extraction.celtic_welsh.mabinogion.pwyll_annwvyn_exchange
---
record_id: extraction.celtic_welsh.mabinogion.pwyll_annwvyn_exchange
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
passage_locator:
label: Pwyll Prince of Dyved; encounter with Arawn and year in Annwvyn
start: 5884
end: 6047
translation: Lady Charlotte Guest, The Mabinogion
notes: Line numbers refer to the repository markdown source.
canonical_text:
summary: Pwyll encounters Arawn, king of Annwvyn, after interfering with otherworldly
hounds; Arawn exchanges forms with him, sends him to rule Annwvyn for a year,
and Pwyll returns with friendship and the title Chief of Annwvyn.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: While hunting, Pwyll becomes separated from his companions and hears hounds
different from his own.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The strange hounds are shining white with red ears and have brought down a
stag.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Arawn identifies himself as a crowned king from Annwvyn.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Arawn asks Pwyll to take his place in Annwvyn, receive Arawn's form and semblance,
and confront Havgan after one year.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: Pwyll enters Arawn's court, where no one recognizes him as other than Arawn.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: Pwyll spends a year in hunting, minstrelsy, feasting, diversions, and discourse
before the appointed conflict.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: Pwyll strikes Havgan once and refuses to give the second blow Havgan requests.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: Arawn restores Pwyll's proper form and returns to Annwvyn; Pwyll returns to
Dyved and is later called Chief of Annwvyn.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Pwyll
description: Prince of Dyved who takes Arawn's form, rules in Annwvyn, and returns
with a new title.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Arawn
description: King of Annwvyn who exchanges form and place with Pwyll.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:8
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Havgan
description: Rival king of Annwvyn defeated after Pwyll takes Arawn's semblance.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: white red-eared hounds
description: Otherworldly-looking hounds whose kill Pwyll claims before Arawn confronts
him.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
roles:
- id: role:1
label: otherworld_substitute
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Pwyll is sent to Annwvyn in Arawn's stead and given Arawn's form.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:2
label: otherworld_king
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Arawn identifies himself as a crowned king from Annwvyn.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: transformed_returnee
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Pwyll returns to Dyved after his year in Annwvyn and receives a new title
based on that sojourn.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:4
label: form_exchanger
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Arawn puts his form and semblance on Pwyll and later restores both identities.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
- id: role:5
label: rival_king
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Havgan is named as a king of Annwvyn whose dominions oppose Arawn's.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: role:6
label: boundary_hounds
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The hounds' unusual color and kill introduce Pwyll's meeting with Arawn.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: white red-eared hounds
literal_form: hounds with brilliant shining white bodies and red ears.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: Annwvyn
literal_form: Annwvyn, realm from which Arawn comes and where Pwyll rules for a
year.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:8
- id: sym:3
label: exchanged semblance
literal_form: Arawn's form and semblance placed upon Pwyll.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Hunt at Glyn Cuch
summary: Pwyll becomes separated in the hunt, sees strange white red-eared hounds,
and is confronted by Arawn for claiming their stag.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Exchange and rule in Annwvyn
summary: Arawn gives Pwyll his semblance, sends him to Annwvyn, and Pwyll rules
there unrecognized for a year.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:3
label: Return with new title
summary: Pwyll defeats Havgan with one blow, returns to meet Arawn, receives his
own form again, and becomes known as Chief of Annwvyn.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: otherworld_exchange
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Pwyll enters Annwvyn in Arawn's place, under Arawn's appearance, for an appointed
year.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy lacks a direct Annwvyn or otherworld-exchange motif entry.
- id: motif:2
label: shapeshifted_substitution
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
basis: Pwyll's visible form and semblance are changed so Arawn's household cannot
recognize the substitution.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The transformation is imposed by Arawn and is a form exchange, not voluntary
serial shapeshifting by Pwyll.
- id: motif:3
label: return_with_new_status
taxonomy_refs:
- return
- royal_legitimacy
basis: Pwyll returns from Annwvyn after ruling and gains the title Chief of Annwvyn.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The royal-legitimacy link is limited to title and reputation rather than
accession to Dyved.
- id: motif:4
label: magical_animal_boundary
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The unusual hounds mark the encounter that opens Pwyll's relation with Annwvyn.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The text does not explicitly say the hounds are magical, but their colors
and owner connect them to Annwvyn.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: This passage can be compared with other otherworld-sojourn motifs where a
hero crosses a boundary, assumes another status, and returns with changed reputation.
claim_level: same_function
target: cross-cultural otherworld sojourn and return motifs
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:8
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is limited to narrative function and does not establish
historical relationship.
- id: claim:2
claim: The exchange of form between Arawn and Pwyll gives the passage a strong shapeshifter
or disguised-substitution component.
claim_level: same_motif
target: taxonomy/motifs.yml#shapeshifter
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:8
confidence: medium
limitations: The form change is stable and contractual for a year, not a repeated
metamorphosis sequence.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 5884-5893
quote_or_summary: Pwyll hunts at Glyn Cuch, loses his companions, and hears hounds
unlike his own.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: lines 5895-5904
quote_or_summary: The hounds are brilliant shining white, with red ears that glisten.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: lines 5921-5924
quote_or_summary: Arawn says he is a crowned king from Annwvyn.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 5925-5949
quote_or_summary: Arawn asks Pwyll to defeat Havgan, sends him to Annwvyn in his
stead, and puts his form and semblance on him for a year.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 5951-5975
quote_or_summary: Pwyll enters Arawn's court, is treated as Arawn, sees a splendid
household, and feasts there.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 5978-5986
quote_or_summary: Pwyll spends the year in hunting, minstrelsy, feasting, diversions,
and discourse until the appointed conflict.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 5988-6007
quote_or_summary: Pwyll, in Arawn's stead, strikes Havgan once, refuses a second
blow, receives homage, and brings both kingdoms under power.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 6010-6047
quote_or_summary: Arawn restores Pwyll's form, Pwyll returns to Dyved, friendship
is strengthened, and Pwyll is called Chief of Annwvyn.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: high
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The form exchange and Annwvyn sojourn are explicit; broader otherworld classification
awaits taxonomy review.
reviewer_status:
status: draft
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Needs scholarly review for Annwvyn terminology and motif labels.
extracted_by: Codex
extracted_at: '2026-04-27'
notes: Worker D extraction focused on otherworld exchange, shapeshifted substitution,
and return status.