tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74483110338745071762024-03-14T04:46:16.209-07:00Mabinogion AstronomyMabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-33250228182756276972022-04-03T05:45:00.007-07:002022-04-03T08:26:41.298-07:00<p> </p><p align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
Giants Dance (part 1)</span></p><p align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXIKMu20St9Sr73e3TDrC4vPGDMVXrgbA__Vh-BXxRkY6J9Ic8iRu3EkBPIiq6YP0eaqcnJT260uVTzeNg_zT9m-y-ZF2ODogN-ixQJlc8ujKjCV3Zhb_krLdEsvru_tWOlAzO844eHQVZuzb3zM0-4-tV9iduxiDhSDFFgpA5rZLtUBTK8XlL7G2CCQ/s645/Stonehenge%20GiantCropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="613" height="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXIKMu20St9Sr73e3TDrC4vPGDMVXrgbA__Vh-BXxRkY6J9Ic8iRu3EkBPIiq6YP0eaqcnJT260uVTzeNg_zT9m-y-ZF2ODogN-ixQJlc8ujKjCV3Zhb_krLdEsvru_tWOlAzO844eHQVZuzb3zM0-4-tV9iduxiDhSDFFgpA5rZLtUBTK8XlL7G2CCQ/w349-h367/Stonehenge%20GiantCropped.jpg" width="349" /></a></div>
<h1 align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">In
the 2021 BBC Documentary 'Stonehenge The Lost Circle Revealed.', as
part of the introduction to the programme Dr. Alice Roberts, the
presenter, offered the following:</span></h1>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="break-before: auto; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.05cm; margin-right: 1.08cm; page-break-before: auto;"><span style="font-family: times;">
“<span style="font-size: small;">There is an ancient myth
about Stonehenge, first recorded in the Middle-Ages. It tells of the
wizard, Merlin, who led men far to the west, to Ireland, to the land
of giants. Where he found the stones and, using his magical powers,
transported them to England. The Merlin myth is clearly fantastical.
But myths can contain within them a grain of truth, a fact that's
been passed down through the generations and become embroidered and
embellished over time. So within this tale of wizards and giants and
magical stones, could there be a foundation in actual history?”.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">Now,
all of this is great, exciting, mysterious stuff and well presented.
Unfortunately, this introductory script is all wrong. The references
here are to certain episodes in Geoffrey of Monmouth's The History of
the Kings of Britain which purport to relate the origin of
Stonehenge. I want to point to several often repeated claims,
presumptions and inaccuracies in Dr. Roberts' introductory piece
regarding Geoffrey's tale. Stated baldly the story is not a myth, it
is not fantastical and Merlin does not use magical powers to
transport the stones. Dr Roberts cannot have read the source material
she is referring to and she is instead relying on later erroneous
commentaries upon it.</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">Geoffrey's
story of Stonehenge begins in the reign of Vortigern when a meeting
is arranged between the Saxons and the Britons for peace talks upon
the kalends of May (May 1st) at the monastery of Ambrius. But the
Saxons had treachery in their hearts, and at the signal “Nemet oure
Saxas” (Get your knives), the Saxons fell upon the unsuspecting
Britons and massacred them while Hengist held Vortigern by his cloak.
460 British barons and consuls were killed, as well as 70 Saxons whom
the Britons beat to death with clubs and stones. Some time later
after the death of Vortigern, Aurelius Ambrosius is the new king and
he wishes to create a monument to these murdered British noblemen. He
is advised to send for Merlin who counsels Aurelius thus:</span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; text-align: left;">“</span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small; text-align: left;">If you are desirous,”
said Merlin, “to honour the burying-place of these men with an
ever-lasting monument, send for the Giant’s Dance, which is in
Killaraus, a mountain in Ireland. For there is a structure of
stones there, which none of this age could raise, without a
profound knowledge of the mechanical arts. They are stones of a
vast magnitude and wonderful quality; and if they can be placed
here, as they are there, round this spot of ground, they will stand
for ever.”</span></p></blockquote>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">Merlin
and Uther sail to Ireland in a fleet of ships containing 1500 men,
they are confronted by an Irish army and defeat them. The following
passage is a translation from the Latin of what Geoffrey of Monmouth,
in his History of the Kings of Britain, actually relates regarding
Merlin and the removal of the stones of the Giants Dance from Mount
Killaraus in Ireland and their transportation to and re-erection on
Salisbury Plain.</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="break-before: auto; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.32cm; margin-right: 0.98cm;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">When they had won the day they
pressed forward to Mount Killaraus, and when they reached the
structure of stones rejoiced and marvelled greatly. Whilst they were
all standing around, Merlin came unto them and said: 'Now, my men,
try what ye can do to fetch me down these stones! Then may ye know
whether strength avail more than skill, or skill than strength.'
Thereupon at his bidding they all with one accord set to work with
all manner of devices, and did their utmost to fetch down the Dance.
Some rigged up huge hawsers, some set to with ropes, some planted
scaling ladders, all eager to get done with the work, yet natheless
was none of them never a whit the forwarder. And when they were all
weary and spent, Merlin burst out on laughing and put together his
own engines. At last, when he had set in place everything whatsoever
that was needed, he laid the stones down so lightly as none would
believe, and when he had laid them down, bade carry them to the ships
and place them inboard, and on this wise did they again set sail and
returned unto Britain with joy, presently with a fair wind making
land, and fetching the stones to their burial-place ready to set up.</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">Firstly,
Dr. Roberts states that the tale is 'ancient', as have the great
majority of other commentators who have visited this issue over the
last hundred years or so. The tale is only as old as Geoffrey's book,
though. This notion of ancientness is entirely presumptious, nothing
like it appears in any extant literature, either in Ireland or in
Wales, previous to Geoffrey's account. He may have been referencing a
written source now lost to us, or to an oral tradition now long
forgotten and this may well be the case (in fact I believe it to be
the case), but we can't say that for certain. With the greatest
respect to Dr Alice Roberts, if you had said 'There is a tale about
Stonehenge, first recorded in the 12th century, but which may be much
older'. That would have been accurate enough, but to refer to it as
an 'ancient myth', frankly smacks of sensationalism This might seem a
pedantic point to some, but it is symptomatic of a laziness which
historically pervades commentary on this subject. I think that this
kind of uncrytical thinking actually draws a veil over the really
interesting stuff which is contained in Geoffrey's narrative.</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">Earlier,
not exactly analogous, tales do exist but these all form part of a
well defined group. For example the poem 'The Spoils of Annwn'
(Preiddeu Annwfn), and the getting of the cauldron of Diwrnach Wyddel
in Culhwch and Olwen, both of which are echoed in Bran's raid on
Ireland in 'Branwen' (the second Branch of the Mabinogi). These are
all to do with Arthur and Bran (both giants) and their maritime
adventures to the Otherworld or to Ireland to retrieve the Cauldron
of Rebirth.</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">Secondly,
clearly this passage, at best, might be described as legendary
history, there is little here that can be described as 'myth'. It is
important to remember that Geoffrey is presenting his tale as
history, however inaccurate. No gods, magic or supernatural heroes
(the usual requirements for myths), are involved in the
transportation of the stones of the Giants Dance from Ireland to
their re-erection on Salisbury Plain. Okay, granted that Merlin might
be construed in other contexts to be a sort of 'mythical' being, I'm
thinking of his mysterious conception and birth for example. Geoffrey
relates several instances of Merlin displaying wizardry or magic in
'The History', most notably in his transformation of Uther into the
likeness of Gorlois. His primary characteristic, though, from his
earliest appearance in the written word, (<i>Llyffr Du Caefyrddin</i>) is
that of a prophet. But here the emphasis is clearly on Merlin's
superior mechanical or engineering skills, which he uses to take down
the stones as compared with the failure of his men to do so. It has
nothing whatsoever to do with mysterious births, wizardry, magical
levitation, prophecy or myth. Neither is it fantastical</span></p>
<ol start="0">
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p>
</ol><span style="font-family: times;">I
wish to make an additional point which will also seem petty at
first. Dr. Roberts calls Ireland “the land of giants”. This, is
of course, a reference to the fact that Geoffrey has Merlin say to
Aurelius:<br />
</span><p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="break-before: auto; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.05cm; margin-right: 1.08cm; page-break-before: auto;"><span style="font-family: times;">
“<span style="font-size: small;">The giants of old brought
them from the farthest coast of Africa, and placed them in Ireland,
while they inhabited that country.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">Undoubtably,
this passage is imbued with mythical foundational motifs. However,
the reason why Geoffrey introduces giants into his tale is because
the stones of Chorea Gigantum are so huge that only giants could move
them, a familiar folkloric trope attached to many other megalithic
constructs throughout Britain and Ireland. It should be noted
therefore, that it is more than likely that Geoffrey has in mind the
massive (up to 40 ton), sarsen stones and not to the (at most 4 ton)
bluestones. And so it should also be noted that it is once more a
demonstration that it is Merlin's engineering skills which are being
compared, this time, to the brute strength of giants.</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">According
to Geoffrey of Monmouth then, Merlin does not use “magical powers”
to dismantle the huge stone construction on Mount Kilaraus in
Ireland, he does not use magical powers to transport them (by ship)
to 'England', and he does not use magical powers to re-erect the
Giants Dance on Salisbury Plain. Instead he is portrayed as an
engineer, an architect, a mechanical genius non pareil. Neither is
the tale presented as a 'myth', it is presented as a historical
narrative and not as fantastical prose.</span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br />
</span></p>
<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-47961905934346253952020-07-04T13:14:00.015-07:002023-01-02T20:35:30.533-08:00The Route of the Twrch Trwyth and the Bluestones. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Route of the Twrch Trwyth and the Bluestones</span><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></div>
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The devious and mischievously destructive route of the giant 'wereboar' Twrch Trwyth and his seven litle piglets, followed by Arthur's heroic hunters, horses and dogs across the challenging terrain of South Wales has, in scholarly circles, traditionally been interpreted as, at least in part, an 'onomastic tale'. Onomastics deals with the 'science of the origin of place names'. There are many other examples thought to be of this tale type throughout the Mabinogion, for instance, Gwydion's circuitous route with his seven swindled swine in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi. In the context of early medieval Welsh (and Irish) literature this tale type, more often than not, takes the form of a hunt or an errand or some other reason to journey from one place to another. Named places are visited along the way and a route is formed, these places are usually linked etymologically to key episodes within the tale and the orthodox consensus is that the named places inspired the story and therefore the route. Not the other way round. What if, in this case, the route inspired the place-names? And, if so, why was that route worthy of commemoration?</div>
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The Route of the Twrch Trwyth. From the Nevern to the Severn.</div>
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In compiling this map of the route of the Twrch Trwyth I have attempted to include and locate all of the named places in the text as accurately as possible. I have added in Cerrig Marchogion and Cerrig Meibion Arthur in the overcrowded 'Presseleu' region because they obviously belong to the story. It became apparent to me during this process that the Boar's traverse of the Preseli's passes close by, or <i>through</i>, the newly discovered sources for the Stonehenge Bluestones at Craig Rhosyfelin, Carn Goedog and Cerrig Marchogion. Moreover, the Twrch Trwyth's route takes him very close to the even more recently suggested provenance for the Altar stone at the eastern end of the Senni beds. (I predict that the exact site for the Altar stone will be found somewhere along the valley known as Ystrat Yw). It would stretch credulity to suggest that the author of Culhwch and Olwen, in the 11th century was aware of the significance of these sites in relation to Stonehenge. </div>
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After leaving the Preselis the Boar seeks out valleys and plateaus and avoids mountainous areas where he can. He crosses estuaries twice where ancient ferry systems are known to have existed. On average the slopes he encounters are surprisingly shallow considering the hills and the valleys of South Wales, 2.2% uphill and 2.6% downhill. For the most part, the Twrch Trwyth seems to have taken the route of least resistance. If this was a purely onomastic tale we oughtn't expect these outcomes.</div>
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Is the route of the Twrch Trwyth as found in the Red Book of Hergest a commemoration of the route, or one of the routes of the 'Preseli bluestones' through Wales on their way to Stonehenge? Because, actually, this may not be the only route. Mike Parker Person has suggested another feasible route along the A 40 corridor, (I will discuss this proposed route in my post 'Merlin and Carmarthen') and there is of course the long hypothesized shore hugging route along the south Welsh coast. It would make sense if our clever neolithic ancestors might have devised more than one route to transport eighty or more unwieldy stones weighing between one and two tons for a very long way along valleys and across plateaus or along coastlines. Having more than one route would have avoided otherwise inevitable log jams. In some ways it should not be surprising if such a momentous undertaking as the transportation of 80 megaliths was memorialised in the form of an epic tale. Which is what the Hunt for the Twrch Trwyth is. I noted in a previous post that it seems remarkable that the giant boar appears to come to land at <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "andron scriptor web" , "andron scriptor w1" , "code2000" , "caslon old face bt" , "chrysanthi" , "gentium" , "garamond" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> '</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "andron scriptor web" , "andron scriptor w1" , "code2000" , "caslon old face bt" , "chrysanthi" , "gentium" , "garamond" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Porth Cleis in Dyved', obviously a man-made port, and then crosses the Towy and the Severn Estuaries, the two riverine barriers he must cross, at </span></span></span> the known early ferry crossing sites of Llansteffan to Ferryside and Beachley Head to Aust. This then looks like an established ancient man-made route </div><div style="font-style: normal;"><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal;">The two routes have striking similarities...</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">In recent years then, the rocky outcrops of Craig Rhosyfelin, Carn Goedog and Cerrig Marchogion have been identified with great certainty by petrologists Rob Ixer, Richard Bevins and others as the source for some of the Stonehenge bluestones. Excavations overseen by Prof. Mike Parker Pearson have confirmed quarrying activity at two of these sites at a time some hundreds of years before Stage 1 at Stonehenge, suggesting that a monument or monuments were erected in the vicinity of these quarries before the stones were taken to the Salisbury </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Plain. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Over the last decade or so Prof. Mike Parker Pearson has authored several papers and delivered talks identifying Castell Mawr, a neolithic henge, and Waun Mawn, a once huge stone circle, as possible candidates for the original sites of these bluestone monuments. </span>Well respected independent researcher Robin Heath has also identified Castell Mawr as the original site of the Stonehenge Bluestones, but for very different reasons. Watch his lecture on YouTube here: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Robin Heath | An Original Stonehenge in Wales | Stonehenge as a Later Imitation | Megalithomania. He delivered the talk in February 2020.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Even more recently Ixer and Bevins have proved that the Altar Stone could not possibly have originated in the Cosheston Beds as H H Thomas proposed almost a hundred years ago, thus removing any scientific basis for the sea route. They have concluded that instead the Altar Stone comes from the eastern limit of the Senni formation. And I would point out that the Boar's route passes down the Ystrat Yw valley which is at the eastern limit of the Senni Formation. Once more demonstrating the Boars uncanny knack of passing through <i>all</i> the known origin quarries for the bluestones of Stonehenge.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Prediction. Altar Stone from here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">It should also be noted that pigs feature mightily in the archaeology of Durrington Walls, the 'township' which housed the workers who erected Stonehenge. Recent results show that 90% of the meat consumed there were pigs and that many of these 'little piglets', (scientific study has shown, from teeth analysis) were herded to Durrington Walls from West Wales.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">These new discoveries have radically changed the traditional theory of a sea route in favour of a land route. That the Route of the Twrch Trwyth passes through these, recently confirmed, very same quarries is highly suggestive. It suggests that this story, at the very least a thousand years old, contains knowledge of this momentous megalithic activity and pig herding activity from an era four thousand years earlier than that. It suggests that a route for the Preseli Bluestones to the Severn Estuary, if not to Stonehenge itself, was preserved in oral form until it was finally written down in the 11th century, probably earlier. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">What we could have here is a bona fida 5,000 year old record of one of the most enduring mysteries in world history, to use a few hackneyed phrases, hidden in plain sight, beneath our very noses. In the Hunt of the Twrch Trwyth we may have a precisely mapped out route of the Bluestones across the neolithic Welsh landscape.</span></div>
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The route of the Twrch Trwyth through the Preseli Hills as described in Culhwch and Olwen, and according to local tradition.<br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now when Arthur approached, Twrch Trwyth went on as far as Preseleu, and Arthur and his hosts followed him thither, and Arthur sent men to hunt him; Eli and Trachmyr, leading Drutwyn the whelp of Greid the son of Eri, and Gwarthegyd the son of Kaw, in another quarter, with the two dogs of Glythmyr Ledewig, and Bedwyr leading Cavall, Arthur's own dog. And all the warriors ranged themselves around the Nyver. </span></span></blockquote>
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The enchanted boar and his seven little pigs are chased by Arthur's men from the havoc of Deu Gleddyf into the Preseli Hills. They stalk him eastwards along the two banks of the river Nevern. To avoid Arthur's men the Twrch Trwyth changes tack, sneaks off the Nevern and travels down the Afon Brynberian for a couple of miles, passing through two remarkable sites on either flank, as if through a gateway. One of these sites is the world famous bluestone cromlech Pentre Ifan, the other has been, up until relatively recent times, almost completely overlooked. It is a (stoneless) neolithic henge known as Castell Mawr. <span style="text-align: center;">So the route of the Twrch Trwyth through the Preseli Hills begins by him passing through two neolithic monuments, one circular, one with a huge capstone. Both these monuments have in recent times been identified by archaeologist prof. Mike Parker Pearson as being key to understanding the circular dimensions and </span><span style="text-align: center;">architectural</span><span style="text-align: center;"> structures at Stonehenge. Pentre Ifan demonstrates the technology used to lift the lintels of the Sarsen circle. Whilst Castell Mawr, due to it's proximity to these recently discovered quarries is strongly suspected as being the original home to at least some of the Stonehenge bluestones (Parker Pearson). </span><span style="text-align: center;">The Boar then follows the Brynberian valley </span> until it arrives at the first of a series of three neolithic quarries <span style="text-align: center;">recently confirmed by Ixer and Bevins as the sources for a significant number of the Stonehenge Bluestones. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkHsHa6FRIOFR1WRsPxVBA7_ZguViEAv5-z0VcFQmk3_hMUlSDKN3W9O-adL4gtNvA9jqbZz7ktrhon4ww3sebcO9t5h9of8AOVOr4m6JIbhCzF7fGkpDUYJQXcpsXzSpM0elplYO25opC/s1600/Castell+Mawr+Gateway+2+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="959" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkHsHa6FRIOFR1WRsPxVBA7_ZguViEAv5-z0VcFQmk3_hMUlSDKN3W9O-adL4gtNvA9jqbZz7ktrhon4ww3sebcO9t5h9of8AOVOr4m6JIbhCzF7fGkpDUYJQXcpsXzSpM0elplYO25opC/s640/Castell+Mawr+Gateway+2+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Gateway to the Preseli Hills.</div>
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I am not the first to notice that this outcrop of rhyolite known as Craig Rhos-y-felin has the appearance of a sleeping boar with its bristly back and it's snout to the ground. Perhaps the author imagined the giant boar resting at this site. Anthropologist Mary-Ann Ochota has likened the dramatic outcrop to 'a <span style="background-color: white; color: #2b2b2b; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">sleeping dragon or the scales of a mythical beast'. It is now certain that this neolithic quarry provided at least one of the Stonehenge bluestones. Neither can there be any doubt that this part of the route of the Twrch Trwyth is that which is specified in <i>Culhwch</i>. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEGk_GFvx-wFeBQ7pOqkQw2aN03jCIYqGwILyoA4c9yEDfqnKfIqPwOsamvu7xZLp3B7DGUdwP3cEEUKDXNcPIngMPoJ7AiyqZcTg8DRF22UCq__OihyphenhyphenLyNd7NFEeDc3kuFTvbC6APUUqr/s1600/Craig+Rhos-y-felin.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="800" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEGk_GFvx-wFeBQ7pOqkQw2aN03jCIYqGwILyoA4c9yEDfqnKfIqPwOsamvu7xZLp3B7DGUdwP3cEEUKDXNcPIngMPoJ7AiyqZcTg8DRF22UCq__OihyphenhyphenLyNd7NFEeDc3kuFTvbC6APUUqr/s640/Craig+Rhos-y-felin.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Craig Rhos-y-felin. A sleeping boar, complete with ears and tusks. (photo credit Mary-Ann Ochota)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYVcGnb2DaDEKpAf4sHSQXe8DiJ8iPdeX4Nbue9oZDVrdxsZovIqL3cFt7MHMl6cqbzvW1b92zbH9nxKkUpDY6QDfpZpTg66JTxnuFcXldNy09nUKqDTzGK_vumUO6_IO9_o7m9JzGpdY1/s1600/sleeping-wild-boar-park-260nw-1575926167.jpg" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="214" data-original-width="313" height="437" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYVcGnb2DaDEKpAf4sHSQXe8DiJ8iPdeX4Nbue9oZDVrdxsZovIqL3cFt7MHMl6cqbzvW1b92zbH9nxKkUpDY6QDfpZpTg66JTxnuFcXldNy09nUKqDTzGK_vumUO6_IO9_o7m9JzGpdY1/s640/sleeping-wild-boar-park-260nw-1575926167.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br />
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Errr...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<span style="background-color: white;">The Twrch Trwyth's route next takes him upstream to Carn Goedog, where he might have had another rest. Bevins and Ixer have identified Carn Goedog as a major source for the spotted dolerites at Stonehenge So these two confirmed bluestone quarries, Craig Rhos-y-felin and Carn Goedog, both have the appearance of a resting or hiding giant boar, it seems very likely that these rocky outcrops disguised as giant boars hiding in the Preseli landscape inspired the gigantic size of the boar</span><span style="background-color: white;">. The text of Culhwch doesn't mention these sites but the boar must at least pass close by them on his way from the Nevern to Cwm Cerwyn.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJZhVqsji9iU3iD25BfifuWR1yWi4Q9VLoppDeqjnowwnNzLzLLmgJkyp02rkK3X1nwdnZyQouXHPlNR7Yu6MoFIqFLjB72UrZqZYnwXmAbS1IZ3hmhV2eS4mk_C84A5PUENwA-w_tfRNl/s1600/carn+Goedog+%25282%2529.jpg" style="background-color: white; clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="765" data-original-width="1561" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJZhVqsji9iU3iD25BfifuWR1yWi4Q9VLoppDeqjnowwnNzLzLLmgJkyp02rkK3X1nwdnZyQouXHPlNR7Yu6MoFIqFLjB72UrZqZYnwXmAbS1IZ3hmhV2eS4mk_C84A5PUENwA-w_tfRNl/s640/carn+Goedog+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Sleeping Boar, Carn Goedog. Many of the Stonehenge Bluestones <span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">come from this quarry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyc-hJruLNr-TAd90oWOTYOfHBlmTxLLKZtGXLpI8rGl6U31LLDO3hSZF7Bhg15GC52O0oEW__IBvME1wwmOwvQ-ERSasG0KZ25HWp3qcvxbfjYefpOteZU5bKF3Kkscy9UmgrknO_RQc/s1600/Ancient-Chinese-Han-Dynasty-Sleeping-terracotta+%25282%2529.jpg" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1201" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyc-hJruLNr-TAd90oWOTYOfHBlmTxLLKZtGXLpI8rGl6U31LLDO3hSZF7Bhg15GC52O0oEW__IBvME1wwmOwvQ-ERSasG0KZ25HWp3qcvxbfjYefpOteZU5bKF3Kkscy9UmgrknO_RQc/s640/Ancient-Chinese-Han-Dynasty-Sleeping-terracotta+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Errrr...</span></div>
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According to the tale, just before the boar arrives at Cwm Cerwyn there are two violent encounters, and there can be little doubt that these battles are to be associated with Cerrig Marchogion, The Stones of the Knights, or of the Horsemen. </div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: start;">And there Twrch Trwyth made a stand, and slew four of Arthur's champions, Gwarthegyd the son of Kaw, and Tarawc of Allt Clwyd, and Rheidwn the son of Eli Atver, and Iscovan Hael. And after he had slain these men, he made a second stand in the same place. And there he slew Gwydre the son of Arthur, and Garselit Wyddel, and Glew the son of Ysgawd, and Iscawyn the son of Panon; and there he himself was wounded.</span></blockquote>
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Precision mapping. There are two groups of four spotted dolerite outcrops that make up the Stones of the Horsemen, these have been identified by Bevins and Ixer as a source of the Stonehenge Bluestones. I'm assuming it was imagined that the Twrch Trwyth charged up the ridge to reach high ground before turning and attacking the first four horsemen, who were slain as group. The boar then charged back down the hill and took out the second group of four horsemen one by one in a long straggly line.<br />
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Cerrig Marchogion. The Stones of the Horsemen. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9l-q084pxUqzoqlgc2QIwcsP__R-sznJQZVqrqxfV6oY3F9SMimnbgkTM_o5PW1wGYK6Jg1K8kNuR0dAKfdoGMMT9n9VCoXjuHZoRgKhjUNttGkU2BIpK5HaTExd2e_ykvqIY-Wcm6wWe/s1600/First+Four+Horsemen.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="1360" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9l-q084pxUqzoqlgc2QIwcsP__R-sznJQZVqrqxfV6oY3F9SMimnbgkTM_o5PW1wGYK6Jg1K8kNuR0dAKfdoGMMT9n9VCoXjuHZoRgKhjUNttGkU2BIpK5HaTExd2e_ykvqIY-Wcm6wWe/s640/First+Four+Horsemen.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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First Four Horsemen.</div>
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Second four Horsemen.</div>
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Perspective of the route from the Nevern to Cwm Cerwyn and the Stones of the Sons of Arthur.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #2b2b2b; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The following is the abstract for a paper recently published in Antiquity:</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Geologists and archaeologists have long known that the bluestones of Stonehenge came from the Preseli Hills of west Wales, 230km away, but only recently have some of their exact geological sources been identified. Two of these quarries—Carn Goedog and Craig Rhos-y-felin—have now been excavated to reveal evidence of megalith quarrying around 3000 BC—the same period as the first stage of the construction of Stonehenge. The authors present evidence for the extraction of the stone pillars and consider how they were transported, including the possibility that they were erected in a temporary monument close to the quarries, before completing their journey to Stonehenge.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">Pearson,
M., Pollard, J., Richards, C., Welham, K., Casswell, C., French, C.,
. . . Ixer, R. (2019). Megalith quarries for Stonehenge's
