Coll (character)

Coll is a fictional character from The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. In the books, he occupies his time with farming, though prior to that he was a warrior. He was the original owner of the oracular pig Hen Wen, established the farm that became known as Caer Dallben when the enchanter Dallben took up residence there, and served as a guardian to Taran, the main protagonist of the stories.

His personality is rather amiable and modest, and in appearance he is short and burly. But his most striking feature is his bald head, which blushes whenever he is happy about something.

Coll's earliest story is found in Coll and His White Pig, a short story now published as part of The Foundling and Other Tales from Prydain. In it, he is introduced as a recently retired warrior who has settled down to enjoy a quiet life of farming with his prized pig, Hen Wen. One night he is awakened by Hen Wen's squeals, and when he goes to investigate he discovers she has been stolen.

He then sets out after her, at one point eating some magical acorns that temporarily enable him to understand the speech of all animals. He then talks to an owl who tells him why Hen Wen was stolen: She has the power to see the future, and Arawn Death-Lord has taken her to his realm of Annuvin to get what information he can from her. With the help of the owl and a stag, Coll travels to Annuvin, rescues Hen Wen, and escapes with her.

Coll returns home to find that the enchanter Dallben had been maintaining the farm in his absence, and permits him to stay in order to protect Hen Wen. Some time shortly after that, Dallben discovered an orphaned baby in his travels and took him back to Caer Dallben to raise him. He named the boy Taran, and Coll took an active role in the child's upbringing, teaching him what he could about planting, animal care, and ironworking.

It was Coll who gave Taran the title of Assistant Pig-Keeper, in response to Taran's complaint that he was a nobody. It was a title Taran proudly bore throughout most of his travels, the first of which began that same day when Hen Wen ran away.

Coll participated in Taran's second quest; his previous experience in Annuvin made him a valuable member of the party Prince Gwydion organized to seize and destroy the Black Cauldron.

In The High King, Coll again went into action, first to help Gwydion retrieve the sword Dyrnwyn, and then to help Taran rally an army among the Free Commots. Gwydion respected Coll's strategic adivice, and Taran likened him to a great oak staff upon which he could always lean when the challenges of supplying and leading his troops overwhelmed him.

The battle at Caer Dathyl saw Coll in the thick of the action. He fought at Taran's side throughout, even saving the younger man's life when he was almost unhorsed. Following the battle, his knowledge of the land between Caer Dathyl and Annuvin aided Taran in his efforts to delay the Cauldron-Born army returning to Arawn's fortress.

Part of that land was the Red Fallows, a once rich land that became desolate from the many armies that trampled the soil for control of it and stained it red with their blood. Coll had shed some of his own blood there when he was a young warrior, and it was here that he also fought his last battle. He led Taran's troops to a dilapidated wall, behind which they could deflect the deathless Cauldron-Born in relative safety. The Cauldron-Born almost breached an undefended segment of the wall, but Coll was able to force them back. He was mortally wounded by his action, however, only living long enough to urge Taran to continue harassing them.

He was buried next to the broken wall in the Red Fallows. His death and his suggestion that the Red Fallows might become fertile again deeply affected Taran and greatly influenced the course he followed for the rest of his life.