Llys Don and Caer Aranrhod

Llys Don and Caer Aranrhod

According to Lady Charlotte Guest there are two central female characters in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi or Math vab Mathonwy whose identities are linked to the Ptolemaic or classical constellations. She associated Aranrhod with that beautiful circle of stars Corona Borealis or the Crown of the North Wind which the Welsh call Caer Aranrhod or 'Aranrhod's Fort', and secondly she equated the shadowy matriarch Don with Cassiopeia known in Wales as Llys Don or the 'Court of Don'.ⁱ 

How old is this material? Was the author of Math vab Mathonwy, (and his intended audience) aware of these celestial associations? Or are these later accretions, inventions of the likes of Owen Pughe and Iolo Morganwg? Present scholarship takes this second view, for example Patrick Simms Williams has said: 'On balance, however, Caer Sidi, sidydd, and the like as astronomical terms look like eighteenth century inventions based on the extant Taliesin poetry'. Caer Sidi does not concern us for the moment, but the reference here in '...and the like...' can only be to Llys Don and Caer Aranrhod in the 'Legendary' Taliesin poem Cadeir Ceridwen which mentions Gwydion, Llys Don and Arianrhod. The antiquity of Gwydion in association with the Milky Way (Caer Gwydion) is not in question. Can the same be said of Don and Cassiopeia and Aranrhod and Corona Borealis?

Llys Don and Casseiopeia

Cassiopeia or 'Llys Don'. The lady in the town with breasts?

The origins for the association of Don with the constellation Cassiopeia are not clear cut and one searches the prose, the poetry and the Triads in vain for an early unambiguous celestial reference. Conversely, notices in later authorities are plentiful but most appear to hark back to Lady Guest's note on Gwydion in her translation of Math, or to her sources, (probably Iolo Morgannwg and Owen Pughe, maybe Robert Roberts too).ⁱⁱ Lady Guest understood Don as a man, other writers who followed include Richard Hinckley Allen who noted in 'Star Myths': 'As the figure almost wholly lies in the Milky Way, the Celts fixed upon it as their Llys Don, the Home of Don, their king of the fairies and father of the mythical character Gwydyon, who gave his name to that great circle'.ⁱⁱⁱ And, in 'Celtic Mythology and Religion', Alexander Macbain also betrays his source: 'The family of Don is evidently connected with the sky and its changes. He has given his name in Welsh to the constellation of Cassiopeia, called Llys Don, the court of Don'. Iolo Morgannwg though, in his list of Welsh constellations in 'Y Barddas', offers no clues as to the gender of Dôn, simply stating: 'Llys Don - The Palace of Don, with the note 'Cassiopeia' attached. Likewise, Matthew Arnold in 'On the Study of Celtic Literature' enthused: 'Why, the heroes and heroines of the old Cymric world are all in the sky as well as in Welsh story … Cassiopeia's chair is Llys Don, Don's Court'. However, John Rhys in 'Celtic Folklore: Welsh And Manx' treats Don as the mother of the Plant Don, the Children of Dôn and says: 'The last stage in the Welsh history of Don consists of her translation to the skies, where the constellation of Cassiopeia is supposed to constitute Llys Don or Don's Court'.

There is, at least, one mention looking beyond the influence horizon of Iolo Morganwg and Lady Guest, towards a traditional origin for Don = Cassiopeia. Robert Roberts (1777-1836) who “was well read in astronomy, and science more generally”, and who can be viewed “as a relatively reliable source". He recorded in the astronomical section, Arweiniad i Wybodaeth o Seryddiaeth ("A Guide to a Knowledge of Astronomy"), of his book Daearyddiaeth "Geography" (published in Chester in 1816). the following: Llys Don – The Court of Don – Cassiopeia. This is, however, still very late.

It is now generally accepted that in medieval Wales Don was regarded as the mother of Aranrhod and that, in accord with Triad 35, Beli Mawr was the father. Interestingly, this triad also mentions a son of Aranrhod (the redactor of Triad 35 understood Ar(y)anrot as 'Silver Wheel'.^iv) named Nwyfre, meaning 'Firmament', 'Sky', which seems to confirm this family's early celestial connections.

