Posted on 14/04/2020 by Thom
The story we tell here is that of March ap Meirchion who was an early Welsh legendary hero and a known antecedent of the Arthurian King, Mark. The story has many versions, not all of them involving March, a Welsh king, but it is part of Welsh mythology and culture and is told in this way. The Welsh Triads refer to March as one of the Three Seafarers of the Isle of Britain, and some historical records show him to be the son of a King of Glamorgan.
Welsh folklore of March's life places him at Castellmarch in Llŷn, North Wales but he is also said to have been King of Cornwall in the many re-tellings of this story. We know, that whichever version you may hear, that March was indeed a dignitary.
It is said that his lands were prosperous, his treasure vast and his people were happy. March, by all reckoning, should have been a happy man.
But March had a secret. A secret he could not bear.
March's Secret
March was ashamed. He had treasure, wealth, and riches, but March's problem was something that his title, nor his wealth could remedy. For March was hiding a secret, and that secret was that he had been born with the ears of a horse.
So ashamed of his ghastly appearance, March hid his 'imperfection' from everyone, wearing his hair long and crown adjusted; only his parents knew, as well as that of his barber, Bifan.
Whilst his parents passed away, Bifan became the sole person who had knowledge of March's 'deformity' and he was sworn to absolute secrecy, on pain of death. Bifan was loyal and kept the King's confidence, helping him to cover up his ears with his style of cut, keeping it long. But Bifan, being the only person to know of such a secret, became burdened with the knowledge that he had.
Bifan's health deteriorated, though he never broke his vow of telling anyone the king's secret. And yet the burden grew too much for Bifan to cope with and a doctor was called to his side.
A rock and a hard place
After much wrangling, the doctor drew from Bifan that he was withholding a secret that was causing the lowly barber much anguish and depression. Whilst Bifan did not divulge any detail, the physician told him that were he to keep the secret much longer, that he would lose his life to dispair.
Bifan knew that whichever route he chose to take, he would lose his life and was between a rock and hard place. Dispairing of his predicament, the doctor offered some advice and told Bifan to commit the secret to the earth. This way, he could let the secret loose, but telling only the ground. He then left, as he could help no further.
Bifan thought on this for a while, and eventually took the doctor's advice, finding a secluded spot with no people around, Bifan lay down in the reeds near a river and spoke the secret to the ground. He immediately felt better, and within a few days his health had picked up, and he regained his appetite.
The Feast
Now March shortly after this decided to hold a great feast in the Hall at Castellmarch, where food and music would be in abundance, and he sent for the best piper in Wales to play at the banquet.
As the piper made his way to Castellmarch, he stopped by the river where he had spotted some fine reeds to make himself a brand new pipe, and he thoughtfully carved away. When he arrived at the feast, he was invited to play his new pipe by March, but when he blew into the pipe, the only sound he could get out of the instrument was the words:
“King March has horse’s ears! King March has horse’s ears!”
Over and over, no matter how he tried to play, is all he could get out of the pipe.
Humiliated March drew his sword to kill the piper, but he explained how it was the first time he had used the pipe and told the King where he had found the reeds. At this point, Bifan stood up and explained what he had done, how he had been so ill, and how he shared the secret with the reeds at the riverbank.
March raised his sword to Bifan, preparing to strike, but as he gazed around the room, he noticed that his guests were not laughing, and he suddenly felt a great sense of relief that his secret was a secret no more. He threw down his sword and burst into laughter.
He took off his crown to reveal to the audience his ears, pardoning the piper and the barber as he did so, promising to do them no harm. With his humility and courage, the guests did not laugh at him, they applauded the king for his wisdom and his forgiveness.
From then on, Bifan was instructed to cut his hair short, and he stopped wearing his crown. No longer ashamed or humiliated, the moral of March's story was that it was not important as to the appearance of a person, but to the quality of their deeds. His people rejoiced in his wisdom and loved him even more dearly.
And in this folklore legend, is a fine example of how to live your life in much the same way.
One last thing...
Lastly, but not without merit, do you know what the Welsh word 'March' means? It means 'Horse'.