Glew (character)

Glew is a fictional character in ""The Castle of Llyr"", the third book in Lloyd Alexander's fantasy series, The Chronicles of Prydain. He is discovered by accident when the companions fall into and are trapped in an underground cavern the Isle of Mona.

Background

Glew was formerly a very small man. In his younger days he tried unsuccessfully to enter a number of careers including slaying dragons or being a wandering bard. He found none of them to his liking, mostly due to his own sniveling disposition. Finally he decided the only answer was to turn to sorcery, and he attempted to buy a book of spells from a magician. When Glew got the book home he discovered he has been cheated- the book appeared to be nothing but blank pages (in actuality there "was" writing in the book, however the light from Eilonwy's bauble was required to see it).

Glew then turned his mind to creating a potion that would make him a giant, in hopes that he might finally achieve the power and respect he felt he deserved. He began cooking up growth potions in his hut, and testing them on Llyan, a small wildcat he had trapped and put in a cage. The potions worked, and Llyan grew larger. When the cat had grown to the size of a draft horse, she broke free and attacked Glew. Forced to flee; he ran into series of caverns, and as he ran he drank the potion. He grew quickly, and was forced to run deep into the caverns to find large enough rooms to accommodate him. He found a huge chamber in which he could rest, but he was trapped because of his large size. In "The Castle of Llyr", Taran and his friends come across Glew, who attempts to put one of them in a potion he created to turn himself back to his normal size.

In "The High King", it was mentioned that Taran asked Dalben to send a potion to Glew to shrink him back to his original size. Although the potion worked, Glew took up residence in Caer Dalben where he did nothing except eat and whine about how much he missed being a giant. He is forced to accompany Taran and the others when they go on their conquests against Arawan. In Annuvin, he and Gurgi stumble upon Arwan's treasure room. Though Gurgi suspects the room is rigged with traps, Glew tries to steal treasure from it. He is nearly killed in a trap, but Gurgi rescues him.

At the end of "The High King", Glew tells the truth about his folly in Arwan's treasure room, much to everyone's amazement. He is allowed to journey with them to Summer Country, where he is told he will grow to the size of a man. Before leaving, he gives Taran a present of a small crystal (another selfless action).

In "The Castle of Llyr"

Glew lives in the damp and darkness of the caverns for many years, until he encounters the companions in "The Castle of Llyr". Despite the fact that he attempts to trap them to use one of them as a final ingredient for a shrinking potion he is concocting, Taran promises that he will ask Dallben if he can do anything to help the miserable giant. Dallben sends the potion, and Taran has occasion to regret it in the final book ""The High King"". The ex-giant makes his way to Caer Dallben and Taran is obliged to take him along on the the adventures that follow.

ources

* Tunnell, Michael O., The Prydain Companion, Henry Holt, 1989. ISBN 0805072713