Gwydyon

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Gwydyon , also Gwydion [ 'gwidjon ] or Gwdion is a magician from the Celtic mythology of Wales . According to the four branches of the Mabinogion , he is the son of Beli Mawr and the goddess Dôn , the Welsh equivalent of Danu , the ancestor of the Irish Túatha Dé Danann . However, the god of the dead Donn is also named as Gwydyon's father . Gwydyon is the foster father of Llew Llaw Gyffes , his siblings are Arianrhod and Gilfaethwy , his uncle is Math fab Mathonwy , King of Gwynedd .

Etymology of the name

Neither mainland Celtic ( Breton ) nor island Celtic ( Cornish , Cymrian , Irish ) language branches offer an etymologically fitting explanation for the word Gwydyon (in all its spellings), so it is only unsubstantiated guesswork that is sometimes offered for it. A connection with the Irish god Lugh would be possible.

According to Christian-J. Guyonvarc'h and Françoise Le Roux is said to correspond to Gwydyon the Irish Dagda .

The three sons of the Dôn represent three important classes:

Mabinogion

In the “Fourth Branch of Mabinogi” ( Math fab Mathonwy , “Math, the son of Mathonwys”) the story of Pryderi's death is told at the beginning . Gwydyon steals Pryderi's pigs, which were a gift from the King of the Otherworld, and replaces them with horses and hunting dogs, which turn into poison mushrooms the next day. Pryderi sends out his army to take revenge on Gwydyon, and Math goes out to defend his nephew. Pryderi challenges Gwydyon to a duel instead of a great battle, since he sees him as his real enemy, and he takes up the challenge.

“I confess that before God, I will not call the men of Gwynedd to fight for me if I can fight Pryderi myself. I will be happy to take part in a duel with him. "

Pryderi falls as he is inferior to Gwydyon's strength and magical abilities.

The real reason for this war is the intention to lure Math, the king of Gwynedd, away from his ankle- holder Goewin . Since Gilfaethwy falls in love with Goewin, his brother Gwydyon wants to help him and begins the fight against Pryderi, so that Math has to leave his foot holder. However, instead of Gilfaethwy, Gwydyon rapes Goewin (in another version, Gilfaethwy is the perpetrator). She can therefore no longer exercise her office as a foothold, as this is only possible for a virgin.

When Math returns to his kingdom, he learns of Goewin's fate and offers her to marry her after he has turned his nephews into stag and doe, boar and sow, wolf and she-wolf as punishment for three years. He takes their boys from them, who he turns into human children.

The three sons of the faithless Gilfaethwy,
three brave heroes:
Bleiddwn [wolf pup ], Hyddwn [deer calf], Hychdwn Hir [ fresh boar].

He then turns his nephews back into people, on condition that they find a new virgin in whose lap he can put his feet. Gwydyon suggests his sister, Arianrhod, but it turns out that she is pregnant. One child, Dylan , is a sea creature, while the other at birth is just a lump that Gwydyon hides in a box.

One day he found a baby there that was growing very quickly. When Arianrhod refuses to acknowledge the child, Gwydyon comes up with a ruse and travels to her with the child disguised as a cobbler. When the boy pinned a wren to a pole with an arrow in her presence , she involuntarily gave him a name Llew Llaw Gyffes , which means something like “skillfully aiming hand”. Annoyed, she swears that her son shouldn't carry a gun until she gives him one. Again Gwydyon devises a ruse and makes her fear that the country is on the verge of a war, so she gives the disguised Llew a weapon.

When she swears that he will never have a human wife, Gwydyon turns to Math and together they create a woman named Blodeuwedd from oak, gorse, daisies and lilies , who Llew also marries. But she becomes unfaithful to him with Goronwy and tries together with him to murder Llew, who then turns into an eagle . Gwydyon searches for his nephew until he finally finds him in the Nantlle Valley and can give him back his human form. Blodeuwedd is turned into an owl by him as a punishment.

Cad Goddeu

In Cad Goddeu ("Battle of Goddeu") from the Llyfr Taliesin ("Book of Taliesin "), a poem written in very dark language, Gwydyon is mentioned. Allusions to various magical acts, originally told in sagas that have already been lost, make his character not really tangible here. This sixth century poem depicts a struggle between Gwydion and Arawn , a god of the other or underworld . To have an advantage, Gwydion brings trees to life, a clever move that will help him win.

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. P. 523, note 3.
  2. ↑ a b Ingeborg Clarus: Celtic myths. Man and his otherworld. P. 266 f.
  3. ↑ a b Helmut Birkhan: Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. P. 606.
  4. ↑ Les Druides , page 397, Ouest-France Université, coll. "De mémoire d'homme: l'histoire", Rennes, 1986, ISBN 2-85882-920-9 .
  5. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. P. 609.
  6. ↑ Bernhard Maier: The legend book of the Welsh Celts . P. 78.
  7. ↑ Bernhard Maier: The legend book of the Welsh Celts. P. 81.
  8. ↑ Bernhard Maier: The legend book of the Welsh Celts. P. 72 ff.