bluestones. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><i>Antiquity,</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><i>93</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">(367),
45-62. doi:10.15184/aqy.2018.111</span></blockquote>
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The gradient along the Twrch Trwth's route through the Preseli Hills. The highest point being Cerrig Marchogion. </div>
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Mauve Line = Twrch Trwyth's route.</div>
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Green line = Rhosyfelyn stones to Waun Mawn</div>
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Yellow line = Carn Goedog stones to Cerrig Marchogion.</div>
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Red line = Cerrig Marchogion stones to Waun Mawn.</div>
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The Waun Mawn excavation proved that a bluestone circle once stood here in the late neolithic. Most of the stones having been removed.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqmvHHx5e4qbh7NFUouhovitoFnfy3dq8hbfW4bHackW32zc1EipYZ4mFb_fpd4RJv951FGwFAXclV7NHrz-KVaS7HNkwF_mHYLNI0i269rhjSo9n_Ce1y4S9BzOtgfmmugLzyikGVtYGw/s1600/a40+route.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="456" data-original-width="685" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqmvHHx5e4qbh7NFUouhovitoFnfy3dq8hbfW4bHackW32zc1EipYZ4mFb_fpd4RJv951FGwFAXclV7NHrz-KVaS7HNkwF_mHYLNI0i269rhjSo9n_Ce1y4S9BzOtgfmmugLzyikGVtYGw/s640/a40+route.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Possible Bluestone Routes</div>
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Thomas's Coastal Route (Blue line). Parker Pearson's Land Route (Dotted line). Altar Stone Route (Red line).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Lw2E2kiMtJmwH0ZEfbtL6Ix8JJLs5FuLKE4TrVxpANoQWo6Tb8DPS_FpqF7tPFv83n5LnLdqtdxhxLgWqSFSW5yEcNHvxJ_Bctut7zKy6uD5VVVBEw9XjHw9XWBZYwo8TLuicjS8c9Po/s1600/twrchrouteS+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="640" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Lw2E2kiMtJmwH0ZEfbtL6Ix8JJLs5FuLKE4TrVxpANoQWo6Tb8DPS_FpqF7tPFv83n5LnLdqtdxhxLgWqSFSW5yEcNHvxJ_Bctut7zKy6uD5VVVBEw9XjHw9XWBZYwo8TLuicjS8c9Po/s640/twrchrouteS+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Twrch Trwyth's Route on Cambriae Typus, Compiled by myself in 2012 acknowledging Bromwich and Evans.</div>
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<br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW4mcPJMifCMHyf0ROEnefBZsaIfPQEPIkKqvXg_HSognKzIyCs938tfKbfNVVtvAsmsj38JsKaFR0MLQJMh7tVyABhCa_A9p2MArCplyWo8hFh_EoSahbCjqMetJelhWVR9yNTnXtIYOU/s1280/route+comparison+2+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="696" data-original-width="1280" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW4mcPJMifCMHyf0ROEnefBZsaIfPQEPIkKqvXg_HSognKzIyCs938tfKbfNVVtvAsmsj38JsKaFR0MLQJMh7tVyABhCa_A9p2MArCplyWo8hFh_EoSahbCjqMetJelhWVR9yNTnXtIYOU/w640-h348/route+comparison+2+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />Routes compared</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitaFNSC_KwTcktjQKRz-cvj7yyyuocaHrOWhtjYG2-k6OQLLRqqQEc8XMSgClzaCCrXTSu5k30jAGyQ0TdtJ4laImOtHN_O0rgS0OHj6a4N45RxihxO0twabe0GhW1qo4YAGcm09doa_J2/s1600/Aug+1+Ifan+to+Castell.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="1348" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitaFNSC_KwTcktjQKRz-cvj7yyyuocaHrOWhtjYG2-k6OQLLRqqQEc8XMSgClzaCCrXTSu5k30jAGyQ0TdtJ4laImOtHN_O0rgS0OHj6a4N45RxihxO0twabe0GhW1qo4YAGcm09doa_J2/s640/Aug+1+Ifan+to+Castell.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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August 1st Sunrise</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Csai9FsOlTgBputb3DhmheL3UgL9dq5RllY6MEgfJbHOMBWxeiuPjUu8uLF9Jk9hU4-Muikbs4c9eJH1G0mr4OkJO4L1slR0Hij08tc-TUAlsG80ZWV03mHZJPVPic9YHXu4In4OS2MI/s1600/Pentre+Ifan+Carn+Goedog+midwinter+sunrise.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="1134" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Csai9FsOlTgBputb3DhmheL3UgL9dq5RllY6MEgfJbHOMBWxeiuPjUu8uLF9Jk9hU4-Muikbs4c9eJH1G0mr4OkJO4L1slR0Hij08tc-TUAlsG80ZWV03mHZJPVPic9YHXu4In4OS2MI/s640/Pentre+Ifan+Carn+Goedog+midwinter+sunrise.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Midwinter Sunrise</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR9Bbzm1H8JSd7Fz5WKA1zroV8JxwivN5dlKSQ_Nu9RMqQT_t35EyxFNx7aFURuyOe-X7I3y_ks0UiyJ_wTLAR4HXa8xTygpxkQphRkIup23IvLrZMums7PrbxaOghWyF1N-f8ofz9qRIo/s1600/Stonehenge+looky+likey.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR9Bbzm1H8JSd7Fz5WKA1zroV8JxwivN5dlKSQ_Nu9RMqQT_t35EyxFNx7aFURuyOe-X7I3y_ks0UiyJ_wTLAR4HXa8xTygpxkQphRkIup23IvLrZMums7PrbxaOghWyF1N-f8ofz9qRIo/s640/Stonehenge+looky+likey.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Stonehenge. Bluestones and Sarsens</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQc05nKmBbpBWm3GWK9yfjvqNLxeNIhVdafNvzTTQ_TMzu2esaQYz0qaVsSGBYTK5TeRZFVAGn4f-lQBME6TNcjryMlBi8M9rYjIt1zHMH8cPjl0P-Uop2yij4DUc8cDquZeWeQ1cLgHuY/s1600/Stonehenge+dims+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="586" data-original-width="771" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQc05nKmBbpBWm3GWK9yfjvqNLxeNIhVdafNvzTTQ_TMzu2esaQYz0qaVsSGBYTK5TeRZFVAGn4f-lQBME6TNcjryMlBi8M9rYjIt1zHMH8cPjl0P-Uop2yij4DUc8cDquZeWeQ1cLgHuY/s640/Stonehenge+dims+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
Stonehenge.</div><p style="text-align: justify;">It has occurred to others as well as to me that the missing stones of Waun Mawr fall short of the numbers required to make up the 84 stones which eventually arrived at Stonehenge. That the people who moved the Welsh stones picked up the Alter stone on their way to Salisbury Plain, might suggest that other stones along the route may have found there way there also. Moreover, I wouldn't be surprised if at least one of the stones has an Irish origin. Both Geoffrey's account of Merlin's acquisition of the Giants Dance and the Hunt for the Twrch Trwyth begin in Ireland, possibly the same part of Ireland.</p><div style="text-align: center;">
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<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
The Twrch Trwyth</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "andron scriptor web" , "andron scriptor w1" , "code2000" , "caslon old face bt" , "chrysanthi" , "gentium" , "garamond" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: medium;">Then
Arthur sent Gwrhyr Gwalstawt Ieithoedd, to endeavour to speak with
him. And Gwrhyr assumed the form of a bird, and alighted upon the top
of the lair, where he was with the seven young pigs. And Gwrhyr
Gwalstawt Ieithoedd asked him, "By him who turned you into this
form, if you can speak, let some one of you, I beseech you, come and
talk with Arthur." Grugyn Gwrych Ereint made answer to him. (Now
his bristles were like silver wire, and whether he went through the
wood or through the plain, he was to be traced by the glittering of
his bristles.) And this was the answer that Grugyn made, "By him
who turned us into this form, we will not do so, and we will not
speak with Arthur. That we have been transformed thus is enough for
us to suffer, without your coming here to fight with us." </span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "andron scriptor web" , "andron scriptor w1" , "code2000" , "caslon old face bt" , "chrysanthi" , "gentium" , "garamond" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: medium;">"I
will tell you. Arthur comes but to fight for the comb, and the razor,
and the scissors, which are between the two ears of Twrch
Trwyth." </span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "andron scriptor web" , "andron scriptor w1" , "code2000" , "caslon old face bt" , "chrysanthi" , "gentium" , "garamond" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: medium;">Said
Grugyn, "Except he first take his life, he will never have those
precious things. And to-morrow morning we will rise up hence, and we
will go into Arthur's country, and there will we do all the mischief
that we can."</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "andron scriptor web" , "andron scriptor w1" , "code2000" , "caslon old face bt" , "chrysanthi" , "gentium" , "garamond" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So
they set forth through the sea towards Wales. And Arthur and his
hosts, and his horses and his dogs, entered Prydwen, that they might
encounter them without delay. Twrch Trwyth landed in </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "andron scriptor web" , "andron scriptor w1" , "code2000" , "caslon old face bt" , "chrysanthi" , "gentium" , "garamond" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Porth
Cleis in Dyved</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "andron scriptor web" , "andron scriptor w1" , "code2000" , "caslon old face bt" , "chrysanthi" , "gentium" , "garamond" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">,
and Arthur came to Mynyw. The next day it was told to Arthur that
they had gone by, and he overtook them as they were killing the
cattle of Kynnwas Kwrr y Vagyl, having slain all that were at Aber
Gleddyf, of man and beast, before the coming of Arthur.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "andron scriptor web" , "andron scriptor w1" , "code2000" , "caslon old face bt" , "chrysanthi" , "gentium" , "garamond" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: medium;">Now
when Arthur approached, Twrch Trwyth went on as far as Preseleu, and
Arthur and his hosts followed him thither, and Arthur sent men to
hunt him; Eli and Trachmyr, leading Drutwyn the whelp of Greid the
son of Eri, and Gwarthegyd the son of Kaw, in another quarter, with
the two dogs of Glythmyr Ledewig, and Bedwyr leading Cavall, Arthur's
own dog. And all the warriors ranged themselves around the Nyver. And
there came there the three sons of Cleddyf Divwlch, men who had
gained much fame at the slaying of Yskithyrwyn Penbaedd; and they
went on from Glyn Nyver, and came to Cwm Kerwyn.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: black;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "andron scriptor web" , "andron scriptor w1" , "code2000" , "caslon old face bt" , "chrysanthi" , "gentium" , "garamond" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: medium;">And
there Twrch Trwyth made a stand, and slew four of Arthur's champions,
Gwarthegyd the son of Kaw, and Tarawc of Allt Clwyd, and Rheidwn the
son of Eli Atver, and Iscovan Hael. And after he had slain these men,
he made a second stand in the same place. And there he slew Gwydre
the son of Arthur, and Garselit Wyddel, and Glew the son of Ysgawd,
and Iscawyn the son of Panon; and there he himself was wounded.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "andron scriptor web" , "andron scriptor w1" , "code2000" , "caslon old face bt" , "chrysanthi" , "gentium" , "garamond" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: medium;">And
the next morning before it was day, some of the men came up with him.
And he slew Huandaw, and Gogigwr, and Penpingon, three attendants
upon Glewlwyd Gavaelvawr, so that Heaven knows, he had not an
attendant remaining, excepting only Llaesgevyn, a man from whom no
one ever derived any good. And together with these, he slew many of
the men of that country, and Gwlydyn Saer, Arthur's chief
Architect.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "andron scriptor web" , "andron scriptor w1" , "code2000" , "caslon old face bt" , "chrysanthi" , "gentium" , "garamond" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: medium;">Then
Arthur overtook him at Pelumyawc, and there he slew Madawc the son of
Teithyon, and Gwyn the son of Tringad, the son of Neved, and Eiryawn
Penllorau. Thence he went to Abertywi, where he made another stand,
and where he slew Kyflas the son of Kynan, and Gwilenhin king of
France. Then he went as far as Glyn Ystu, and there the men and the
dogs lost him.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "andron scriptor web" , "andron scriptor w1" , "code2000" , "caslon old face bt" , "chrysanthi" , "gentium" , "garamond" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: medium;">Then
Arthur summoned unto him Gwyn ab Nudd, and he asked him if he knew
aught of Twrch Trwyth. And he said that he did not.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "andron scriptor web" , "andron scriptor w1" , "code2000" , "caslon old face bt" , "chrysanthi" , "gentium" , "garamond" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: medium;">And
all the huntsmen went to hunt the swine as far as Dyffryn Llychwr.
And Grugyn Gwallt Ereint, and Llwydawg Govynnyad closed with them and
killed all the huntsmen, so that there escaped but one man only. And
Arthur and his hosts came to the place where Grugyn and Llwydawg
were. And there he let loose the whole of the dogs upon them, and
with the shout and barking that was set up, Twrch Trwyth came to
their assistance.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "andron scriptor web" , "andron scriptor w1" , "code2000" , "caslon old face bt" , "chrysanthi" , "gentium" , "garamond" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: medium;">And
from the time that they came across the Irish sea, Arthur had never
got sight of him until then. So he set men and dogs upon him, and
thereupon he started off and went to Mynydd Amanw. And there one of
his young pigs was killed. Then they set upon him life for life, and
Twrch Llawin was slain, and then there was slain another of the
swine, Gwys was his name. After that he went on to Dyffryn Amanw, and
there Banw and Bennwig were killed. Of all his pigs there went with
him alive from that place none save Grugyn Gwallt Ereint, and
Llwydawg Govynnyad.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "andron scriptor web" , "andron scriptor w1" , "code2000" , "caslon old face bt" , "chrysanthi" , "gentium" , "garamond" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Thence
he went on to Llwch Ewin, and Arthur overtook him there, and he made
a stand. And there he slew Echel Forddwytwll, and Garwyli the son of
Gwyddawg Gwyr, and many men and dogs likewise. And thence they went
to Llwch Tawy. Grugyn Gwrych Ereint parted from them there, and went
to Din Tywi. And thence he proceeded to Ceredigiawn, and Eli and
Trachmyr with him, and a multitude likewise. Then he came to Garth
Gregyn, and there Llwydawg Govynnyad fought in the midst of them, and
slew Rhudvyw Rhys and many others with him. Then Llwydawg went thence
to Ystrad Yw, and there the men of Armorica met him, and there he
slew Hirpeissawg the king of Armorica, and Llygatrudd Emys, and
Gwrbothu, Arthur's uncles, his mother's brothers, and there was he
himself slain. </span></span></span>
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "andron scriptor web" , "andron scriptor w1" , "code2000" , "caslon old face bt" , "chrysanthi" , "gentium" , "garamond" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: medium;">Twrch
Trwyth went from there to between Tawy and Euyas, and Arthur summoned
all Cornwall and Devon unto him, to the estuary of the Severn, and he
said to the warriors of this Island, "Twrch Trwyth has slain
many of my men, but, by the valour of warriors, while I live he shall
not go into Cornwall. And I will not follow him any longer, but I
will oppose him life to life. Do ye as ye will." And he resolved
that he would send a body of knights, with the dogs of the Island, as
far as Euyas, who should return thence to the Severn, and that tried
warriors should traverse the Island, and force him into the Severn.
And Mabon the son of Modron, came up with him at the Severn, upon
Gwynn Mygddon, the horse of Gweddw, and Goreu the son of Custennin,
and Menw the son of Teirgwaedd; this was betwixt Llyn Lliwan and Aber
Gwy. And Arthur fell upon him together with the champions of Britain.
And Osla Kyllellvawr drew near, and Manawyddan the son of Llyr, and
Kacmwri the servant of Arthur, and Gwyngelli, and they seized hold of
him, catching him first by his feet, and plunged him in the Severn,
so that it overwhelmed him. On the one side, Mabon the son of Modron
spurred his steed and snatched his razor from him, and Kyledyr Wyllt
came up with him on the other side, upon another steed, in the
Severn, and took from him the scissors. But before they could obtain
the comb, he had regained the ground with his feet, and from the
moment that he reached the shore, neither dog, nor man, nor horse
could overtake him until he came to Cornwall. If they had had trouble
in getting the jewels from him, much more had they in seeking to save
the two men from being drowned. Kacmwri, as they drew him forth, was
dragged by two millstones into the deep. And as Osla Kyllellvawr was
running after the boar, his knife had dropped out of the sheath, and
he had lost it, and after that, the sheath became full of water, and
its weight drew him down into the deep, as they were drawing him
forth.</span></div>
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "andron scriptor web" , "andron scriptor w1" , "code2000" , "caslon old face bt" , "chrysanthi" , "gentium" , "garamond" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: medium;">Then Arthur and his hosts proceeded until they overtook the
boar in Cornwall, and the trouble which they had met with before was
mere play to what they encountered in seeking the comb. But from one
difficulty to another, the comb was at length obtained. And then he
was hunted from Cornwall, and driven straight forward into the deep
sea. And thenceforth it was never known whither he went; and Aned and
Aethlem with him. Then went Arthur to Gelliwic, in Cornwall, to
anoint himself, and to rest from his fatigues.</span></span></div>
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Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-67789750242560023882020-05-24T08:15:00.000-07:002020-06-02T20:18:00.594-07:00Merlins Oak. History in photos<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The S</span><span style="font-size: large;">tory of Merlin's Oak in Photos</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkZVtXoVqCIqSlZXAzvm0eaDYQFwCIicd1cM0GhDFWYNPN9joIvxHDsE4ZTTCPcd-1VteIcCtV1Vq5c-DxwLl76EHL11ipkS-IdI0aN7fnFxcqW_9D9VGJTHB-5CLxURRnimv2ANPoLS20/s1600/Merlins+Oak+in+leaf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkZVtXoVqCIqSlZXAzvm0eaDYQFwCIicd1cM0GhDFWYNPN9joIvxHDsE4ZTTCPcd-1VteIcCtV1Vq5c-DxwLl76EHL11ipkS-IdI0aN7fnFxcqW_9D9VGJTHB-5CLxURRnimv2ANPoLS20/s640/Merlins+Oak+in+leaf.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Before 1856</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWeYWvr25P7_8XAhTjULvwfCwJZHKQfnft_yYJH0qDMN0QERM6ZGy_xQf0XRc8D090th3skyGoFMN65XFQUZkWy6ds9AXp7PatatTYTZ_3Il4vbyowZPwo4OlgcrklGY8K0SEnxKbYkI2D/s1600/merlins+oak+post+1856.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="555" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWeYWvr25P7_8XAhTjULvwfCwJZHKQfnft_yYJH0qDMN0QERM6ZGy_xQf0XRc8D090th3skyGoFMN65XFQUZkWy6ds9AXp7PatatTYTZ_3Il4vbyowZPwo4OlgcrklGY8K0SEnxKbYkI2D/s640/merlins+oak+post+1856.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Post 1856. Perhaps 1880's.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbiP0WxkuNRv5Uj_EjV6gQdijnzAldxRd-bHAvwpDi33X7sDLfK5HxJP1i8vBd7q5xRrfoLNiE6OVTkOUav6hpiYqPcp3Hrd3a95r4o1r8fwZYX91E-r_iveRZsnChjac3srBqC-4vvo5y/s1600/merlins+oak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="207" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbiP0WxkuNRv5Uj_EjV6gQdijnzAldxRd-bHAvwpDi33X7sDLfK5HxJP1i8vBd7q5xRrfoLNiE6OVTkOUav6hpiYqPcp3Hrd3a95r4o1r8fwZYX91E-r_iveRZsnChjac3srBqC-4vvo5y/s640/merlins+oak.jpg" width="498" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">1936</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1rfT6NbEXH8PXVlsHuvPfJN54vK0aRGQdXdcFSVZCNK8oUHng6LJGDvBrRnUTk_6zuIhTKquMJcUCaUDwp4XPNDvSDBbGRNhTR_6zhcUKNjZoli1mkcTNtr_m2aDqP1BufZw3TOpiPq36/s1600/merlins+oak+1949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="361" data-original-width="333" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1rfT6NbEXH8PXVlsHuvPfJN54vK0aRGQdXdcFSVZCNK8oUHng6LJGDvBrRnUTk_6zuIhTKquMJcUCaUDwp4XPNDvSDBbGRNhTR_6zhcUKNjZoli1mkcTNtr_m2aDqP1BufZw3TOpiPq36/s640/merlins+oak+1949.jpg" width="590" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">!949</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJiTh83-tCvP76ru3TvTI7l3pLeO4DyQHUtymO9JT0EdXug2s1eKCLP4YVKRX3n1Rg7hhnkU2_idEDPLoQ6VQsuGKV0ejmwxCk4fxqVSMh6k04X4V5D_3mTBKMMSlcrmqeLINSClWm2Cm/s1600/merlins+oak+1962.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="341" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJiTh83-tCvP76ru3TvTI7l3pLeO4DyQHUtymO9JT0EdXug2s1eKCLP4YVKRX3n1Rg7hhnkU2_idEDPLoQ6VQsuGKV0ejmwxCk4fxqVSMh6k04X4V5D_3mTBKMMSlcrmqeLINSClWm2Cm/s640/merlins+oak+1962.jpg" width="484" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">1962</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiUVQVC7KTqoVFlYvMZNgrZp8-UrGOWUBkEP6S8ABL6Giko2UzGgPxs0D0-sjNPGkKJOFxaVkmyOjVnbjqIHE7S528oSFjpX6bxthX1t5pU_4xojfWUpVCdVyDycwSVzwpmjtEUMQTGh_x/s1600/merlins+oak+1970s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="810" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiUVQVC7KTqoVFlYvMZNgrZp8-UrGOWUBkEP6S8ABL6Giko2UzGgPxs0D0-sjNPGkKJOFxaVkmyOjVnbjqIHE7S528oSFjpX6bxthX1t5pU_4xojfWUpVCdVyDycwSVzwpmjtEUMQTGh_x/s640/merlins+oak+1970s.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">1978, on the left my friend William Montgomery</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMx1Ajc6Hqz-yORGqAIXLP0mxBifmOIPJyrQDirqVjLeC0ELazVN2GWIv4WVubd_ByYhLsFub4J9mHvhyVebErqzdnaW2yvasJF0akGkWNLLivKV2qrllzfF4fYsD6YjGk4YX-KQ2-E4Ql/s1600/merlins+end.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="314" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMx1Ajc6Hqz-yORGqAIXLP0mxBifmOIPJyrQDirqVjLeC0ELazVN2GWIv4WVubd_ByYhLsFub4J9mHvhyVebErqzdnaW2yvasJF0akGkWNLLivKV2qrllzfF4fYsD6YjGk4YX-KQ2-E4Ql/s640/merlins+end.jpg" width="412" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">1978. The end.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFvFwjjMqlCpDTETMq3tP822uTy4AdlEoyXBXAgnrvm1re4CC8aKZBIqP5JNv92BdsolcuSErfsQl0KkDwSONSHJ-uKRj_ZN56mNDQyEpy8AKeJR3rVGM6U-lSJ9qDKAuN2eMFM4960__/s1600/Site_of_Old_Oak%252C_Carmarthen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFvFwjjMqlCpDTETMq3tP822uTy4AdlEoyXBXAgnrvm1re4CC8aKZBIqP5JNv92BdsolcuSErfsQl0KkDwSONSHJ-uKRj_ZN56mNDQyEpy8AKeJR3rVGM6U-lSJ9qDKAuN2eMFM4960__/s640/Site_of_Old_Oak%252C_Carmarthen.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Present Day, (2020).</span></div>
Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-51990180096561955022020-05-14T03:46:00.000-07:002020-07-31T17:42:49.976-07:00Merlin and Carmarthen<br />
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<br />
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Merlin, Carmarthen and me.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">This is an attempt to explain how I came to the conclusions I have come to regarding astronomy and cartography in the tales of the Mabinogion and other early Welsh prose, poetry and hagiography. It will take the form of a personal memoir and will be largely set down in chronological order, </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">though it will also be</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">necessary</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> to move through time in a more fluid way. The past, the present and the future are the weave and weft, the very fabric of Merlin's universe, and of all of our universes. Myrddin does not feature in any of the tales of the Mabinogion, though there is more than a hint of Culhwch and Olwen in the Black Book of Carmarthen, where Myrddin does feature. It was in Carmarthen, in Merlin's Town that I first became aware of the intimate relationship between so called myth and legend, </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">landscape and astronomy, place and time and memory.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVLbHmD56aP-c2teL3k5gFLDcZYPKZT3xpFDo4L0HOHz_k4bzRBBaHME6vGcJusujIXa-UR_pww8AKpdfpcZXptfUfD3r8F1GP6XUXcHEcZfzwnhYTK3YP6NaSSj1bqeE6P9Zywf3oG52/s1600/This+is+Merlin%2527s+Town.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="640" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVLbHmD56aP-c2teL3k5gFLDcZYPKZT3xpFDo4L0HOHz_k4bzRBBaHME6vGcJusujIXa-UR_pww8AKpdfpcZXptfUfD3r8F1GP6XUXcHEcZfzwnhYTK3YP6NaSSj1bqeE6P9Zywf3oG52/s640/This+is+Merlin%2527s+Town.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Iconic photograph from the late seventies of graffiti on a derelict house near to St. Peter's Church.The scrubbed out legend to the right of Merlin's front door used to read something like "Merlin's out, he's probably down the Coopers Arms". (photo credit: Sian Boussevain).</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">In
the Summer of 1969 when I was eight years old, my family moved from Luddenden near Halifax in West Yorkshire, where my Mum, June, comes from, to 17 Barn Road,
Carmarthen or Caerfyrddin - Merlin's Town in West Wales, where my Dad, Rex, comes from.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">My
Dad was born and bred in Carmarthen, he was a St. Peter's boy, as
they used to say around here, one born within earshot of the bells of St
Peter's Church. He was well-known as the towns sign writer as well as
for being a superb top tenor, a chorister and a rock 'n roll vocalist.
Everyone knew him as 'Toffee Rex' and I inherited my nickname 'John
Toffee' from him. He taught me how to sign write and about
craftsmanship, though unfortunately I did not inherit his lovely
singing voice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">After
the first week of settling in to our new home, it may have been early
August, I was allowed to go out and explore the town on my own, as
long as I didn't go too far. After wandering aimlessly for a while I
found myself looking up at the imposing bell tower of St. Peters Church, one of the oldest and largest parish churches in Wales. I
vaguely knew that St. Peters was connected to the local legends about
the famous wizard Merlin, so I entered into the sacred grounds
through </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">the</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> impressive lych gate. I had heard from my cousin Kevin that if you
walked three times widdershins around the church you would either see
a wonder or you would go mad. So, on an impulse, I thought I'd
give that a go. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">As
I was about to begin the third lap of my march towards certain
insanity I found my way blocked by a large smelly Welshman, a pig farmer
I assumed (it was a Friday, pig mart day), also walking widdershins around the church. He stank of
beer and of pig shit, he wore a flat cap over unkempt oily hair, he
had on a mucky old raincoat and on his feet a soiled pair of green
wellies. I slowed my pace to walk behind him, feeling somewhat
intimidated by his presence when suddenly something fell from the
inside pocket of his dirty old coat and landed on the flagstones
ahead of me. It was a bundle of cash, as thick as a fat leek, held tight
with elastic bands. It rolled along the floor and stopped at my feet. I picked up the roll of money. It was made up from fifties,
twenties and tenners, I had never seen so much money. There in the
palm of my hand was a wad of money worth thousands of pounds. I admit
that it occurred to me, if only for a fleeting moment that I might
keep that money, we weren't a rich family after all, but it also
occurred to me that I was on holy ground. That seemed important to my eight year old mind. So, after glancing
fearfully up at the church tower, I cleared my throat and said,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">"Excuse me". </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">No
reaction, I tried a second time... same. On the third attempt I tugged his mucky sleeve and this
time he turned around to face me, to look down at me all jowly,
unshaven and watery eyed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">"I think you might have dropped something", I said. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">He
didn't say anything, just smiled drunkenly at me, took the wad of
cash I'd held out to him, put it back in his pocket, sort of winked,
turned about, swayed and went on his widdershin way. The memory of
that moment has stayed with me all of my life. I didn't think it at
the time but many years later I came to the realisation that I'd seen a wonder, that I'd had
an encounter with Merlin himself or as he used to be known Myrddin
Wyllt, whose only companion in his grief and madness was a little
pig. And whose conception, </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">according to legend,</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">between</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">an incubus</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> and a virginal nun had occurred here within the sacred precinct of St Peter's church.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1OLhHpkOWJ3-4Zis-xcpbWnemUWwaA-adtrjEqCcmKS809JnaFsp4X6jufHcOEz2NrMUwLU-Tp4yLzdeCc_wYq1uT4p04ImomE4O7ycipTj83-ENp1IY1QihydbS_ossf9RItpeRCWFe_/s1600/St+Peter%2527s+Parish+Church+c1900%2527s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="800" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1OLhHpkOWJ3-4Zis-xcpbWnemUWwaA-adtrjEqCcmKS809JnaFsp4X6jufHcOEz2NrMUwLU-Tp4yLzdeCc_wYq1uT4p04ImomE4O7ycipTj83-ENp1IY1QihydbS_ossf9RItpeRCWFe_/s640/St+Peter%2527s+Parish+Church+c1900%2527s.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The
Lych gate and Bell Tower of St. Peter's circa 1900</span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Later
that year, on the hot late summer Sunday afternoon of September 20th
1969 my younger brother Jeffrey, seven years old, died in a tragic accident in the back
garden of 17 Barn Road. That awful accident changed my world and my
family's world forever.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
could no longer live at Barn Road and so after the funeral my Mum,
Dad and my older brother and sister moved in with my Uncle Delme (</span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dads brother) </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">and
Auntie Margaret. I was put with my Welsh grandparents, Nanna and Grandpa,
who lived at 4 Morley Street in the centre of town. </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">My
Nanna, Vi, was a funny woman, every morning before I went to school
she would enquire of me, "Have you cleared your bowels?"
