Blodeuwedd told Gronw to craft a spear during Mass each Sunday for a year. She placed a roofed pig trough by the banks of River Cynfael, hid Gronw in the shadow of Bryn Cyfergyr, and rounded up all the billy goats in the neighbourhood. She persuaded Lleu to bathe in the trough, and when he was washed clean, he pulled on his trousers, stood with one foot on the trough and placed the other on the back of a billy goat in order to step to the ground. Gronw rose up on one knee and cast the poisoned spear. It struck Lleu in the side. The shaft snapped, leaving the point inside. Lleu screeched, flew up into the air as an eagle and vanished. That night, the lovers slept in Lleu’s bed, and Gronw ruled both Penllyn and Ardudwy as if they belonged to him.
When news reached Gwydion, he was troubled. He searched for Lleu throughout Gwynedd and Powys, until he came to a pig keeper’s house at Maenor Bennardd. The pig man told him he had a sow who disappeared as soon as her sty was opened, and only returned in the evening. Gwydion was intrigued and followed the sow, and found her beneath a tree eating rotten meat and maggots. He looked up into the tree and there sat an eagle, and when it shook itself, maggots and flesh fell to the ground and the sow gobbled them up. Gwydion knew the eagle was Lleu. He sang:
Derwen a dyf rhwng dau lyn
Gan dywyllu awyr a glyn.
Os nad wyf fi’n dywedyd gau,
O flodau, Lleu, y mae hyn.
An oak grows between two lakes,
Dark is the sky and the valley.
Unless I am mistaken,
This is because of Lleu’s flowers.
And the eagle fell through the tree.
Derwen a dyf ar uchel faes,
Nid glaw a’i gwlych, pydra hi’n y gwres.
Ugain poen a ddioddefes
Ar ei phen, Lleu Llaw Gyffes.
An oak grows on a high plain,
Rain does not wet it, heat no longer rots it,
One is enduring twenty pains,
In its top is Lleu Llaw Gyffes.
And the eagle fell to the lowest branch.
Derwen a dyf ar oriwaered
Arglwydd hardd, dyma’i nodded
Os nad wyf fi’n dywedyd gau,
Fe ddaw ef, Lleu, I f’arffed.
An oak grows on a slope,
The refuge of a handsome prince,
Unless I am mistaken,
Lleu will come to my lap.
And the eagle fell into Gwydion’s lap. He struck it with his enchanted stick, and there was Lleu, little more than skin and bone. They returned to Caer Dathyl, physicians were brought to tend to Lleu, and by the end of the year he was recovered enough to tell Math and Gwydion the story of Blodeuwedd and Gronw. Math removed his feet from the lap of his brand new virgin, raised an army, and marched to Ardudwy. When Blodeuwedd heard the battle cry, she gathered her maidens and fled across the River Cynfael towards the mountains. They were so frightened, they ran looking over their shoulders, and so fell into Llyn y Morwynion and drowned. But not Blodeuwedd.
Gwydion caught her but did not kill her. He turned her into a bird, and cursed her never to show her face in daylight for fear all the birds would slaughter her. She would fly alone by night, as Owl.
Gronw offered land and gold to Lleu as recompense. Lleu refused, and ordered Gronw to stand on the banks of the Cynfael, in the same spot where he had been pierced by the spear. Gronw pleaded for someone to take the spear for him, then he blamed Blodeuwedd, and held a stone slab to his chest to protect him from the blow. Lleu threw his spear, it pierced the stone and broke Gronw’s back, and Gronw Pebr died there on the banks of the River Cynfael in Ardudwy, and to this day there stands a stone with a hole through it, known as Llech Gronw.
And Lleu ruled over his land in peace, as the old story tells. And so ends this branch of Y Mabinogi.
Except that Les Edwards from Borth, bless him, could tell this story and the rest of Y Mabinogi in a couple of minutes by rolling up his sleeve to reveal tattoos of Rhiannon, Branwen and, at the top of his arm, Blodeuwedd.
REFERENCES
This book is a personal selection of folk tales, true tales, tall tales, myths, gossip, legends and memories of people. Some are well known, others from forgotten manuscripts or out-of-print volumes, and some are contemporary oral tales. Some old favourites have been omitted, such as Arthurian legends and ghost stories, as they have books to themselves, while others have been traced back to their earliest printed sources. These stories reflect the diverse tradition of storytelling, and the many meanings of ‘chwedlau’.
