Today
An Epic Duel
Between
Fflewddur Fflam and Cruedwyn Creed
Yesterday, in mentioning briefly some of the parallels between D. Barkley Briggs’ Legends of Karac Tor series and Lloyd Allexander’s Chronicles of Prydain, I was struck with the apparent similarities between two key characters – Fflewddur Fflam and Cruedwyn Creed.
Although Fflewddur Fflam holds the lofty position of King in his home kingdom, he has somewhat of an itchy foot and often takes to the road as a bard armed with his magical harp. Fflewddur, unfortunately, is somewhat prone to… expanding… the truth.
’tis a habit that his magical harp works hard to break him of. As he stretches the truth, the harp strings stretch, and eventually break depending on how elaborate the lie. Fflewddur spend more of his time repairing the harp than actually playing it, although he is a great musician when he gets the chance to perform… as he would be more than happy to tell you himself! He would no doubt go on to tell you of his renown as a swordsman and his ability to put to flight any twenty men who attack him at once. *twang* Oh dear, there goes another harp string!
Although also a bard, Cruedwyn Creed does not own a magic harp. His is a more deadly weapon – a magic sword that glows red hot and burns the owner whenever he tells a lie. Like Fflewddur, Cruedwyn is fond of exaggeration – purely for the sake of a good story, of course – and his hand becomes a mass of blisters from the burning retribution of his blade. However, Cruedwyn is as adept with his blade as with his tongue and often puts his sword to more noble use than that of a personal lie detector!
For those of you who have read both the Chronicles of Prydain and the Legends of Karac Tor, which character do you like more?
Given Fflewddur Fflam’s and Cruedwyn Creed’s various strengths and weaknesses, if they were to have a dueling match, who do you think would win?
The lines are set.
The combatants ready.
Swords drawn, teeth set, eyes determined.
The trumpet sounds!
“Let the contest begin!”
[Editor’s note: If you’re interested in reading more about Cruedwyn Creed and Fflewddur Fflam, check out D. Barkley Brigg’s post on the matter: A Character Named Creed]
Rebecca LuElla Miller says
Fflewddur Fflam vs Cruedwyn Creed, now that's a tough one!
I love the comparison you did. Harp string. I think I called it a violin. Yikes! It's been too long since I read Prydain.
Cruedwyn might prove he has even more mettle in the later books, but after round two … I'll say the judges have it even on their score cards. How's that for a dodge? ;-)
What do you think, Gillian?
Becky
D. Barkley Briggs says
Gillian, I appreciate your thoughtful review over the last three days. Thank you! I've commented openly, and recently, on the similarities between Creed and Fflam—it is certainly no accident—but there's also more to Creed than meets the eye. If you're interested, take a look at a blog I wrote about him, where I give more insight into his personality, my reason for creating him and the genesis of his name. Thanks again! http://deanbriggs.com/2011/11/04/writertips-a-character-named-creed/
Gillian Adams says
Becky – Hmm, that's a tough one. I have not yet had the chance to read the first book, so my only exposure to Cruedwyn's character was in the second. Since I met Fflewddur first, I'd probably lean towards him… but I look forward to finding out more about Cruedwyn through the next two books!
D. Barley Briggs – Thanks for stopping by! It's always a pleasure when people comment! Fflewddur Fflam has always been one of my favorites, so I appreciated your tribute to him in your book! I caught the similarity and instantly liked Cruedwyn from the start.
Thank you for posting the link. I thought his name sounded extremely familiar! If I'd said it out loud I would have caught it… I think that is one of my favorite things about the books and I mentioned it in my review on Day 1 – the fact that you drew upon so much ancient legend and folk lore and yet added your own spin and new interpretations and characters!