Some years later (1983, </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I was an art student in Coventry at the time</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">) I went to visit her. She was watching the television intently,
"Those bloody lesbians have been at it again", she growled
as I came in. The news programme on the t.v. was reporting the
bombing by Hezbollah of the American Lebanese Embassy in Beirut. She
was a great one for malapropisms. Nanna, who rarely left Carmarthen, once took a train to London to visit her son, my Uncle Delme, where he was working as a plumber though she didn't know where he lived exactly. On leaving Paddington Station she asked a complete stranger if he knew where Delme Davies lived, "What, Delme the plumber?" came the reply, "Yes, he's just around the corner at number 22". Okay, I might have got the number wrong but the rest is true.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">My
Grandpa had a profound influence upon me. He was a deeply religious
man, a Methodist, When he died he had hung on tenaciously until
Good Friday so he could rise to Heaven on the same day that his Lord
did. He died with a serene smile on is face. </span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">He
used to drive around town in his red Mini rally car, it had bucket
seats and roll-bars, though he rarely exceeded 20 miles an hour. He
was known to everyone in Carmarthen as Will Jockey, for that was
his job in his younger days. I remember when my elder brother Stephen
and I had taken him for a drink to the Friends Arms in Johnstown on
the edge of town once. We were sat down at a table enjoying a pint
when, "Duw," he said suddenly, "I remember sitting
here with Buffalo Bill!" We of course thought he'd gone doolally
but actually it was true. Buffalo Bill and his Wild West Show
came to Carmarthen on the 13th </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">May</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> 1904. The show was put on at the Argos
Fields not far from the Friends Arms. Local jockeys were recruited so as to take part in the show and they were trained by the Native Americans
in certain techniques of horsemanship such as dropping off the
saddle and riding the flank of the horse in a tight turn. My Grandpa
taught me this skill in the living room of 4 Morley Street using a
high backed chair for a horse. Me seated the wrong way round holding
the chair-back, he holding the seat swinging me round in the air. "I won't let you fall" he would say, as I clung on. Many years later I was to remember this training, in an instant, on a real horse. It saved me from potentially serious injury.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Many years earlier... Grandpa
was a friend of Dylan Thomas the writer, poet and playwright, and
most Saturdays Dylan and Caitlin would get the bus up from Laugharne
to Carmarthen so Caitlin could do the weekly shop. At around 10 o'
clock a.m. Dylan would call at 4 Morley Street, where the door was
always open and call down the hallway, "Will, are you coming out
to play?" My Nanna, who didn't much care for Dylan, would come
to the door and call back to Grandpa, who was usually in the garden,
"Will, that man is here for you</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">again</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">!" The two of them used to
go to The Mansel Arms at the end of the street, often before opening
time, for several beers. My Nanna related this story to me once, Will
and Dylan had gone for their usual Saturday morning pint at the
Mansel and Dylan had got really drunk, standing on the tables
reciting his latest verse, unfortunately he'd got so drunk he'd
fallen asleep and there was no waking him. He was still in this state
when Caitlin arrived back from shopping. There was only one bus back
to Laugharne and the bus station was some way off. So my Nanna got my
Grandpa to go fetch his wheel barrow. With the help of the landlord
they managed to get him into the barrow and off they went, Nanna,
Caitlin and my Grandpa with Dylan Thomas, fast asleep in the barrow.
When they got to the station the bus was almost ready to go but with
the help of the bus driver they managed to bundle Dylan onto a seat.
The next Saturday Caitlin told my Nanna that as soon as the bus
arrived in Laugharne Dylan had woken up, looked out of the window,
saw that the bar at Brown's Hotel was open, made a bee line for it
and started on the beer again.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Grandpa,
a Welsh Nationalist and a proud Welsh speaker, knew his Welsh history
and his semi-legendary history through the <i>Brut y Tywysogyon</i>
‘The Chronicle of the Princes’ and from Geoffrey of Monmouth’s
‘History of the Kings of Britain’. He knew the works of the
ancient Welsh poets such as Taliesin and Aneirin, the <i>Cynfeirdd</i>,
or ‘earliest poets’, he had studied the praise poetry of the
<i>Gogynfeirdd</i> ‘the not so early poets’ and he could recite
from memory several of the poems of Dafydd ap Gwilym, some say
Wales’s greatest poet. However, Grandpa's lasting gift was to
introduce to me the tales of the <i>Mabinogion</i> and to the poems
attributed to Myrddin from <i>Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin</i> ‘The Black
Book of Carmarthen’.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
don't remember now how long it was that I stayed with my grandparents
but at some point during 1970, the year following my brother's death,
my immediate family came back together and we moved into number 80
Priory Street in the 'Old Town' of Carmarthen. Actually, the official
name of our street was and is Oak Terrace which is a continuation of
Priory Street, I didn't learn this until quite recently after
studying maps of the area, anyway we knew it as Priory Street and the
mail seemed to arrive regardless. </span>
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Both
the 'Oak' of Oak Terrace and the 'Priory' of Priory Street have
strong Merlinic connections as this part of Carmarthen, Old
Carmarthen was indeed the heart of 'Merlin's Town'. The Oak being
referred to was 'The Old Oak' or 'The Carmarthen Oak' but better
known, in fact it became world famous, as 'Merlin's Oak'.</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRn6WU3xPn1Po2y14WOUu9TtWoki7ydlI36XZZOyeI7ucjEtvAbKGqiBdpumen3MZGb_ugBZ7eVXRd6IbTvdN-fp_V2R3CtIHxkHZx88urlSFY8cv9kuOWD8sD6tSAe1KWlE88cscLUM6c/s1600/merlins+oak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="207" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRn6WU3xPn1Po2y14WOUu9TtWoki7ydlI36XZZOyeI7ucjEtvAbKGqiBdpumen3MZGb_ugBZ7eVXRd6IbTvdN-fp_V2R3CtIHxkHZx88urlSFY8cv9kuOWD8sD6tSAe1KWlE88cscLUM6c/s640/merlins+oak.jpg" width="497" /></span></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The
classic photograph of Merlin's Oak in 1936.
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Our
House on Oak Terrace was on the left and is just hidden by the sad
remains of the old tree. St. Peter's Church is behind us about 400
metres up the road the other way.</span></div>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The
history of the tree is, more or less, well documented. It<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "times new roman" , "times";"><span style="font-size: small;">
is thought to have been planted in 1660 to celebrate the return to
the throne of England by Charles II. However, b</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "times new roman" , "times";"><span style="font-size: small;">y
the 19th century some legends had developed connecting the tree to
Merlin. During the mid 19th century the tree had became a focal
point for local drinkers and ruffians and it seems that the tree was
poisoned by an angry local trader in protest against this noisy
revelry. It is recorded that the tree died in 1856. </span></span></span>
</span></div>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_CXSxmAQsh5j1n7U90txuZ13bffQoUeyqwLbrAavjDJ45v8ufDSR64qxCUPWlB2dDQyr6oBv5RqqnNrA9i9sl8VUULzeM4EuiQBhljJoJeh71JlLlYgc4-fE_TToPk-JLZjXL7oLBMEYN/s1600/Merlins+Oak+in+leaf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_CXSxmAQsh5j1n7U90txuZ13bffQoUeyqwLbrAavjDJ45v8ufDSR64qxCUPWlB2dDQyr6oBv5RqqnNrA9i9sl8VUULzeM4EuiQBhljJoJeh71JlLlYgc4-fE_TToPk-JLZjXL7oLBMEYN/s640/Merlins+Oak+in+leaf.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Drunkards, blaggards, ruffians, ragamuffins and cheeky little urchins revelling in a threatening manner beneath Merlin's
Oak, in leaf and clearly alive in this very early photograph, </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">presumably
taken prior to 1856.</span></div>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "times new roman" , "times";"><span style="font-size: small;">Perhaps
surprisingly the concrete base and iron railings appear to have been
in place when the tree was still in good health. However, as traffic
started to increase postcards from the 1960's show the Oak and its
base in a poor state of repair. It jutted </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "times new roman" , "times"; font-size: small;">out </span><span style="text-align: justify;">awkwardly onto the A484 a really busy road and in 1978 what remained of the
tree was deemed hazardous to traffic and was demolished. Two
fragments survive, one is in a glass case in the entrance to St.
Peter's Civic Hall. The other is at The Bishop's Palace Museum in
Abergwili, just below Merlin's Hill.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "times new roman" , "times";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "times new roman" , "times";"><span style="font-size: small;">There
was a prophecy at</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "times new roman" , "times";"><span style="font-size: small;">tached
to the Old Oak:</span></span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "times new roman" , "times";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">When
Merlin's Oak shall tumble down</span></span></span></div>
</div>
<dl>
<dd class="western" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Then
shall fall Carmarthen Town.</span></span></span></div>
</dd></dl>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"> </span>
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "times new roman" , "times";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Another
version insisted 'Then shall drown Carmarthen Town', and in 1979, the year
following the removal of Merlin's Oak, Carmarthen suffered the
worst floods in living memory.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "times new roman" , "times";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "times new roman" , "times";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "times new roman" , "times";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">The ignominious end of Merlins Oak.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "times new roman" , "times";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "times new roman" , "times";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">A little up the road from 80 Priory Street, just before you get to the Roman amphitheatre, there was a Belisha bea</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">coned </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">zebra crossing which led directly to the entrance to Parc Hinds, a playing field and a </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">rec since the late 1920's. My elder brother Stephen and </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I, and our border collie Meg played football</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> t</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">here</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, hunted for slow worms to frighten our sister Linda with, got into fights and into mischief generally. It's a steeply terraced patch of land which drops quickly down to the centre of a great horseshoe bend of the River Towy. This is the site of the 12th century Augustinian Priory of St. John the Evangelist originally founded by St. Teulyddog as a monastic settlement or <i>clas </i>in the 6th century. </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">It was here, some time before 1250, that a Welshman patiently copied poems from older manuscripts dating back to the 9th century. It was a labour of love which took many years to achieve and it is now the oldest surviving manuscript written solely in the Welsh Language... </span><i style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;">Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> 'The Black book of Carmarthen'. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
Parc Hinds. <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: justify;">Very little of the Priory remains above ground </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: justify;">now. In the row of cottages on the left you can see the original gateway entrance, part of the precinct walls also survive and runs north-east from the end of the row. It is known locally as 'Nuns Walk', which has always reminded me of Merlins virginal mother. </span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Myrddin prophesies. Remembers the future. He is not bound by time or place. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
There are three poems within the pages of the Black Book of Carmarthen which, at the least, pretend to be spoken in the vaticinatory voice of Myrddin Wyllt:<br />
<br />
<i>Yr Afallenau, </i>'The Apple Trees'<i> </i><br />
<i>Yr Oianau, '</i>The Oh's'<br />
<i>Ymyddiddan Myrddyn a Thaliesin, </i>'A Conversation between Myrddin and Taliesin'.</div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #484848;">Myrddin is named in the </span><span style="color: #484848;"><i>Ymddiddan</i></span><span style="color: #484848;">, and <i>Caerfyrddin</i> occurs in </span><span style="color: #484848;"><i>Yr Oianau. </i></span><span style="color: #484848;">In</span><span style="color: #484848;"> the </span><span style="color: #484848;"><i>Afallennau</i></span><span style="color: #484848;"> a wild man of the woods, obviously Myrddin in the mind of the Welsh scribe, addresses a magical crab apple tree, whilst in the </span><span style="color: #484848;"><i>Oianau</i></span><span style="color: #484848;"> he addresses a little pig from the boughs of his apple tree. He laments his pathetic existence, icicles in his hair, sleeplessness, loneliness, his madness and his grief. And he prophesies the fate of the Welsh against the Saxons and in future battles against the Normans, prophecies that were fulfilled during the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. </span></span></span><span style="color: #484848; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">These
prophetic stanzas were evidently composed after the events they
purport to foretell and are regarded as additions to a body of
poetry composed much earlier, probably in the ninth or tenth century.</span></div>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #484848; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The earlier verses refer to the legend of a warrior (Myrddin) who went mad
during the (historical) Battle of Arfderydd (</span><span style="color: #484848; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>ca</i></span><span style="color: #484848; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">.
573) between Rhydderch Hael, ('The Generous') and Gwenddolau, two
rival kings of Brithonic speaking tribes in the 'Old North' </span><span style="color: #484848; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Yr
Hen Gogledd, </i></span><span style="color: #484848; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">(Strathclyde). Following</span><span style="color: #484848; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">
the defeat of his lord Gwenddolau Myrddin fled to the Caledonian
Forest where he lived as a wild man and where he acquired the gift of
prophecy.</span> </span></span><span style="color: #484848; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">(paraphrasing</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"> <span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;">Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru – The National Library of Wales).</span></span><br />
<br />
To give a flavour of these ancient poems here is a sample from each of them:<br />
<br />
<i>Yr Afallenau, </i>'The Apple Trees'<i> </i><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><br /></span></span><span style="text-align: start;">Sweet appletree, growing by the river, </span><br />
<span style="text-align: start;">Who will thrive on its wondrous fruit? </span><br />
<span style="text-align: start;">When my reason was intact</span><br />
<span style="text-align: start;">I used to lie at its foot</span><br />
<span style="text-align: start;">With a fair wanton maid, of slender form.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: start;">Fifty years the plaything of lawlessness</span><br />
<span style="text-align: start;">I have wandered in gloom among spirits</span><br />
<span style="text-align: start;">After great wealth, and gregarious minstrels,</span><br />
<span style="text-align: start;">I have been here so long not even sprites</span><br />
<span style="text-align: start;">Can lead me astray. I never sleep, but tremble at the thought</span><br />
<span style="text-align: start;">Of my Lord Gwenddoleu, and my own native people.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: start;">Long have I suffered unease and longing</span><br />
<span style="text-align: start;">May I be given freedom in the end.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;">Yr Oianau, '</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">The Oh's'</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small; text-align: start;">Listen, O little pig! utter not a whisper, </span><br style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-align: start;" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small; text-align: start;">When the host of war marches from Carmarthen, </span><br style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-align: start;" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small; text-align: start;">To support, in the common cause, two whelps </span><br style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-align: start;" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small; text-align: start;">Of the line of Rhys, the stay of battle, the warlike commander of armies</span><br style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-align: start;" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small; text-align: start;">When the Saxon shall be slain in the conflict of Cymmerau,</span><br style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-align: start;" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small; text-align: start;">Blessed will be the lot of Cymry, the people of Cymrwy.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;">Ymyddiddan Myrddyn a Thaliesin, </i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">'A Conversation between Myrddin and Taliesin'.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><br /></span></span>
<b style="text-align: start;"><i>Taliesin:</i></b><br />
<span style="text-align: start;">The seven sons of Eliffer, seven heroes,</span><br />
<span style="text-align: start;">Will fail to avoid seven spears in the battle. </span><br />
<br style="text-align: start;" />
<b style="text-align: start;"><i>Myrddin:</i></b><br />
<span style="text-align: start;">Seven fires, seven armies,</span><br />
<span style="text-align: start;">Cynvelyn in every seventh place. </span><br />
<br style="text-align: start;" />
<b style="text-align: start;"><i>Taliesin:</i></b><br />
<span style="text-align: start;">Seven spears, seven rivers of blood</span><br />
<span style="text-align: start;">From seven chieftains, fallen. </span><br />
<br style="text-align: start;" />
<b style="text-align: start;"><i>Myrddin:</i></b><br />
<span style="text-align: start;">Seven score heroes, maddened by battle,</span><br />
<span style="text-align: start;">To the forest of Celyddon they fled.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: start;">Since I Myrddin, am second only to Taliesin,</span><br />
<span style="text-align: start;">Let my words be heard as truth. </span><br />
<span style="text-align: start;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: start;">Translations are by Skene from The Four Ancient Books of Wales. Full versions in English and in Middle Welsh can be found here: https://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/index.html. Better translations can be found in 'The Black Book of Carmarthen' by Meirion Pennar.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: left;">Llanerch Press; Reprint edition (1 Aug. 1989). The entire original manuscript has now been digitised and can be found on the National Library of Wales website.</span></span><br />
<div class="western">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihXl2Bei_T18kWNDNlv19bnb2CHotk7HCLblX3CFzPqToCUsQh7qc4IO2gKVJl4Eji9596-_4u5hEuC2z-GkPUNmhMgzcs1uEiraiux0U9_GHpsC7t0VHlNYuOlQSmlKbt9pK_aP2eRIqd/s1600/Speed_Carmarthen_insert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="583" data-original-width="754" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihXl2Bei_T18kWNDNlv19bnb2CHotk7HCLblX3CFzPqToCUsQh7qc4IO2gKVJl4Eji9596-_4u5hEuC2z-GkPUNmhMgzcs1uEiraiux0U9_GHpsC7t0VHlNYuOlQSmlKbt9pK_aP2eRIqd/s640/Speed_Carmarthen_insert.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">John Speeds 1612 map of Carmarthen </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 17.3333px; text-align: left;">depicting</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> the Old Town with the Priory </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 17.3333px; text-align: left;">top left</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13pt; text-align: left;"> and St. Peters just below it to the right, and the New Town surrounded by the defensive medieval walls</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: left;"> built in the 1230's.</span></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">We
lived on Priory Street for perhaps two years and I recall some happy
memories from this time but not many, I missed my little brother, we all did. My
elder brother and sister had both moved up to Ystrad Tywi County High
School whilst I was still at The Model Junior School. With my
Yorkshire accent I was an easy target for bullies and was daily
picked on, 'English pig' was a phrase I got used to. One day I'd decided I'd had enough and started fighting
back and eventually the bullying stopped, I'm friends with some of
those same boys almost fifty years on, though I rarely see them these
days. Home life was pretty miserable with my brother Jeffreys death
still looming large. My Mum was grieving for the loss of her
beautiful, funny, blonde haired, twinkly blue-eyed son Jeffrey. Carmarthen was still new to her, and like me, she suffered from an
anti-English discrimination from some quarters. But she was (and
remains) a determined woman and managed to feed and clothe the three
of us more than well enough. My Dad, who worked as a painter and
decorator then, was grieving also but he dealt with his grief in an
altogether different manner. He would often come home drunk after
work now and rows between he and Mum became frequent occurrences. One
night he had come home very drunk and the usual fight had ensued, it
started in the front room and moved through the house until it ended
up in the back yard. It was dark and the three of us were upstairs in
one of the bedrooms so we couldn't see what was happening though we
could hear. The shouting match turned into a tussle, Mum pushed Dad
away, he fell backwards and suddenly there was a loud metallic crash
as the bins went over. Then it all went quiet. </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Mum
told us later that he had lain motionless amongst the fallen bins and
the rubbish and she feared she had killed him. </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Long
minutes passed before eventually we could hear our Dad
groaning.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Finally,
we heard him calling Mums name who had retreated in shock to the
kitchen. “June”, he groaned, “Last fag before die”, he said.
I cannot recall now my Mum's response but I don't think it was polite.
He lived.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyaQjzHvGS1c-yJlwrt25bV8WGLacXI4yoCq59dbeXwPdg9BskLhrh1XeN1bMbAi4EDIlUha-rI2WPPu8eavqbuddN4OL10LGZavnKYfzIDzP6kIDq0S0Lmo3ZwLOOyBOatkJxICRr9P6/s1600/Maridunum+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="1111" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyaQjzHvGS1c-yJlwrt25bV8WGLacXI4yoCq59dbeXwPdg9BskLhrh1XeN1bMbAi4EDIlUha-rI2WPPu8eavqbuddN4OL10LGZavnKYfzIDzP6kIDq0S0Lmo3ZwLOOyBOatkJxICRr9P6/s640/Maridunum+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">The approximate limits of the Roman walls of the Old Town, and some of the places referred to in the text.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">That
incident was the final straw for my Mum and a few days later after
Dad had gone to work she gathered the three of us together in the
front room, sat us down and relayed to us what she had in mind for
the future. She told us that she wanted to leave Dad, to leave
Carmarthen, to go back north to Yorkshire. But she couldn't leave us.
How did we feel about going back to Yorkshire? Stephen and I assented
readily, Linda, who had made friends, seemed hesitant at first but in
the end we all agreed on this course of action.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">So
the four of us planned and prepared in secret for what we came to
think of as The Great Escape. Cases were gradually packed with our
personal essential and favourite things, we had to make difficult
decisions as to what to leave behind, we hid the cases under Linda's
bed. Outwardly, we carried on with life as normal, we went to school,
Mum went to work as a waitress. Arrangements were made in Yorkshire
by my Mums sister, Auntie Isobel, for a place where we could live in
Luddenden village. Then a problem arose, the train leaving Carmarthen
for a route to Hebden Bridge, (the nearest station to Luddenden) was
no longer passenger carrying but was now freight only as far as
Llandeilo, fifteen miles away, and we had our bikes and our border
collie Meg to take in to account. Mum hatched a plan for that. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">After
some weeks the day came when the denouement to all our secret
planning was to be put in to action. The timing had to be perfect.
That morning we all said a cheery goodbye to Dad as he left for work,
too cheerily Mum thought, then we waited for fifteen minutes just in
case he'd forgotten something and came back unexpectedly. Mum had
arranged for the three bikes to be taken by freight train directly to
Hebden Bridge but we had to get them to Carmarthen Railway Station
first, three quarters of a mile away. That was Linda and Stephen's
awkward task, Stephen had the worst of it, having to ride his bike
and guide mine by the handlebars at the same time, they had to “get there quick and
get back quicker”, said Mum. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small; text-align: start;">
</span></span></span>
<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Mum
and I had our own tasks, we carefully packed crockery and cutlery, and
treasured photographs, brought the hidden cases downstairs and stowed
the remainder of our belongings including a few more of my books,
keeping everything to a minimum. Then we waited anxiously for Linda
and Stephen to return, Mum said Meg knew there was something going
on she seemed as nervous as we were. There was an urgent knocking at
the front door, it was my brother and sister both out of breath.
Then Mum called a family friend, a taxi driver who was aware of our
plan and had who been sworn to secrecy, he arrived in a big car a quarter
of an hour later. We put the cases and bags in the boot, Mum got in
the front seat and the three of us with Meg got in the back seat.
