The Book of Three

Eilonwy is a descendant of the Sea People. She possesses magical powers and trains to be an enchantress. The 12-year-old princess possesses a great mind, a fearless and enthusiastic nature, great cheerfulness, and a tendency to talk non-stop. She’s also quick to wield her “sharp tongue” against anyone who disrespects her. Her blue eyes are set off by waist-length red-gold hair; though as tall as Taran, she’s a year or two younger. In spite of her younger age, she is more than a match for him mentally and emotionally.

Eilonwy is quite drawn to Taran. She yearns for his respect, but his stuffy attitude about being the boy in charge irritates her; they bicker constantly, she with caustic wit and he with grim resignation. Eilonwy sees past his youthful bravado to his good heart, and loves him for it. As the smartest person in the room, her challenge is to be more diplomatic. She learns how to get along well with everyone. Alongside her new friends, she also stretches her mind to accept new challenges and see the world in new ways.

Furry, smelly, and usually covered in leaves and dirt, Gurgi is half-man, half-animal. One of his major preoccupations is eating, which he calls “crunchings and munchings” (27). He refers to other things in the same singsong pattern: A sword fight, for example, he calls “Slashings and gashings” (81). He fawns awkwardly over people who might feed him; he tries to win their approval by being useful, but otherwise his life is a struggle.

The magician Medwyn says, “Gurgi’s misfortune is that he is neither one thing nor the other, at the moment,” “He has lost the wisdom of animals and has not gained the learning of men. Therefore, both shun him” (119-20). In this sense, Gurgi possibly represents people whose parents come from different groups and who are rejected for having a mix of traits. He’s an example of one of the book’s themes, that all beings deserve respect regardless of their origins.

At first, Taran dislikes Gurgi, but later comes to admire his loyalty and willingness to sacrifice himself for others. Through the kindness of Taran and Medwyn, Gurgi evolves into a caring creature who proves useful to his allies. He’s also a test of Taran’s willingness to accept others despite their strangeness.

A traveling bard who fancies himself a former king and a great warrior, Fflewddur Fflam in fact couldn’t even get into the bard guild, and his lies cause strings on his harp to break. He’s friendly, brave, a decent strategist and route planner, and an accomplished harpist. His purpose in the story is largely to provide comic relief.

The sturdily-built little person Doli is grumpy, but he also is an excellent guide, jeweler, and sword decorator. The source of his ill humor is that, of all the members of his family, he’s the only one who can’t disappear by holding his breath. He keeps trying, hoping to evade the many chores he gets as the only person in his family who can be located. Despite his grouchy exterior, Doli is something of a perfectionist, and he sticks with the group until they complete their journey. Doli shows that appearances do not always reveal who people truly are.

When he first meets Taran, Prince Gwydion isn’t exactly the boy’s idea of a great hero. He “had the shaggy, gray-streaked hair of a wolf. His eyes were deep-set, flecked with green. Sun and wind had leathered his broad face, burnt it dark and grained it with fine lines. His cloak was coarse and travel-stained” (16). Gwydion mentors Taran as best he can, though he’s more a man of action than a teacher.

Gwydion’s disappearance forces Taran to rise to the occasion, take on their task as his own, and learn how to lead and delegate. Though absent for most of the story, Gwydion has a great influence on Taran. Gwydion also grows as a character when he’s imprisoned and tortured and learns deep lessons about death and its powers.

A magnificent white mare with a golden mane, Melyngar is Gwydion’s horse. She’s intelligent and compassionate, and usually knows where she needs to go and what she must do there. She accompanies Taran’s group when Gwydion goes missing. She’s a classic example of the beautiful and loyal horse of knightly lore. She serves as an ongoing reminder of Gwydion’s absence and the need to honor him and his wishes. 

The Horned King rides a black horse and wears a blood-red cloak and a helmet made of an antlered skull. Vicious and bloodthirsty, he is an important ally of Arawn. The Horned King is a proxy for the main antagonist Arawn. His death frustrates, but does not completely foil, Arawn’s plans.

Hen Wen is a pig that makes prophecies. At one time a captive of the cruel King Arawn, she runs away from her home at Caer Dallben to escape the Horned King, who would bring her back to Arawn for nefarious purposes. Her disappearance from Caer Dallben is a “MacGuffin,” a plot device that moves the story forward as various characters vie to find and exploit the pig.

Medwyn is a wizard who protects animals. He’s a classic high-fantasy magus, or sorcerer: Powerfully built, his “white hair reached below his shoulders and his beard hung to his waist. Around his forehead he wore a narrow band of gold, set with a single blue jewel” (113-14). The beautiful valley that he controls, hidden in the foothills of the Eagle Mountains, serves as a sanctuary for both Taran’s group and the creatures that it protects. Taran and his fellow travelers visit Medwyn, whose kindness and counsel refresh them. In the Hero’s Journey story format, Medwyn fulfills the role of mentor, as he provides Taran with pithy wisdom that helps him during the rest of his adventure.

Tall, heavily bearded, and ancient at nearly 380 years old, Dallben rules over a small keep just east of the border with Prydain. Though prone to excessive napping, he’s wise and powerful and allied with Gwydion against Arawn and the Horned King. He oversees Taran’s education, preparing him for a destiny yet to be explained. He looms in the background of the story as a kindly and powerful presence who keeps an eye on Taran as he grows up.

Eiddileg is king of Tylwyth Teg, the Fair Folk—little people, fish people, winged people, and other groups. He rules with a great deal of fussing and fuming, but, somehow, does so well that his underground civilization thrives. Bearded, berobed, and bejeweled, his face reddens often with dramatic frustration. He lends humor with his exaggerated threats and mannerisms; he threatens to imprison Taran’s group for life, but his bark is worse than his bite. Eiddileg serves as both comic relief and proof that Taran and Eilonwy won’t be browbeaten, especially by fussbudgets who don’t really mean it.

Coll teaches Taran the practical arts, including farming and metalwork. An elderly man, he “was stout and round and his great bald head glowed bright pink” (3). When younger, he was an important hero; Taran discovers through Coll that heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Coll is a minor character whose humble attitude teaches Taran a lesson about heroism.

Arawn is the evil king of Annuvin, a place of darkness and death that contains the many treasures, magical and otherwise, that Arawn has stolen from the world. He wants to usurp control over Prydain and will stop at nothing to do it. He sends the Horned King to find the prophetic pig Hen Wen and force her to reveal important information that can help his battle of conquest. Though he’s the story’s principal antagonist, during the book he’s never directly introduced; instead, he lurks behind his wicked allies Achren and the Horned King.