 The story states that Arthur spent a year searching for her and assembling an army to storm Melwas' fort when Gildas negotiates a peaceful resolution and reunites husband and wife.The episode seems to be related to an Old Irish abduction motif called the "aithed" in which a mysterious stranger kidnaps a married woman and takes her to his home; the husband of the woman then rescues her against insurmountable odds.A seemingly related account was carved into the archivolt of Modena Cathedral in Italy, which most likely predates that telling.