Minutes later we were on our way to Llandeilo to catch the only train
that day that would take us back North, back to Yorkshire and
Luddenden. And that was The Great Escape.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The four of us and Meg moved in to a small </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">terraced,</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">two up two down,</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> stone built cottage in Luddenden village. It was a short walk away from my old junior school which I had attended three years earlier. Those years in Carmarthen had softened my previously broad Yorkshire accent and I now spoke with something of a Welsh lilt. Cue bullying once more, I got used to a new taunt, 'Welsh pig!'. There was one kid, Adrian Goodall was his name, who wanted to fight me. He was older and much bigger than me, he always seemed to be angry about something or other. One day he confronted me in the small tarmacked playground. I didn't want to fight but didn't want to back down either, so the other children formed a square around us. He stood red faced, pawing the ground and snorting like a bull about ten feet in front of me. Suddenly he charged full pelt towards me and dived as if to crush me in a bear hug, I side stepped, he grabbed thin air and came down on the tarmac on his head. I walked calmly to the place where he had been standing and turned to meet him a second time. He got up bloody fuming, redder then ever, a graze down one side of his face. He charged again, I side stepped again, he hit the tarmac again. I walked back to my starting position, turned and waited. He got off the floor, a new graze on his forehead, a bruise forming above his cheek, tears welling in his eyes, mad as hell. He charged me again with the same result and that was enough, his friends surrounded him, helped him up and tried to calm him down. I walked away back to the classroom totally unscathed, he looked like he'd gone five rounds with Joe Bugner, I hadn't laid a glove on him. The taunts didn't cease entirely after that incident but at least nobody else wanted to fight me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQyPCL9fIORN11ULrFDnGwsPCb52LxQfmX1CquyLZuwQY6stVRjQt2zq4Oj4YdZSHaS5ySJgm4h21ZNkIOVQesyrdayiGBC06GrTii87p8eWmF_67FGtKpKauKybWqUb3E4Fyc1E-a1Rlm/s1600/Luddenden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQyPCL9fIORN11ULrFDnGwsPCb52LxQfmX1CquyLZuwQY6stVRjQt2zq4Oj4YdZSHaS5ySJgm4h21ZNkIOVQesyrdayiGBC06GrTii87p8eWmF_67FGtKpKauKybWqUb3E4Fyc1E-a1Rlm/s640/Luddenden.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
The beautiful Luddenden valley.</div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Before I left junior school, then, I had experienced bullying and opprobrium for being both an 'English pig' and a 'Welsh pig'. This didn't help my sense of identity, instead it had fuelled a growing anxiety, a crushing sense of non-belonging. These experiences and the death of my brother, my father's aggression towards my Mum and also towards</span> me, (which I haven't touched on here as yet) and the break up of my family had become utterly disorienting. The result was that at twelve years old I had entered into a</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">period of</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> internal turmoil, a miasma of grief, madness and isolation which culminated in what I now believe was a mental breakdown. One night I had cried uncontrollably for hours, I felt that I would never stop crying. Mum had had to call the doctor out. I recall the doctor asking me what my name was, I could not remember that it was Davies, when I tried there was a blank space where that name should have been. I hated the inherited nickname Toffee and had rejected that also, it too belonged to my Dad. Medication and my Mums love and attention gradually helped me to recover, though I don't remember much of this period of my life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Despite all of this instability I did well academically at Luddenden Junior School. T</span>he West
Riding of Yorkshire didn't have the eleven-plus but instead had a different system known as the ‘Thorne scheme’. This was
a means of allocating grammar school places to the ablest primary
school children on the basis of teachers’ recommendations. Four pupils from our school could be nominated to the scheme, I was one of them. We four spent, if I remember correctly, three days at Halifax Grammar School being tested on all sorts of subjects and activities. I was to learn later that summer that I had been allocated a place in the highest form of the Grammar School. Though as it transpired this was not to be.<br />
<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Before
the school summer holidays of 1973, my Dad had travelled up from
Carmarthen to Halifax by train and had then waited in a taxi outside the gates of Calder High Comprehensive, where my
brother and sister went to school. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">Dad and Linda, who hadn't really wanted to leave Wales, </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">had secretly arranged
to meet and, as I understand it, Linda then went willingly with my Dad back to Carmarthen.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">During
those summer holidays, some time in early August my brother Stephen
and I were trying to master the art of skateboarding (a new craze
then) on the sloping paths in front of Auntie Isobels flat on Kershaw
Crescent in Luddendenfoot. Stephen was pretty good, I was hopeless,
it was great fun. I noticed Mum and Auntie Isobel watching us through
the window of the third floor flat. A taxi pulled up and a bearded
stranger, wearing dark sunglasses got out of the taxi and walked over to us. “Do you know
where your mother is?”, he asked us. We pointed up to the window
where now only Auntie Isobel was watching. He walked towards the
ground floor entrance and went inside. Stephen and I looked at each
other with growing realisation, the bearded stranger was our Dad. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Three
days later Mum and Dad had become reconciled and shortly after that
we moved back to Carmarthen, back to Merlin's Town, where we were now
re-united as a family at 31 Sycamore Way on the Wauniago Estate.</span></div>
<br />
Despite being allocated a place at Grammar school in Halifax, Carmarthenshire Education Authority did not recognise the result I had achieved on the Thorne Scheme there. I was forced to sit the Eleven-plus exam alone, in a small dark room in the Model School with only Mr Walters the Headmaster, acting as invigilator, for company. I was ill prepared, the curriculum here was different and I had no opportunity to take a mock exam, it seemed very unfair. The result was a place in the 'A stream' at Ystrad Tywi County High. So I started my secondary education there in September of 1973. There was one way in which I was grateful for that...there were no girls at Carmarthen Grammar School for Boys.<br />
<br />
During these turbulent early years my interest in Merlin/Myrddin had grown and now on my return from the North to Carmarthen I began to pursue this interest with a renewed vigour. Some years earlier Grandpa had given me a copy of Lewis Thorpe's translation of The History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth (completed 1136). It purports to be a 2,000 year history of Britain from its founding by Brutus through to the Saxon invasion in the 5th century. The 'History' is most famous for its portrayal of King Arthur as an all conquering emperor and for the subsequent all pervasive influence it had on Arthurian literature thereafter. But to my mind the dominant <i>character </i>in the 'History' was Merlin.<br />
<br />
The episode containing the discovery of 'the boy without a father' playing football before the gates of Carmarthen was especially fascinating to me. I identified entirely with this image of the young Merlin, as I too had played football at about the same age before those same gates. I imagined that the argument between Dinabutius and Merlin had taken place in the Ampitheatre, where Vortigern's men had sat down 'in a ring' to watch the game. The position of the 'gates', the eastern entrance to Roman Carmarthen, Maridunum, was now marked by Merlin's Oak. I constructed a mental image of this entrance too. I was struck by the seeming authenticity of Geoffrey's description of post-roman Carmarthen and I believe Geoffrey must have visited Carmarthen or at the least had seen or heard of a first hand description of it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPfb1tTW-ISaNor0nyiPbULmtA6pCY87dC-mc6vPqkc3mjgL88A_NIxmflbk_fqdAbcGfRwzmn5iRzYc0pgWI5bi_u7mqCsQIrgY2eN6sxCSH63hdbbjOkCyuLOSyd9C9L4N01O2hBRGu4/s1600/BeingRoman+Moridunum++Roman+Carmarthen+in+the+3rd+century.+Drawing+by+N.Ludlow..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="659" data-original-width="564" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPfb1tTW-ISaNor0nyiPbULmtA6pCY87dC-mc6vPqkc3mjgL88A_NIxmflbk_fqdAbcGfRwzmn5iRzYc0pgWI5bi_u7mqCsQIrgY2eN6sxCSH63hdbbjOkCyuLOSyd9C9L4N01O2hBRGu4/s640/BeingRoman+Moridunum++Roman+Carmarthen+in+the+3rd+century.+Drawing+by+N.Ludlow..jpg" width="546" /></a></div>
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Moridunum, Roman Carmarthen and the Amphitheatre in the 3rd century. Drawing by N. Ludlow.</div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Some remains of the roman town were still evident in Geoffrey's time as Giraldus Cambrensis bore witness to some 50 years later when he visited the old town. He mentions Carmarthen in his 'Journey' thus:</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Caermardyn signifies the city of Merlin, because, according to the British History, he was there said to have been begotten of an incubus.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">This ancient city is situated on the banks of the noble river Tywy, surrounded by woods and pastures, and was strongly inclosed with walls of brick, part of which are still standing.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">To be continued...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13pt;">Engraving by Thomas Pennant showing Carmarthen Castle above the River Towy and the Old Bridge (1781). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13pt;">The Bell tower of St. Peters Church can be seen peeping over the castle wall towards the right. At bottom right can be seen the remains of the Priory. Later that same year these ancient buildings were demolished and the site cleared by Lord Cawdor to make way for his lead smelting works. Behind the Priory the faintly drawn but distinct profile of Merlins Hill, Bryn Myrddin appears, though it is not possible to </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 17.3333px;">view it so f</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13pt;">rom this vantage point. Artistic licence is here at play with a nod to the Merlinic connection between the Priory and the Iron Age Hillfort.</span><br />
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Myrddin's Carmarthen</div>
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Landscape and river of Stonehenge</div>
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And the landscape and river at Carmarthen</div>
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St. Peters to Bryn Myrddin. Aug 12th Sunrise</div>
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Stonehenge to Woodhenge. August 1st Sunrise</div>
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Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-54213843001151695312020-04-06T04:35:00.003-07:002020-10-15T10:17:27.812-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-48002762353573230882020-01-31T00:16:00.002-08:002020-05-27T01:32:20.340-07:00<div class="main-outer" style="border-top: 0px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); color: #222222; min-height: 0px; position: relative;">
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Supernova of 1006.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Part II: The Twrch Trwyth Constellations</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">Fig iiii. The Claws, the Sting and the Legs resting between the two ears of The Beast.<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote45sym" name="sdfootnote45anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>45</sup></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I have argued that the author of <i>Culhwch</i> considered that the giant boar which Dillus 'singes' over his fire is to be identified with the constellation <i>Therion, </i>I now want to demonstrate that this celestial boar, the constellation <i>Therion, </i>which contains<i> </i>the site of SN1006, is <i>also</i> supposed to be, in the scheme of the author of 'Culhwch and Olwen', the mythical giant boar <i>Twrch Trwyth.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">Arthur tells us that the '<i>meaning'</i> of Twrch Trwyth was that 'He was a king,<i> </i>and for his wickedness God transformed him into a swine'.'<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote46sym" name="sdfootnote46anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>46</sup></a> It is hard not to be reminded of the story of Lycaon the king of Arcadia who, for his sins, Jupiter transformed into a wolf, hence modern Lupus.<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote47sym" name="sdfootnote47anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>47</sup></a> This tale and its connection with the constellation Therion/Lupus may be much older than is generally supposed, maybe as old as the late Roman period.<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote48sym" name="sdfootnote48anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>48</sup></a> Thus the tale of the transformation of Lycaon into the Wolf constellation could have entered the 'Celtic Insular' learned tradition from an early period. Might it have influenced this Welsh tale?<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote49sym" name="sdfootnote49anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>49</sup></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Whatever the answer, I think that the author of <i>Culhwch</i> was referring to the constellation Scorpius, which lies immedeately above <i>Therion</i>, when he described the Razor, the Scissors and the Comb which lay between the two ears of the Twrch Trwyth. I think that these 'precious objects' correspond thus: the Sting = the Razor, the Claws = the Scissors and the Comb = the Legs. These last, the Legs of Scorpius, lay between the two ears of <i>Therion, </i>which I have just identified as the giant boar being 'singed' by Dillus the Horseman or otherwise Centaurus.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Scorpius, was always considered as a single constellation, but the various parts - claws, head, body, tail and sting etc. - have from very early times been accorded special recognition, the Claws in particular recieved much attention, but it was 'the Romans (who) finally distinguished the Claws as a separate constellation to which they gave the name Libra ("balance")' which they depicted as two pans, in place of the claws, dissected by the ecliptic.<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote50sym" name="sdfootnote50anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>50</sup></a> So it is easy to see how the Claws can become scissors, it's such a natural analogy, likewise the Scorpion's many legs between the two ears of the Beast may instantly be understood as a comb, and the sting in the tail of the Scorpion as a visual metaphor for the razor is matched in the shape of the tusk of Yskythrwyn Penbaedd, the razor originally demanded by Yspyddaden Pencawr for his 'shave'. In other words these are clever and humourous visual puns, naturally arrived at; but it is a thin disguise, designed to reveal, ultimately, the author's barely concealed agenda.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Menw son of the Three Shouts and Gwrhyr Interpreter of Languages</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Fig v. The Little Bird above the lair of the Beast with </span><span style="line-height: 13.2px;">Claws, the Sting and the Legs between his two Ears.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Following the hunt for the Chief Boar Yskythrwyn,<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote51sym" name="sdfootnote51anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>51</sup></a> Arthur sends his servant Menw vab Teirgwaedd to the lair of Twrch Trwyth in Esgair Oervel to see if the comb, scissors and razor are between the ears of the beast; but as far as the narrative is concerned the episode is utterly without point, as the author himself acknowledges, for it is already known that this is the case. The question must be: For what reason does the author include this redundant episode?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Both Hyginus and (pseudo) Eratosthenes recorded the same tale for the origin of Corvus. In both texts the constellations Corvus, Crater and Hydra are placed under a single heading (they are often described as a super-constellation). Here is the version from the <i>Catasterismi</i>:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">This constellation is well-known from a famous episode.<i> </i>Each god has a bird as an attribute, and the crow is the attribute of Apollo. Once, when the gods were preparing a sacrifice, the crow was sent to bring a libation from a certain spring which was considered most sacred before wine was invented. Seeing a fig tree with unripe fruit near the spring, the crow waited until the figs were ripe. After a number of days, the crow ate the ripe figs, then realized his misdeed, <i>snatching up the water-snake from the spring, the crow brought it back, along with the water-cup, </i>alleging that the water-snake had daily been consuming the water from the spring. Apollo, however, knowing the truth,<i> imposed on the crow the punishment of thirsting among men for a long period of time... </i><i>In order to provide a clear warning about sinning against the gods</i>, Apollo placed among the stars the image of the Water-Snake [Hydra], the Water-Cup [Crater] and the Crow [Corvus], and <i>depicted</i> the latter as if prevented from drinking or approaching the Water-Cup. (Hyginus has: '<i>The Crow appears to be shaking Hydra's tail with his beak</i>, in order to gain access to the Water-cup').<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote52sym" name="sdfootnote52anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>52</sup></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Compare this to the episode in Culhwch and Olwen which describes the visit of Menw ap Tiergwaedd to the lair of the Twrch Trwyth :</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">And after Yskithyrwyn Penbaedd was killed, Arthur and his host departed to Gelli Wic in Cornwall. And thence he sent Menw the son of Teirgwaedd to see if the precious things were between the two ears of Twrch Trwyth, since it were useless to encounter him if they were not there. Albeit it was certain where he was, for he had laid waste the third part of Ireland. And Menw went to seek for him, and he met with him in Ireland, in Esgeir Oervel. <i>And Menw took the form of a bird</i>;<i> and he descended upon the top of his lair,</i> <i>and strove to snatch away one of the precious things from him,</i><i>but he carried away nothing but one of his bristles</i>. And the boar rose up angrily and shook himself so that some of his venom fell upon Menw, <i>and he was never well from that day forward</i>.<sup><a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote53sym" name="sdfootnote53anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">53</a></sup></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Fig vi. Corvus and Hydra. '...but all he got was one of his bristles'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The same motifs are present in both tales: Apollo/Arthur sends the crow/his servant on an errand.<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote54sym" name="sdfootnote54anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>54</sup></a> Though it wasn't part of his original task, the crow/little bird snatches up the sinuous body of the water-snake/the boar's bristle. The little crow was punished – his throat was made sore/he was never well from that day forward. Note too that the motif of transformation as a punishment for sinning against the gods or God is also present in both tales. It looks to me as if the Welsh author is testing, and jesting with, his readers; he is comparing the huge serpent Hydra, in Corvus the Crow's beak, to one of the bristles of the enormous boar Twrch Trwyth which Menw, in bird form, holds in his beak. This is a visual pun, comically exaggerating the boar's great size, (Hydra is the most extended of all the constellations) measured against this 'little' bird constellation of only seven stars.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Earlier in the tale, in the 'catalogue of the court', an apparantly non-sensical characacter called Medyr vab Methredydd (Aim son of Aimer) is invoked by Culhwch where it is noted of him (in the voice of the author) that 'from Gelli Wic he could, in the twinkling of an eye, shoot the wren through the two legs upon Esgeir Oervel in Ireland'. Is there a suggestion here that the author is hinting that the bird form which Menw adopted on his visit to Esgeir Oervel was that of the wren, the tiniest of birds?<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote55sym" name="sdfootnote55anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>55</sup></a> In fact the English word 'wren' comes from <i>vran </i>or<i> bran, </i>Welsh for crow or raven and the wren is known in Welsh as <i>cutti vran</i> meaning<i> </i>'little crow', which corresponds with the name Menw vab Teirgwaedd - Little son of Three Cries (Caw! Caw! Caw!) fairly precisely. It may also be intended as another joke.<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote56sym" name="sdfootnote56anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>56</sup></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="en-GB">The answer to the question, 'For what reason does the author include this redundent episode?', posed at the begining of this section therefore is, that our author wanted to describe an image which could be fixed in the mind. Having already drawn for us images of </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>a great fire (SN1006) on the horizon far to the south, where Dillus the Horseman (Centaurus) is singeing a wild boar (Therion),</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="en-GB">and above this t</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>he Maiden (Virgo) in her father the healer's house (Ophiuchus) </i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="en-GB">he now wishes to extend this ensemble and not without humour, to include: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>A giant boar (Therion) with a razor, scissors and comb (Scorpius) between his two ears and above him a tiny bird (Corvus) with an enormous bristle (Hydra) in its beak.</i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">Fig vii. 'if you can speak, I'm asking one of you to come and talk to Arthur'.<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote57sym" name="sdfootnote57anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>57</sup></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A little further on a 'doublet' of this episode occurs. Arthur sent Gwrhyr Gwalstawd Ieithoedd (Interpreter of Languages) to try and talk to Twrch Trwyth. Gwrhyr, like Menw son of Three Shouts, had the ability to turn himself into a bird. So now the author wants us to imagine a talking bird, in other words a Corvid, above the lair of the beast with the razor, scissors and comb between its ears. But there are several other hints, which strongly suggest that we are here dealing with 'star lore':</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">Gwrhyr went in the shape of a bird, and settled above the lair of the boar and his seven little pigs. And Gwrhyr Gwalstawd Ieithoedd asked him, 'For the sake of him who shaped you in this image, if you can speak, I'm asking one of you to come and talk to Arthur'. Grugyn Gwrych Eraint (silver-bristles) answered; All his bristles were like wings of silver, and one could see the path he took through the woods and over fields by the way his bristles glittered.<i><a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote58sym" name="sdfootnote58anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>58</sup></a></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Hygwydd, the Cauldron, the Smoke and the Ship</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Fig viii. Hydra carrying the Cauldron, (smoke rising beneath it) on his back to the ship Argo.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Our author now wishes to further extend this complex series of images to include several more constellations. He does so, by slightly altering our focus westward, with the episode which follows immediately on from Menw's adventure in Esgair Oervel, and in which Arthur begins his campaign to acquire the cauldron of Diwrnach the Irishman. So, having asked for the cauldron and been denied it twice, Bedwyr decides to take matters into his own hands:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Bedwyr stood up, took hold of the cauldron, and placed it on the back of Hygwydd, Arthur's servant. The latter was a brother by the same mother to Cacamwri, servant of Arthur. This was his regular job: to carry Arthur's Cauldron, and to build a fire under it...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">Arthur and his men took the cauldron - full of Irish treasures - and entered the ship before their very eyes. They disembarked at the house of Llwydeu son of Cel Coed at <b>Porth Cerddin in Dyfed. And "Cauldrons Measure"is there</b>.<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote59sym" name="sdfootnote59anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>59</sup></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">Now, the boar's bristle, <b>Hydra</b>, becomes <b>Hygwydd</b>, the cauldron stands for Crater, the ship Prydwen is meant for the ship Argo and the fire kindled beneath the Cauldron is the 'smoke', actually another visual pun on the spray from the Clashing Rocks, into which the Argo sails. Compare also Hyginus' tale for the origin of Crater, which is in the same section as the origin tales for Corvus and Hydra: When the king ... 'discovered what had happened...he ordered that Mastusius be thrown into the sea, along with the wine-jar. For that reason the sea into which he was thrown was called Mastusian in his memory,<b> and the port is to this day called Crater [“wine-jar”]. </b>The ancient astronomers configured it among the stars...' <a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote60sym" name="sdfootnote60anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>60</sup></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Dunking Twrch Trwyth in Severn.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The events which occur in the Severn Estuary are described in fine detail:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">And first they laid hold of his feet, and soused him in Severn till it was flooding over him. On the one side Mabon son of Modron spurred his horse and took the razor from him, and on the other Cyledyr the Wild, on another horse, plunged into the Severn with him and took from him the shears.<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote61sym" name="sdfootnote61anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>61</sup></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">These events correspond with breathtaking precision to the following tableau of constellations: The holding of Therion by the leg and his dunking in the Celestial River, (Via Lactea). Attacking on the one side is the Horseman Sagittarius who is nearest to the sting (the razor). On the other side, the attacker is another 'wild' Horseman, (Centaurus) plunging into the Celestial River, and nearest the Claws (the shears). The quantity and complexity of pictorial correspondences here would be remarkable if it was down to sheer coincidence alone, but for me it is obvious that this episode is a word picture describing the classical celestial imagery similar to that in fig viiii.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Fig viiii. The two 'Wild Horsemen' either side of The Woodland Beast with the claws, legs and sting between his ears, who is being held by the leg and 'dunked' in the Celestial River</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Conclusion</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I think that the author of <i>Culhwch ac Olwen </i>was in possession of a first-hand account of the first appearance, at about midnight on the Calends of May, 1006 of the brightest of all Supernovas. He sought further information regarding the position of this heavenly portent of the 'End of Days' in manuscripts on astronomy, and was subsequently influenced by several staple texts in both Greek and Latin, known or suspected to have been in circulation in Wales amongst learned ecclesiasts during the period which most experts assign to the composition of <i>Culhwch ac Olwen.</i> What I have in mind are: the <i>Catastersmi </i>or The Constellations by pseudo Eratosthenes<i>,</i> the <i>Poeticon Astronomicon</i> or <i>Astronomia </i>and the <i>Fabulae </i>by Hyginus, the <i>Phaenomena</i> by Aratus of Soli,<i>The Dream of Scipio</i> by Cicero and <i>The Commentary</i> on it by Macrobius, and, just possibly, the<i>Bibliotheke </i>(The Library of Greek Myth) by (pseudo) Apollodorus.<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote62sym" name="sdfootnote62anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>62</sup></a> He must also have had access to Ptolemaic constellation charts for the Northern and Southern celestial hemispheres, such as the <i>Aratea </i>which traditionally accompanied these texts<i> </i>and which were circulating north western Europe from the earliest medieval times. None of this material would have been out of place in the libraries and the <i>scriptoria</i> of 11<sup>th</sup> century Welsh monastic settlements or <i>clasau</i>, such as Llancarfan and Llanbadarn Fawr,<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote63sym" name="sdfootnote63anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>63</sup></a> where Astronomy was taught as part of the Quadrivium, and where manuscripts on Astronomy were not just kept but also copied and produced. In short, if it was the aim of the author of 'Culhwch and Olwen' to encode information on the celestial site of SN1006 into his tale, then he would have found the relevant material to hand and was, in any case, already familiar with it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">Plumlumon, at 52<span style="font-family: Symbol;">°</span>25’N - the most northerly limit for the visibility of SN1006 - was one of the few places in Britain where the supernova might have been clearly seen, as it provided an elevated, uninterupted, dark sky view of the southern horizon.<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote64sym" name="sdfootnote64anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>64</sup></a> The description of Dillus the Horseman’s campfire ‘far away to the south’ is, I suggest, based on an eye witness account of the upper limb of the apparent ‘disc’ of the supernova, (‘two and a half to three times that of Venus’ and 250 times more bright than the brightest star Sirius) dissected by the southern horizon. It is possible that the original observer was a monk based at the nearby monastic settlement of Llanbadarn Fawr, (just 12 miles distant) where observing the stars to determine the dates of feast days and the times of prayer must have been habitual.<sup><a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote65sym" name="sdfootnote65anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">65</a></sup></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The author of <i>Culhwch ac Olwen</i>, whatever else was on his agenda, was purposefully ’encoding’ an observed astronomical phenomena into his narrative. The image he gives of Dillus the Horseman singeing a wild boar over a fire is transparently an image of Pholus the Horseman singeing a wild boar over a fire, otherwise known as the constellations Centaurus, Therion and Ara. He accurately gives the celestial position of these constellations as being in the south. He uses pit digging and pressing down as a metaphor for the precessional motion of these constellations and he draws our attention to an epoch when the Horseman (Centaurus) was buried up to his neck in the Earth, precisely the position of these constellations at the time of the supernova of 1006.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The episode of the acquisition of Dillus’ beard which is used to make the (braided horse-hair) leash</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">to hold Drudwyn the whelp of Greid (Scorcher) son of Eri<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote66sym" name="sdfootnote66anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>66</sup></a> is obviously linked to the episode immediately following where, instead of the promised quest for Drudwyn, the author has placed a story which ends with a fight every May the First until Judgement Day. He thus provides the precise date of the first appearance of SN1006 and then tellingly associates this date with an apocalyptic reference, echoing the almost universal millennial reaction to the sudden intrusion of this new blazing star into the sky<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote67sym" name="sdfootnote67anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>67</sup></a> The inclusion in this tale also of the British figures Creiddylad and Lludd Llaw Ereint, whose Greek counterparts Kore and Asclepius just happen to be represented as the constellations Virgo and Ophiuchus reinforces this assessment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In Part II I have presented a selection of incidents, (space does not allow a full rehearsal) from the 'Achievements' which corroborate and provide weight to the above conclusions. But there are more examples, for instance:<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman Greek", serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> The Twrch Trwyth diving into the sea from the southernmost point of the British Isles and his mysterious disappearance into the southern horizon is really the gradual disappearance of Therion into the southern horizon due to precessional motion. And, Arthur (Phoebus Apollo - the Sun) at the entrance to </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman Greek", serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Uffern (</i></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman Greek", serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">the Infernal Regions of Dis), throwing Carnwennen – 'little white knife' (the Ecliptic or possibly Mars) and splitting the witch into two tubs (Libra).<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote68sym" name="sdfootnote68anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>68</sup></a></span></span> There is also a sizeable list of the names of major characters which correspond closely with the constellations near to SN1006: <span style="font-size: xx-small;">Dillus the Horseman –</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman Greek", serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Φόλος</span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> the Horseman . Drudwyn or Fierce/Bright hound of Scorcher son of Eri – Scorcher hound of Orion. Kreiddylat – Kore/Virgo. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman Greek", serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Yskythrwyn – </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman Greek", serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">ΎςΚαλυδωίος (The Caledonian boar - </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman Greek", serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Therion?</i></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman Greek", serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">). Little son of Three Shouts – the little Crow (Corvus). Hygwydd – Hydra. Osla Big-Knife – Orion (Osiris) and his Sword, not to be exhaustive. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">T</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="zxx">he evidence suggests that the Welsh Author's motive was to encode into his narrative both the celestial and the temporal position of the potentially apocalyptic event of the sudden appearance of</span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="zxx">the brightest star ever seen,</span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="zxx"> on the southern Welsh horizon on May 1</span></span><sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="zxx">st</span></span></sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="zxx"> 1006 and it is worth quoting here the views of Mark Williams once more regarding the occurence of unusual celestial portents in early medieval Irish saga, but which I think applies equally well to this early Welsh prose tale:</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">...the embedding of expected celestial portents or events within a narrative seems on occassion to have prompted the annalists to set their own </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>actual</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> observations within a narrative framework, turning records of comets, eclipses and unusual meteorological phenomena into fantastical miniature stories. But the annalists seem to have gone a stage further, and begun to recast these apocalyptic miniature stories in Irish terms, with echoes of native mythology...this tendency to disguise celestial portents which are actually apocalyptic under a native cloak is more widespread than has been acknowledged, and that the imagery of apocalyptic celestial portents can also be found in native saga.<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote69sym" name="sdfootnote69anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>69</sup></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">In Wales, as in Ireland, the recording of unusual celestial events was a feature of annalistic entries over a prolonged period and the following was recorded in the <i>Brut y Tywysogion:</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">A.D. 1030.—A wonderful light was seen in the sky during the night, which rendered it as light as day. That year Joseph, bishop of Teilaw, ordered that no work or occupation should take place on the Sundays and holidays, and obliged the priests to learn to read the Holy Scripture without payment or gift, and to abandon controversies.<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote70sym" name="sdfootnote70anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>70</sup></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Perhaps surprisingly, there are no entries for 1006 or 1054, even though SN1054 was indisputably visible from Welsh latitudes. However, this particular entry is curious, and one could speculate that it may represent a later attempt to make obscure the entries for 1006 and 1054.<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote71sym" name="sdfootnote71anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>71</sup></a> There was, of course, a well known eclipse on August 1</span><sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">st</span></sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> 1030, (partial in Wales) but I can find no other records for a supernova or a comet from this year, or anywhere near it </span><strong><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The movement of the North geomagnetic pole had caused the auroral oval to be far from Britain during the early eleventh century, making it highly unlikely that this is a record of the Aurora Borealis. I</span></span></strong><span style="font-size: xx-small;">t may not be coincidental that the year 1030 is precisely mid-way between 1006 and 1054.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="zxx">Finally, I think that the record of SN1006 in </span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Culhwch and Olwen</i></span></span> probably started life in an annalistic context soon after the event, in its simplest form it may have read: <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>A great smoke far towards the south, like a giants campfire, between the Horseman and the Beast was seen from Plimlumon Top</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">. This would r</span>eflect the widespread practice of astronomical observation in British, Irish and European monastic communities in expectation of the cosmic portents of Doomsday.