The earliest mention I can find of 'Llys Don' is in the poem known as Kadeir Kerrituen (Cadair Ceridwen) The Song or The (bardic) Chair of Ceridwen in The Book of Taliesin (In connection with this title it is interesting to note that Cassiopeia is always depicted as seated in a chair). The poem refers to other characters from Math vab Mathonwy - Gwydion, Aranrhod and Lleu, and to their adventures, including the Stealing of the Swine and the Creation of Blodeuedd. The mention of 'Llys Don' is in the voice of Taliesin who declares, 'Ry'm gelwir kyfrwys yn Llys Don', 'I'm called a knowledgeable one in Don's Court'. Marged Haycock has suggested 'Don's Court (llys) was imagined (like Kaer Sidi) as a place for poetry and entertainment' Later in the poem there are references to the (scientific) books of Bede and to Ocean currents, but there appears to be no overt astronomy here, unlike several other poems in the collection.

Cassiopeia belongs to that group of constellations called by astronomers, 'The Royal Family'. They are Cassiopiea The Queen, Cepheus The King, Andromeda The Princess and Perseus The Hero. The analogous roles in The Fourth Branch (a 'Perseus type tale') are thus Don The Queen, Math vab Mathonwy The King, Aranrhod The Princess and Llew Llaw Gyffes The Hero. The two families differ in their relationships with one another

Queen Cassiopiea Mother Wife (Queen)            Don Mother Sister Grandmother

King Cepheus Husband Father (in-law) (King)    Math Brother Uncle Father-in-law

Princess Andromeda Daughter Wife (Princess)   Aranrhod Daughter Niece

Hero Perseus Husband Son-in-Law (Hero)        Llew Grandson Nephew Son

The only kinship, that of mother and daughter, which does not differ in the two families is that between Cassiopeia and Andromeda, on the one hand and Don and Aranrhod, on the other. All four are associated with constellations:

Cassiopeia Cassiopeia = Don Llys Don (The Court of Don) = Cassiopeia.

Andromeda Andromeda = Aranrhod Caer Aranrhod (The Fort of Aranrhod) = Corona Borealis.

This is a very unlikely correspondence, it suggests that the two traditions are more than superficially related. Nonetheless, as far as Don is concerned it has to be admitted that firm evidence of an early connection with Cassiopeia is slight, however absence of evidence does not constitute evidence of absence. It is surely significant that her brother Gwydion and her son Nwyfre in connection with the Milky Way and the Firmament are both found early in the literature. My identification of Math vab Mathonwy with Cepheus (Cassiopeia's husband), should also be taken into consideration, as should Llew Llaw Gyffes' long historical association with the constellation Perseus.

There is one curious passage, however, in Math vab Mathonwy itself which just might be a reference to Don in her guise as Cassiopeia.

As Gwydion was on a day in his bed and waking, he heard a cry in the chest below his feet; though it was not loud, yet it was so loud that he heard it. This is what he did then, he arose quickly and opened the chest, and as he opened it, he could see a little boy waving his arms from the fold of a sheet, and parting it. And he took the boy between his hands and took him to the town, where he knew there was a woman with breasts, and he fixed a price with the woman to foster the child.^v

Present consensus does not recognise Don as the 'woman in the town with breasts', with whom Gwydion makes a deal to suckle the, (as yet unnamed) child Llew, but her role in the tale as the 'royal Mother' is undisputed; Don is the the Mother of Gwydion, Gilvaethwy, Aranrhod and Gofannon and the grandmother of Llew Llaw Gyffes and Dylan Eil Ton as well as Bleiddwn, Hyddwn and Hychdwn Hir. She is also the sister of Math vab Mathonwy whom I have identified with the constellation Cepheus (husband of Cassiopeia). Scholars have generally accepted that Don is to be equated with Danu 'the mother of the gods in the Irish pantheon', it may well be significant then that Cassiepeia is the only constellation figure who is consistently characterised as bare breasted, and in some late classical sources her bared beasts are part of her punishment so as to bring shame upon her for the crime of vanity. Or alternatively as Deborah Holding has suggested:

A distinguishing feature of Cassiopeia is the easily observed celestial 'W', formed by the shape of its five brightest stars. Schedar (or Schedir), the brightest of them all, is a 2nd magnitude star, rose pink in colour and situated in the breast of the figure, perhaps in order to highlight the theme of royal motherhood.

