The Castle of Llyr (1966) is a high fantasy novel by Lloyd Alexander, the third of five volumes in The Chronicles of Prydain. The story continues the adventures of Taran, the "Assistant Pig-Keeper", and his companions. Princess Eilonwy, the latest enchantress to be born of the House of Llyr, "faces the unavoidable (and in her view absolutely unnecessary) ordeal of becoming a young lady." The young hero Taran accompanies her on her journey to the royal court of the Isle of Mona, the same island where her ancestral home was located, and where she will continue her education as a princess. Soon after her arrival, she is kidnapped by agents of the evil sorceress Achren, who wishes to use her for as part of a plan for domination. During the adventure, more is revealed of Eilonwy's heritage and her family's former home, the castle Caer Colur. Origins The series was inspired by Welsh mythology and by the castles, scenery, and language of Wales, which the author experienced during World War II army combat intelligence training. Nearly all of the proper names in Prydain are historical or mythological. "Isle of Mona" is a version of Ynys Môn, the Welsh name for the Isle of Anglesey. Like the other books in the series, The Castle of Llyr takes loose inspirations from Welsh folklore, but the stories are not meant to be retellings. According to Alexander, The Prydain Chronicles communicate "the feeling, not the fact, of the land of Wales and its legends." Plot summary Eighteen months after the destruction of the Black Cauldron, Dallben the enchanter has decided that Eilonwy, as a princess and last of the line of the House of Llyr, needs a proper royal lady's education that he cannot provide. He sends her to reside at Dinas Rhydnant, a royal court on the Isle of Mona, in the west of Prydain. Taran and Gurgi escort her to Mona on a ship belonging to Prince Rhun, a cheerful but incompetent youth. Taran is finally aware of his feelings for Eilonwy, but is saddened that he is a commoner and she a princess and envies Rhun's noble birth. While Eilonwy is introduced to the tedium of life at court, Taran encounters his old companion Fflewddur Fflam—a minor king who lives as a wandering bard—and a shoemaker who turns out to be Prince Gwydion, traveling incognito. Gwydion tells Taran that Eilonwy is