<a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote72sym" name="sdfootnote72anc" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><sup>72</sup></a>But like the supernova of 1054 and the comet of 1066 it did not presage the 'End of Days', and the obscuration of the Ros Ela entry for 1054 in the Irish records is, Breen and McCarthy suggest, a somewhat later reaction to the (embarrassing) failure of these apocalyptic predictions in 'Revelations' and in later apocryphal works, to materialize. I<span style="font-size: xx-small;">n </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Culhwch and Olwen</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> someone undertook to preserve the record of SN1006 outside of an annalistic context, where, just as in the Ros Ela example,</span> the apocalyptic material and the astronomy are covertly or cryptically presented, '<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="zxx">under a native cloak',</span></span> but here, in at least seventeen sequential episodes and parading as fantastical prose.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Notes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote1anc" name="sdfootnote1sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">1</a> This image is from Mercator's celestial globe of 1551. Celestial globes show the constellations as if seen from God's eye-view. Mercator has labelled these Constellations as Centaurus Chiron and Fera Lupus, but elsewhere they are known as Pholus (<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman Greek", serif;"><span lang="en-GB">Φόλος) </span></span>and Therion respectively.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote2anc" name="sdfootnote2sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">2</a> 'About 1100' is commonly given. For instance '<i>Culhwch ac Olwen,</i>The Triads, Saint's Lives'. By Brynley F. Roberts. In <i>The Arthur of the Welsh. The Arthurian Legend in Medieval Welsh Literature</i>. Eds.Rachel Bromwich, A. O. H. Jarman, Brynley F. Roberts. (Cardiff UWP. 1991). But see <i>The Date and Authorship of Culhwch ac Olwen: A Reassessment. </i>Simon Rodway, University of Wales, Aberystwyth. Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies. No. 49. Summer 2005. Editor Patrick Simms-Williams.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote3anc" name="sdfootnote3sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">3</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="en-GB"><i> Culhwch and Olwen. An Edition and Study of the Oldest Arthurian Tale</i></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="en-GB">. Edited by Rachel Bromwich and D. Simon Evans (Cardiff. University of Wales Press. 1992).</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote4anc" name="sdfootnote4sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">4</a> For a full description see: <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Culhwch and Olwen.</i></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="en-GB"> Edited by Rachel Bromwich and D. Simon Evans. Also: </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>The International Popular Tale and Early welsh Tradition</i></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="en-GB">. Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson. (Cardiff. University of Wales Press. 1961).pp 73 - 74</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote5anc" name="sdfootnote5sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">5</a> By e.g. Hyginus, (pseudo) Eratosthenes and Aratus. See <i>The Seven Liberal Arts: A Study in Medieval Culture.</i> Paul Ableson. (New York. Teachers College, Columbia University. 1906).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote6anc" name="sdfootnote6sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">6</a> <i>Star Myths of the Greeks and Romans: A Sourcebook.</i> Theony Condos. (Phanes Press. 1997). p 23 '...there are certain myths, attested only in literature similar to<i> The Constellations</i>, which most scholars believe to have originated from the relative position and movement of two or more constellations in the sky'.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote7anc" name="sdfootnote7sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">7</a><span lang="en-GB"> </span><span lang="en-GB"></span><span lang="en-GB"><i>Callimachus, Hymns and Epigrams. Lycophron, Aratus. </i></span><span lang="en-GB">Translated by A.W and G. R. Mair. Loeb Classical Library Volume 129. (London. </span>William Heinemann, 1921).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote8anc" name="sdfootnote8sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">8</a> See for instance The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville.(III.lxxi). Translated with Introduction and Notes, by Stephen A. Barney, W. J. Lewis, J.A. Beach and Oliver Berghof. (Cambridge University Press. 2006). pp 104-105.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote9anc" name="sdfootnote9sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">9</a><i> Culhwch and Olwen</i>. Bromwich and Evans. P 59, note 579. He would not be the only member of the family of Don to have been elevated to the constellatons; Gwydion son of Don, Aranrhod daughter of Don, Lleu Llaw Gyffes and Don herself were traditionally associatiated with The Milky Way, Corona Borialis, Perseus and Cassiepia respectively. I will explore the astronomy of <i>Math vab Mathonwy</i> in a seperate paper.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote10anc" name="sdfootnote10sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">10</a> The standard discussion is in <i>The International Popular Tale and Early Welsh Tradition</i>. Kenneth Jackson. Pp ?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote11anc" name="sdfootnote11sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">11</a> See <i>Culhwch and Olwen.</i> Bromwich & Evans and <span lang="en-GB"><i>The International Popular Tale and Early Welsh Tradition</i></span><span lang="en-GB">. Kenneth Jackson. </span>for the connection with Jason and the Argonauts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote12anc" name="sdfootnote12sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">12</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="en-GB"> But see below. </span></span>For a comprehensive list of names associated with <i>Therion </i>see <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Star Names Their Lore and Meaning.</span>Richard Hinckley <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Allen. Dover 1963. pp 278-279.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote13anc" name="sdfootnote13sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">13</a> <i>A Field Guide to the Stars and Planets.</i> Donald H. Menzel. (Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company. 1964). Menzel was the Director of Harvard College Observatory.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote14anc" name="sdfootnote14sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">14</a> <i>The Stargazers Guide. How to Read Our Night Sky.</i> Emily Winterburn. (London. Constable. 2008). Emily Winterburn was the Curator of Astronomy at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote15anc" name="sdfootnote15sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">15</a><span lang="en-GB"> </span><span lang="en-GB"><i>The Supernova of 1006.</i></span><span lang="en-GB"> F. Richard Stephenson, David H. Clark, David F. Crawford. (</span>Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 180.1977), p.567-584.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote16anc" name="sdfootnote16sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">16</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span lang="en-GB">My translation.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote17anc" name="sdfootnote17sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">17</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>The Mabinogion.</i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Translated, edited and introduced by Gwyn Jones and Thomas Jones. (Everyman’s </span>Library. The Millennium</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Library. 2000).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote18anc" name="sdfootnote18sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">18</a> </i>I.e. 'The Red Book of Hergest' and 'The White Book of Rhydderch'. <i>Dissull</i> = Dillus. A scribal error which both manuscripts inherited from a common ancestor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote19anc" name="sdfootnote19sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">19</a> <i>The Companion Tales to the Mabinogi. Legend and Landscape of Wales.</i> Trans. J. K. Bollard. (Gomer Press 2007).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote20anc" name="sdfootnote20sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">20</a> See <i>The White Book Mabinogion: Welsh Tales & Romances Reproduced from the Peniarth Manuscripts</i>: Ed. J Gwenogvryn Evans. (Private Press, Pwllheli. 1907). Pp 247 - 248, columns 494 - 495. Where the text is taken from the Red Book of Hergest columns 837b -837c.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote21anc" name="sdfootnote21sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">21</a> <i>The Mabinogion. </i>Jones & Jones. My parentheses.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote22anc" name="sdfootnote22sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">22</a> Namely Pholus, the traditional host of Hercules and Cheiron, the friend and mentor of Hercules. So he could not have hunted in company with the centaurs as Menzel suggested.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote23anc" name="sdfootnote23sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">23</a> Hyginus. <i>Fab</i>. [2.5]. p.31 <i>Apollodorus' Library and Hyginus' Fabulae, Two Handbooks of Greek Mythology. </i>Trans. R. Scott Smith and Stephen M.Trzaskoma. (Hacket. 2007). Dillus the Horseman is specifically described as 'singeing' the boar; this is a method used to de-bristle rather than to roast boars, which suggests that Dillus the Horseman, like Pholus the Horseman, had a penchant for raw meat. Recall too that Cyledyr the Wild, another Horseman, ate his father's heart, though we are not told if he ate it raw.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote24anc" name="sdfootnote24sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">24</a> <i>Star Names. Their Lore and Meaning. </i>Richard Hinkley Allen. (New York. Dover Publications, Inc. 1963 ). pp 148-155.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote25anc" name="sdfootnote25sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">25</a> Significantly, t<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">his may be compared with examples of garbled Greek words to be found in four works known to have been produced at Llanbadarn-Fawr towards the end of the 11</span><sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">th</span></sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> century , namely the '</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Life of David',</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><i> 't</i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">he 'Psalter' and the 'Martyrology' by Rhygyfarch ap Sulien and the 'Macrobius Manuscript' MS Cotton Faustina C 1. (See </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>Science and Phlosophy in Wales at the Time of the Norman Conquest; A Macrobius Manuscript from Llanbadarn</i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">. Alison Peden. (Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies 2 (Winter 1981)). Ed. Patrick Simms Williams. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">See also </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>Welsh Literature and the Classical Tradition</i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Ceri Davies, (Cardiff. University of Wales Press. 1995). </span>Cicero's <i>Somnium Scipionis </i>and Macrobius' <i>Commentary</i>upon it were a primary source for knowledge of Greek Astronomy throughout the Middle Ages, consequently the examples in the Macrobius manuscript and in the computistical Tables attached to the 'Psalter' are interesting because it shows a Welsh monk (Rhygyfarch) attempting, but failing, to translate Greek words into Latin within texts which are largely astronomical in content, which is precisely what I am suggesting has happened with the Greek <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman Greek", serif;"><b>Φόλος </b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman Greek", serif;">and the Welsh </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman Greek", serif;"><b>Dillus</b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman Greek", serif;">in </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman Greek", serif;"><i>Culhwch</i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman Greek", serif;"><b>.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote26anc" name="sdfootnote26sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">26</a> Bollard. 2007, following Bromwich and Evans - following Sir Idris Foster. See Culhwch ac Olwen. Bromwich & Evans.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote27anc" name="sdfootnote27sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">27</a> Precession of the equinoxes or precession of the equator. 'is a slow revolution (0nce every 26,000 years) of the whole field of stars from west to east about the poles of the ecliptic' See <i>The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy. </i>James Evans. (New York, Oxford. Oxford University Press. 1998). pp 245 – 248. Pliny said that Hipparchus of Bythinia discovered precession after witnessing a supernova</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote28anc" name="sdfootnote28sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">28</a> The Supernova of 1006'. Stephenson. Clark. Crawford.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote29anc" name="sdfootnote29sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">29</a> Ibid.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote30anc" name="sdfootnote30sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">30</a> Ibid.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote31anc" name="sdfootnote31sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">31</a> Stellarium is free planetarium software, first developed by Fabien Chereau.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote32anc" name="sdfootnote32sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">32</a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Image Credit: </span></span><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">NASA</span></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">, </span></span><a href="http://www.spacetelescope.org/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">ESA</span></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">, Zolt Levay (</span></span><a href="http://www.stsci.edu/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">STScI</span></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">)</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote33anc" name="sdfootnote33sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">33</a> The Supernova of 1006'. Stephenson. Clark. Crawford.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote34anc" name="sdfootnote34sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">34</a> The Supernova of 1006'. Stephenson. Clark. Crawford.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote35anc" name="sdfootnote35sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">35</a>. In Drudwyn the whelp of Greid son of Eri or <b>Fierce-White</b> the whelp of <b>Scorcher</b> son of <b>Eri</b> we surely have a barely underhand reference to Canis Major the Great Dog and its lucida the <b>brightest</b> star Sirius - the '<b>Scorcher</b>' the Dog Star of <b>Ori</b>on, which Aratus described in the Phenomena '… the tip of its jaw is inset with a formidable star, that blazes most intensely: and so men call it the Scorcher.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote36anc" name="sdfootnote36sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">36</a>. <i>The Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales.</i> Trans. Ed. and Introduction, by Patrick K. Ford. (University California Press. 2008). My italics.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote37anc" name="sdfootnote37sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">37</a>. E.g. in Lludd and Llevelys and Math vab Mathonwy. Great importance was attached to this date; in Wales it is Calan Mai, in Ireland Beltane, the first day of Summer, one of the four cross-quarter day festivals of the Celtic year and, as Professor Stephen McCluskey has noted, it has a special connection with the Virgin Mary.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote38anc" name="sdfootnote38sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">38</a>. The Supernova of 1006'. Stephenson. Clark. Crawford.</span></div>
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<div id="sdfootnote39">
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote39anc" name="sdfootnote39sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">39</a>. From early Christian times Virgo was also associated with the Virgin Mary.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote40anc" name="sdfootnote40sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">40</a>. <i>Christus und Asklepios</i>. Erich Dinkler. Heidelberg. (Carl Winter Universitatsverlag. 1980). The temple of healing at Lydney overlooking the Severn Estuary dedicated to Nodens has been recognised as a British version of an<i>Aesclepium,</i> originally a Greek temple of healing named after the healer god Asclepius or Aesculapius, son of Apollo and Coronis.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote41anc" name="sdfootnote41sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">41</a>. Dinkler noted ‘the shrine of Nodens at Lydney was built in the last third of the fourth century, and its great days extended well into the fifth, long after the adoption of Christianity as the official state religion. Thus providing a vehicle for the retention and transmission of this knowledge.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote42anc" name="sdfootnote42sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">42</a><i>.Fiery Shapes. Celestial Portents and Astrology in Ireland and Wales, 700 -1700.</i> Mark Williams. (Oxford University Press. 2010). Quoting McCarthy, Daniel & Breen, Aiden.<i> Astronomical Observations in the Irish Annals and their Motivation. (</i>Peritia Volume 11. 1997).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote43anc" name="sdfootnote43sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">43</a><i>. Fiery Shapes.</i> Mark Williams.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote44anc" name="sdfootnote44sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">44</a>. This image has been put together using Adobe Photoshop 7. The ‘supernova’ is taken from <span lang="en-GB">astronomer</span> <span lang="en-GB">Tunc Tezel’s carefully constructed ‘photograph’ of the event, in celebration of the millennial anniversary of SN 1006. By utilising the background stars as a template I was able to accurately place Tezel’s supernova onto a screenshot of the Plinlimon night sky at about 12.30 am May 1st 1006, from the open source planetarium for the computer ‘Stellarium’. The terrain was added from another screenshot, this time using Google Earth‘s ‘eye-level’ gadget. The image is looking south from an altitude of 742 metres from Plinlimon top, 52</span><span lang="zxx">°</span><span lang="en-GB">28</span><span lang="zxx">'</span><span lang="en-GB">N, 3</span><span lang="zxx">°</span><span lang="en-GB">47'E. I have pictured the supernova at (approx) maximum altitude above the southern horizon, and its position has been checked against the schematic drawing ‘the apparent path of the star’ by F.R. Stephenson, D.H. Clark and D.F. Crawford in their paper ‘The Supernova of AD 1006’</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote45anc" name="sdfootnote45sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">45</a> 'Map of the Heavens'.Giovanni Antonio da Varese. 1575. Ceiling Frescoe, Villa Farnese.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote46anc" name="sdfootnote46sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">46</a> The Mabinogion. Jones & Jones. p.116. Yspaddaden says that the boar was <i>Twrch Trwyth mab Taredd Wledig</i><i>(wledic = </i>king, ruler). P104.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote47anc" name="sdfootnote47sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">47</a>Hyginus. <i>Fab</i>. 176. Apollodorus' <i>Library</i> and Hyginus' <i>Fabulae, </i>Trans. Scott Smith and Trzaskoma. Hacket.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote48anc" name="sdfootnote48sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">48</a>Stargazer's Guide. Emily Winterburn</span></div>
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<div align="JUSTIFY" class="sdfootnote-western" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote49anc" name="sdfootnote49sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">49</a> This is not to doubt the British and Irish provenence of the Twrch Trwyth's association with kingship. Still, if<i>Culhwch's </i>author were a monk it would be hard to argue that he had not read Hyginus' <i>Fabulae, </i>which contains the story of the transformation of Lycaon, the text was certainly current in Wales at this time.</span></div>
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<div id="sdfootnote50">
<div class="sdfootnote-western" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote50anc" name="sdfootnote50sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">50</a><i> Star Myths</i>. Theony Condos. The author of <i>Culhwch</i> does not neglect to draw a picture of Libra, but more on this later. See also <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Martianus Capella and the Seven Liberal Arts. Volume II. The Marriage of Philology and Mercury. </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="en-GB">Translated by William Harris Stahl and Richard Johnson with E. L. Burge. (New York. Colubia University Press. 1977).</span></span><i>(Bk.VIII. 839.)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote51anc" name="sdfootnote51sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">51</a></i> The hunt for Yskythrwyn chief of boars should be compared with the hunt for ΎςΚαλυδωίος, or the Caledonian boar. Apd. 1. 66 _71</span></span></div>
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<div id="sdfootnote52">
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote52anc" name="sdfootnote52sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">52</a> Star Myths. Translation by Theony Kondos. Apollodorus and Hyginus relate an altrnative origin for Corvus which explains how the Crow's colour was chnged from white to black</span></div>
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<div id="sdfootnote53">
<div class="sdfootnote-western" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote53anc" name="sdfootnote53sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">53</a> The Mabinogion. Translated with notes by Lady Charlotte Guest.(Bernard Quaritch, 15 Piccadilly. 1877. Facsimile Edition. John Jones Cardiff Ltd. Republication first edition, November 1977).</span></div>
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<div id="sdfootnote54">
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote54anc" name="sdfootnote54sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">54</a> Arthur fighting the giant boar Twrch Trwyth (Therion) for the shears (the claws) for nine nights and days mirrors the nine day heliacal passage of the Sun through Scorpius. See Allen, Star Names p.???</span></div>
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<div id="sdfootnote55">
<div class="sdfootnote-western" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote55anc" name="sdfootnote55sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">55</a> Elsewhere, in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, it is Llew Llaw Gyffes who hits the wren 'between the sinew of its leg and the bone' as it is about to alight on Gwydion's magic ship (Argo Navis), hence Llaw Gyffes - Skillful Hand, this cross reference is highly significant and I explore this in a seperate paper on.the astronomy of <i>Math vab Mathonwy</i></span></div>
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<div class="sdfootnote-western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote56anc" name="sdfootnote56sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">56</a> <i>Welsh Folk Customs.</i> Trefor. M Owen. (Gomer. 1994). Also <i>Dryw bach</i>, noting Menw's druid-like abilities.</span></div>
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<div id="sdfootnote57">
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote57anc" name="sdfootnote57sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">57</a> The Mabinogion. Translated with an Introduction and Notes. Sioned Davies. (Oxford University Press. 2007).</i></span></div>
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<div class="sdfootnote-western" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote58anc" name="sdfootnote58sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">58</a> Ibid.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote59anc" name="sdfootnote59sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">59</a><i>The Mabinogi</i>. P. K. Ford.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote60anc" name="sdfootnote60sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">60</a><i>Star Myths.</i> Condos.</span></div>
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<div class="sdfootnote-western" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote61anc" name="sdfootnote61sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">61</a> The Mabinogion. </i>Jones & Jones. It is interesting that the author chooses these two names as his 'horsemen' here. Gruffydd thought Modron (mother of Mabon) was to be identified with the Horse-Goddess' Epona, who 'was portrayed sometimes in the form of a horse'. See <i><span lang="en-GB">Rhiannon. An Inquiry into the First and Third Branches of the Mabinogi. </span></i><span lang="en-GB">(Cardiff. University of Wales Press. 1953).</span> As regards <span lang="en-GB">Cyledyr the Wild, 'wildness' is of course the defining characteristic of the raw meat eating centaurs.</span></span></span></div>
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<div id="sdfootnote62">
<div class="sdfootnote-western" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote62anc" name="sdfootnote62sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">62</a><i> </i>Perhaps also <i>The Marriage of Philology and Mercury</i> by Martianus Boethius. Book Vol. II. VIII. Astronomy. Particularly the section on simultaneous risings and settings.</span></div>
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<div class="sdfootnote-western" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote63anc" name="sdfootnote63sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">63</a> Prime contenders both for the origin of <i>Culhwch.</i></span></div>
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<div class="sdfootnote-western" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote64anc" name="sdfootnote64sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">64</a> This is corroborated by estimates for the height of the supernova above the horizon at Cairo (30<span style="font-family: Symbol;">°N), </span>where it was 23<span style="font-family: Symbol;">° </span>above the horizon, and St. Gallen ( 47°.25'N) where it was 5<span style="font-family: Symbol;">° </span>above the horizon</span></div>
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<div id="sdfootnote65">
<div class="sdfootnote-western" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote65anc" name="sdfootnote65sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">65</a> There is much evidence for a preoccupation with Astronomy at Llanbadarn Fawr. For example,'The Computus Fragment',<i> </i>the LBL MS Cotton Faustina C 1. II (fols 66-99)., Rhygyfarch's 'Psalter' and Ieuan son of Sulien’s copy of the <i>De Natura Rerum </i>of Bede and his poem in praise of his family which paraphrases Boethius.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote66anc" name="sdfootnote66sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">66</a>It is apt that the leash made from the beard of the giant Horseman constellation is required to hold the gigantic Dog constellation</span></div>
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<div class="sdfootnote-western" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote67anc" name="sdfootnote67sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">67</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> An interesting comparison ought to be made with the modern Millennial ‘End of the World’</span>predictions put forward by Harold Camping, and the global responses they have elicited. By complete coincidence, as I write, the time now is 4.30pm, May 21<sup>st</sup> 2011. Camping has predicted that the End Time will occur in an hour and half from now. Fingers crossed...</span></div>
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<div id="sdfootnote68">
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="sdfootnote-western" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote68anc" name="sdfootnote68sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">68</a> For the celestial location of the cave in the uplands of Uffern - the Infernal Regions, with its centaurs and the Lernean Hydra lurking nearby, see <i>Commentary on the Dream of Scipio by Macrobius</i> Translated with an Introduction and notes. William Harris Stahl. (New York. 1990). Chapter XII. Pp 133 to 135.</span></div>
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<div class="sdfootnote-western">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote69anc" name="sdfootnote69sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">69</a>Fiery Shapes. </i>Mark Williams</span></div>
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<div class="sdfootnote-western" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote70anc" name="sdfootnote70sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">70</a> <i>Brut y tywysogion: the Gwentian chronicle of Caradoc of Llancarvan</i> Caradoc, of Llancarvan. Trans. Owen, Aneurin. (Kindle Location 8309). London : J.R. Smith.</span></div>
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<div id="sdfootnote71">
<div class="sdfootnote-western">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote71anc" name="sdfootnote71sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">71</a>This sort of thing, the misplacement of similar but separate celestial events by later copyists, was not uncommon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<div id="sdfootnote72">
<div class="sdfootnote-western" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a class="sdfootnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdfootnote72anc" name="sdfootnote72sym" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;">72</a> See McCarthy, Daniel & Breen, Aiden.<i> Astronomical Observations in the Irish Annals and their Motivation. (</i>Peritia Volume 11. 1997).</span></div>
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<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.08cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Bibliography</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Ableson, Paul. <i>The Seven Liberal Arts: A Study in Medieval Culture.</i> (New York. Teachers College, Columbia University. 1906).</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Allen, Richard Hinkley. <i>Star Names. Their Lore and Meaning. </i>(New York. Dover Publications, Inc. 1963).</span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Anon.</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><i> '</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Supernova SN 1006: Cause of brightest stellar event in recorded history illuminated'. </span></span><em><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">ScienceDaily</span></span></em><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>.</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Universidad de Barcelona (2012, September 27)</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>. </i></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Retrieved October 21, 2012, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120927091538.htm</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="en-GB">Anon. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>The Annals of Tigernach </i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="en-GB">Translated by Gearóid mac NiocaillElectronic edition compiled by Emer Purcell , Donnchadh Ó Corráin. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>(</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="en-GB">Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition)(2010) </span></span></span><a href="http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100002A/index.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100002A/index.html</span></a></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Anon. </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Chronicon Scotorum.</i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> Translated by William M. Hennessy, Gearóid Mac NiocaillElectronic edition compiled by Beatrix Färber and Ruth Murphy(CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts)(2003). (2010) :University College, Cork College Road, Cork, Ireland.—http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/T100016.html</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Anon. <i>The Annals of Ulster. </i>Electronic edition compiled by Pádraig Bambury, Stephen Beechinor <i>(</i>Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition)CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: University College Cork(2000)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">College Road, Cork, Ireland—http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100001A/index.html</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Anon. <i>Culhwch and Olwen. An Edition and Study of the Oldest Arthurian Tale</i>. Edited by Rachel Bromwich and D. Simon Evans. (University of Wales Press. 1992).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Anon. <i>The Mabinogion. </i>Translated with notes by Lady Charlotte Guest<i>. </i>(Bernard Quaritch, 15 Piccadilly. 1877. Facsimile Edition. John Jones Cardiff Ltd. Republication first edition, November 1977).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Anon. <i>The White Book Mabinogion: Welsh Tales & Romances Reproduced from the Peniarth Manuscripts</i>: Ed. J Gwenogvryn Evans. (Pwllheli. Private Press,1907).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Anon. <i>The Mabinogion.</i> Translated, edited and introduced by Gwyn Jones and Thomas Jones. (Everyman’s Library. The Millennium Library. 2000).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Anon. <i>The Companion Tales to the Mabinogi. Legend and Landscape of Wales.</i> Trans. J. K. Bollard. (Gomer Press 2007).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Anon. <i>Trioedd Ynys Prydein. The Triads of the Island of Britain. Third Edition. </i>Edited with Introduction, Translation and Commentary by Rachel Bromwich. (Cardiff. University of Wales Press. 2006).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Davies, Oliver. <i>Celtic Christianity in Early Medieval Wales. The Origins of the Welsh Spiritual Tradition.</i> (Cardiff. University of Wales Press. 1996).</span></div>
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</footer>Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-10945490697803679842018-10-27T15:28:00.002-07:002018-10-27T15:46:04.792-07:00Saints.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Saints</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOGa48og3DJSwZ7uzBa_-JrFLEYGHjULdK-46j9shYuYxi5AX3mPHVl786gSUPCIUNoR6bd7LU7s35vm4NnNX8WN8uoHfhpxdRMe5u4qYRfL4ShaILgae9dsMBkp8MekwJYhGzxVVE9RpH/s1600/Saints+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="571" height="538" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOGa48og3DJSwZ7uzBa_-JrFLEYGHjULdK-46j9shYuYxi5AX3mPHVl786gSUPCIUNoR6bd7LU7s35vm4NnNX8WN8uoHfhpxdRMe5u4qYRfL4ShaILgae9dsMBkp8MekwJYhGzxVVE9RpH/s640/Saints+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-36022444270452940112018-10-15T09:27:00.002-07:002018-10-27T05:07:03.259-07:00The Birth and the Naming of Lleu Llaw Gyffes<h2 align="center">
