Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain
| Manuscripts | |
|---|---|
| Peniarth MSS 51 (names only), 60, 77, 138, 179, 295; Cardiff MSS 17, 19, 26, 43; Llanstephan 65, 94, 145; National Library of Wales MS 5269B; Panton MS 13; BL Addl. 14,973; Mostyn MS 159; Edward Jones, Bardic Museum. London, 1808. pp. 47 ff.; Y Brython 3 (1860), p. 372; Peniarth 216; Charlotte Guest, Mabinogion. London, 1849. II, pp. 353-4; BL Addl. 14,919, fo. 128b (= Addl. 1); BL Addl. 15,020, fos. 34a-35a (=Addl. 2); BL Addl. 15,047, fos. 98a-101a (=Addl. 3); BL Addl. 15,059, fos. 228a-229b. |
The Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain (Welsh: Tri Thlws ar Ddeg Ynys Prydain) are a series of items in late medieval Welsh tradition. Lists of the items appear in texts dating to the 15th and 16th centuries. Most of the items are placed in the Hen Ogledd or "Old North", the Brittonic-speaking parts of what is now southern Scotland and Northern England; some early manuscripts refer to the whole list specifically as treasures "that were in the North". The number of treasures is always given as thirteen, but some later versions list different items, replacing or combining entries to maintain the number. Later versions also supplement the plain list with explanatory comments about each treasure.
The various treasures (tlws) include vessels or utensils for food and drink (hamper, cauldron, crock and dish, horn and knife), objects relating to weaponry (sword, whetstone) and to transport (halter, chariot), clothing (coat, mantle) and still other items (stone and ring, chessboard). The standard version of the list includes the following treasures:
Some of the magical objects listed can be shown to have earlier origins in Welsh narrative tradition. Items 1, 2 and 7, for instance, are also described in the Middle Welsh tale Culhwch ac Olwen (tentatively dated to c. 1100), in which Ysbaddaden the Giant gives King Arthur's cousin Culhwch a list of impossible tasks (anoetheu) which he has to complete in order to win the hand of Olwen, the giant's daughter.
The Dyrnwyn ("White-Hilt") is said to be a powerful sword belonging to Rhydderch Hael, one of the Three Generous Men of Britain mentioned in the Welsh Triads. When drawn by a worthy or well-born man, the entire blade would blaze with fire. Rhydderch was never reluctant to hand the weapon to anyone, hence his nickname Hael "the Generous", but the recipients, as soon as they had learned of its peculiar properties, always rejected the sword.
It is told that Gwyddno Garanhir ("Long-shank") possessed a hamper (mwys) which would multiply food: if one was to put food for one man in the basket and open it again, the food was found to be increased a hundredfold.
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