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Owain, a MythSource painting
Celtic

Owain

01Identity

Owain in Celtic tradition

Owain, son of Urien, is one of Arthur's knights. After hearing Kynon's account of a fountain guarded by a black knight, he rides to the place and repeats the challenge. His victory brings him into the Countess of the Fountain's castle, where he falls in love with her and marries her with the help of her attendant Luned. Owain defends the fountain and the Countess's lands, but his long absence from Arthur's court is followed by a return that separates him from his wife. When the Countess sends for her ring, Owain leaves court in grief, wanders until his clothes wear out and his body is wasted, and lives among wild animals. A widow's maiden restores him with balsam, and he defends that widow's lands against a neighbouring earl. He then travels with a lion whose life he saved, rescues Luned from execution and helps women who mourn their slain husbands. Owain's path repeatedly joins combat with acts of protection. The romance ends with his return to Arthur's court and the company of the raven host.

SourceThe Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877): The Lady of the Fountain, printed pp. 3–29

Top questions

The quick answers

02The myths

The myths of Owain

1 myth, with sources recorded for each.

The Lady of the Fountain

At Arthur's court, Kynon tells how he reached a splendid castle and was directed by its host to a fountain in the woods. He poured water on a marble slab, endured a storm and heard the birds sing, then lost a fight with the black knight who appeared. Owain sets out to try the adventure himself. He follows Kynon's route, summons the storm and defeats the fountain's defender, but is trapped between the gates of the knight's castle. A maiden named Luned gives him a ring that hides him from his pursuers and leads him into her chamber. He learns that she serves the Countess of the Fountain, whose husband he has killed. Luned persuades the grieving Countess to seek a knight who can defend her lands. Owain marries the Countess and guards the fountain; for three years he is loved by her people. When Arthur comes to find him, Owain fights Kai and then Gwalchmai. He and Gwalchmai recognise one another and return with Arthur. Owain agrees to a short visit but stays away for three years. The Countess sends a maiden to take back his ring and calls him faithless. Owain leaves court in grief and wanders among wild animals until one of a widow's maidens applies balsam and restores him.

Owain repays the widow by defeating the earl who threatens her lands and restoring her captured territories. On the road he kills a serpent that is attacking a lion; the lion becomes his companion. They find Luned imprisoned in a stone vault and save her from two youths who are about to burn her. Together Owain and Luned return to the Countess. He later defeats the robber at whose castle twenty-four women mourn their slain husbands. The robber asks for mercy and promises to turn his house of plunder into a hospice. Owain brings the women, their horses and their goods to Arthur's court. He returns to Arthur's court and becomes a leader with the three hundred ravens Kenverchyn leaves to him.

The Lady of the Fountain, a MythSource painting of the scene

46 sources· checked 2026-10-01

  1. 1The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  2. 2The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  3. 3The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  4. 4The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  5. 5The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  6. 6The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
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  40. 40The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
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  44. 44The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  45. 45The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  46. 46The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1

Also mentioned in

Stories elsewhere on MythSource that mention Owain, each on that figure’s page.