Everything about Fflewddur Fflam totally explained
Fflewddur Fflam, son of Godo, is a
cantrev lord in the
fictional country of
Prydain, in
Lloyd Alexander's
Chronicles of Prydain. He is referred to as a
King, but it's made clear that he's a very minor king of a tiny kingdom at best, much less important than the
High King who rules Prydain.
He is described as a tall, thin man with spiky blond hair, although in the
Disney film
The Black Cauldron he's depicted as a white-haired older man with a bit of a pot belly. The movie's Fflewddur has apparently been stripped of his royalty, or at least it never gets mentioned, and is the object of intense, disturbing attraction from the enchantress Orwen. His catchphrase is "Great Belin!" He is voiced by
Nigel Hawthorne.
Fflewddur Fflam is a good-hearted soul, much less interested in the pomp and circumstance of his role than in doing right—if children wander into his throne room, he'd far rather play hide-and-seek with them than chase them out. Inside, though, he dreams of being a
bard.
After obtaining a
harp and practicing, he sets out for
Caer Dathyl, the seat of the High King and Chief Bard
Taliesin, hoping to be admitted. Unfortunately, his tests don't go at all well. However, the Chief Bard takes pity and offers him a wonderful gift in the form of a magical harp that "Almost plays itself," in Fflewddur Fflam's delighted words. Unfortunately, the harp has a flaw. Every time Fflewddur Fflam stretches the truth, a string will snap on the harp. This happens often, for he's frequently inclined to "add a little color the facts. They need them so badly." He always seems to be adding to the truth. Fflewddur's penchant for theatrical exaggeration ensures that he spends more time mending the harp than playing it; even so, he's able to make beautiful music when he's called upon to do so (or whenever he feels in the mood).
Even though he uses a magical harp regularly, Fflewddur has a strong dislike for magic in general, especially when it seems to be of a threatening nature to him. He steadfastily refuses even to look at magic things unless they've proven themselves to be harmless (like Eilonwy's Pelydryn) or are bardic in nature (his own harp and
Adaon's brooch).
Fflewddur Fflam meets the hero of the series,
Taran, and
Princess Eilonwy at
Spiral Castle, the home of Queen Achren. Purportedly having no ear for music, Achren imprisoned him in her dungeons, where Eilonwy mistakenly frees him on Taran's request. The three become good friends and end up sharing many adventures together.
Besides his harp, Fflewddur Fflam has another unique possession, if it may be called that, in the form of a giant
house cat named
Llyan, easily big enough to ride as a horse. Llyan was enlarged by a series of potions force-fed to her by
Glew, an unsuccessful would-be wizard turned giant by the same potion that made Llyan grow so large. Llyan loves Fflewddur Fflam's harp music; it's often the only thing that can calm her when she's agitated.
As with many other characters in the
Chronicles, Fflewddur Fflam is based on a character in the
Mabinogion, a collection of
Welsh legends. Fflewddur Fflam is mentioned in two of the legends as a prince at
King Arthur's court, but little else is revealed about him.
Further Information
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