I'm a big fan of Madoc ap Uther, although I haven't written much about him yet. Here are some of my thoughts on him, not all of which are characterization-related but hopefully will be helpful:
He's described as "protector of happiness" (in "Madawc Drut", Marged Haycock's translation), which I find really interesting, as well as "a citadel of prowess/through feat and jest". Protector of happiness could be referring to his humor entertaining people, to his martial prowess keeping them safe, or both. (The same goes for the title itself: "drut" could mean bravery or foolhardiness but could be related to "drúth", Old Irish for jester).
Either way, it sounds like a sort of a duty, like this is something he feels obligated to do, which is obvious if he's a warrior but says a lot about his personality if he feels obligated to make jokes and keep others happy. Maybe there are some citadel walls around his inner nature and emotions; that might be a stretch in terms of literary interpretation, but potentially interesting in terms of characterization.
He seems to be very well-liked and seen as a merry fellow, but he definitely has a serious side: "before {he} was slain / he pledged himself by his hand", which is rather cryptic and suggests a sense of duty as well as a dire circumstance.
He was the son of Uther but didn't become king, so he could be Arthur's older brother who was killed before Uther died or a younger brother who didn't succeed Uther because Arthur was the eldest son (which would suggest that Arthur was raised by his biological parents). He could also be a younger brother who was the heir but was killed before Uther died (if Arthur was raised by Ector/Cynyr), but he is Eliwlod's father, so he was old enough to have children at the time of his death, which makes the last option seem less likely.
Skene's translation of "Marwnad Madawg"/"Madawc Drut" is much longer and says that he was killed by "Erof", but Haycock claims that that's the result of multiple poetic fragments which were on the same page being mashed together and that that bit is actually part of a lost poem about King Erof, AKA Herod, being dragged down to Hell. I think her translation is generally considered more reliable (and seriously doubt that Madoc was killed by King Herod, though that would be interesting).
He might be referred to as "{t}ransgressing" and "a famous leader" in a poem along with other heroes like Bran, Arthur, and Alexander the Great, but Madawg/Madog/Madoc is not a rare name. There are at least two different Madawgs mentioned in the Black Book of Carmarthen (ap Maredudd and ap Gwyn) who definitely aren't him and one who might be him but might not. As it is, the only pretty-certain references to him are "Madawc Drut" and a brief mention in Arthur's dialogue with the eagle. This is just about all the information we have to go off of, so my fondness for him comes entirely from "Madawc Drut", which is, unsurprisingly, from The Book of Taliesin.
Do we have any Madoc ap Uther/Madawg ap Uther fans out there? I'm trying to combine him with the more "continental" legends bc I think it'd be interesting but I'm wondering if anyone's written him before or has some characterization thoughts?
I just discovered TV Tropes' Wild Mass Guessing page for Arthurian legend. If you haven't read it, check it out. It's absolutely wild. For example, we have...
The theory that Merlin stole Kay’s powers
The theory that Guinevere is sterile segueing into the theory that Arthur is a cis female segueing into the theory that Arthur is Mordred’s mother segueing into the theory that Guinevere is male and Lancelot is gay
The theory that Guinevere wasn’t a historical figure but Arthur and Lancelot were (and Arthur was female)
The theory that Arthur has already returned and its possible Arthur subtheories (Winston Churchill, the Duke of Wellington, Queen Elizabeth I, Prince Harry, Sonic the Hedgehog…)
The theory that Merlin is John the Apostle
The theory that Isolde is Tristan’s mother (ick)
The theory that all versions of the legends, medieval and modern, are retellings by different characters
Also, TV Tropes is a wiki, so you can add your own theories to the page.
The top ten who come to my mind at the moment are Caradoc, Dagonet, Dinadan, Galahad, Gawain, Griflet, Kay, Lucan, Melora, and Mordred, in alphabetical order. That being said, if you mess with Gareth, Morvran, or really most of the others, I will offer to duel you on the spot, tell the magic trees about you, and (if all else fails) besiege you with flaming arrows.
To anyone who loves Arthurian legends, who’s your fav knight? Mine has been Sir Palomides and Sir Gareth lately.
At one point, Dagbert describes his curse by saying that in his thirteenth year, the firstborn son of “the Lord Grimwald” must kill or be killed by his father, which suggests that, if the character referred to as Lord Grimwald has multiple names, the title Lord Grimwald is the most official, the one he most favors, or the one which is most closely linked to his identity. Regardless, it’s a hereditary title, which means that, by the end, Dagbert is the Lord Grimwald and has his own castle. (This is never additionally ).
