Arthur in Medieval Welsh Literature. (Shorter Notices).

O. J. Padel, Arthur in Medieval Welsh Literature, Writers of Wales (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2000).137 pp. ISBN 0-7083-1682-4. 5-99 [pounds sterling]. This succinct summary of references to Arthur in Welsh literature runs from the Historia Brittonum to the translations of French prose romances, with additional chapters on place names and on individual characters (Cai, Gwenhwyfar, Gwalchmai). Recurring themes and questions include the location of Arthur's court, his casting as a kind of Robin Hood figure, Melwas's abduction of Gwenhwyfar, the association of the Tristan material with Arthur, the naming of his father as Uthr, and just what Medrawd did. Padel concludes by considering the possibility that the Arthur of Welsh folklore was a comic giant, or at least a kind of Obelix figure. The usefulness of the book for reference is unfortunately severely limited by the lack of any list of chapter headings or an index (the titles of major texts are recurrently printed in capitals, but there is no way to find the full entry except by searching the entire text -- a task in which its brevity helps).