Sir Yvain (Owain)

Yvain (Ywain or Owain) was the son of King Urien. Yvain was known in Welsh legend as Owain.

Most of the early legends don't give Yvain's mother's name, but some later legends say that Yvain's mother was Morgan le Fay, the half-sister of King Arthur and wife of Urien (such as in the Suite du Merlin (Post-Vulgate) and in Le Morte d'Arthur). According to Vulgate Merlin, Yvain's mother was Brimesent.

According to the Welsh Triads, Urien Rheged was married to the goddess Modron, the daughter of the god Avallach. The legend has it that Modron was the mother of Owain (Yvain). Owain also had a sister named Morvudd. In the Lady of the Fountain (Mabinogion), his father was Urien, but his mother wasn't mentioned. His grandfather was Kynverchin or Kynvarch, and he was first cousin of Gwalchmei (Gawain).

He was known as Yvain the Valiant or Yvain the Great. There were several characters that were named Yvain. Yvain also had a brother of the same name, but this Yvain was usually known as Yvain the Bastard. In the Vulgate Lancelot, there are other Yvains, including Yvain of Lionel, Yvain of the White Hands, Yvain of Cenel (or of Rivel), and Yvain the Deer.

Yvain was the hero of the same story told by the Welsh, French and English authors. The Welsh title was called the Lady of the Fountain, where the hero was Owain or Owein, the son of Uryen Rhegd (Urien). Chretien de Troyes wrote the French version called Knight of the Lion or Yvain (c. 1170). The English version was called Ywain and Gawain (c. 1350).

Yvain killed the knight of the fountain (known as Esclados the Red in Knight of the Lion and as the Black Knight in Mabinogion), but was trapped in his opponent's castle. Lunete (Luned), a companion to the Lady of the Fountain (Laudine?), helped Yvain to escape as well as helping the hero to woo and marry the countess. See Yvain and the Lady of the Fountain for the full story.

When he attended a tournament, he overstayed at King Arthur's court, causing a separation between he and his wife. A separation that caused Yvain to lose his wits, until he was cured of the madness by a lady.

Yvain won a strange companion when he rescued a lion and killed a dragon. Yvain went on a series of adventures helping one lady after another. With the help of the lion, Yvain killed the giant Harpin of the Mountain (Harpin de la Montagne).

One of the women he rescued was Lunete. Lunete had lost favour with the Lady of the Fountain, and the lady's jealous seneschal plotted to have her executed. Yvain defeated the seneschal and his brother through trial by combat.

Lunete, in the end, helped Yvain to be reconciled with his wife Laudine. Yvain was said to be the father of Idrus, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth.

According to Geoffrey, Yvain became king of Albany (Scotland) when his uncle Auguselus was killed fighting Mordred's army at the landing of Richborough. Geoffrey does not mention if Yvain died in the battle of Camlann or not.

According to the Vulgate Cycle, Yvain led the first battalion in the battle of Salisbury Plain (Camlann) and killed many Saxons. Yvain rescued Arthur from the King of Northumbria, whom he killed. Yvain helped Arthur to remount, only to be struck down by Mordred.

When Yvain found out about his mother's plot to murder his father, he rescued his sleeping father before Morgan could strike a blow with her father's sword. Instead of having his mother arrested or killed, Yvain allowed her to escape, provided Morgan never attempted to murder her husband again.

When Arthur revealed to the court about his sister's plots against him, he also suspected his nephew (Yvain). Since he could not trust Yvain, Arthur banished him from attending his court. Because of Gawain's love for his cousin, he also left Arthur's court and accompanied Yvain in their adventures, where they met Marhaus (Morholt), brother-in-law of the King of Ireland.

Apart from the Welsh Lady of the Fountain, Owain (Yvain) appeared frequently in medieval Welsh literature.

Owain appeared in the Dream of Rhonabwy, playing a board game (gwyddbwyll) against Arthur while battles were fought between Arthur's squires and Owain's ravens. Here, ravens were Owain's symbols. In Peredur, Owain was the first knight that the young hero Peredur (Perceval) met.

Owain's name also appeared several times in the Welsh Triads where names were grouped into three. Owain was listed as one of the "Three Fair Princes (Blessed Kings) of the Island of Britain" (the other names being Rhun son of Maelgwn and Rhufawn befr the son of Deorath Wledig) and one of the "Three Knights Of Battle Were In The Court Of Arthur" (the others were Lancelot du Lac and Cadwr (Cador), the Earl of Cornwall). And his horse was called, Cloven-Hoof, one of the "Three Plundered Horses of the Island of Britain".

Owain and his father Urien Rhegd appeared to be real historical figures living in the late sixth century AD, a generation or two after time of Arthur. Rhegd (Rheged) was a Welsh kingdom in Old North (Scottish Lowlands). Urien and Owain led the resistance against the invading Angles. In the Book of Taliesin, there was a poem or eulogy to praise and commemorate Urien and Owain, and those who died in battle. Owain died in battle, killed by Flamdwyn.