Master Dallben the Enchanter is or was a human being.
Description[]
An extremely old and knowledgeable wizard,[1] and a friend to the Fair Folk of Prydain, the enchanter Dallben lived in the Dark Ages in a farm called Caer Dallben and was among other things the keeper of the oracular pig Hen Wen. Thanks to her power, he foresaw an age of war and strife and decided to train a young apprentice to help with the darkness to come; travelling away from Caer Dallben, he found an orphaned baby in a land that had been ravaged by war, and raised the boy, whom he called Taran.
When Taran (who did not know of Hen Wen's true abilities, for all that he was her keeper) reached the age of 14, Hen Wen began growing restless. Reluctantly, Dallben let her use her gift, and learned of the Horned King's quest for the Black Cauldron. Unfortunately, activating Hen Wen's gift allowed the King to learn of her existence. Deducing the King would seek out Hen Wen to exploit her gift to find the Cauldron, Dallben sent Taran into hiding with Hen Wen in a cottage near the Forbidden Forest. Taran failed to get Hen Wen there safely, but though his adventures were far from over, eventually managed to let her escape from the Horned King's Castle, from which she found her way back to Caer Dallben. There, Dallben used her gift to look on to Taran, Princess Eilonwy, Fflewddur Fflam and Gurgi's subsequent adventures.
Gallery[]
Behind the scenes[]
Dallben first appeared in 1985 in The Black Cauldron. He is based on the enchanter of the same name in Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain, although he also takes on some elements from the character of Coll, a humble farmer and friend of Dallben who lived with him in Caer Dallben. Interestingly, early concepts kept Dallben his Merlin-like beard from the books, and the screenwriters toyed with the idea of having Dallben turn out to be a villain.
Lloyd Alexander's books expound much more on Dallben's biography, showing him to have been raised in infanthood by the Witches of Morva themselves, and to be considered the greatest enchanter in Prydain (where the film's Dallben never shows any magical abilities aside from controlling Hen Wen's powers). He is also revealed to have been 379 years old at the books' beginning; it is unknown if Dallben was truly immortal thanks to his magic, and, therefore, whether he might still be alive in the present day.
Voice Actors[]
- Freddie Jones (The Black Cauldron)