Princess Eilonwy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Princess Eilonwy |
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| Chronicles of Prydain character | |
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Eilonwy, from the cover of the 1980 Laurel-Leaf edition of The Black Cauldron
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| First appearance | The Book of Three (1964) |
| Created by | Lloyd Alexander |
| Voiced by | Susan Sheridan |
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| Spouse(s) | Taran |
Princess Eilonwy ( eye-LON-wee) is a fictional character from Lloyd Alexander's popular book series, The Chronicles of Prydain. She appears in most of the books and also in Disney's 1985 animated movie, The Black Cauldron.
Eilonwy belongs to the Royal House of Llyr. The women in her family, like her mother Angharad and grandmother Regat, are powerful enchantresses. Eilonwy has inherited some of this magic. She often uses a special glowing golden sphere she calls her "bauble". This bauble lights up with magic when she wants it to. Her father, Geraint, was a commoner who her mother fell in love with.
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Who is Princess Eilonwy?
Eilonwy is described as having long, red-gold hair and bright blue eyes. She also has a lovely, youthful voice. As a member of the Royal House of Llyr, she wears a silver crescent moon pendant, which is her family's special symbol.
Eilonwy is not your typical princess who always needs saving. She is strong-willed, a bit stubborn, and very determined. Even though she was trained as a sorceress, not a fighter, she is good at using weapons like swords, bows, and spears. She will keep fighting even when she's unarmed!
Eilonwy often uses funny and unusual comparisons, like "If you don't listen to what somebody tells you, it's like putting your fingers in your ears and jumping down a well." She can be sharp and sarcastic, but she's also talkative and sometimes a little bit scatterbrained. She often gets annoyed with Taran, the main hero, for reasons he doesn't always understand. But secretly, she cares for him a lot. She knows her feelings for Taran before he knows his for her, but she waits patiently for him to realize it, which he eventually does.
Eilonwy in the Disney Movie
In the 1985 Disney animated film The Black Cauldron, Eilonwy's voice is provided by Susan Sheridan. The movie is loosely based on The Chronicles of Prydain. In the film, Eilonwy has long blonde hair and light blue eyes, which is different from her book description. Even though she's a princess in a Disney movie, Princess Eilonwy is not part of the official Disney Princess group. This is probably because the movie didn't do very well at the box office.
In the first book, Eilonwy wears a white robe and her silver crescent necklace. She seems to prefer going barefoot rather than wearing shoes. When she does wear shoes, like in The Book of Three, they are usually sandals.
Eilonwy's Adventures in Prydain
Meeting Eilonwy in The Book of Three
Eilonwy first appears in The Book of Three. Taran and his friends are captured and taken to Spiral Castle, the fortress of Achren. Achren was once the queen of all Prydain. At first, Eilonwy seems like a chatty and easily distracted girl. But she bravely rescues Taran and Fflewddur Fflam from the dungeons. She is described as being a year or two younger than Taran, though their exact ages are never given.
As they escape the castle, they find a secret passage leading to a tomb. There, Eilonwy finds a special sword called Dyrnwyn. This is a magical sword whose blade bursts into flame when drawn. Eilonwy, even with her incomplete magic training, knows how powerful it is and won't let Taran touch it. She believes it should only be handled by experts.
After Spiral Castle is destroyed, Eilonwy joins Taran, Fflewddur, and Gurgi on their journey. She wants to help warn the Sons of Don about an upcoming attack. She even tries to stop some Cauldron Born with an enchanted arrow, though it doesn't work as she planned. When they are captured by the Fair Folk, she convinces their king to help them. She also agrees with Taran's decision to rescue an injured gwythaint (a large bird). When the group faces the Horned King's army, Eilonwy rides with Taran and tries to protect him. Later, when Taran wakes up in Caer Dathyl, she helps him recover.
Throughout the book, Taran thinks Eilonwy is just an ordinary girl, despite her magical background. But at the end of the story, he learns that she is actually a royal princess. She is then invited to live at Caer Dallben.
Life at Caer Dallben and the Bauble
After The Book of Three, Eilonwy moves to Caer Dallben, the home of Dallben the enchanter and Taran. She joins Taran on many of his later adventures, always showing great courage and determination. We later learn that she is the last living descendant of Llyr Half-Speech, the Sea King. This is why Achren kidnapped her as a child. Eilonwy is the only one who can read a special book that needs the light of her bauble to be seen. Because her magic training was not finished, her magical abilities are limited, but she still shows her natural powers throughout the series.
Her "bauble" is a magical golden ball that she can make glow. Sometimes, it even shows things that can't be seen with normal light. In The Castle of Llyr, the third book, we find out that this bauble is actually the Golden Pelydryn. This is a magical item passed down through Eilonwy's family from mother to daughter. The events of that book take Eilonwy back to her family's ancient home, Caer Colur, and help her understand more about her ancestors.
Eilonwy's Role in Later Books
Eilonwy does not appear in the fourth book, Taran Wanderer. During this time, she is living at the court of King Rhuddlum and Queen Teleria, learning how to be a "proper princess." In this book, Taran discovers what happened to Eilonwy's mother, Princess Angharad. It's not clear if Taran ever tells Eilonwy this sad news, but he likely kept it from her to spare her pain. By this point, Taran realizes he has fallen in love with Eilonwy. However, he hesitates to tell her because he was raised as a commoner, and he feels he doesn't belong in her royal world. Eilonwy, on the other hand, has also grown very fond of Taran, even if she doesn't openly admit it.
Taran and Eilonwy's feelings for each other become much clearer in the fifth and final book, The High King. Although they don't talk about their feelings directly until the very end, their interactions are noticeably different. Taran secretly longs for Eilonwy and worries about her safety during the war. Eilonwy's change towards Taran is more subtle, developing gradually throughout the series. At the end of The High King, Taran becomes the High King of Prydain and marries Eilonwy. To stay in Prydain, she must give up her magical powers, as all magical folk are leaving for the Summer Country. The series concludes with the announcement of King Taran and Queen Eilonwy's coronation and marriage.
A sixth book, The Foundling and Other Tales from Prydain, shares more stories from Prydain. One story explains how Princess Angharad, Eilonwy's mother, ran away from home to marry the commoner Geraint. Eilonwy inherited her red-gold hair and magical abilities from her mother, but her intense blue eyes came from her father.