 'he could see a little boy waving his arms from the fold of a sheet, and parting it. And he took the boy between his hands and took him to the town, where he knew there was a woman with breasts'.

It might be coincidental that it is Gwydion (The Milky Way) who finds (Llew) the boy in the chest (Perseus) and carries him to 'the lady in the town with breasts' (Cassiopeia). But I don't think so.

Aranrhod and Coronae Borealis.

It has often been remarked that the name of the classical mythological princess most often associated with Corona Borealis, namely 'Ariadne' is very similar to that of 'Arianrhod', for example Allen noted 'this name (Arianrhod) bearing a singular resemblance to that of the classical owner of the Crown' (Ariadne), with the implication that this similarity of names is solely what lies behind the association of Arianrhod with the constellation Corona Borealis. But it is worth mentioning that both Ariadne and Arianrhod are characterised as princesses and as virginal island dwellers, presenting multiple connections:

Arianrhod   princess      virgin    Island dwelling     Caer Aranrhod (Corona Borealis)

Ariadne      princess      virgin    Island dwelling     Corona Borealis

It is also true that, whatever the actual etymology of 'Aranrhod,' as Rachel Bromwich noted '...Aryanrot is the spelling of the name in triad 35... In the mind of the triad's redactor there was clearly a connection between the name Ar(y)anrot and the title (of the triad) Tri Aryanllu, 'Three Silver Hosts'. The second part of the name Rot or Rhod means 'wheel'. The name, then, meant 'Silver Wheel' or 'Silver Circle' to the redactor and presumably to his 'audience'. This has led some to claim that Aranrhod was a goddess of the Moon or of the Milky Way, but it is surely simpler to assume an association with the constellation Caer Aranrhod or Corona Borealis which is depicted as a crown, in other words a 'Silver Circle'. Put this beside the fact that her mother Don is said to be Cassiopeia, her brother is represented as the Milky Way or Caer Gwydion and that her son is named 'Sky', 'Firmament' and the evidence starts to look convincing for an early association of Ar(y)anrhod with 'The Crown of the North Wind'.

There is a further surprising connection. The Welsh constellation Caer Arianrhod, has an earthly counterpart, it is a "submerged rock, visible at low water," about a mile off the coast of Gwynedd. It has been marked on maps of Wales ever since it first appeared on Humphrey Lhwyd's map Cambriae Typus as Caer Ierjenrod. A visual comparison of the constellation Caer Aranrhod with the sea girt 'town' of Caer Aranrhod reveals an uncanny topographical resemblance between Coronae Borealis and its relationship with the Milky Way (at the point where it branches), and the 'island' Caer Aranrhod and its relationship to the coast at the point where the river Llyfni enters the sea. One is reminded of the ancient dictum 'As above so below', This is of course an entirely natural coincidence, but it is curious that we are now confronted with several coincidences. 

There is even more to this, Caer Aranrhod, the natural rocky outcrop is known locally by several different names which recall not Ariadne but another classical princess, namely Andromeda. Edward Lhuyd noted Tre Ga'r Anthrag and two other versions as Caer Anrhad and Caer Anrhod, (these two both closer to Andromeda than Ariadne) whilst Rees recorded Tregan Anthrod (even closer). The first part of the name Andromeda is from the Greek Andro or anthro. These similarities are easily as noteworthy as that between Arianrhod and Ariadne.

Corona Borealis/Caer Arianrod

Caer Ierjenrhod on Cambriae Typus

Notes and References

iThe Mabinogion. Guest. 2^nd ed. Notes to Math son of Mathonwy pp 436 – 437 1877. London.

ii But this is not certain as some medieval sources speak of a 'fairy king' called Don. See for instance Marged Haycock's note to line 26 of the BT. Poem Kadeir Kerrituen in Legendary Poems from the Book of Taliesin. Aberystwyth. 2007.

iiiStar Names. Their Lore and Meanining. Hinckley Allen. Stechert. 1899. Republication Dover. 1963.

ivSee Trioedd Ynys Prydein.Ed. Trans. Rachel Bromwich. 3^rd edition. 2006. Cardiff. P284.

vMath vab Mathonwy. Gruffydd. P. 19. 1928. Cardiff.