Probably a solar deity of some sort, the mighty son of Aranrhod and grandson of Don, Llew was nameless until sometime in his youth. Math, the son of Mathonwy, had to sleep with his feet in the lap of a virgin, unless he was caught up in war. When Goewin, his footholder, is abducted and forcibly married to Gilfaethwy, Math’s nephew, Gwydion suggests his sister, Aranrhod as the girl’s replacement. (Gwydion, by the way, probably helped Gilfaethwy abduct and rape Goewin.)
A summons is sent to Aranrhod and she is asked to step over Math’s magic staff to test her virginity, the state of which she’s already sworn. Aranrhod may be taken aback at being asked to prove her virginity, when she’s already sworn to it, but Math’s life is on the line here. His royal footrest must be a virgin. And it was a good thing for Math he had the means to test the applicants, for as Aranrhod jumps over the staff out fall two infant boys. The first baby, Dylan, leaps to the sea, becoming a part of it. He is thereafter known as Dylan Eil Ton, or Dylan, son of the Wave. Gwydion conceals the other boy and raises him as his own son.
Aranrhod, so shamed (2), runs away furious. Year’s later she’s still pretty upset about the whole thing. So it comes as no surprise that she wants nothing to do with the boy when Gwydion presents him to her. Upon learning that he has yet to be named, she swears he will have no name unless she gives him one herself, and she’s not going to do that. Nope. Never. Never say that to your brother. It’s too tempting a challenge, especially when the two of you are gods.
Gwydion crafts a couple of disguises for the future Llew and himself and in no time at all Aranrhod has been tricked into naming him Llew Llaw Gyffes, or “Bright One of the Skilful Hand”. Needless to say, this only increases her fury. She then swears the “boy” will bear no arms unless she provides them herself. I almost feel sorry for her. Yep, Gwydion produces another pair of disguises, convinces his sister that her castle is under attack, and gets her to hand Llew his arms and armor. Desperate not to be outdone by her brother, or to reward the source of her shame – like it’s his fault – she finally swears he’ll never have a human wife. Please notice that she didn’t add “unless I provide her” at the end of her curse.
Feeling sorry for the youth, Math and Gwydion make him a wife, out of flowers. They name her Blodeuwedd, or “flower aspect”. She was fashioned out of oak, broom, and meadowsweet. Llew is delighted with his wife and she, in turn, is delighted with him – for awhile. Soon our created lady tires of her loving husband and, looking elsewhere, falls in love with Gronw Pebyr. Wanting to be together always, they plot to murder our hero. Now this is harder than it seems, for Llew may only be killed under certain conditions. He can not be inside or outside a house, nor can he be on horseback or on foot, and finally, the weapon used must be a spear that has been crafted over the course of an entire year, using only the time available on Sunday when everyone is at Mass. (3)
Our treacherous wife relays this information on to her lover, and the conditions are met, which is pretty impressive. However, Gronw’s aim wasn’t as true as his love, supposedly, for Llew escapes, wounded, in the shape of an eagle. Gwydion finds and heals him, restoring his human form. Llew then seeks out and kills Gronw Pebyr in combat. And what of our pretty Blodeuwedd? She is outcast, transformed into an owl, which is outcast even among the other birds.
2. The story is never clear on the source of her shame, although I suspect it’s mainly because she’d been caught lying in such an irrefutably dramatic fashion.
3. We’ll probably never know what that last restriction was originally. Most of these myths were recorded after the coming of Christianity, when the gods were reduced to various fairy folk.
Kondratiev, Alexei. Lugus: The Many Gifted Lord. [http://imbas.org/lugus.htm]
Rampant Lion. Gods and Goddesses of the Indo-Europeans. [http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/6779/god.html#d]
Ross, Anne. Druids, Gods, and Heroes from Celtic Mythology. New York: Peter Bedrick Books, 1994.
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Originally
composed 10 July 2000.
Copyright
Laurel Reufner,2000. Comments? Email me!