From the way Dagbert and Lord Grimwald describe it, it sounds like they started calling Dagbert “Dagbert Endless” for the heck of it. It would be very cool if his many names came from his mother—there is so much untapped potential that comes with the half-mermaid thing—and it would also make sense if Dagbert’s many names were a necessity. If he keeps committing murder/magical manslaughter (depending on how much control he’s in), he might be a wanted criminal under some name(s) and need aliases.
Dagbert having endless surnames but Lord Grimwald only having "Grimwald" implies Dagbert either inherited his many surnames from his mother, or Lord Grimwald also has many surnames but managed to pick one. If they're from his mother, it implies that mermaids all have long names. If they're from his father, then I think it's safe to say that a man who chose the name "Grimwald" is likely to be the idiot who decided to name a baby "Dagbert". In this essay I will
This is a crime.
-“Lancelot: A Poem” by Edwin Arlington Robinson
That would indeed be awesome. My first thought was that Melora would be the most competent of the siblings because of her better track record, but unless I’m mistaken, Amr and Loholt were pretty young when they died and never got much of a chance to prove themselves. It would be especially great and chaotic if instead of just having Bhalbhuaidh visit occasionally, they had a full-on exchange program with Alastrann’s court and, if you warp the timeline to its utmost, the Paladins. I would enjoy Bhalbhuaidh and Medoro confronting Bors and Roland and telling them off for being bigoted.
I am always thinking about the vast Arthurian Mythos and its various traditions and canons. All of them being mutually exclusive to each other...
...Aaaand I can't help but want to smash them together like playdough. Its my favorite past-time as of late.
Like, don't tell me no-one has ever amused themselves of the fact that the Celtic Gods like Gwyn ap Nudd and Manawydan just hanging out in Arthur's court with Palamedes, Dubricius, Galahad and Nasciens.
Or my very favorite concept of Guinevere being a giantess AND a sorceress while also being Morgan the fairy's ex-girlfriend Best-friend-turned-Arch-nemesis. Nevermind what this means for Lancelot, Arthur, Galehaut, Meleagant and the other abductors.
Or the various children that's been given to every character, including Palamedes, Merlin and Tristan. Even Freaking Lancelot and Guinevere have children together. They even have a grandson in Gargantua.
You could literally have your own next-gen version of the Round Table, led by Amr, Loholt and Melora. Staffed by: Guingalain, Ysaye, Lohengrin, Brisan, Bronsidel, Melehan, Munsolinos, Amren, Garanwyn, Kelemon, Andronia, Florismarte, Pantagruel, Vanoc, etc.
And then Dragon Knight Branor, (From Uther's Generation of Round Table Knights) shows up and kicks their asses.
Funny story. Due to a very strange series of events, a number of people are now convinced that I'm the reincarnation of Sir Kay. This is not a joke. I'm not really sure what do with that or how to explain the strange stuff which happened. So, yeah. I can imagine it.
Reincarnation aus are funny to me because like. Imagine finding out that you’re the reincarnation of a medieval knight, brought back to save mankind in its darkest hour etc etc. But then you find out that you’re fucking like. Sir Gaheris. Absolutely mid-tier ass knight. Like what do you do with that.
*so we know he’s asexual in canon. but he could still feel romantic attraction!!1!1
what’s this? a screenshot from the writer’s twitter??? doesn’t prove anything. that’s just one comic. i’ll put an asterisk next to the comics by this guy to prove he’s the only one writing Juggie as aro.
i’m not convinced. that’s pretty open to interpretation; he’s probably interested
well… maybe that could mean he’s aro?
Keep reading
Do you happen to have a link to the text of Caradoc? I'm very intrigued by it.
uhhh yeah i have it here is a scan. i dont recommend it if im being honest i enjoyed it but i did not like it. thats my review. also some warnings under the cut
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1x_a3CmlJtIlI01mFMKvfxCehRkr6Z1fz/view?usp=sharing
this text has some rape and bestiality and just?? a lot of wierd sexual shit thats my warning i guess if u want o read it anyway i mean. i read it so im not gonna judge u but its A Lot
…as he should be.
So I searched up "Jewish philosopher with opinions" and he was the first result.
In which I ramble about poetry, Arthuriana, aroace stuff, etc. In theory. In practice, it's almost all Arthuriana.
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