THE THIRTEEN TREASURES OF GREAT BRITAIN ©
by Nora Lisius
Much of what we know about the Thirteen Treasures of Great Britain comes from material appended to some copies of the Welsh Triads, medieval manuscripts which contain various historical and mythical accounts of Welsh tradition.
What actually constitutes the Thirteen Treasures varies from teller to teller, but from what I've gleaned, they, for the most part, serve to provide some basic means of survival—whether food and drink, or protection from one's enemies. Often the treasures also offer a means of divining a man's character.
White-Hilt, the Sword of Rhydderch Hael, serves both as protection – if one is well-born or otherwise worthy – and as a divinatory tool. It bursts into flame from one end to the other when drawn. A good man will find that it reaches its mark and destroys his enemy time after time, but a churlish man will himself be destroyed by it.
Along the same lines, if a brave man sharpened his sword on the Whetstone of Tudwal Tudglyd, any man from whom he drew blood would die. However, a cowardly man would find his opponent no worse for the wear, no matter how many times he was struck by the sharpened sword.
Now, when it comes to food and drink, we have all manner of magical "appliances," beginning with the Hamper of Gwyddno Long-Shank, which is reminiscent of the story of Jesus feeding the multitudes from one small boy's lunch. If food enough for one man was put into the Hamper, food enough for one hundred men would appear. Similarly, the Knife of Llawfrodedd the Horseman would "serve for twenty-four men to eat at table." I have not found any account of how it achieved that feat, but I came upon an interesting reference to the Knife's connection to Excalibur, which was also called Calidfwlch. Llawfrodedd's Knife was called in Welsh, Cyllell. I'm not enough of a Welsh linguist to make the connection, but others have asserted such a connection. I leave it at that.
Again, in the line of food and drink, we come to the Crock and the Dish of Rhygenydd the Cleric. They would produce whatever food and drink was wished for. The Cauldron of Dyrnwch the Giant doesn't seem to have produced any food on its own, but it could take the measure of a man by what was put in it. If a brave man put meat into the cauldron to boil, the cauldron would cheerfully and efficiently cook it up for him. The coward would be waiting a long time, however, as the cauldron would never cook the meat of a coward.
Again with the food and drink—The Horn of Bran the Niggard from the North produced whatever drink was wished for. This treasure apparently also has a connection with the Arthurian tales. It is said that Myrddin (Merlin) demanded the drinking horns of all of the men of Britain. Knowing how stingy Bran was, they said Merlin could have their horns if he could first obtain Bran's. Obtain it he did, and everyone else's into the bargain. The Horn was apparently first taken by Hercules from the head of the centaur when he slew him. The centaur's wife had the ultimate victory, however. She soaked Hercules' shirt in her husband's blood. When Hercules put the shirt on, he was never again able to take it off until it had eaten through flesh and bone and killed him.
Now we leave behind the food and drink and examine the Coat of Padarn Red-Coat. A man of nobility, presumably of character, could put it on and have himself a perfectly tailored coat, beautifully fitted. A "churl" of the exact same size could not get the coat on. Here we have another tool for the divining of a man's character.
The remaining treasures are of a more fanciful nature than the ones listed above. The Chariot of Morgan the Wealthy, for example, was capable of transporting any man who entered it to any place he might wish to go, and quickly into the bargain. Beam me up, Scotty!
Covet your neighbor's horse? Simply borrow the Halter of Clydno Eiddyn. The halter was fastened to the end of Clydno's bed, and whatever horse he wished for would appear, presumably in the morning. Fancy a game of chess? The Chessboard of Gwenddolau, Son of Ceidio could play a game all by itself. The chessmen were silver and the board itself was gold. Care to spy on the neighbors? Don the Mantle of Arthur in Cornwall. It will render you invisible. I came upon another tale of a magical mantle, that of Tuirean. It, too, is sometimes listed among the Treasures. In this case, the mantle will not reach the ground unless worn by a virtuous woman. Other items sometimes listed among the Treasures are the Mantle of Tegau Eurfon, which may be one and the same as the Mantle of Tuirean, and Eluned's Stone and Ring.
Where did all of these treasures come from? Well, I'm not sure we know, but there is an Arthurian tale wherein Kulhwch goes off to court the beautiful Olwen, daughter of the giant, Hawthorn. Hawthorn sets a series of impossible tasks for Kulhwch, many of which involve collecting the Treasures and bringing them back as a dowry for Olwen. Kulhwch is helped by his cousin Arthur and Arthurs men. I think we are to assume the Treasures existed among the gods and the men of valor since time immemorial, but just went missing from time to time and had to be gathered back. As to their disposal, they disappeared with Merlin into his "glass house" or "airy tomb," never again to be seen by mortals.
References:
http://www.tartanplace.com/faery/thirteen.html
http://bulfinch.englishatheist.org/b/cml/cml26.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteen_Treasures_of_Britain
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyrnwyn
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horn_of_Bran_the_Niggard
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Knife_of_Llawfrodedd_the_Horseman
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padarn_Beisrudd
http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/thirteentreasures.html
Charles Squire: "The Mythology of the British Isles"
Nora Lisius lives in Central Oregon, where she has served as an officer and board member for the High Desert Celtic Society and occasionally writes for their newsletter, "The Seanachie." Before the onset of middle age and arthritis, she was also a member of their Scottish Country Dance performance team. Nora holds a degree in English literature from the University of Oregon and continues to pursue a life-long interest in folklore and mythology, particularly as pertains to the Celtic and Nordic peoples. She is currently studying with Tira in the Hazel Grove. Nora can be reached at nlisius@bendbroadband.com
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