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The Naming of Lleu Llaw Gyffes</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm going to just post this and write it as time allows. It's gonna take ages. suggestions and corrections welcome x</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I want now to demonstrate how some memorable passages in Culhwch and Olwen, and in Math fab Mathonwy converge to reveal the identification of certain characters in the tales with constellation figures as depicted on the stereographic projections or star charts inherited, ultimately, from Ptolemy, Eratosthenes, Aratus and Hipparchus. I hope to show also that the Welsh authors of these two amazing stories were using these same Ptolemaic star charts to plot their narratives... and to map the land, and to make it sacred in order to protect it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">There is a technical aspect to this part of my research which is concerned with a slowly 'moving' point in the sky known as the 'First Point<span style="font-family: "palatino linotype" , "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif;"> of Aries' or the vernal equinox.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw2ES3YNsuyBJT6uGuBpjLJXP3q2TGhAdRvkXEnS3pb0eVbkPRrzbTWghh8NWTD3k_q12gvrriHyyBaHv0ykIUbtgVVlAyvZOX2FX6i7lF8QCJSkE12Q-GJCFD7a2hR97HA_QMUuWo2Vq7/s1600/Colure+%25282%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="590" data-original-width="760" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw2ES3YNsuyBJT6uGuBpjLJXP3q2TGhAdRvkXEnS3pb0eVbkPRrzbTWghh8NWTD3k_q12gvrriHyyBaHv0ykIUbtgVVlAyvZOX2FX6i7lF8QCJSkE12Q-GJCFD7a2hR97HA_QMUuWo2Vq7/s640/Colure+%25282%2529.png" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "palatino linotype" , "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">By AxialTiltObliquity.png: Dna-webmasterderivative work: Basilicofresco (msg) - AxialTiltObliquity.png, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6934673</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "palatino linotype" , "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "palatino linotype" , "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif;"><span id="goog_2026425315"></span><span id="goog_2026425316"></span>The Equinoctial Colure is the (orange) line which passes through the Poles via the two points where the ecliptic crosses the celestial equator, these are the Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes, or The First Point of Aries and The First Point of Libra. Due to the Precession of the Equinoxes, caused by the 26,000 year gyroscopic wobble of the Earth, the first point of Aries is no longer in Aries but is now in Pisces, likewise the first point of Libra is now in Virgo. Since being identified by Hipparchus in 130 b.c. until the present </span><span style="font-family: "palatino linotype" , "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif;">the first point of Aries </span><span style="font-family: "palatino linotype" , "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif;">has moved, at the rate of 1 degree every 72 years, almost 30 degrees along the ecliptic. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Schaubach's Northern Hemisphere depicts the sky as Hipparchus first recorded it. Because this is a stereographic projection (with the North Pole at the centre), the equinoctial colure or celestial prime meridian is drawn as a straight line from the original First point of Aries, through the Rams Head, then Triangulum, then the upraised right hand of Perseus, then the North Pole, then The Ploughman (Arcturus) and on to the First point of Libra hiding beneath skirts of Virgo</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs58MmlfdlZGnTD0LZcbD8N2pYzyrvGVumjbJxe0HW34HJCRh8c1Hre8CWB-4wlgv3y28Z0E1mnp2mOCVpOPpBz4XXV0t_2G-aLplufwpMuPPvYyDsbQMXxh_2Xm6xMqcLhv2PK53yYZTa/s1600/W.+G.+Evans+of+New+York+for+Burritt%25E2%2580%2599s+1856+edition+of+the+Atlas+to+Illustrate+the+Geography+of+the+Heavens..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="946" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs58MmlfdlZGnTD0LZcbD8N2pYzyrvGVumjbJxe0HW34HJCRh8c1Hre8CWB-4wlgv3y28Z0E1mnp2mOCVpOPpBz4XXV0t_2G-aLplufwpMuPPvYyDsbQMXxh_2Xm6xMqcLhv2PK53yYZTa/s640/W.+G.+Evans+of+New+York+for+Burritt%25E2%2580%2599s+1856+edition+of+the+Atlas+to+Illustrate+the+Geography+of+the+Heavens..jpg" width="588" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "palatino linotype" , "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: center;">W. G. Evans </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: center;">Illustration of the northern circumpolar constellations </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: center;">for Burritt’s 1856 edition of the Atlas to the Geography of the Heavens shows the Prime Meridian now passing through the right hand of Cassiopiea, then the left foot of Cepheus, then the North Pole and through a curl of Draco and the rump of Ursa Major. It doesn't show that the line begins firmly in Pisces and ends decisively in Virgo, but it does illustrate a near 28 degree shift in the positions of the equinoxes.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: center;">This is important because I want to demonstrate that the Welsh authors were using star charts where the First point of Aries really was at the First Point of Aries, in other words uncorrected star charts based on the works of the early Astronomers mentioned just now. This despite the fact that the equinoxes had shifted some 15 degrees from the time of Hipparchus to the end of the 11th century, the assumed date the tales were set down. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: center;">First, though, it is important to revisit some of the characters I have already identified with constellations.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: center;">That Lleu Llaw Gyffes (of the Sure Hand) was equated with Perseus cannot be seriously doubted and this has been demonstrated, not just by me, in previous posts on this blog, but by many others including most recently Astronomer Martin Griffiths (Dark Land, Dark Skies</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: center;">:</span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">The Mabinogion in the Night Sky)</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: center;"> and by Prof. Arfon Rees (The Mabinogi Decoded). So take that as something of a given. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: center;">It is also clear that the small southern constellation Corvus was behind several representations of birds in Culhwch and Olwen and once, probably, in Branwen, the Second Branch. The first reference, in Culhwch, is when the hero arrives at the gates of Arthur's Court at Celliwig in Cornwall and engages with the porter.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="text-align: start;">Said the youth, " . If thou openest the gate, it is well. If thou dost not open it, I will bring disgrace upon thy Lord, and evil report upon thee. And I will set up three shouts at this very gate, than which none were ever more deadly, from the top of Pengwaed in Cornwall to the bottom of Dinsol, in the North, and to Esgair Oervel, in Ireland." </span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">There is no mention of a bird here but note the three yells in connection with the three, apparently, geographic, sites including Oerfel Ridge or Esgair Oervel, in Ireland. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The second occasion is when </span>Arthur sends Menw son of the Three Shouts to confirm the whereabouts of the giant boar Twrch Trwyth in Ireland.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: start;">And after Yskithyrwyn Penbaedd was killed, Arthur and his host departed to Gelli Wic in Cornwall. And thence he sent Menw the son of Teirgwaedd to see if the precious things were between the two ears of Twrch Trwyth, since it were useless to encounter him if they were not there. Albeit it was certain where he was, for he had laid waste the third part of Ireland. And Menw went to seek for him, and he met with him in Ireland, in Esgeir Oervel. And Menw took the form of a bird; and he descended upon the top of his lair, and strove to snatch away one of the precious things from him, but he carried away nothing but one of his bristles. And the boar rose up angrily and shook himself so that some of his venom fell upon Menw, and he was never well from that day forward.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="text-align: start;">In my post The Supernova of 1006 I believe I have presented convincing evidence which shows that the constellation Therion (now Lupus, who was turned into a wolf for sins against God, just as Twrch Trwyth was turned into a boar for sins against God), was in the mind of the author when he located Menw son of the three Shouts, the little bird, above the lair of the Beast. The story that Menw, in the form of a bird, who tried to snatch up a bristle of the enormous Boar and was never well from that day forward, is an obvious take on the tale of Corvus snatching up the long body of the snake Hydra and he was never well from that day forward. </span><span style="font-family: "palatino linotype" , "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif;">Later Arthur sends Gwrhyr Gwalstad Iathioedd, (Interpreter of Languages) to Esgair Oervel who also descends in the form of a talking bird, to parley with the beast; these</span><span style="font-family: "palatino linotype" , "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif;"> passages further hint at the stellar nature of these locations.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Arthur sent Gwrhyr Gwalstawd Ieithoedd to parley with him. Gwrhyr went in the form of a bird, landing over the lair of him and his seven young pigs.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">And Gwrhyr Gwalstawd Ieithoedd asked him "For the sake of the one who made you into this shape, if you can speak, I ask one of you to come to speak with Arthur."</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Grugyn Gwrych Erain - like wings of silver were all his bristles, the path he would follow through the wood and the meadow could be seen by the glitter of his bristles.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "palatino linotype" , "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif;">In the Catalogue of the Court in Culhwch there is a further character called</span>
<span style="font-family: "palatino linotype" , "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "palatino linotype" , "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif;">Medyr son of Methredydd, of </span><span style="font-family: "palatino linotype" , "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif;">whom it is said, 'he could take aim from Celli Wig and [hit] the legs of a starling in Esgair Oervel in Ireland.<span style="font-size: 13.3333px;"> </span></span></span><i>Medyr mab Methredyd</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"> 'Aim son of Aimer'. </span></span><br />
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All of this provides a context for the naming of the 'Hero' in Math fab Mathonwy. A<span style="text-align: center;">ranrhod (Andromeda) leaves her 'Caer' (Corona Borealis) to have her foot measured by Lleu (Perseus) and Gwydion (Cygnus) who are disguised as cobblers. Gwydion has conjured a magical boat from seaweed, suddenly a wren is about alight on the boat and Lleu aims, then throws his bodkin and hits the wren 'between the sinew and the bone of the leg'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "palatino linotype" , "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif;">The naming of Lleu - <b>the Fair One</b>, (or Llew</span><span style="font-family: "palatino linotype" , "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif;"> - </span><span style="font-family: "palatino linotype" , "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif;"><b>the Lion</b> </span><span style="font-family: "palatino linotype" , "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif;">as the Mss. have it) Llaw Gyffes, - <b>with the Skillful Hand. </b>This image is only possible once every 26,000 years. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "palatino linotype" , "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "palatino linotype" , "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif;">From a poetic point of vie</span><span style="font-family: "palatino linotype" , "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif;">w when I look at the Milky Way or Sarn Gwydion and compare it to the 'Gate' of the Menai Straits, </span><span style="font-family: "palatino linotype" , "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif;">I cannot help but see the sandy coasts of Dinas Dinlle and Anglesey</span><span style="font-family: "palatino linotype" , "book antiqua" , "palatino" , serif;"> </span><br />
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<div style="font-family: "Andron Scriptor Web", "Andron Scriptor W1", Code2000, "Caslon Old Face BT", Chrysanthi, Gentium, Garamond, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; text-align: start;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Well," said she, "take the measure of my foot, and desire the cordwainer to make shoes for me." So he made the shoes for her, yet not according to the measure, but larger. The shoes then were brought unto her, and behold they were too large. "These are too large," said she, "but he shall receive their value. Let him also make some that are smaller than they." Then he made her others that were much smaller than her foot, and sent them unto her. "Tell him that these will not go on my feet," said she. And they told him this.<br />
"Verily," said he, "I will not make her any shoes, unless I see her foot." And this was told unto her.<br />
"Truly," she answered, "I will go unto him."<br />
So she went down to the boat, and when she came there, he was shaping shoes and the boy stitching them. "Ah lady," said he, "good day to thee."<br />
"Heaven prosper thee," said she. "I marvel that then canst not manage to make shoes according to a measure."<br />
"I could not," he replied, "but now I shall be able."<br />
<b>Thereupon behold a wren stood upon the deck of the boat, and the boy shot at it, and hit it in the leg between the sinew and the bone. Then she smiled. "Verily," said she, "with a steady hand did the lion aim at it."</b><b>"Heaven reward thee not, but now has he got a name. And a good enough name it is. Llew Llaw Gyffes be he called henceforth."</b></blockquote>
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We've seen this pattern before. It was marked out by Gwydion in 'The Journey of the Swine'.<br />
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Jump over my wand says Math.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Gwydion has witnessed the second birth of Llew llaw Gyffes in the chest at the foot of his bed, has watched him stretch his arms through the fold of a cloth, and he has taken him to 'the lady in the town with breasts' who agrees to nurture him.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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</div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;">The first curse which Aranrhod swears upon her son is that he shall never have a name unless she name him.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white;">“And what is his name?” she asked.</span><span style="background-color: white;">“He doesn’t have a name.”</span><span style="background-color: white;">“He shall never have a name then, unless I give him one,” answered Arianrhod, putting a geas on the boy. Gwydion swore then that the child would receive a name anyway, though she were unwilling to claim him.</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">Gwydion took the boy with him and walked along the beach. Where they found seaweed, Gwydion charmed it into the form of a boat, and he took more seaweed and made from it beautiful cordovan leather. They began to sail in the boat and he charmed them into a different appearance so that they could not be recognized. When they came near Caer Arianrhod (the castle of Arianrhod), he put ashore. He took some of the cordovan leather and they began to make shoes from it, where they could be seen from the castle.</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">“What men are those?” asked Arianrhod.</span><span style="background-color: white;">“Cobblers,” she was told. Messengers were sent to see the work and they found Gwydion and the boy in disguise, gilding and coloring the leather. It was very beautiful work; so the messengers informed Arianrhod.</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">Arianrhod had her feet measured for shoes and sent the measurements to Gwydion so that he could make shoes for her. Gwydion made the shoes, but not in quite the right size; he deliberately made them too big. Arianrhod sent back again, but this time he made shoes for her which were too small. Finally she agreed to go and see him to get the right size shoes. </span><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">When she arrived, Gwydion and the boy were working on the leather. Gwydion and Arianrhod greeted each other. “It’s a pity you cannot make shoes in the right size,” she said. “Now I can,” he answered her.</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">Just then a wren landed on the deck of the ship and the boy threw his needle at the bird. His needle pierced the bird in the leg between the sinew and the bone. Arianrhod laughed and said, “what a skillful hand the bright-haired one has!”</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">Gwydion spoke up, “Now he has a name, and a good name it is: Lleu Llaw Gyffes ‘Bright Skillful Hand’ he shall be called!”</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">Immediately, he dissolved the charm and the leather that they had been working on became seaweed again. That is how Lleu Llaw Gyffes got his name and why he is called a shoemaker.</span></blockquote>
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Minerva and Mercury arming Perseus </div>
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Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-47498963103488687842017-12-23T03:33:00.002-08:002024-01-16T13:36:59.024-08:00The Route of the 'Oldest Animals' in Culhwch and Olwen.<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">The
Route of the 'Oldest Animals' in <i>Culhwch and Olwen.</i></span></span></span></div><div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></div><div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijEGNRBegG4tIG9dgfQx2o4WKPrfrc9Er_A_lfPZZImZkZ6Tl8upJa0R2CFQCOgCyInkrLHFEBRhkWgqWd91eZ6_wJgGQXPtOCZ6YoD4BmqadqU55WBOUtcAdrfmVFtmV8SUnpf3Un1JHux4rUv7l_QoAuwPcvrEuaEMxwmvW_u4uahkEvJWV3b0HMXknI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="631" data-original-width="924" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijEGNRBegG4tIG9dgfQx2o4WKPrfrc9Er_A_lfPZZImZkZ6Tl8upJa0R2CFQCOgCyInkrLHFEBRhkWgqWd91eZ6_wJgGQXPtOCZ6YoD4BmqadqU55WBOUtcAdrfmVFtmV8SUnpf3Un1JHux4rUv7l_QoAuwPcvrEuaEMxwmvW_u4uahkEvJWV3b0HMXknI=w549-h375" width="549" /></a></div><div align="CENTER" class="western" style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></div>The Route<br /><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Culhwch
and Olwen</i> contains a version of an 'International Popular
Tale' known as 'The Oldest Animals'. The gist of which (in the form we find it here) is
that a group of heroes, upon a quest, visit a succession of animals each one older than the last until they come to the oldest animal of
all who helps the heroes fulfill their quest. In this case it is to
fulfill one of the demands of Ysbaddaden PenCawr that Culhwch, the
eponymous hero of the tale, must find the great huntsman 'Mabon son
of Modron, who was taken from his mother at three nights old. It is
not known where he is, nor which he is, - either alive or dead.' (Lady Charlotte Guest's translation of this episode can be found below in Appendix three).</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This
version that we have from the Red Book of Hergest is remarkable in
that the places upon the route are still, by and large, traceable.
Three are as certain as can be, they are Caerloyw - Gloucester, Cwm
Cawlwyd - Llyn Cowlyd in Gwynedd and Gwernabwy - Bodernabwy on the
Llyn peninsula. There are at least two possible sites for Cilgwri,
and Rhedynfre may also be one of two sites, but in each case there
are reasons to prefer the Wirral for Cilgwri and Farndon in Cheshire
for Rhedynfre. Llyn Llyw has evaded many attempts at identification,
however I feel confident that this must be the river lake known as
Whirls End near Beachley in the Severn Estuary.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
places visited by Arthur's men in their search for the 'exalted'
prisoner Mabon son of Modron.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
route begins at Caerloyw, after the freeing of Eidoel son of Aer
from Gliwi's prison, and ends at Caerloyw with the freeing of Mabon
son of Modron. A round trip indeed. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-left;">Arthur said, "Which of these marvels will it be best for us to seek first?"</span><br style="text-align: -webkit-left;" /><br style="text-align: -webkit-left;" /><span style="text-align: -webkit-left;">"It will be best," said they, "to seek Mabon the son of Modron; and he will not be found unless we first find Eidoel, the son of Aer, his kinsman." Then Arthur rose up, and the warriors of the Islands of Britain with him, to seek for Eidoel; and they proceeded until they came before the Castle of Glivi, where Eidoel was imprisoned. Glivi stood on the summit of his castle, and he said, "Arthur, what requirest thou of me, since nothing remains to me in this fortress, and I have neither joy nor pleasure in it; neither wheat nor oats? Seek not therefore to do me harm."</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br style="text-align: -webkit-left;" /><span style="text-align: -webkit-left;">Said Arthur, "Not to injure thee came I hither, but to seek for the prisoner that is with thee."</span><br style="text-align: -webkit-left;" /><br style="text-align: -webkit-left;" /><span style="text-align: -webkit-left;">"I will give thee my prisoner, though I had not thought to give him up to any one; and therewith shalt thou have my support and my aid."</span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Suffice it to say, for now, that <i>Glivi</i> is a form of <i>Gloyw,</i> the eponym of Gloucester, and that <i>Eidoel mab Aer</i> is a descendant of this <i>Gloyw</i> according to the genealogy of <i>Gwrtheyrn</i> as recorded in the <i>Historia Brittonum</i>. Until very recently I was quite puzzled by the line: 'Glivi stood on the summit of his castle'. However, I now believe I have solved this troubling problem but this is something I want to return to when I come to discuss the final part of the 'Oldest Animals'episode, the 'Freeing of Mabon', which also occurs at Gloucester and where my 'problem' and its solution will become apparent. What is clear is that what is meant by the 'Castle of Gliwi' is Gloucester or Caerloyw in Welsh and so this is the first stage on the route of the 'Oldest Animals'.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Arthur appointed Gwrhyr
Interpreter of Languages, Eidoel and Cai and Bedwyr to go on the
quest. They first travelled on as far as the Ousel or Blackbird of
Cilgwri (<i>Mwyalch Cilgwri</i>, <i>cil</i> - 'nook, corner, cell,' <i>gwri</i> - personal name. 'Gwri's cell'),
There are two places today which are called Cilgwri; the Wirral =
Welsh 'Cilgwri', (the name applies to the entire peninsula) and a
farm between Bala and Corwen.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Cilgwri
from Humphrey Lhwyds map of Wales, <i>Cambriae Typus</i>. (Compiled in 1568 and published in 1573).</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
two Cilgwri sites. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">The Wirral Peninsula and Cilgwri Farm.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">It
is not clear whether either of the Cilgwri sites was in the mind of
the author, there may well have been other places called Cilgwri now
lost to us. Perhaps the Blackbird's mention of a 'smith's anvil', (see below) was
originally meant as a clue to the actual site; each of the other
animals in turn mentions something of their habitat which a
contemporary audience may have been expected to recognise. However,
there seems to be a general preference for the Wirral among commentators, (but I will return to this later). </span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
Blackbird of Cilgwri has not heard of Mabon son of Modron but he
thinks he knows someone who may have, "There is a race of
Animals that God made before me. I will go there as your guide".1
he said, and so they came to where the Stag of Rhedynfre (<i>carw
redynvre</i>) was. There are also two candidates for Rhedynfre, one
is Dynfra Farm near Aberdaron at the western end of the Llyn
peninsula; the other, suggested by Melville Richards, is the small
town of Farndon in Cheshire. Rhedynfre means 'Fernhill' which was the
likely Welsh name for Farndon = 'Fern-town'. It is close to the
Wirral and for this geographical reason there seems to be a general
scholarly preference for Cilgwri = Wirral and Rhedynfre = Farndon.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">From
Cilgwri? to Rhedynfre.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
Stag of Rhedynfre has heard nothing of Mabon son of Modron, "who
was taken at three nights old from his mother", even though he
has witnessed an "oak sapling... that grew into an oak with a
hundred branches, and that oak fell... and today there is nothing of
it but a red stump." </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Holt Castle</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
'red stump' of Holt Castle is an 'artificially shaped boss' of red
triassic sandstone (245 million years old). Up until the 14th century
Farndon included the chapelry of Holt and it was really a
single town straddling the river Dee, but part of the town was sometimes in
England and part sometimes in Wales for the Dee is the fluctuating, hard fought over border around here. The
castle was built by Edward I around 1282-3 but the site had long held
strategic value, with its commanding position over the Dee crossing
and there is evidence of occupation going back to the Bronze Age. I
wonder if the author of <i>Culhwch and Olwen</i> was referring to this red
stump when he wrote of the giant Oak "and today there is nothing of it but a red
stump". I think this is highly likely to be true, it's certainly
possible that before this striking landscape feature was quarried, (for the stone which went to make the castle) its shape was very
different. Did it once have the appearance of the stump of a giant
oak tree? If this is true it suggests that the author of <i>Culhwch</i> had
this precise location in mind as the home of the Stag of Rhedynfre. </span></span></span>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Farndon
& Holt Castle.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Actually,
I think it is far more likely that he had in mind the 'fern hill' (<i>rhedynfre</i>) across the river in Farndon which is now crowned by the parish church of St.
Chad, (there has been a church here since before <i>Domesday</i>). This elevated, advantageous point is surrounded by the vast flood plain of the Dee in all directions, remembering that the author of <i>Culhwch</i> has the stag say "</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium; text-align: -webkit-left;">there was a plain all around me, without any trees save one oak sapling...</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">and today there is nothing of it but a red stump"</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium; text-align: -webkit-left;">. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">At under seven hundred metres away, the twelve metre high, strikingly red, sandstone stump upon which, (and out of which) Holt
Castle was built is </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">easily visible from here, </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">or was - as another church dedicated to St. Chad was erected</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">in Holt, also in the 1280's, </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">directly on the line of sight between 'Fern Hill' and the red sandstone stump, thus obscuring the view. It should be noted, then, that what we have here is an accurate visual description, first hand knowledge, of the view from Rhedynfre of this prominent red sandstone boss, in its setting of a wide plain, as it was <i>before</i> the construction of both the</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">castle and the church of St. Chad in Holt</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-left;">The Stag said, "When I first came hither, there was a plain all around me, without any trees save one oak sapling, which grew up to be an oak with an hundred branches. And that oak has since perished, so that now nothing remains of it but the withered stump".</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-left;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-left;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-left;">The octagonal font of St. Chad's in Holt is adorned with a stags head looking west towards the Owl of Cwm Cowlydd.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Llyn
Cowlydd.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But
the Stag of Rhedynfre does know of an animal that God made
before him and so, with his help, Arthur's men 'proceeded to the
place where was the Owl of Cwm Cawlwyd'.3 It is as certain as it
may be that <i>Cwm Kawlwyt, </i>(the valley of Grey Caw) is the steep sided valley of
Llyn Cowlyd, now a reservoir dammed at the north-eastern end. Though
small, Llyn Cowlyd is the deepest lake in North Wales being presently
45 feet above it's natural level </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">and
so originally the lake was quite a bit smaller. It is probable that
the slopes of the coombe were deforested in the later medieval
period. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Stag of Rhedynfre and Arthur's men would naturally arrive at the north eastern end of Cwm Cowlyd. The
text doesn't supply a specific site, so I'm guessing the Owl's home
was on the warmer northern side of the lake, where the slopes are
gentler than they are on the precipitous, rockier southern side, and
where an ancient native oak forest, of the type still found in
Gwynedd, would have more readily taken hold. It seems likely that the
author of <i>Culhwch</i> had in mind a tawny owl as oak woodland is their
preferred habitat. Also the tawny owl is most often associated with
human speech as it is the male and female pair who call to one
another whilst hunting: 'towhit' says the female, 'towhoo' answers
the male.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Gwrhyr
Interpreter of Languages enquires of the c<i>uan cwm kawlwyt</i> as
to the whereabouts of Mabon son of Modron, to which the owl replies:</span></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">'If
I knew it, I would tell it. When I first came here, the great combe
that you see was a wooded glen, and a race of men came to it and it
was laid waste, and a second wood grew in it, and this is the third
wood. As for me, the roots of my feathers are but nibs. From then
until today I heard nothing of the man you ask about. I, however,
will be a guide to messengers of Arthur, until you come to where
there is the oldest animal in this world, and he travels the most -
the Eagle of Gwernabwy'.</span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Bodernabwy
just north of Aberdaron.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Gwernabwy, (<i>gwern</i> - 'alder' usually, sometimes </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">'swamp' + <i>abwy</i> - carrion, carcase) is an attested personal name and is considered by most authorities to be a reference to Bodernabwy = 'the abode or dwelling of
Gwernabwy' which is the name of a small farm near Aberdaron </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">(known in Wales as </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Pendraw'r Byd </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">-</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 'the far end of the world'</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 14px;">) </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">at the
extreme western end of the Llyn peninsula</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">. This is really close to Dynfra
Farm, one of the possible Rhedynfre sites, just over a mile and half
away to the north. This proximity has prompted some literary critics,
(and I agree with them) to reject Dynfra Farm as the author's
intended site for <i>Rhedynfre</i> because of the narrative untidiness it
causes; why, if Dynfra Farm = <i>Rhedynfre</i>, would the Stag direct
Arthur's men to the Owl of Cwm Cawlwyd, 40 miles away, when
the Eagle of Gwernabwy lived next door? Admittedly, there may be some
comedy value there, it wouldn't be out of tune with the rest of the
tale of </span><i style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">Culhwch and Olwen</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">, however...</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Cilgwri-Rhedynfre-Cwm
Cawlwyd-Gwernabwy</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Thus
far then, this stately progression of Arthur's men and the
increasingly older animals, from the Wirral across North Wales to the
tip of the Llyn peninsula,</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"> has a narrative logic that would not have
been lost on a native contemporary audience, and for this reason this
is my preferred route. However, the uncertainty of the siting of
Cilgwri in the Wirral still bothers me and the reason for
this will become clear shortly.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">So the Owl guides Arthur's men to the Eagle of Gwernabwy </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">(</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><i>eryr gwern abwy</i></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">)</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">. Gwrhyr
Interpreter of Languages asks the Eagle</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"> if he knows the whereabouts of Mabon son of Modron, to which the
Eagle replies:</span></div>
<blockquote class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">'I
came here a long time ago, and when I first came here I had a stone,
and from its top I would peck at the stars each evening. Now it is
but a hand's breadth in height'.</span></span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There is a well known </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">red </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">rock </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">(maen goch) </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">in Aberdaron just to the north of the Church of St. Hywyn, in Cae y Grogbren or Gallows Field from where summary justice was dispensed by the abbots of Bardsey Island during the medieval period, </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"> The </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">bodies of</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"> 'guilty' hanged men and women were thrown in to the nearby Pwll Ddiwaelod or Bottomless Pool, presumably this was at the confluence of the Afon Daron and the Afon Cill-y-Felin immediately below the rock, where a marshy pool forms. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Might this red rock have been the Eagles stone, and c</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">ould this 'bottomless pool' be the origin of the Eagles name: <i>eryr</i> - eagle, <i>g</i></span><i style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">wern - s</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">wamp </span><i style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">+ abwy</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"> - carcase</span><i style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"> = </i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">'eagle of the swamp of the carcase'? This would not preclude Bodernabwy being imagined as the 'eyrie of the Eagle of Gwernabwy'.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Aberdaron is certainly a place of extremes. Here, at The Far end of the World, dwells the Oldest animal - the Eagle of Gwernabwy - </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">who once perched on a stone which reached the Stars,</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"> below which was the Bottomless Pool of the dead. He is also the Being </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">who has traveled the furthest - even, it will turn out, as far as another Worlds End.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But that was in the past and now he is terribly <i>old </i>and throughout this vast period of time the Eagle has not heard of the man
they seek. He is, however, acquainted with the Salmon of Llyn Llyw.
He relates that once:</span></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">'I
went to seek my food as far as Llyn Llyw, and when I came there I
struck my claws into a salmon...but he dragged me into the depths, So
that it was with difficulty that I escaped from him...I launched an
attack against him to seek to destroy him...he sent messengers to
reconcile with me, to remove fifty tridents from his back. If he does
not know something of what you seek. I do not know anyone who might
know it'.</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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</blockquote>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">From The Far End of the World to Whirls End</span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The
Eagle of Gwernabwy and Arthur's men visit the Salmon of Llyn Llyw at
'the place where he was', which must mean Llyn Llyw, and it is
implied that the lake (Llyn) is to be found in the Severn itself, in
the Salmon's assertion that 'With each flood tide I come up along the
river as far as the bend at the wall of Caerloyw'. This makes best
sense if we envisage the conversation between the Eagle and the
Salmon as actually occurring in the Severn. Indeed, one doesn't have
to look further than the banks of the river to find a 'lake', as the
Severn itself contains many pools and lakes, for example: Salmon
Pool, Count Lake, Plython Lake and Oldbury Lake are all within 4
miles up river from </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Aber
Gwy,</span></i></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> as
are the suggestive S</span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">turch</span></i></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> Pill
and Pighole Pill (in regard to the Twrch Trwyth), both nearby inlets
on the west bank of Severn. The description of Llyn Lliwan in
the </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Mirabilia</span></i></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> is
also clear that the 'whirlpool' is actually </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">in </span></i></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">the
River Severn at the place where the incoming tide (the Severn Bore)
meets the river in full spate. The obvious site for Llyn Llyw then is the river lake precisely at this point on the estuary known as Whirls End, itself an obvious pun on 'Worlds End'.4</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Regarding
the 'Whirlpool' Whirl's End, an old sea dog friend of mine, (Mr Jimmy Pennel) explained
how ships and barges, heading for the busy port of Gloucester would
ride up the Severn Estuary on the incoming tide and head for Whirl's
End, where the rudder was applied full lock. The west bank is
dominated by the Slime Road, a fast moving torrent, the east bank
is treacherously rocky and the way ahead is impeded by the
shallows created by the Oldbury Sandbank. So vessels would stop and
turn full circle here, waiting for the rising tide to take them over
the shallows, and this clinches it because 'Llyw' = Rudder, 'Llyn
Llyw' = The Lake of the Rudder. One can imagine several vessels
at a time turning in a tight circle in the middle of the estuary,
waiting for the right moment when their hulls would be clear of the
riverbed. Therefore it is easy to imagine how this must have
appeared from the banks of the Severn and to see how a legend of a
whirlpool came to be attached to this place. This is also the
point on the estuary, because of the dramatic narrowing and the
sudden encounter with the sandbanks, part of the famous 'funnelling' effect,
where the Severn Bore suddenly gains height and becomes very
noticeable. So again, it is easy to see how the legend of a
giant salmon, (whose imagined movement through the water creates the
wave) became attached to this place. It also suggests that 'surfing
the bore' may not be such a recent pastime as you might think as
Gwrhyr, Cai and Bedwyr all ride the wave.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">It
is not Gwrhyr Interpreter of Languages who addresses the Salmon of
Llyn Llyw but the Eagle of Gwernabwy himself, </span></span>the 'oldest animal in this world', ('and he travels the most') The Salmon
of Llyn Llyw is therefore the Wisest Animal in the World and he it
is who knows the whereabouts of Mabon son of Modron.. Says the
Salmon:</span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="break-before: auto; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 2.03cm; margin-right: 2.03cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">'As
much as I know, I will tell. With each flood tide I come up along the
river as far as the bend at the wall of Caerloyw, and there I found
such misfortune as I have never found in my life. And so that you may
believe it, let one of you come here on my two shoulders'.</span></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</blockquote>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Severn
Bore at Hempsted, Gloucester. Several men riding the shoulders of the gigantic
Salmon of Llyn Llyw... </span></span></span></span><span style="color: #20124d;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">©
Copyright </span></span></span></span><a href="http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/7420"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Brian
Robert Marshall</span></a><span style="color: #20124d;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> and
licensed for reuse under this </span></span></span></span><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Creative
Commons Licence</span></a></div>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So
Cai and Gwrhyr travelled on the two shoulders of the Salmon until
they came to where the prisoner was and 'they could hear lamenting
and groaning on the other side of the wall from them'. Gwrhyr said,
'What man is lamenting in this house of stone?' to which the answer
is 'Mabon son of Modron is here in prison' and 'As much as may be got
of me will be got by fighting.' So they returned to Arthur who
summoned the warriors of Britain:</span></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">'and
went to Caerloyw where Mabon was in prison. Cai and Bedwyr went on
the two shoulders of the fish. While Arthur's warriors were fighting
at the fort, Cai broke through the wall and took the prisoner on his
back...Arthur came home and Mabon with him, free.</span></span></span></blockquote>
<div class="western" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western">
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Did the author of <i>Culhwch</i> have an actual site in mind for this prison, or did he only have a vague idea? On the
face of it there is quite a bit here which might enable an identification of the specific site of the </span><span style="font-size: medium;">prison of </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Mabon, and by implication the prison of Eidoel mab Aer: We know it can be reached by riding the
Severn bore as far as 'the bend at the wall of Caerloyw'. Though,
surely, what is meant here is 'the bend in the river at the wall
of Caerloyw'. Gwrhyr refers to Mabons prison as a 'house of stone'. And earlier during the freeing of Eidoel at the </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium; text-align: -webkit-left;">Castle of Glivi, that is to say Gloucester Castle, Glivi is described as standing on the summit of his castle.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Is, or was there such a site as a prison/castle or house of stone on a summit on a bend in the Severn at Caerloyw?
