the knights he has killed, upholding the custom that requires every guest who arrives at his castle, upon pain of death, to do everything he asks of them. (In the 17th-century version of this tale, the Carle now leads Sir Gawain to a chamber where two swords hang. He invites Sir Gawain to cut off his head, which although at first reluctant to do, Sir Gawain does. Following this stroke, the giant becomes a man of normal size.) Sir Gawain, by courteously complying with the Carle's every request, has broken the spell and ended the dreadful custom of killing. Sir Gawain and his companions ride to King Arthur with an invitation from the Carle for the king to visit his castle. King Arthur makes the journey and he is welcomed with the finest feast imaginable. The Carle of Carlisle is made a knight, Sir Gawain marries Sir Carlisle's daughter and Sir Carlisle arranges for a church to be built, in which services can be sung for the souls of all those knights whom he has so unjustly slain, until Doomsday. That church, the listener is told at the very end of this tale, is now Carlisle Cathedral. Parallels in Celtic mythology The late-medieval Middle English story Sir Gawain and the Carle of Carlisle has similarities with a number of tales and legends from Ireland and Wales that predate it, some by many centuries. British folk-tradition From the evidence of medieval Welsh writings, some dating back possibly to before the first documents laying claim to any historical King Arthur in the 9th century, and from Welsh folk legend, Arthur is 'the leader of a band of heroes who live outside society, whose main world is one of magical animals, giants and other wonderful happenings, located in the wild parts of the landscape.' Welsh legends Culhwch and Olwen The tale How Culhwch won Olwen is found in the Mabinogion, a collection of Old Welsh stories and legends that can be found in two manuscripts of the mid- and late-14th century. The story of Culhwch and Olwen probably dates back to the 11th century. It concerns a cousin of King Arthur's who has been urged (probably maliciously) by his stepmother to go and seek the hand in marriage of Olwen, daughter of Chief Giant Ysbaddeden. Culhwch goes to King Arthur's court to seek help from his cousin in this endeavour, obtains King Arthur's