Dywel fab Erbin is not presented in the surviving sources with a mythic origin story; he is attested as a member of a dynastic kin-group (son of Erbin, brother of Geraint and Ermid) and as one of Arthur's retinue at Celliwig. The literary record that preserves him consists of medieval Welsh poems and the early Arthurian tale Culhwch ac Olwen, which place him within the corpus of named heroic warriors commemorated by poetry rather than offering a narrative of supernatural origin or founding exploits.
The supplied sources give no physical or iconographic description of Dywel. He is characterized by his social relations (son of Erbin; brother to Geraint and Ermid) and by actions recorded in verse — principally his conduct in battle and the fact of his death with his men — rather than by clothing, weapons, stature, or other corporeal detail. The poetic notices function to memorialize his role as a warrior rather than to provide an archaeological or visual portrait.
The sources attribute to Dywel a martial role and exemplary battlefield conduct: he is named as a knight of Arthur's court at Celliwig and is recorded as having led men in battle. The Black Book of Carmarthen (Dialogue of Myrddin and Taliesin) states, 'At the last, they slew Dyel, The son of Erbin, with all his men,' indicating he died in combat while commanding followers. An englyn in the Stanzas of the Graves praises his independence and valor — 'He would not be a vassal to a king; Blameless, he would not shrink from battle.' No supernatural powers or magical abilities are ascribed in the provided material.
Weaknesses
- otherNo magical weaknesses recorded in sources
Wards
- otherNo protective wards or rituals associated with Dywel in the provided texts
Abandinus
Abandinus is a locally attested Romano‑Celtic theonym known from a single inscribed bronze feather (votive object) dedicated at Godmanchester (the Roman fort Durovigutum) in Cambridgeshire. Scholars interpret him as a local god or male spirit tied to a specific place and possibly associated with a nearby spring or stream; this association is tentative and based on etymological readings of the name.
Abarta (Ábartach)
Abarta (also Ábartach) is a figure of Irish myth who, in surviving accounts, tricks Fionn mac Cumhaill's warriors by giving them a supernatural grey horse that bears them into the Otherworld. Sources variably identify him as a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann or as a Fomorian; after the incident he is compelled to release the captured warriors and is refused entry to the Fianna.
Abcán (Abhcán)
Abcán (modern spelling Abhcán) is a named dwarf poet and musician of the Tuatha Dé Danann in Irish myth. He appears in a small number of narratives as a musician whose art has soporific power and as the ferryman who brings the goddess Ruad from the Otherworld to the human world.
Abdiel
Abdiel (Hebrew עֲבְדִּיאֵל) is primarily a theophoric Hebrew personal name meaning "servant of El/servant of God," attested once in the Hebrew Bible (1 Chronicles 5:15). In later literature—most notably John Milton's Paradise Lost—Abdiel is reimagined as a faithful seraph who opposes Satan's revolt. The provided sources do not treat Abdiel as an autonomous folkloric spirit type or record rituals or wards associated with the name.
Abhean
Abhean is a named poet of the Tuatha Dé Danann in medieval Irish literature, described as a poet in particular of Lugh and recorded as having been killed by Óengus before Midir in a poem by Fland Mainistreach preserved in the Lebor Gabála Érenn.
Abiel
Abiel is attested in the supplied sources only as a male given name — borne by several historical American individuals and listed as two minor biblical figures. The provided materials contain no evidence presenting Abiel as a supernatural, mythological, or folkloric entity.
Abigail
Abigail is a female figure in the Hebrew Bible portrayed in 1 Samuel 25 as the intelligent and beautiful wife of Nabal who intervenes to prevent David from committing violence; later tradition regards her as one of the Tanakh's seven female prophets and as a model of beauty and wisdom.
Abnoba
Abnoba is a Gaulish theonym and toponym attested in Roman-era sources and inscriptions: a localized deity associated with woods, springs and the sources of rivers (notably the Danube) and simultaneously the name applied to a mountain or mountain range in the Black Forest/Baar/Odenwald region. Roman altars equate her with Diana, reflecting syncretic cult practice in frontier provinces.
Accolon
Accolon is a mortal knight of the Arthurian court, presented in the Post-Vulgate Merlin tradition and Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur as Morgan le Fay's paramour and instrument in a plot to supplant King Arthur; his tale centers on enchanted weapons (Excalibur and its scabbard), love-manipulation, and a tragic duel with Arthur.
Achall
Achall is an eponymous mortal woman in the Ulster Cycle of early Irish literature whose grief-induced death is given as the origin of the hill-name Achall (identified with the modern Hill of Skryne). She appears as a genealogical and etiological figure tied to Tara and later legendary events at the hill, rather than as a recurring supernatural agent.
Achtland
Achtland is a figure from Irish tradition who, according to the surviving account, was a mortal woman famed for rejecting mortal suitors who married a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann and crossed into the síde to become immortal as his wife.
Adar Llwch Gwin
Legendary large, intelligent birds from Welsh tradition said to understand human speech and obey their master's commands; best known for tearing their master Drudwas ap Tryffin to pieces when bound by a literal order in an Arthurian battle narrative. The term later came to be applied to raptors and metaphorically to brave men in medieval Welsh poetry.
Community Record
- [1]Dywel fab Erbin — Wikipedia. Wikipedia contributors, 'Dywel fab Erbin,' Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.wiki
- [2]Dywel fab Erbin — Wikidata. Wikidata entry Q5319611 for Dywel fab Erbin.other
- [3]Battle of Arfderydd — Wikipedia (contextual source included in research notes). Wikipedia contributors, 'Battle of Arfderydd,' Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.wiki
- [4]Black Book of Carmarthen: The Dialogue of Myrddin and Taliesin (poem). Black Book of Carmarthen, 'The Dialogue of Myrddin and Taliesin' — contains the line 'At the last, they slew Dyel, The son of Erbin, with all his men.'literary
- [5]Stanzas of the Graves (Englynion y Celyddon). Stanzas of the Graves — englyn commemorating 'The Grave of Dywel, the son of Erbin, is in the plain of Caewaw' and praising his refusal to be a vassal and his steadfastness in battle.literary
- [6]Culhwch ac Olwen (Arthurian tale). Culhwch ac Olwen — names Dywel among Arthur's knights at Celliwig alongside his brothers.literary