Chwedlau
Lewis, Saunders, Crefft y Stori Fer (Llandysul: Clwb Llyfrau Cymraeg, 1949).
Mimpriss, Rob (trans.), interview with Kate Roberts, from his website: www.robmimpriss.com.
Pontshan, Eirwyn, Hyfryd Iawn (Talybont: Y Lolfa, 1973).
Rees, Alwyn D., Life in a Welsh Countryside (Cardiff: University of Wales, 1950) 131.
Chapter 1 – Branwen, Red and White Books
Charlotte and The Mabinogion
The White Book of Rhydderch is in the National Library of Wales, and The Red Book of Hergest in the Bodleian Library, Oxford.
Guest, Lady Charlotte, The Mabinogion, from the Llyfr Coch o Hergest, and other Ancient Welsh Manuscripts (London: Longman, 1836–49).
Guest, Revel, and Angela V. John, Lady Charlotte Guest (Stroud: Tempus, 2007).
Branwen Ferch Llŷr
Davies, Sioned (trans.), The Mabinogion (Oxford University Press, 2007).
Davies, Sioned, ‘Storytelling in Medieval Wales’, in Oral Tradition 7/2, 231–57 (Columbia, 1992).
Jones, Gwyn, and Thomas Jones, The Mabinogion (London: J.M. Dent, 1949).
Morus, Gwilym, Welsh Mythology: https://welshmythology.com
Thomas, Gwyn, and Kevin Crossley-Holland, Tales from The Mabinogion (London: Victor Gollancz, 1984).
Williams, Ivor (ed.), Pedeir Keinc y Mabinogi (Cardiff: University of Wales, 2nd ed. 1951).
Chapter 2 – Ladies, Lakes and Looking Glasses
The Lady of Llyn y Fan Fach
Jones, Gwyn, Welsh Legends and Folk-Tales (Oxford University Press, 1955) 208–22.
Owen, Elias, Welsh Folk-Lore: A Collection of the Folk Tales and Legends of North Wales (Oswestry: Woodall Minshall & Co, 1896) 16–31.
Parry-Jones, D., Welsh Legends and Fairy Lore (London: BT Batsford, 1953).
The Lady of Llyn y Forwyn
Rhys, Sir John, Celtic Folklore: Welsh and Manx (Oxford: Henry Frowde, 1891) Vol. 1, 23–29.
The Fairy Cattle of Llyn Barfog
Sikes, Wirt, British Goblins: The Realm of Faerie (London: J.R. Osgood & Company, 1880) 36–38.
The Red-Headed Lady of Llyn Eiddwen
Oral tale.
Dreams and Memories
Ellis, T.P., Dreams and Memories (Newtown: The Welsh Outlook Press, 1936) 66–67.
Chapter 3 – Submerged Cities, Lost Worlds and Utopias
Plant Rhys Ddwfn
Rhys, Celtic Folklore, 151–68.
The Ghost Island
Radford, Ken, Tales of South Wales (London: Skilton & Shaw, 1979) 94–97.
The Curse of the Verry Volk
‘Lyonesse’ (George Basil Barham), Legend Land (London: Great Western Railway, 4 Vols, 1922), Vol. 2, 36–39.
The Reservoir Builders
Homer, Andrew, Haunted Hostelries of Shropshire (Stroud: Amberley Publishing, 2012).
Mysterious Britain: http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/
Powys Digital History Project: http://history.powys.org.uk/
The Lost Land Below Wylfa Nuclear Power Station
Austin, Bunty, Haunted Anglesey (Llanrwst: Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, 2005) 99–112.
Chapter 4 – Mermaids, Fishermen and Selkies
Mermaids
Davies, Jonathan Ceredig, Folk-Lore of West and Mid-Wales (Aberystwyth: Welsh Gazette, 1911) 143–47.
Owen, Welsh Folk-Lore, 142–43.
Rhys, Celtic Folklore, 163–64 & 199–204.
The Llanina Mermaid
Davies, Folk-
Lore of West and Mid-Wales, 144.
