Lloyd Alexander's "The Black Cauldron" Trivia Game | Literature

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Our protagonist is a young man called Taran, in the land of Prydain where "evil is never far distant." What is Taran's position at the castle of Caer Dallben?

Answer: Assistant Pig-Keeper

Taran has already showed his skill in facing down evil in the preceding book, "The Book of Three". At the beginning of "The Black Cauldron" he has returned to his position as Assistant Pig-Keeper at the home of the enchanter Dallben. Taran's charge is a white oracular pig named Hen Wen. Taran takes good care of her--at the beginning of the book he is about to give her a bath in spite of her insistence on rolling in the mud--but he is about to be called away by Dallben to tend to other, less peaceful matters.

2. Eilonwy of the red-gold hair is an intriguing girl with a sarcastic wit and a gift for magic. What enchanted device does Eilonwy own and, when necessary, use?

Answer: Golden Bauble

Eilonwy describes the power of this charm as enabling the holder to see things more clearly, somehow. Eilonwy is the daughter of the enchantress Angharad. It is evident throughout the book that Eilonwy's sarcasm and temper are her ways of concealing her true feelings for Taran, but it is adventure, and not romance, that drives Eilonwy for the most part.

Eilonwy has a gift for inventing colourful metaphors on the spur of the moment.

3. Taran and Eilonwy have a strange but loyal and lovable companion who stands by them through all sorts of adverse circumstances. An emotional creature, he often ends his sentences in rhyme. Who is he?

Answer: Gurgi

We are not told much about Gurgi's appearance, except that he has a great deal of hair. Gurgi is loyal to the death and will not abandon his companions under any circumstances. His rhyming speech is one of his many endearing qualities, describing eating as "crunchings and munchings" and fights as "smackings and whackings."

When Gurgi is referred to by the enchantresses at Morva as "a gurgi", Eilonwy defends his individuality, asserting that he is Gurgi, not "a gurgi".

4. The fourth companion in the group is the bard Flewddur Flamm. He owns a magical harp, but rather than enhancing Flewddur's playing, the harp exhibits a disconcerting type of enchantment. To be specific, the harp breaks a string whenever Flewddur does what?

Answer: Fibs or exaggerates

Like all bards and minstrels, Flewddur has a gift for embellishing a narrative in order to make it a good story. But ownership of this particular harp compels him to stick to the truth, or else spend an inordinate amount of time repairing harp strings. Flewddur tries his hand halfheartedly at being a king, but is bored by it and eager to get away on a quest.

He is disappointed when he is invited on the adventure more for his sword than for his harp, but he is a faithful friend throughout the journey and goes along even when periodically terrified. Double "d" in Welsh is pronounced as "th", so his name is properly pronounced "Flewther."

5. Orddu, Orwen and Orgoch are three enchantresses who live in Marshes of Morva and can swap identities with one another. However, none of them enjoy being Orgoch, and the three are always arguing about who has to assume Orgoch's identity next. What is Orgoch's undesirable character trait that makes being her so unpleasant?

Answer: Trying to eat everyone and everything she sees

Orgoch looks at people and animals with hunger in her eyes, smacking her lips. The others--Orddu (who is the leader of the trio) and Orwen (whose main distinction is her necklace)--are constantly keeping her in line. Fortunately, she doesn't have to be Orgoch all of the time, but once one has become Orgoch, it takes awhile to get one of the others to take her place.

Indigestion is the side effect of Orgoch's disorder.

6. Initially, the three enchantresses try to prevent Taran from visiting them--they are extremely secretive by nature! However, Taran mentions the name of someone in his life and suddenly finds himself and his companions not only invited inside, but welcomed. What is the name that Taran mentions?

Answer: Dallben

Orddu, Orwen and Orgoch's original idea of hospitality is to turn the little band of companions into toads when they show up in search of the Black Cauldron. When Taran mentions that he is from Caer Dallben, he is immediately welcomed into the cottage. It takes him awhile to get used to hearing the enchanter referred to as "Little Dallben" which is how the enchantresses remember him.

The three women own the Cauldron, which they call the Black Crochan, but have no intention of giving it up. They relent, however, and give it to the companions for a price.

7. The Cauldron is a source of fear and, although it would be tempting to own it in order to gain power, it is actually something that should be destroyed for the safety of Prydain. If someone falls into (or gets thrown into) the Black Cauldron, they become a Cauldron-Born, always acting under the spell of evil. What is a Cauldron-Born?

Answer: A deathless warrior

A Cauldron-Born has zombielike qualities. The humanity of a Cauldron-Born is forgotten to him, and he mindlessly serves Arawn, the dark lord of Annuvin.
The deathly realm of Annuvin derives its name from Annwn, the underworld in the Welsh branch of Celtic mythology.

8. A proud and narcissistic prince wants to thwart the band of companions in order to gain the Cauldron and promote his own glory. He could be a great asset to the group, but is prevented from doing so by his self-obsession. What is the name of this egotistical individual?

Answer: Ellidyr

Ellidyr is a prince of Pen-Llarcau, but he is only the younger son and has only his name and his sword about which to boast. Ellidyr cannot separate his own desire for pride and glory from the greater good. He flaunts his royal blood and desires to outdo, rather than assist, the other members of the quest in seizing the Cauldron. Ellidyr is perceived by his fellow adventurer Adaon as having a great black beast on his back.

9. Arawn, king of Annuvin, sends various minions out to deter the companions in their quest and regain the Black Cauldron. Among those who do Arawn's bidding are Huntsmen and a frightening variety of bird. What are these ornithological monstrosities called?

Answer: Gwythaints

Gwythaints did not originate as evil and destructive, but were corrupted by Arawn so that he would have a winged component to his legions of subordinates. Gwythaints, therefore, act as the air corps of Annuvin and are much to be feared.

10. The Black Cauldron cannot be destroyed by ordinary means. There is only one thing that can be done to shatter it. Once that is done, the Cauldron is annihilated forever--but it is difficult to find someone to perform this act. What is the one thing to be done in order to destroy the Cauldron?

Answer: A living person must climb into it

The Cauldron can only be destroyed if a living human being climbs into the Cauldron of that person's own free will. To enter the Cauldron means certain death for that person. The fate of the Cauldron turns out to be a personal salvation for one of the characters.

In Celtic mythology, the enchantress Cerridwen is the keeper and user of an enchanted cauldron.

Source: Author marymagdalena

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Lloyd Alexander's "The Black Cauldron" Quiz

This Newbery Medal-winning fantasy tale of good and evil is loosely based on Welsh mythology. The questions are based on the book, not the Disney film.

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