Home › Glossary › Letter O

Owain

Arthurian Legend
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Owain (Ywain in French romance) is a Welsh Arthurian hero, son of Urien, famed for his chivalric adventures and symbolic role in medieval romance cycles.

Detailed Definition
Owain’s adventures with the lion and Laudine blend Celtic and continental motifs. In poetry, he symbolizes the reconciliation of wild and civilized, his journey a metaphor for emotional and social restoration.
Example
Example in poetry:
Owain (Ywain) wins Laudine’s love then loses it through broken promise; Poets use his madness in wilderness as metaphor for guilt; In Welsh tradition, Owain battles the Black Knight at fountain; Modern verse explores his redemption through service to maidens; His lion companion symbolizes tamed rage; Owain’s return to court mirrors psychological healing.
Additional Notes
Owain (or Ywain) is son of Urien and Morgan le Fay, hero of Chrétien’s “Yvain, the Knight of the Lion”; his journey explores madness, recovery, and companionship with a lion—poets use him to examine psychological depth, animal symbolism, and chivalric rehabilitation.
Also Known As
Sir Owain Yvain Ywain Owain mab Urien Ivain Lady of the Fountain
Skip to main content