Poem 31 of the Black Book of Carmarthen, a mid-13th century manuscript, is known from its first line as Pa gur yv y porthaur? (meaning "What man is the gatekeeper?") or Pa gur, or alternatively as Ymddiddan Arthur a Glewlwyd Gafaelfawr ("The dialogue of Arthur and Glewlwyd Gafaelfawr").[1][2][3] It is a fragmentary, anonymous poem in Old Welsh, taking the form of a dialogue between King Arthur and the gatekeeper Glewlwyd Gafaelfawr, in which Arthur boasts of his own exploits and those of his companions, especially Cai the Fair.[4] Pa gur is notable for being one of the earliest vernacular Arthurian works, and for alluding to several early adventures of Arthur which are now lost.[5] Its precise age is not known and has been the subject of wide-ranging disagreement, but scholarly opinion now tends to favour a date of c. 1100.
- ^ Green 2009, p. 60.
- ^ Coe, Jon B.; Young, Simon (1995). The Celtic Sources for the Arthurian Legend. [Felinfach]: Llanerch. p. 127. ISBN 1897853831. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ Jankulak, Karen; Wooding, Jonathan M. (2012) [2009]. "The Historical Context: Wales and England 800-1200". In Fulton, Helen (ed.). Companion to Arthurian Literature. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 80. ISBN 9780470672372. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ Green 2009, pp. 60–61.
- ^ Jackson 1959, pp. 9–19.