To begin once more with Caxton, the preface to the _Morte Darthur_ states that of the “noble volumes made of Arthur and his noble knights” there “be many in Welsh.” Caxton was, here, either drawing upon his imagination or speaking with imperfect knowledge. It is true that Arthur figures largely in the _Mabinogion_, but when we come to examine closely even these tales, we find that he appears only in five out of the eleven[45] which are designated by that name in Lady Charlotte Guest’s well-known translation, while in the four tales--probably the oldest of all--to which alone the title of “mabinogion” is strictly applicable, he does not appear at all. Again, in the oldest Welsh poetry Arthur is the merest shadow, and even the mediæval Welsh poets, who might have been expected to drink deep of the wells of romance, mention him only in the most casual and perfunctory way. There is, however, just enough in these old Welsh poems and prose stories to indicate that a legend of Arthur existed in Wales from a very early period--certainly from a period long before the appearance of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s _History_ in the twelfth century. The traditions embodied in this literature are indeed vague and disconnected enough, for they are drawn from an age when the art of romantic “exploitation” had not yet been learnt; but they bear the unmistakable marks of a legendary growth indigenous to Wales itself. As such, they are of exceptional interest, and deserve a somewhat fuller notice than their actual range and extent would seem to warrant. The earliest Welsh literature in which we read of Arthur may be divided into three distinct and well-marked groups. First come the few poems in the oldest Welsh MSS which mention him. The allusions to Arthur in these poems represent, probably, traditions derived from an earlier period than anything contained in the second group of writings to be noticed, the prose tales,--although, as will be seen, one or two of the poems and prose stories appear to refer to the same legends. Lastly, we have the Triads, which, according to Rhys, “give us the oldest account of Arthur.”[46]