Evans, Myra, Casgliad o Chwedlau Newydd (Aberystwyth: Cambrian News, 1926) pp.8–9, as ‘Chwedl Llanina’.
Another Llanina Mermaid
Evans, Casgliad o Chwedlau Newydd, pp.1–3, as ‘Chwedl Cantre’r Gwaelod’.
More Llanina Mermaids
Jones, T. Llew, Tales the Wind Told (Llandysul: Gomer, 1979) 41–49.
Oral tale.
The Fisherman and the Seal
Medlicott, Mary, Shemi’s Tall Tales (Llandysul: Pont Books, 2008) 66–70.
Told to Shemi Wâd by Minnie John.
Chapter 5 – Conjurers, Charmers and Cursers
The Dyn Hysbys
Griffiths, Kate Bosse, Byd y Dyn Hysbys (Talybont: Y Lolfa, 1977).
Palmer, Roy, The Folklore of Radnorshire (Herefordshire: Logaston Press, 2001) 97–113.
Suggett, Richard, A History of Magic and Witchcraft in Wales (Stroud: The History Press, 2008) 84–115.
The Conjurer of Cwrt-y-Cadno
‘A Book of Incantations’ and Harries’s papers are in the National Library of Wales.
Davies, Folk-Lore of West and Mid-Wales, 252–64.
Phillips, Bethan, The Lovers’ Graves (Llandysul: Gomer, 2007) 71–94.
Trevelyan, Marie, Folk-Lore and Folk-Stories of Wales (London: Elliot Stock, 1909) 215–18.
Silver John the Bonesetter
Gwyndaf, Robin, Welsh Folk Tales/Chwedlau Gwerin Cymru (Cardiff: National Museum of Wales, 1989) 74.
Lloyds of Baynham: http://www.lloydsofbaynham.com/Menu.htm
The Cancer Curers of Cardigan
John, Brian, More Pembrokeshire Folk Tales (Newport: Greencroft, 1996) 131–34.
Jones T.L., and D.W. Jones, Cancer Curers – or Quacks? (Llandysul: Gomer, 1993).
Old Gruff
Oral tales.
Sandys, Oliver, The Miracle Stone of Wales (London: Rider & Company, 1957) 27–55.
Chapter 6 – Hags, Hares and Dolls
Witchery
Suggett, A History of Magic and Witchcraft in Wales, 27–41.
The Llanddona Witches
Owen, Welsh Folk-Lore, 222–23.
Radford, Ken, Tales of North Wales (London: Skilton & Shaw, 1982) 81–86.
Dark Anna’s Doll
Radford, Tales of North Wales, 100–101.
Hunting the Hare
Owen, Welsh Folk-Lore, 230–32.
The Witch of Death
Trevelyan, Folk-Lore and Folk-Stories of Wales, 65–68 & 195–205.
Chapter 7 – Dreams, Memories and the Otherworld
The Story of Guto Bach
Williams, Maria Jane, ‘Fairy Legends of Wales’, in Croker, Thomas Crofton, Fairy Legends and Traditions of Southern Ireland (London: John Murray, 1828) Vol. 2, 207–14.
The Fairies of Pen Llŷn
Evans, Hugh, Y Tylwyth Teg (Liverpool: Hugh Evans, 1935).
Oral tales.
Rhys, Celtic Folklore, 214–34 & 275.
Gower Power
Radford, Tales of South Wales, 87–91.
The Curse of Pantanas
Rhys, Celtic Folklore, 176–96.
From the telling of Guto Dafis.
Crossing the Boundary
Told by Ifan Gruffydd to Robin Gwyndaf, tape MWL 1563 at the Welsh Folk Museum.
Chapter 8 – Goblins, Bogeys and Pwcas
The Ellyll
Sikes, British Goblins, 15–18.
The Pwca of the Trwyn
Jones, Edmund, The Appearance of Evil: Apparitions of Spirits in Wales (Cardiff: University of Wales, 2003) 106–108.
Sikes, British Goblins, 21–22 & 117–18.
Red Cap Otter
Jones, Welsh Legends and Folk-Tales, 240–41.
Sigl-di-gwt
Evans, Casgliad o Chwedlau Newydd, 26–29.
Rhys, Celtic Folklore, 226–31.