There are a few considerations to make, but I hope to show that</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> the author of <i>Culhwch and Olwen</i> w</span><span style="font-size: medium;">as almost certainly referring to one site only, and it was probably built during his lifetime.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Caerloyw: (Welsh Caer = 'fort’ + British personal
name Gloyw = ‘bright') is the Welsh name for the city of
Gloucester. In Welsh tradition, Gloyw is derived from the
semi-legendary figure Gloyw Wallt Hir = 'Gloiu of the
Long-hair' the supposed British founder of the city. (<i>Historia
Brittonum</i>). </span><span style="font-size: medium;">The
first known occupied site at Gloucester was the Claudian Roman fort
built to command the Severn crossing in 49 A.D. at what is now Kingsholm in the north of the city. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Some
twenty years later a much larger fortress was built about a third of
a mile to the south on slightly higher ground, but still close to the river and known
as Glevensis or Glevum which in 97
A.D. became the Colonia Nervia Glevensium. As was
usual the fortress attracted a great number of native merchants and
craftsmen and sizeable settlements grew up around the approaches to
the entrances to the fortress. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">The first fort early fell in to disuse but parts of the walls of Glevum were still standing, close by the great horseshoe bend in the Severn, according to John Speeds map of 1612. This situation might have been what the author was referring to.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
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</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There is a another possible early fort, also on a bend in the River, at Gloucester to consider. This
is the putative Roman fort in the parish of Hempsted, just under a
mile south of </span></span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Glevum.</i></span></span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
It has been argued that 'Hempsted Camp' is, in all likelihood, the
remains of a Roman camp built on an earlier Iron Age site. According
to the Archaeological Handbook of the County of
Gloucester by George Witts:</span></span></span></div>
</div>
<blockquote class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">'It
lies on the brow of the hill, a little to the north of the
church, one mile south-west of Gloucester... the late
Rev. Samuel Lysons was of opinion that it corresponded with the
most perfect form of Roman camp. He says:— "Its form was
oblong, 260 yards long by 113 wide, divided into two parts, the
upper and lower; the vallum, fossa, and agger must have been of
considerable height and depth. There were four gates; one of these
led down to the Severn, and the road is still traceable."</span></span></span></blockquote>
<br />
However recent archaeological work at the site has not found the evidence to support this theory and it is now thought doubtful that there was ever a fort here and so it would seem unlikely that<i> Culhwch's </i>author had this site in mind.<br />
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As an aside, I suggest that the Hempsted site was actually a compound of large warehouses which catered for the colonial centre of Glevum. Southgate Street and the Portway Roman Road meet at precisely the point where satellite imagery clearly shows a road emanating from the 'fort'. This road passes through the Hempsted site and as George Witts noticed 'the road is still traceable' down to the Severn, where there would have been a quay. This makes sense because navigating this tricky final stretch of the Severn toward Gloucester was always a problem caused by the frequent turbulence of the Bore, and it wasn't until the early 1800's that a solution was finally implemented with the opening of the Gloucester Sharpness Canal. At the time the broadest and deepest canal on Earth.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Vs2Udsi5cNWgUiJ7IhYqeDNVo_Hm1ZlyzveiGoO0dLAItCBCJRWQzbXGT9UxmX46kvn7WJctEZFt_KISD55XWjhX0QDad6cHayldWezEbcdjFF-kHhTvygVdMr0TLl3cDpW5Lm4qu5Ly/s1600/hempsted+road2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="1360" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Vs2Udsi5cNWgUiJ7IhYqeDNVo_Hm1ZlyzveiGoO0dLAItCBCJRWQzbXGT9UxmX46kvn7WJctEZFt_KISD55XWjhX0QDad6cHayldWezEbcdjFF-kHhTvygVdMr0TLl3cDpW5Lm4qu5Ly/s640/hempsted+road2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This satellite image was taken during the heatwave of July 2013. It shows the classic shadow lines of the agger and drainage ditches of a Roman road</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">However, the site now occupied by Gloucester Prison, (the orange shape, top centre of the map) is of the greatest interest. It hid in plain sight from me for a long time because at first I'd considered it a modern building which it is, relatively speaking. In fact there has been a prison here far longer than the present building has stood, and in several incarnations. The first of which I now know to be a motte and bailey castle erected soon after the Norman conquest and before 1100.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Towards
the end of the 11<sup>th</sup> century, then, a motte & bailey castle
was erected at this south western corner of the old Roman city of Glevum at what is now
known as Barbican Hill. This castle probably replaced an earlier
Norman timber fortification which was sited close by, but inside the
old city walls. The new motte was crowned by a stone building and
William I held court here and in 1085 at a Great Council meeting
commissioned the Domesday Book, (could this somehow be connected to Glivi's complaint that he 'has neither wheat nor oats'?). The Castle was in the hands of the
county sheriffs of Gloucester from the start and it seems likely that
part of the castle was a prison from it's earliest period and by the
mid 12<sup>th</sup> century it was almost certainly the official county
jail.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">There can be very little doubt that this must be the building which is being described in <i>Culhwch and Olwen. </i>In the first instance at the freeing of Eiddoel fab Aer where Glivi is described as being on 'the summit of his castle'; surely <i>only</i> a motte and bailey castle can be described as having a summit. In the second instance during the freeing of Mabon fab Modron these further details are provided; it is a </span>prison/castle or house of stone on a bend in the Severn at the wall of Caerloyw. This is an exact and comprehensive description of Gloucester Castle at the end of the 11th century</div>
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This once more proves that the sites on the route of the Oldest Animals were neither 'remote or not certainly identifiable'. It clearly emphasises that the author of Culhwch had a very precise 'notion as to the location' of these sites.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Shape of the Route</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As
incredible as it may seem, five out of six of the stages on the route
in the quest for Mabon son of Modron appear to mark out a circle with a
diameter of 122 miles with a high degree of precision. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
centre of the circle falls just to the west of Rhayader, the
distances from here to each of the sites visited by Arthur's men,
(not including Cilgwri) is 61 miles.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Midsummer sunset towards Bodernabwy from the centre</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mid-Winter sunrise towards Llyn Llyw from the centre. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The eagle has always been a symbol for the Sun,
and so I wasn't surprised to find that the line from the centre of
the circle to Bodernabwy, the 'dwelling place' of the Eagle of Gwernabwy at 'the far end of the World', is precisely aligned
on mid-Summer sunset. This is the farthest North that the Sun appears
to travel throughout the year; so it is no coincidence that the Owl
of Cwm Cawlwyd says of the Eagle of Gwernabwy that he is 'the oldest
animal in this world, <i>and he travels the most</i>...' 122 miles in this case, from Worlds End to Whirls End.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Blackbird of Cilgwri</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">Cilgwri
is the obvious odd man out, and I suggest that either we may
have lost the originally intended Cilgwri which would have been
somewhere on the arc between Caerloyw and Rhedynfre, or one or other
of the existing Cilgwri's </span><span style="color: black;"><i>is</i></span><span style="color: black;"> the
intended site, (both sites have their merits) and the author
of </span><span style="color: black;"><i>Culhwch</i></span><span style="color: black;"> had
an other, more subtle intention. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">All
of the other sites along the route can be pretty much pinpointed
(literally) and so it would </span></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">seem</span></i></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> to
go against the grain that the author equated the entire Wirral
Peninsula with the home of the Blackbird rather than some specific
place.</span></span><span style="color: black;">There
are variations as to the whereabouts of the Blackbird in later Welsh
Poetic and Triadic sources.</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> In
the triad, Tri Hynaif Byd, 'The Three Elders of the World', the
Oldest Animals are the three birds,
the blackbird, the owl and the eagle but the
blackbird is now the</span></span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Mwyalchen
Gelli Gadarn, 'the Blackbird of the Mighty Grove' or, less
romantically, 'of the Great Copse'. Elsewhere the blackbird is
described as dwelling in a 'green copse' and also a 'deep copse' all
hinting, perhaps, at a specific place as if it might be known to the
audience. Indeed, these may all be 'epithets' for the Wirral, which
was until the 14th century, entirely forested. There are paralells to
a similar quest motif being undertaken by one of Arthur's knights and
located specifically in the Wirral in the middle English poem 'Sir
Gawain and the Green Knight'. The hero of the poem, Gawain, traverses
the forested 'wilderness of the Wirral' (Cilgwri) enquiring, as he
goes, as to the whereabouts of the mysterious 'Green Chapel', home of
the Green Knight, just as Arthur's men may have traversed the 'deep
copse' of Cilgwri to enquire of Mabon son of Modron.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">I
alluded earlier to the words of the blackbird spoken to Gwrhyr
Interpreter of Languages, 'When I first came here, there was a
smith's anvil here, and I was a young bird. No work was done upon it
except while my beak was on it each evening. Today there is not so
much as a nut worn away'.2 There may well be some
forgotten idiomatic allusion in this statement which may have
specifically identified an actual site, (perhaps associated with a
mythical smith in Cilgwri/Wirral) to a contemporary learned Welsh
ear.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Whether
this is true or not, it is worth mentioning that in this the first
episode, where the Blackbird of Cilgwri guides Arthur's men to the
Stag of Rhedynfre, the easiest route from the Wirral to Rhedynfre is
to follow the River Dee, the border of North Wales, until they arrive
at Rhedynfre. Compare this to the final episode, where the Salmon of
Llyn Lliw guides Arthur's men to Mabon, they follow the River Severn,
the border of South Wales until they arrive at the 'fort in the bend
of the wall' at Caer Gloyw. These bookend episodes <i>could</i> have
been intended as mirror images, emphasising the borders of Wales. </span></span></span></span>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">These
are the best arguments I can muster in support of Cilgwri = Wirral. I
will bring counter arguments shortly.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
The Route of the Oldest animals in <i>Culhwch and Olwen</i>, according to Bromwich and Evans, Idris Foster, Melville Richards, D Machreth Ellis, J Lloyd Jones, Rhys <i>et al</i>.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
First, I want to emphasise just how incredibly ordered the rest of the route of the 'Oldest Animals', as we have it in <i>Culhwch ac Olwen</i>, actually is. Starting with 1 Caer Loyw then 3 Rhedynfre, 4 Cwm Cowlydd, 5 Gwernabwy, 6 Llyn Lliw and finally back to 7 Caer Loyw. Each of these sequential sites are 61 miles from a common centre. This is an astounding fact. And this presents a direct challenge to the accepted wisdom that:</div>
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'It is highly doubtful whether the redactor of Culhwch had any but an an indistinct notion as to the location of the places with which the 'Oldest Animals' were associated'. (Bromwich and Evans).</div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A
comparison with a well known variant recorded by Thomas Williams (or
Wiliems) of Trefriw in 1594 is instructive. Remarkably, the tale
includes all the 'Oldest Animals' as found in <i>Culhwch</i>,
and a further ancient figure in the form of The Toad of Cors
Fochno, (discussed below). This story takes an entirely
different form from that found in <i>Culhwch and Olwen</i> though,
moreover, the order in which we meet the animals is also very
different. To Illustrate this here are the bare bones:</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">After
a long marriage the Eagle of Gwernabwy’s wife had died
and now he was alone. So he thought to marry the Owl of Cwm Cowlwyd,
but he would only marry her if she was at least as old as he was. To
find out how old she is, he decides to visit the really old Stag of
Rhedynfre , who does not know the age of the Owl, so he sends him to
someone older than him, the Salmon of Glyn Llifon. The
Salmon, however old he is, knows not the age of the Owl so he sends
him to the very, very old Blackbird of Cilgwri. The Blackbird does
not know how old the Owl is, and so sends him to the ancient Toad of
Cors Fochno. And it is the Toad who confirms that the Owl is the
oldest of all. The Eagle could now marry the Owl.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSH9ZD7LGQTg4UWuIgh2NbGv9kJL8RU9VBxyp7NK1GtCi2ya0zPcLBZKG3GaaVhMJVTftFec5Q6jc9xlbE1rnnzJcL7Bw1Q7L3HIt9GdHRe51yE-L6mWAQ3kfyvrG598frUpU83LEnyJev/s1600/later+tradition+animal+route+%25283%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="516" data-original-width="573" height="576" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSH9ZD7LGQTg4UWuIgh2NbGv9kJL8RU9VBxyp7NK1GtCi2ya0zPcLBZKG3GaaVhMJVTftFec5Q6jc9xlbE1rnnzJcL7Bw1Q7L3HIt9GdHRe51yE-L6mWAQ3kfyvrG598frUpU83LEnyJev/s640/later+tradition+animal+route+%25283%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
Route of the Eagle to the Owl according to Thomas Wiliems.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">The
route followed by the Eagle of Gwernabwy to the Owl of Cwm Cowlydd in
this later tradition makes very little sense, if any. Despite the
fact that five of the animals homes are the same as in </span><span style="color: black;"><i>Culhwch,
(</i></span><span style="color: black;">therefore
marking out the same 122 mile diameter circle) the trajectory looks
like a child's angry scribble... as if some crucial understanding has
been lost. The trajectory of the story in </span><span style="color: black;"><i>Culhwch</i></span><span style="color: black;">,
on the other hand, is serene, ordered and <i>almost</i> a complete running
sequence. </span></span></span>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">However
true this is, this nagging sense of incompleteness stems from two
observations: 1. Only just over half of a circle has been described
and 2. The awkward siting of Cilgwri in The Wirral. I want to address
this second issue next.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">Only
Cilgwri, the first place visited by Arthur's men, does not fall on a
circle marked out by the other places en route to Mabon son of
Modron, it is the only place out of sequence and it is the only named
place which does not occupy a specific site. It clearly breaks the
pattern set by the other places as they occur in </span><span style="color: black;"><i>Culhwch.</i></span><span style="color: black;"> I earlier considered the uncertainty attached to the whereabouts of
Cilgwri, and reluctantly accepted that The Wirral was the most likely
'site' (intended by </span><span style="color: black;"><i>Culhwch's</i></span><span style="color: black;"> author),
due to its proximity to Rhedynfre/Farndon, and to their mutual
connection to the River Dee. Of the farm near Corwen called Cilgwri,
not much can be said except that it has the name Cilgwri, it is also
near the River Dee, (one and half miles away) and it is not too far
distant from Rhedynfre/Farndon, (twenty five miles). But, as Bromwich and Evans point out both sites are 'incapable of final proof'. And so, in view
of this uncertainty, it is worth considering an alternative line of
enquiry which is provided by the evidence contained within the route
itself. To put it another way, if the evidence for Cilgwri = Wirral,
or Cilgwri = Farm near Corwen didn't exist, where, even if you were
unaware of the routes circularity, </span><span style="color: black;"><i>would</i></span><span style="color: black;"> you look
for the Blackbird of Cilgwri? Could it be that in the original
survey, (because at some level that is what this appears to be) there
was a place called Cilgwri somewhere in the English midlands, on the
arc between Caer Loyw/Gloucester and Rhedynfre/Farndon?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
idea of looking for a candidate for a Cilgwri in this area is fraught
with drawbacks, for one, a great swathe of this arc is now
Stourbridge, Dudley and Wolverhampton modern, built up areas, whereas
our site would necessarily have to be an ancient site. For another,
very few British place-names have survived in this part of England
(several hill ranges and rivers are noted exceptions). So the chances of
finding a place with a name even remotely like Cilgwri in this area
are near zero. The only clues available, if the other five sites are
anything to go by, is that it would be 61 miles from <i>their</i> common
centre. Perhaps it would be equidistant from Caer Loyw and Rhedynfre,
or at least a sensible distance from either?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Well
I had a look, in fact I have scoured this entire line between Caer
Loyw and Rhedynfre in Google Earth, and, amazingly, I have found one
place which ticks several boxes: It is 61 miles from the centre. It
is ancient. It is a sensible distance from it's neighbours. It has a 'deep copse'. It even
has a name a bit like Cilgwri, though this is probably due to chance. <span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">In
the Domesday book this place is named as </span><i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Cil</span></i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">lintone
and is today known as Chillington Hall (The ancestral home
of the Giffards since the 12th C.). </span><i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Cilli</span></i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">ntone
is also reminiscent of </span><i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Gelli </span></i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Gadarn (Y Celli
- grove becomes Gelli-, common in Welsh place-names)</span><span style="color: #464646;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span></span>the
home of the <span style="color: #222222;"><i>Mwyalchen</i></span><span style="color: #222222;"> </span>(Blackbird)
in Triad 92: The Three Elders of the World:</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The
Owl of Cwm Cowlwyd,<br />the Eagle of Gwernabwy,<br />and the Blackbird
of Celli Gadarn.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The
grounds of Chillington Hall contain a forest known as Big
Wood and this is actually a fair translation of Gelli Gadarn, (Mighty
Grove or Great Copse). There are, however, no associated tales of
ancient blackbirds or ousels as far as I know, but I have read somewhere (can't find the reference), that some sort of bird appears on the crest of the family silver, which may tie in with the mention of a smith.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPJB0p4ZeJ-xH4EeXYVbVyS6KtlNCWoWEGs-me78EIP65vNzdtINseXO8lFWCx5OwgZOKQdRaQvsb8hjEcsYsxaTrxfi3gyogtsgdhc68-sz6fmzrteThFfopwESHySpUDzE8USz59VWie/s1600/Chillington+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="489" data-original-width="972" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPJB0p4ZeJ-xH4EeXYVbVyS6KtlNCWoWEGs-me78EIP65vNzdtINseXO8lFWCx5OwgZOKQdRaQvsb8hjEcsYsxaTrxfi3gyogtsgdhc68-sz6fmzrteThFfopwESHySpUDzE8USz59VWie/s640/Chillington+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Cilgwri ?</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Curiously,
Chillington has a tree lined avenue which appears to be a
continuation of the line to the centre of the circular route of the
other five 'Oldest Animal' sites. Looking along this 'Avenue' toward
the north-east one could witness Sunrise on May 1st, the birthday of
Gwri of the Golden Hair in the First Branch of the Mabinogi.
Unfortunately, it appears that the avenue was only 'lately made by
Peter Gifford' in 1727. What are the chances of that? </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">(</span></span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">In about 1725, Peter Giffard planted the long avenue of oak trees which formed <b>the original approach to the house</b>, but he probably incorporated many existing trees). </span></span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">The village of Chillington was largely swept away by Capability Brown, and all that remains is an unmetalled lane known as Chillington Street and two timbered and thatched cottages.</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDUnuPSDp4Siurt_riB4jrKDPieTUljtJwPXN14rCXM7ULYwClc3prxUSMUUzkv49VdcrPs2_BVSD5MYAWIrTM9dQjSyDdjuA2RsaHi3eC8kIUPFKPMJiK7fEd9VRXdcxJ6ZSFdrMMJnFI/s1600/giffards+entrance+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="1306" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDUnuPSDp4Siurt_riB4jrKDPieTUljtJwPXN14rCXM7ULYwClc3prxUSMUUzkv49VdcrPs2_BVSD5MYAWIrTM9dQjSyDdjuA2RsaHi3eC8kIUPFKPMJiK7fEd9VRXdcxJ6ZSFdrMMJnFI/s640/giffards+entrance+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="text-align: start;"><br /></span>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: start;">The entrance to the Avenue to Chillington Hall and Big Wood beyond.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-5cRluNeOi4V-eTwaPvrdQi1a6ydkslGRL79FbQM9c2-lkl1OpS9H6zl4DGDcqWfYKxHJWYmANb8Lj7y9vP0MlueasGHRpIDvJjkh3LVxIKltLRoLDmTDowqdGtwtiA9HBdUw2Xy8oATE/s1600/chilly+sunrise+1st+may.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="1600" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-5cRluNeOi4V-eTwaPvrdQi1a6ydkslGRL79FbQM9c2-lkl1OpS9H6zl4DGDcqWfYKxHJWYmANb8Lj7y9vP0MlueasGHRpIDvJjkh3LVxIKltLRoLDmTDowqdGtwtiA9HBdUw2Xy8oATE/s640/chilly+sunrise+1st+may.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Sunrise.
May 1st. Chillington. along the Avenue from the house.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW1COcZHxsuiC5DrGW6pu68jBNFxE84bDPpVeVUJgF9htjPiNYWPys4V39QUGFiKPe9gleeboHPkEChpYqUaMDiRBhcj1NT4yTW2P4K2RaKXwiTP7soN_rJI_MXqwEYjxAGdkK74AHlIRg/s1600/CO+Route3+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="507" data-original-width="700" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW1COcZHxsuiC5DrGW6pu68jBNFxE84bDPpVeVUJgF9htjPiNYWPys4V39QUGFiKPe9gleeboHPkEChpYqUaMDiRBhcj1NT4yTW2P4K2RaKXwiTP7soN_rJI_MXqwEYjxAGdkK74AHlIRg/s640/CO+Route3+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">I
am not saying that this was the original Cilgwri, only that it could
have been. However, i</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">f this single, simple, logical change is
made to the existing 'accepted', route then something spectacular
happens and the contrast with that route recorded by Thomas
Wiliems of Trefriw in 1594 could not be more stark. It seems
obvious to me that this amendment to the siting of Cilgwri at least
lays bare the scope of the technical achievement of some (unknown?)
cartographic story-telling genius of eleventh century Wales. </span></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But
500 years later, by the time this tale had reached the ears of Thomas
Williams of Trefriw, (who lived just three miles from 'Cwm Cowlwyd')
the tune, as it were, held all the right notes but not now
necessarily in the right order. He did, however provide us with the
name of another 'Oldest Animal', not present in Culhwch and Olwen,
the Toad of Cors Fochno.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Toad of Cors Fochno</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSw2Kcp3YNjY4SryNeAuuRFnMPXCrsHooeMY6frKiO5SzXItYSRy1fSYLr6gkc9u9RMQW4IU7QFjnkNjYhgq4-YXjDjzGlVrDKgDLrOUAb97p5vmd46gqyUbKujzx5OiuP2ezJcahnYtBn/s1600/cors+fochno+clear+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="576" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSw2Kcp3YNjY4SryNeAuuRFnMPXCrsHooeMY6frKiO5SzXItYSRy1fSYLr6gkc9u9RMQW4IU7QFjnkNjYhgq4-YXjDjzGlVrDKgDLrOUAb97p5vmd46gqyUbKujzx5OiuP2ezJcahnYtBn/s400/cors+fochno+clear+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">Borth Bog/Cors Fochno.</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Cors
Fochno or Borth Bog</span><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"> is
a raised peat mire near the village of Borth in Ceredigion, it is a
World Heritage Site. It is ancient, its peat contains the remains of
a forest 5,000 years old. And it is the home of the ancient, some say
giant Toad who was visited by the</span> </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Eagle
of Gwernabwy on his way to marry the Owl of Cwm Cawlwyd, according to
a 16th C. Welsh folk tale.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5OxdK8pk-LAE0OZ4iqqtK9HvvQFCSmnlshRxerenVgPI0a9j1vrSk817Fh8m5mD5PkCtf9VE7TvPXq7UlWbXZNCBeWD03Fi0EJTI7N4AfLs2z0b1q6cd23vntQwSYN1_odyS561lHFqH2/s1600/bodernabwy+cors+fochno+centre.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="1360" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5OxdK8pk-LAE0OZ4iqqtK9HvvQFCSmnlshRxerenVgPI0a9j1vrSk817Fh8m5mD5PkCtf9VE7TvPXq7UlWbXZNCBeWD03Fi0EJTI7N4AfLs2z0b1q6cd23vntQwSYN1_odyS561lHFqH2/s640/bodernabwy+cors+fochno+centre.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">But
the Toad of Cors Fochno also squats like a marker, </span><span style="color: black;"><i>exactly</i></span><span style="color: black;"> on
the line between Bodernabwy and the centre of the 11th C. route of
the 'Oldest Animals' in </span><span style="color: black;"><i>Culhwch
and Olwen. </i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">The front door of the
'Dwelling place of the Eagle of Gwernabwy' is precisely 61 miles from
the mean centre of the route of the 'Oldest Animals'.</span></div>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsDQmKHKL42gE4jd9VpJwoQhqoRAB9cHDkN9kn4RaIKhFglIClFENfWb00fcdq_jbpyVAD6TA8MxLKbcOylYwZRvUkekN-6jgHAD3bB2y-JQASKTz9p0Tx56KuVY2XnahJX8ucSlasAed0/s1600/gors+fochno+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="590" data-original-width="797" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsDQmKHKL42gE4jd9VpJwoQhqoRAB9cHDkN9kn4RaIKhFglIClFENfWb00fcdq_jbpyVAD6TA8MxLKbcOylYwZRvUkekN-6jgHAD3bB2y-JQASKTz9p0Tx56KuVY2XnahJX8ucSlasAed0/s640/gors+fochno+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">The
Eagle of Gwernabwy could have homed in on the Giant Toad of Cors
Fochno with the precision of a guided missile on his way to the
Salmon of Llyn Llyw, via the centre. The red line to the west points due North/South.
The red line in the upper right of the map radiates from the mean
centre of the places on the route of the 'Oldest Animals' in </span><span style="color: black;"><i>Culhwch
and Olwen</i></span><span style="color: black;">,
and terminates at the </span><span style="color: black;"><i>front
gate of Bodernabwy. </i></span><span style="color: black;">It
is an independent confirmation of the centre of the circle marked out
by the 'Oldest Animals' in </span><span style="color: black;"><i>Culhwch
and Olwen</i></span><span style="color: black;">.</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTdOOf__uuA14nDMrWA24r1R5aptHzv0HohjmBwPzOMjZpMx4owH8Nneci78xbpbtSOyHNIaKwGYKXCnGPfGTMnR8mnw3L5UUigZHzggLWb4pjzqMaA8HFr1cLXLzfH-jB48fAXDStQT-m/s1600/cors+focho+sunset2+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="759" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTdOOf__uuA14nDMrWA24r1R5aptHzv0HohjmBwPzOMjZpMx4owH8Nneci78xbpbtSOyHNIaKwGYKXCnGPfGTMnR8mnw3L5UUigZHzggLWb4pjzqMaA8HFr1cLXLzfH-jB48fAXDStQT-m/s400/cors+focho+sunset2+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It
is also an alignment in precise agreement with midsummer sunset.
