Drudwas ap Tryffin is a knight of King Arthur's

King Arthur

King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...

 court in early Arthurian mythology and the owner of the magical Adar Llwch Gwin

Adar Llwch Gwin

According to Welsh tradition, the Adar Llwch Gwin were giant birds, similar in kind to the griffin, which were given to a warrior named Drudwas ap Tryffin by his fairy wife. The name derives from the Welsh words llwch and gwin . These birds were said to understand human speech and to obey whatever...

. His father, Tryffin, is described as the king of Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, while his sister Erdudwyl is one of Arthur's mistresses.

Role in Welsh tradition

Drudwas appears very briefly in the early Welsh

Welsh literature

Welsh literature may be used to refer to any literature originating from Wales or by Welsh writers:*Welsh-language literature for literature in the Welsh language*Welsh literature in English for literature in the English language...

 tale Culhwch and Olwen

Culhwch and Olwen

Culhwch and Olwen is a Welsh tale about a hero connected with Arthur and his warriors that survives in only two manuscripts: a complete version in the Red Book of Hergest, ca. 1400, and a fragmented version in the White Book of Rhydderch, ca. 1325. It is the longest of the surviving Welsh prose...

, in which he is part of the long court list of Arthur's men. His sister Erdudwyl appears as one of the golden-torqued women of Arthur's court, and goes on to play a pivotal role in Drudwas' demise. The Trioedd y Meirch

Welsh Triads

The Welsh Triads are a group of related texts in medieval manuscripts which preserve fragments of Welsh folklore, mythology and traditional history in groups of three. The triad is a rhetorical form whereby objects are grouped together in threes, with a heading indicating the point of likeness...

refer to Drudwas as the owner of one of the three bestowed horses of the isle of Britain
, while a later triad names him as one of the Golden-tongued knights of Arthur's court, alongside Eliwlod ap Madoc

Eliwlod

In some old Welsh texts, Eliwlod is a nephew of King Arthur. His father is Madoc, son of Uther Pendragon, an obscure brother of Arthur's mentioned a very few times in Welsh literature. Eliwlod appears in the Welsh Triads, where he is called one of the three "Golden-Tongued Knights of Britain,"...

 and Gwalchmai

Gawain

Gawain is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table who appears very early in the Arthurian legend's development. He is one of a select number of Round Table members to be referred to as the greatest knight, most notably in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight...

. The triad goes on to say: "there was neither king nor lord to whom those came who did not listen to them; and whatever quest they sought, they wished for and obtained it, either willingly or unwillingly."

His most prominent role is in the tale The Death of Drudwas recorded in a 17th century manuscript tells of his enmity with Arthur:
The legend goes on to say that Llywarch Hen

Llywarch Hen

Llywarch Hen was a 6th-century prince of the Brythonic kingdom of Rheged, a ruling family in the Hen Ogledd or 'Old North' of Britain...

, an historical 6th century British prince, composed a song following Drudwas' death:

"Drudwas son of Tryffin, heavy his day

through mischance and oppression

--it was a misfortune to all--

the griffins slew him."