Chapter 9 – Births, Changelings and Eggshells
Taliesin
Llyfr Taliesin is in the National Library of Wales.
Extract of poem from ‘Cad Goddeu’, in Llyfr Taliesin.
Thomas, Gwyn, and Kevin Crossley-Holland, The Tale of Taliesin (London: Victor Gollancz, 1992) 4–22.
The Llanfabon Changeling
Jones, Welsh Legends and Folk-Tales, 200–207.
Rhys, Celtic Folklore, 257–69. Told by Craigfryn Hughes.
The Eggshell Dinner
Williams, in T. Crofton Croker, Irish Legends, 221–23. Told by David Tomos Bowen in the early 1800s.
The Hiring Fair
Rhys, Celtic Folklore, 210–14.
The Baby Farmer
Emerson, P.H., Welsh Fairy-Tales and other Stories (London: D. Nutt, 1894) 14, 18. A combination of two oral stories about ‘Kaddy’.
Chapter 10 – Deaths, Sin-Eaters and Vampires
Poor Polly
Williams, in T. Crofton Croker, Irish Legends, 287–88. From the oral tradition of David Shone.
Welsh Wake Amusements
Davies, Folk-Lore of West and Mid-Wales, 39–58.
Radford, Tales of South Wales, 154–56.
The Fasting Girls
Freeman, Michael, ‘Early Tourists in Wales’: https://sublimewales.wordpress.com/
Pennant, Thomas, A Tour in Wales (H.D. Symonds, 1778–81), ‘The Journey to Snowden’, 105–107.
Wade, Stephen, The Girl Who Lived on Air (Bridgend: Seren, 2014).
Evan Bach Meets Death
Trevelyan, Folk-Lore and Folk-Stories of Wales, 287–89.
Popular in Glamorgan in the early part of the nineteenth century and formed part of the repertoire of wandering minstrels.
Modryb Nan
Trevelyan, Folk-Lore and Folk-Stories of Wales, 289–90.
Sin-Eaters
Aubrey, John, ‘The Sin-Eater’, in Hartland, E. Sidney, Folklore, Vol. 3, No. 2, 145–57 (London: Taylor & Francis, 1892).
Davies, Folk-Lore of West and Mid-Wales, 45–46.
Radford, Tales of South Wales, 168–69.
Vampires
Trevelyan, Folk-Lore and Folk-Stories of Wales, 54–56.
The Zombie Welshman
Mapp, Walter, De Nugis Curialium (Cambridge University Press, 2010).
Chapter 11 – Chapel, Church and Devil
The Devil’s Bridge
Lyonesse, Legend Land, Vol. 1, 40–43, as ‘The Old Woman Who Fooled the Devil’.
Stevenson, Peter, Ceredigion Folk Tales (Stroud: History Press, 2014) 112–17.
Huw Llwyd’s Pulpit
Owen, Welsh Folk-Lore, 226–27 & 252–53.
Trevelyan, Folk-Lore and Folk-Stories of Wales, 221–23.
From the telling of Bronwen Hughes.
The Church that was a Mosque
Anglesey History website: http://www.anglesey-history.co.uk/
The Chapel
Oral tale, diolch Lynne Denman.
Chapter 12 – Sheepdogs, Greyhounds and a Giant Cat
As Sorry as the Man Who Killed his Greyhound
Emerson, Welsh Fairy-Tales, 19–21.
Freeman, Michael, ‘Fabulous Fables’. Paper presented in Aberystwyth, 4 November 2015.
Family tale.
A Fairy Dog
Thomas, W. Jenkyn, The Welsh Fairy Book (London: A&C Black, 1938) 231–32.
A Gruesome Tail
Medlicott, Shemi’s Tall Tales, 51–55.
Cath Palug
Ross, Anne, Folklore of Wales (Stroud: Tempus, 2001) 51–52.
Trevelyan, Folk-Lore and Folk-Stories of Wales, 73–74.
The Sheepdog
Oral tale.
Chapter 13 – Horses, Fairy Cattle and an Enchanted Pig
The Ychen Bannog
Owen, Welsh Folk-Lore, 129–37.
Thorpe, Lewis (trans.), Gerald of Wales: The Journey Through Wales and the Description of Wales (London: Penguin, 1978) 227–29.
Welsh Folk Tales Page 21