’s climax. Topographical references indicate that the narrator is tracking the beast through places familiar to him and his audience. The storytelling calls for an audience responsive to a variety of styles, including burlesque and parody, familiar with numerous persons and topics cited, and ready to follow narrative lines marked by abrupt turns, stalls, large symmetries, small connective threads, and startling disparities.
