King Gwydion was a man of unknown species (although presumably human).
Description[]
This ancient King of Prydain, described as good and wise by Princess Eilonwy (who may be of the same family line as he), was the holder of the Magic Sword, which he took to his grave. Said tomb was a catacomb beneath the large castle he had built, which was later taken over by the Horned King.
Behind the scenes[]
King Gwydion first appeared in 1985 in The Black Cauldron. He is based on the similar character from the Chronicles of Prydain, King Rhitta, former holder of the book counterpart to the Magic Sword, called Dyrnwyn. A deleted scene from the Disney film, however, identified the character as "King Gwydion", repurposing the name of major book character Prince Gwydion, a distant descendant of Rhitta.
Concept art by Melvin Shaw (depicted in the infobox) showed the King's skeleton still seated in his throne and holding the Sword, much like in the book. This imagery, possibly because it was too dark, was replaced with the Sword being held by the carved likeness of the King on his stone sarcophagus in the final film.