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Malgven, or Malgwen(n), is a character introduced in the legend of the city of Ys at the end of the 19th century by Édouard Schuré, possibly based on a local legend from the Cap Sizun. She was made famous by Charles Guyot (Géo-Charles) at the beginning of the 20th century, in his literary adaptation of the legend of Ys. A valkyrie and queen of the "North", Malgven rules over the lands with her ageing husband, King Harold. She meets King Gradlon while on an outing and falls in love with him. She persuades him to kill her husband and to run away with her on her horse Morvarc'h, towards Gradlon's lands in Brittany. The journey last a year, during which time she gives birth to a daughter, Dahut. Malgven dies in childbirth.
Although she may not be an authentic feature in the legend of the city of Ys, Malgven provides her daughter Dahut with a magical origin story and contributes to the dramatic and romantic element of this legend. This character has been represented in a number of more recent productions, notably novels, a play and a comic book.
Etymology[edit]
The spelling "Malgven" may be most common, but some recent texts use the spelling "Malgwen"[1] or "Malgwenn"[2]. Françoise Le Roux and Christian-J. Guyonvarc'h do not explain the etymology, but clarify that for them, the name is "neither breton, nor scandinavian"[3].
Description[edit]
Often named as the wife of King Gradlon, and therefore the mother of the princess Dahut, in the legend of the city of Ys, Malgven was popularised in this role by Géo-Charles at the beginning of the 20th century.
Origin[edit]
The original legend of Dahut does not mention his mother[4]. Her genealogy is also not described. For Le Roux and Guyonvarc'h, she represents a celtic figure
with no age and no origin
[5], Malgven is therefore a later addition to the legend of the town of Ys.
Matthieu Boyd identifies the oldest known mention of Malgven in the essay The Great Legends of France by Édouard Schuré, in 1892[6] (however, Schuré's text was pre-published in the academic journal Revue des deux Mondes the previous year[7]). Schuré vaguely makes reference to sources from oral tradition recorded near Cap Sizun, according to which the King Gradlon was looking for a princess of Hibernia (Ireland). This story is slightly similar to the legend of Tristan and Iseut, and could give Malgven a more authentic origin, as Schuré kept numerous correspondences with his colleagues in order to gather legends[8]. Malgven was then mentioned by name in a play on 18th December, as the mother of Dahut[9]. Her name also appeared in an English publication in 1906[10].
Boyd therefore disagrees with the conclusion that Maglven is a pure literary invention of Charles Guyot, although he remains cautious as to a possible origin in Breton mythology, as Schuré did not give precise sources[8]. Le lai of Graelent-Meur, collected by La Villemarqué, mentions a relationship between the Kind Gradlon (however, the identification of this character as the kind from the legend of Ys remains controversial, as does the authenticity of this text) and a woman from the Otherworld[11]. Based on this lai, Jean Markale — whose theories are strongly criticised by Le Roux et Guyonvarc'h[3] — developed the hypothesis that after meeting the woman from the Otherworld, the "knight Gradlon" returned with Dahut, "a small girl with long hair"[12]. There are no sources confirming that this women from the Otherworld is related to Dahut, or that she is Malgven, but in Celtic tradition, these women bring good fortune to their husbands and are capable of having children with them, which could provide clues[13].
For Françoise Le Roux et Christian-J. Guyonvarc'h (2000), Malgven and the horse Morvarc'h are literary inventions by Charles Guyot, for his version of the legend of Ys[4]. It is this version involving Malgven and Morvarc'h which has been recognised as the "canon version" of the town of Ys since the mid 20th century, notably by Jean Markale.
- ^ Hascoët 2012
- ^ Boyd 2006
- ^ a b Le Roux & Guyonvarc'h 2000
- ^ a b Le Roux & Guyonvarc'h 2000
- ^ Le Roux & Guyonvarc'h 2000
- ^ Matthieu Boyd, citant Édouard Schuré (1892). Les grandes légendes de France. Didier. p. 217-219.
- ^ Édouard Schuré (1891). "Paysages historiques de France: III. Les légendes de la Bretagne et le génie celtique". Revue des deux Mondes (106): 422-423.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ a b Boyd 2006
- ^ Matthieu Boyd, citant Léon Michaud d'Humiac (1903). Le roi Grallon : tragédie en cinq actes et sept tableaux, en vers. Librairie Molière.
- ^ Lord Frederick Hamilton, Sidney Daryl, George Roland Halkett et Charles Robert Morley (1906). "résultat de rech. « Malgven »". The Pall Mall Magazine. 38. George Routledge & Sons, Limited.
{{cite journal}}: no-break space character in|title=at position 20 (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Varin 1982
- ^ Jean Markale (1975). La tradition celtique en Bretagne armoricaine. Paris. p. 69.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Varin 1982
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