Tylwyth Teg

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Tylwyth Teg ( Welsh for "the beautiful family", "the beautiful ancestors"), also Bendith y Mamau (kymr .: "enchantment / bewitching / blessing of the mothers") is the common name in the Celtic mythology of Wales for the fairies , leprechauns or goblins .

mythology

The Tylwyth Teg are described as ethereal, beautiful, and blond-haired beings, benevolent but mischievous, neither good nor bad. They live in hills, forts or ruined castles, where they hold feasts. In the hills they dance and sing in an irresistible way, with which they attract people and bring them into their power, according to the widespread legend of the mountain rapture .

In their living quarters, they are considered the protectors and rulers of the place, in some ways comparable to the Greek nymphs , the Nordic Norns or the Irish Sidhe . One of these places is the Llyn y Fan Fach ("Lake at the Little Beacon Hill") in the Black Mountains ( Carmarthenshire ), where the legend of the "Lady of Llyn y Fan Fach", a member of the Tylwyth Teg, takes place. The tradition of the 500-year-old dynasty of the doctors of Myddfai , who are said to have obtained their knowledge from the elves of this lake, also comes from the same place .

The Tylwyth Teg have their own hiking trails across the country that can be fatal for mortals to tread. Sometimes they exchange beautiful human babies for changeling . They fear iron and avoid them, so that a poker is hung over the cradle to ward off the small children. As their king, Gwynn fab Nudd is sometimes called. The female beings bear the name Jili Ffrwtan , they are portrayed as proud but quickly in love with people (as in the aforementioned legend of the "Lady of Llyn y Fan Fach").

See also

literature

  • James MacKillop: Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Oxford University Press, Oxford et al. 1998, ISBN 0-19-280120-1 .
  • Walter Y. Evans Wentz : The Fairy-faith in Celtic Countries. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1998, ISBN 0-901072-51-6 .
  • Hugh Evans: Y Tylwyth Teg. Gwasg Y Brython, Liverpool 1938.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Helmut Birkhan : Nachantike Keltenrezeption. Celtic culture projections. Praesens, Vienna 2009, ISBN 978-370-69054-1-1 , p. 588 f.