Morfran

Morfran fab Tegid [ 'morvran vaːb' tegid ] is the name of a legendary figure in Welsh mythology .

mythology

Gwion Bach, Tegid Foel and Ceridwen

In the story of Hanes Taliesin ("The Story of Taliesin"), Morfran is the very ugly son of Tegid Foel and the sorceress Ceridwen and the brother of the beautiful Creirwy . To give him wisdom and beauty, his mother brews a magic potion for a year. Her little servant Gwion Bach guards the cauldron , who burns his finger. He licks the wound and swallows three drops, which give him the gift of poetry. Since the potion is now ineffective, it no longer helps Morfran.

In Breuddwyd Rhonabwy ("Rhonabwy's dream") Morfran is mentioned as an advisor at the court of King Arthur , in Mal y kavas Kulhwch Olwen ("How Kulhwch won Olwen") it is said that he was killed in the battle of Camlann , in which Arthur , remained unharmed because he was thought to be a devil because of his ugliness. Gwrach is sometimes named as his wife .

As Afaggdu his brother is sometimes called, was said to be the real ugly, the Welsh linguist Ifor Williams (* 1881, † 1965), however, sees only one person, namely morfran / Afaggdu.

See also

• List of Celtic gods and legendary figures
• List of Celtic myths and sagas

literature

• Helmut Birkhan : Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-7001-2609-3 .
• Helmut Birkhan: Celtic stories from the emperor Arthur. Part 2, Lit-Verlag, Vienna 2004, ISBN 3-8258-7563-6 .
• Bernhard Maier : Lexicon of Celtic Religion and Culture (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 466). Kröner, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-520-46601-5 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. P. 730.