King Arthur's Horses?

[AlHazred]

As far as I can tell, King Arthur is credited with two horses in Culhwch ac Olwen, a mare named Llamrei (who carries four men at one point) and a stallion named Hengroen; and he has one horse in Béroul’s 11th-century poem Tristan named Passelande. These horses lack a great deal of detail. Has anyone fleshed out the horses, at least as far as what kind they are?

[Ali the Helering]

Hengroen appears to mean 'old skin or pelt' so I would assume he had heavy folds of skin.

Llamrei means 'bounding', so she was probably energetic and excitable.

Wikipedia has the entry "Close to Llyn Barfog in Wales is a hoof-print etched deep into the rock "Carn March Arthur", or the "Stone of Arthur's Horse", which was supposedly made by King Arthur's mount, Llamrei, when it was hauling the terrible Addanc, or "afanc" monster, from the lake."  

[AlHazred]

2 hours ago, Ali the Helering said:

Hengroen appears to mean 'old skin or pelt' so I would assume he had heavy folds of skin.

Llamrei means 'bounding', so she was probably energetic and excitable.

Wikipedia has the entry "Close to Llyn Barfog in Wales is a hoof-print etched deep into the rock "Carn March Arthur", or the "Stone of Arthur's Horse", which was supposedly made by King Arthur's mount, Llamrei, when it was hauling the terrible Addanc, or "afanc" monster, from the lake."  

Thank you!

I saw some discussion on Reddit where somebody made Llamrei a palfrey and Hengroen a destrier; I don't find that specifically supported by the brief mentions in Culhwch ac Olwen. I'm far from an Arthurian expert, so I was hoping other people had done more with them or could point to further sources. Like, I'm not sure where the story of Arthur and the afanc could be found. A different site mentions the hoofprint "was left here by King Arthur’s horse Llamrai as they leapt from a nearby cliff to escape the invading Saxons."

[Nozbat]

17 hours ago, AlHazred said:

Has anyone fleshed out the horses, at least as far as what kind they are?

I’m very tempted to say they have four legs, a body, a head and a tail.. but I won’t..

If you’re looking for some non-historical literary sources.. Bernard Cromwell’s Arthurian trilogy is good source material, I seem to remember that Arthur imported his horses from Gaul though I don’t remember where they were supposed to come from. Gillian Bradshaw’s Trilogy, and I admit it’s over 30 years since I read it, has horses that come from the Sidhe and Tír-na-nÓg, possibly coming from the Tain Bó Cúailnge

[AlHazred]

I guess I just find it weird. When I ran Pendragon years ago, my players gave their horses names and I supplied personalities based on that; they were basically additional characters, which provided pathos when one was killed by an errant lance in a joust. I find it odd the historical authors didn't provide them more color. I mean, even Arthur's shield gets a name, and slightly more description in various sources than Arthur's horse...

[Ali the Helering]

The story regarding Arthur and the afanc is one local legend, whereas another has the slayer being Peredur.  Similarly the Saxon escape is another local tale.

Your (very small portion of) Wales Will Vary.😁