Looking across Cors Fochno towards Mid-Summer sunset and the front
door of the dwelling place of the Eagle of Gwernabwy.</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPhpUGmVKxoUWMiDiSnWF4edsOTDMm89MBPQuCIOTBdO0V1n26v4gtvwhVv99jBmfEEU07zllK-v3GuDq9adlg_P6-srhEPylwGKCbMsgRVXnZNnvNdfBh48pyfzMWB55b9EQulijNaKC_/s1600/cors+fochno+may+sunrise.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="1109" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPhpUGmVKxoUWMiDiSnWF4edsOTDMm89MBPQuCIOTBdO0V1n26v4gtvwhVv99jBmfEEU07zllK-v3GuDq9adlg_P6-srhEPylwGKCbMsgRVXnZNnvNdfBh48pyfzMWB55b9EQulijNaKC_/s400/cors+fochno+may+sunrise.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Furthermore,
the base of the triangle, (the south eastern edge of the triangle of
Borth Bog) is aligned perfectly with sunrise May 1<sup>st</sup>,
Gwri's Birthday. So The Eagle of Gwernabwy, with Arthur's men in tow,
could also have visited the Toad of Cors Fochno on his way to the
Salmon of Llyn Llyw in search of Mabon son of Modron.</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6w7xCBMMABIGpV2Ck4XrdgCcXBtpLRnYb9RdC-YBB6H0UIHj8hihbJYwZyXPCoO4r6AnhPCb8DjEVgl9EL8ac25IasffhQU6Q6S9kQHoXnovXqY5-hebc5_i3iqbuiWIENSDdv-Tt3-Em/s1600/route+of+the+oldest+animals.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="631" data-original-width="924" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6w7xCBMMABIGpV2Ck4XrdgCcXBtpLRnYb9RdC-YBB6H0UIHj8hihbJYwZyXPCoO4r6AnhPCb8DjEVgl9EL8ac25IasffhQU6Q6S9kQHoXnovXqY5-hebc5_i3iqbuiWIENSDdv-Tt3-Em/s640/route+of+the+oldest+animals.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This, I
believe, is now the most accurate map in existence of the Route of
the 'Oldest Animals' as found in <i>Culhwch and Olwen</i>.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">In my view, very few academics of Welsh Medieval literature would have any serious objections to the identifications of the great majority of these sites, (see Bromwich and Evans). Cilgwri as the Big Wood at Chillington and perhaps Llyn L</span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">liw </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">as</span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Whirls </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">End near </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Aber Gwy</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> being the exceptions. But I have presented multiple pieces of corroborated, testable evidence for both of these proposed sites and I stand by them.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">My identification of the motte and bailey at CaerLoyw</span></span> or Gloucester, as the first and final site on the route, for the freeing of Eidoel and Mabon, is indisputable. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The case for Farndon </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">as the intended home of the Stag of Rhedynfre </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">with its red stump in the setting of a wide plain is likewise very strong. </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Llyn Cowlyd as the home of the Owl of Cwm Cawlydd speaks for itself. Finally, Bodernabwy as the 'dwelling place of the Eagle of Gwernabwy' at the 'far and of the world' cannot be seriously argued against.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This map also
shows that the Toad of Cors Fochno was either intended as part of an earlier scheme and has fallen out the W and R redactions, or it was added to the list of the 'Oldest Animals' (as found in Wiliems et al) at a later unknown </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">date </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">by persons unknown. But who were aware of the circularity of the scheme as found in <i>Culhwch</i>. Personally, I would favour the first option. However, either solution does not alter the fact that the circularity of the route and the appearance of the animals in sequence around that route must be the result of a deliberate act. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I don't think it is possible to argue that all of this could have happened by chance. So the next questions are obvious; who did it, when did they do it, why did they do it? And, the most intriguing question of all, how was it done? Possible answers as to the who and the when, which in turn suggest a why, are presented in part II.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I will attempt the how later.</span></span></span></div>
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</span>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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</span>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Part Two: Full Circle ?</span></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
want to address now, that other nagging issue mentioned earlier, the
incompleteness of the circle. </span></span></span></div>
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<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: small;">A
recent correspondent Mr Steven Higgins commented, <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">What
I especially like about your great circle is that the Eagle of
Gwernabwy flies 180 degrees from Gwernabwy to Gloucester",
reminding him of Lleu's travels of 'nine score attributes' in the
guise of an eagle in </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Math
vab Mathonwy</span></i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.
(but see my post 'The 'Death' of Lleu Llaw Gyffes'). He makes
another interesting comment, could it be that our "storyteller,
knew even longer sequences of the Oldest Animals? Could it be that
the irregular spacing of the locations could be accounted for by the
simple argument that originally there were several more 'Oldest
Animals... the sequence of animals frequently reaches at least
nine”. </span></span></span></span></span>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> <span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I
replied that</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">'...</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">if
this was the case in </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Culhwch</span></i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
we should expect to find their locations in the south and southwest
of Wales where the circle arcs first through Dinas Cross, then the
Pembrokeshire/Carmarthenshire border on the coast near Amroth, then
along the coast between Rhossili and Port Eynon on the Gower, and
then on through the Vale of Glamorgan before finally reaching Llyn
Lliw. It would be interesting to know if there are any Animal
'folktales' associated with these places. </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The
large gap between Caer Loyw and Rhedynfre could be explained by the
fact that this part of the circle is entirely in England'. </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">(This
was before I had located Cilgwri at Chillington). </span></span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: left;"> </span><br />
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<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Another
correspondent, Mr James Dunkley then supplied the following:</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br />'Dinas
Island was known as Ynys Fach Llyffan Gawr - Llyffan being Welsh for
Toad. There is some curious folklore about toads attached to the
area. Curious also that other versions of the Oldest Animals do make
reference to a toad, which of course does not form part of the
sequence in Culhwch....' </span></span></span></span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Again,
this was before I realised that Cors Fochno </span><i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">is</span></i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
actually an integral part of the </span><i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Culhwch</span></i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
route. However, the alternative Toad of Dinas Island demanded
scrutiny. Here's what I found:</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Instead of visiting the Toad of Cors Fochno, the
Eagle of Gwernabwy could have, with equally devastating accuracy,
crossed Cardigan Bay and homed in on Ynys Dinas or Dinas Island, ‘so
called because it is almost an island separated from the mainland by
a deep glacial meltwater channel, the narrow valley once known as
Ynys Fach Llyffan Gawr’. Or, (perhaps) the 'Little Island of the
Giant Toad'. It is precisely 61 miles from the centre of the 'Oldest
Animals' route. </span></span></span>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh-8dAdWOUTLPU0U7B5IU41PKzwT-OYbCQXrOBMTV2sf4Ty0TWd-mKKiQlc56QQqYYNid0IsquPYksUUuzUcau0UQQQpsNc-Tr42PHzc4MCJ1pverzAMDI_89bl8pGBsVlxAXb9n1phoqv/s1600/c+Ynys+Dinas+%25283%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="795" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh-8dAdWOUTLPU0U7B5IU41PKzwT-OYbCQXrOBMTV2sf4Ty0TWd-mKKiQlc56QQqYYNid0IsquPYksUUuzUcau0UQQQpsNc-Tr42PHzc4MCJ1pverzAMDI_89bl8pGBsVlxAXb9n1phoqv/s400/c+Ynys+Dinas+%25283%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ynys
Fach Llyffan Fawr</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Actually
the accepted etymology is as follows: “the Ynys Fach of Llyffan the
Giant” (Llyffan = man’s name) + soft mutation + (cawr =
giant). Ynys Fach = ‘little island’ (ynys =
island) + soft mutation + (bach = little). Peniarth MS.118
contains a number of giant tales in which Gwalchmai, (Arthur’s
nephew) slays three witches. The witches were the wives of the three
giants, Hywel Gawr, Pyscoc Gawr and Llyffan Gawr. And all this would
tend to support Llyffan Gawr = Llyffan the Giant rather than Llyffan
Gawr = the Giant Toad. However, this area is steeped in tales of
toads.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Gerald
of Wales told the following weird story of a young man named "Seisyll
Esgairhir, (Longshanks), in his <i>Itinerarium
Cambriae</i> or Journey through Wales (1191):</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">'In
our own days a young man who lived in this neighbourhood, who was
lying ill in bed, was persecuted by a plague of toads. It
seemed as if the entire local population of toads had made an
agreement to go to visit him. Vast numbers were killed by his
friends and by those looking after him, but they grew again like the
heads of the Hydra. Toads came flocking from all directions,
more and more of them, until no one could count them. In the
end the young man’s friends and the other people who were trying to
help were quite worn out. They chose a tall tree, cut off all
its branches and removed all its leaves. Then they hoisted him
up to the top in a bag. He was still not safe from his venomous
assailants. The toads crawled up the tree looking for him.
They killed him and ate him right up, leaving nothing but his
skeleton'.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="line-height: 0.4cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But
again Frances Jones commented: ‘We are invited to believe that this
episode occasioned the place-name, but it should be borne in mind
that Llyffant occurs as a personal name in West Wales, e.g. the
Cardiganshire giant called Llyffan, Slain by Gwalchmai…while the
old name for Dinas Island, the headland across the water from
Trellyffant, was Ynys fach Lyffan Gawr’. <span style="font-size: small;">(From
Llyfrgel Genedlaethol Cymru. Frances Jones. Carmarthen. Lloyd
of Hendre and Cwmgloyn. National Library of Wales Journal. Vol
XXIII).</span></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
tale is associated with the nearby Trellyfeint Farmhouse,
Trellyffeint = ‘Toads Hall’ or ‘Toad Town’, and Jones goes on
to tell of a strange sculpture of a toad which used to reside there:
‘The toad in question is carved in a dark-green marble, about as
large as the palm of a woman's hand, and is reputed to be the work of
an Italian artist'. He also provides the following:</span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">…<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">a
few words may be given to an interesting little relic which
perpetuated the memory of the creatures who had proved so fatal to an
earlier owner. The first known reference occurs in Fenton's Tour
(1811), when he went to Trellyffant 'to see the figure of a toad,
well-sculptured in black marble, which is introduced into a
chimney-piece, and was formerly covered with glass to preserve it
from any injury. It is said to have been brought from Italy, the work
of a foreign artist… all I could learn was, that it had filled its
present station for some centuries'. By the time we hear of it next,
some half a century on, it had been moved to Cwmgloyn, and in Arch-
aeologia Cambrensis, 1864, 310, we read, Trellyffaint In the parlour
of the house, over the chimney-piece, in the centre of a pretty
landscape of the place, painted on wood, was formerly a dark marble
toad, said to be sent from Italy by Sir Richard Mason, Knight of the
Green Cloth to James II, to his relatives at Trellyffaint in
Pembrokeshire, who bore a toad for their crest’.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0oT-ckf9L5ekeY1J7_lgIrR84TTwujmk2TUyQ6920gyOVb4Qxt6DgKHs4lzPCWAIdDHnVlgj8nEQAVgVro2IbfWBOywhlrw8Z5enoDwwuOG3zWPX-rvgOPeENBUZGxF6rDD7GDq_W4k6/s1600/Screenshot+2017-12-13+10.13.27+%25283%2529.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="158" data-original-width="246" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0oT-ckf9L5ekeY1J7_lgIrR84TTwujmk2TUyQ6920gyOVb4Qxt6DgKHs4lzPCWAIdDHnVlgj8nEQAVgVro2IbfWBOywhlrw8Z5enoDwwuOG3zWPX-rvgOPeENBUZGxF6rDD7GDq_W4k6/s320/Screenshot+2017-12-13+10.13.27+%25283%2529.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Near
Trellyffaint or Toad Hall, is the Neolithic burial Chamber of
Trellyfant It is around 6,000 years old. To the north of the main
chamber is a small square feature - possibly another chamber. This
would make Trellyfant a double chambered tomb .This neolithic
monument is much older than the toad story by Giraldus Cambrensis
(Gerald of Wales) in 1188 who believed that Trellyffant (‘Toad Hall’) was so-named because a chieftain buried inside the tomb had
been devoured by toads'.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In
view of all this ancient 'Toadiness' at 61 miles distant from the
centre of the 'Oldest Animals' route, I think it is entirely
justifiable to suspect that Ynys Fach Llyffan Gawr may once have
formed part of an alternative (earlier?) 'route' of the Oldest
Animals. </span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If
the Eagle of Gwernabwy did visit the Toad of Ynys Dinas he could have
stuck to his circular trajectory, crossed Pembrokeshire and
Carmarthen Bay and called in with the wise and ancient Dragon of
Worm's Head, exactly 61 miles from the centre of the route of the
'Oldest Animals'.</span></span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
head of Worm's Head.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #262626;">The
name here comes from 'Würm' the Viking word for dragon and it is
easy to see why, as the sinuous peninsula has all the appearance of a
sleeping dragon.</span><span style="color: black;">
</span><span style="color: #262626;">Traditional
attributes of the dragon include both longevity and wisdom, as well
as the gift of human speech... </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">From
the Dragon Of Worms Head the Eagle of Gwernabwy could swing across
Swansea Bay and through the Vale of Glamorgan before
alighting, </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>exactly</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> 61
miles from the centre of the route of the 'Oldest Animals', at
Llancarfan monastery, perhaps seeking directions from an ancient,
grizzled White Boar. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
site of Llancarvan Monastery where 'the blessed man marked by the
fixing of three twigs, the three stations of the boar; and he built
in the first station a remarkable monastery'.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This
from ‘The Life of Saint Cadog’ written shortly before
1086 by Lifris of Llancarfan:</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="break-before: auto; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.84cm; margin-right: 1.61cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And
Saint Cadoc rising early in the morning, saw that the rough and bushy
places had, by the direction of God, been made level, as the angel
had mentioned. Therefore the venerable man came by the angelic
command to the aforesaid bush, in the middle of the cleared valley,
and observed a remarkable great boar rising from the sound of his
footsteps, and also a white swan flying away, being driven from its
nest by fear. And the boar stopped its course not far from the
aforesaid thicket, and looked back towards Saint Cadoc, as if
pointing out the place: it then proceeded a little farther, and again
for a little while stopped its progress. Then the blessed man marked
by the fixing of three twigs, the three stations of the boar; and he
built in the first station a remarkable monastery of wooden
materials, in the second, a refectory and castle, and in the third, a
dormitory.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">St.
Cadoc is usually depicted with a lance, sometimes with a deer, mouse
or pig. (All of these animals helped the saint in his life. The
name "Llancarvan" means "a deer church."
Tradition tells us that two tame deer, harnessed to a carriage,
helped St. Cadoc build the monastery. A mouse, during a famine, showed the monastery’s brethren an abandoned and very rich granary,
and a white boar pointed out to the saint the spot
where he was to build his monastery.</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> (Paraphrasing
Dmitry Lapa. In </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">Venerable
Cadoc, Abbot of Llancarfan in Wales</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">).</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Llancarfan
then, is a veritable hotbed of 'Helpful Animals'. Indeed, it has
often been noticed that the </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Vita
Cadoci </span></i></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">and
</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Culhwch
</span></i></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><i>and
Olwen</i> are intricately linked texts. Both were probably composed in
the early years of the 1080's</span>.</span></span></span></div>
<br />
'It is worth raising, at least, the question of direct influence between the two texts... they contain at times remarkably similar episodes, almost to the point that one seems to be a response to the other. The direction of this influence, if it exists, would be almost impossible to discern given the uncertain age of Culhwch ac Olwen and our still imperfect knowledge of manuscript circulation. Suffice it to say that they may be so linked... The south-Welsh setting of Culhwch, particularly during the hunt of Twrch Trwyth, does raise the interesting possibility of geographical proximity to Lifris’ assumed place of writing, St. Cadog’s cult centre Llancarfan'.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">From: 'Does a comparison of Lifris’ Life of St Cadog and the prose tale How Culhwch won Olwen support Elissa Henken’s equation of mediaeval Welsh ideals of sainthood and heroism? 'Note 7. Though I couldn't find the author's name, the full quote from this excellent essay can be found here: <a href="http://www.undergraduatelibrary.org/system/files/12i.pdf">http://www.undergraduatelibrary.org/system/files/12i.pdf</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj436f1VEOxmUC4XMaeE1jWv9X0BHRpLAzuCRm8VZ2HXKK_3zAFtfXoaQJtGTI-XCDN1SO5dLtwLoUOtgtJQ4t4DIDRakXTCGSVOxSJXcWtQmFxPAC28xtAGIxQqqlc9eObMQ0_t-V94jz3/s1600/Mileage+2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="1111" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj436f1VEOxmUC4XMaeE1jWv9X0BHRpLAzuCRm8VZ2HXKK_3zAFtfXoaQJtGTI-XCDN1SO5dLtwLoUOtgtJQ4t4DIDRakXTCGSVOxSJXcWtQmFxPAC28xtAGIxQqqlc9eObMQ0_t-V94jz3/s640/Mileage+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">All
the Way Round.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Unfinished...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">How was it done </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0NMM8q2ok8ngipsrqGx2GcmbI1_S-6wmf2qTHW4_kgCklBfB3IGvsuJE0wUgfDk2aMxdx1XYH_UUbNi3oIaaLswSq0jN6bOOt6qP4ESpZ2ORfI6R7CNi3Tj27DTrisviZpS7A_BMvv1Lg/s1600/Centre+circle+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="1111" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0NMM8q2ok8ngipsrqGx2GcmbI1_S-6wmf2qTHW4_kgCklBfB3IGvsuJE0wUgfDk2aMxdx1XYH_UUbNi3oIaaLswSq0jN6bOOt6qP4ESpZ2ORfI6R7CNi3Tj27DTrisviZpS7A_BMvv1Lg/s640/Centre+circle+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">The Centre. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">I saved this 2006 satellite image of the centre of the circle quite recently from Google Earth. It appears to show that there might be a circular structure, perhaps a ditch and mound, (whether artificial or natural) about 60 yards in diameter and surrounding the centre of the Route of the Oldest Animals. If I were an archaeologist....</span><br />
<br /></div>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Over
and above the fact that all of the stages on this extended route of the 'Oldest
Animals' are converging incredibly close to 61 miles (the average distance comes out at 61.10666...miles) arranged around a common centre, (Cors
Fochno being the single exception, but which points to it!), i</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">t is worth mentioning something
regarding the distribution of these sites around this 122 mile wide
circle. Even a cursory glance reveals a remarkable uniformity and
this appears to be confirmed when the distances between each stage
are measured. They are as follows:</span></div>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Caer
Loyw to Cilgwri = 55.12 miles</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Cilgwri
to Rhedynfre = 40.59 miles</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Rhedynfre
to Cwm Cowlydd = 42.84 miles</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Cwm
Cowlydd to Gwernabwy = 41.16 miles</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Gwernabwy
to Ynys Dinas = 55.12 miles</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ynys
Dinas to Worms Head = 40.00 miles</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Worms
Head to Llancarfan = 42.80 miles</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Llancarfan
to Llyn Llyw = 34.30 miles</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Llyn Llyw Caer Loyw = 23.38</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">More to come here...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"></span><br />
<div align="CENTER" class="western">
<span style="font-size: medium;">A simple overlay
demonstrates that the route is not aligned to the points of the
compass.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">More.....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Appendix
One. The CO 'Oldest Animals' route compared to later routes.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">(Incorporating
my single amendment to the siting of Cilgwri). A comparison of the
routes recorded in the 16th and 17<sup>th</sup> century demonstrates how the
sequence was still changing even as late as this. It is only logical
to assume that the much earlier CO route contains the most accurate
sequence which in turn suggests that the carefully ordered route, as
we find it there, was not the product of chance, unlike these later
sequences, but was instead intentional, knowing and measured.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="line-height: 0.37cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
route as recorded by Thomas Williems of Trefriew written about
1594-1596.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">British
Museum, Adittional MS. 31055</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
route as recorded by William Bodwrda sometime between 1664 and
1660</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"> <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Oxford,
MS Bodley e 2.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The
Route of the Oldest Animals in Culhwch and Olwen. Circa 1100, with the addition of the Toad of Cors Fochno.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The same route with the addition of the Toad of Ynys Dinas, the Dragon of Worms Head and the Boar of Llancarfan</span></span></div>
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Appendix Two. The 'Oldest Animals' route compared to 'the Journey of the Swine'.<br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">The Route of the 'Oldest Animals' compared to the 'Journey of the Swine' reveals that two separate surveys, both undertaken with a high degree of precision, were carried out in Wales towards the end of the 11th century. If I were to make a guess I would say that the earlier of the two surveys was the 'Route of the Oldest Animals', as the 'Route of the Swine' displays more sophistication; the two arcs of the swine route describe circles of precisely equal circumference, whilst the connecting part of this route exactly bisects the northern circle. The Oldest animal route however covers a much larger area with a diameter of around a 120 miles compared to around the 75 miles of the Pig route diameters. Curiously, as F. J. North pointed out 75 miles equals 60 of Humphrey Lhuyd's miles, as shown by the scale on his map. And 60 miles ( not quite the radius of the Oldest Animal Route) was thought, in the medieval period, to represent the length of a Ptolemaic latitudinal degree. There are other points of contact, all of which have probably come about purely by chance, for instance, the line from the centre of the Animal route to Rhedynfre grazes both the centre of the Pig route system and Mochdre (between Ceri and Arwistli). That they are separate surveys, however, is evidenced by their having different centres, the Pig route centre being roughly 4.8 miles to the north east of the centre of the Animal route, and the impression I get is of two distinct undertakings separated by time but emanating from the same school of thought.</span><br />
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Appendix Three<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt;">The
Quest for Mabon son of Modron. Translation by Lady Charlotte Guest.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Arthur
said, "Which of these marvels will it be best for us to seek
first?"<br /><br />"It will be best," said they, "to
seek Mabon the son of Modron; and he will not be found unless we
first find Eidoel, the son of Aer, his kinsman." Then Arthur
rose up, and the warriors of the Islands of Britain with him, to seek
for Eidoel; and they proceeded until they came before the Castle of
Glivi, where Eidoel was imprisoned. Glivi stood on the summit of his
castle, and he said, "Arthur, what requirest thou of me, since
nothing remains to me in this fortress, and I have neither joy nor
pleasure in it; neither wheat nor oats? Seek not therefore to do me
harm."<br />Said Arthur, "Not to injure thee came I
hither, but to seek for the prisoner that is with thee."<br /><br />"I
will give thee my prisoner, though I had not thought to give him up
to any one; and therewith shalt thou have my support and my
aid."<br /><br />His followers said unto Arthur, "Lord, go thou
home, thou canst not proceed with thy host in quest of such small
adventures as these."<br /><br />Then said Arthur, "It
were well for thee, Gwrhyr Gwalstawd Ieithoedd, to go upon this
quest, for thou knowest all languages, and art familiar with those of
the birds and the beasts. Thou, Eidoel, oughtest likewise to go with
my men in search of thy cousin. And as for you, Kai and Bedwyr, I
have hope of whatever adventure ye are in quest of, that ye will
achieve it. Achieve ye this adventure for me."<br /><br />They went
forward until they came to the Ousel of Cilgwri. And Gwrhyr adjured
her for the sake of Heaven, saying, "Tell me if thou knowest
aught of Mabon the son of Modron, who was taken when three nights old
from between his mother and the wall."<br /><br />And the
Ousel answered, "When I first came here, there was a smith's
anvil in this place, and I was then a young bird; and from that time
no work has been done upon it, save the pecking of my beak every
evening, and now there is not so much as the size of a nut remaining
thereof; yet the vengeance of Heaven be upon me, if during all that
time I have ever heard of the man for whom you inquire. Nevertheless
I will do that which is right, and that which it is fitting that I
should do for an embassy from Arthur. There is a race of animals who
were formed before me, and I will be your guide to them."<br /><br />So
they proceeded to the place where was the Stag of Redynvre. "Stag
of Redynvre, behold we are come to thee, an embassy from Arthur, for
we have not heard of any animal older than thou. Say, knowest thou
aught of Mabon the son of Modron, who was taken from his mother when
three nights old?"<br />The Stag said, "When I first
came hither, there was a plain all around me, without any trees save
one oak sapling, which grew up to be an oak with an hundred branches.
And that oak has since perished, so that now nothing remains of it
but the withered stump; and from that day to this I have been here,
yet have I never heard of the man for whom you inquire. Nevertheless,
being an embassy from Arthur, I will be your guide to the place where
there is an animal which was formed before I was."<br /><br />So
they proceeded to the place where was the Owl of Cwm Cawlwyd. "Owl
of Cwm Cawlwyd, here is an embassy from Arthur; knowest thou aught of
Mabon the son of Modron, who was taken after three nights from his
mother?"<br /><br />"If I knew I would tell you. When
first I came hither, the wide valley you see was a wooded glen. And a
race of men came and rooted it up. And there grew there a second
wood; and this wood is the third. My wings, are they not withered
stumps? Yet all this time, even until to-day, I have never heard of
the man for whom you inquire. Nevertheless, I will be the guide of
Arthur's embassy until you come to the place where is the oldest
animal in this world, and the one that has travelled most, the Eagle
of Gwern Abwy."<br /><br />Gwrhyr said, "Eagle of Gwern Abwy,
we have come to thee an embassy from Arthur, to ask thee if thou
knowest aught of Mabon the son of Modron, who was taken from his
mother when he was three nights old." The Eagle said, "I
have been here for a great space of time, and when I first came
hither there was a rock here, from the top of which I pecked at the
stars every evening; and now it is not so much as a span high. From
that day to this I have been here, and I have never heard of the man
for whom you inquire, except once when I went in search of food as
far as Llyn Llyw. And when I came there, I struck my talons into a
salmon, thinking he would serve me as food for a long time. But he
drew me into the deep, and I was scarcely able to escape from him.
After that I went with my whole kindred to attack him, and to try to
destroy him, but he sent messengers, and made peace with me; and came
and besought me to take fifty fish spears out of his back. Unless he
know something of him whom you seek, I cannot tell who may. However,
I will guide you to the place where he is.<br /><br />So they went
thither; and the Eagle said, "Salmon of Llyn Llyw, I have come
to thee with an embassy from Arthur, to ask thee if thou knowest
aught concerning Mabon the son of Modron, who was taken away at three
nights old from his mother."<br /><br />"As much as I
know I will tell thee. With every tide I go along the river upwards,
until I come near to the walls of Gloucester, and there have I found
such wrong as I never found elsewhere; and to the end that ye may
give credence thereto, let one of you go thither upon each of my two
shoulders." So Kai and Gwrhyr Gwalstawd Ieithoedd went upon the
two shoulders of the salmon, and they proceeded until they came unto
the wall of the prison, and they heard a great wailing and lamenting
from the dungeon. Said Gwrhyr, "Who is it that laments in this
house of stone?"<br /><br />"Alas, there is reason enough
for whoever is here to lament. It is Mabon the son of Modron who is
here imprisoned; and no imprisonment was ever so grievous as mine,
neither that of Lludd Llaw Ereint, nor that of Greid the son of
Eri."<br /><br />"Hast thou hope of being released for
gold or for silver, or for any gifts of wealth, or through battle and
fighting?"<br /><br />"By fighting will whatever I may
gain be obtained."<br /><br />Then they went thence, and returned to
Arthur, and they told him where Mabon the son of Modron was
imprisoned. And Arthur summoned the warriors of the Island, and they
journeyed as far as Gloucester, to the place where Mabon was in
prison. Kai and Bedwyr went upon the shoulders of the fish, whilst
the warriors of Arthur attacked the castle. And Kai broke through the
wall into the dungeon, and brought away the prisoner upon his back,
whilst the fight was going on between the warriors. And Arthur
returned home, and Mabon with him at liberty. </span></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: medium;">Notes:</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1.
All Translations are from; The Companion Tales to the Mabinogi.
Trans. J K. Bollard. Photography Anthony Griffiths. Gomer Press.
Llandysul. 2007. Unless otherwise stated.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">2.
Lady Guest makes more sense of this: <i><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"When
I first came here, there was a smith's anvil in this place, and I was
then a young bird; and from that time no work has been done upon it,
save the pecking of my beak every evening, and now there is not so
much as the size of a nut remaining thereof".</span></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">3.
Lady Guest's translation.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">4.
I've whipped most of this paragraph from my post 'Cacamwri, Osla
Bigknife and Llyn Lliwan'.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">5.
You can find Lady Charlotte Guest's translation of Culhwch and Olwen
here: </span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/mab/mab16.htm
There are others. </span></span></span>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">More to come here...</span></div>
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Dinas Island was known as Ynys Fach Llyffan Gawr - Llyffan being Welsh for Toad. There is some curious folklore about toads attached to the area. Curious also that other versions of the Oldest Animals do make reference to a toad, which of course does not form part of the sequence in Culhwch....</div>
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I just followed that line. Thank you so much Jim, final piece in the puzzle. The White Boar of Llancarfan would then be the next of the 'oldest animals'. I'll post a post as soon as I'm not busy otherwise. The Little Island of the Giant Toad has just blown me away. Thank you thank you.</div>
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I'm about to add what that looks like.</div>
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You're more than welcome John. Was wondering where the boar would fit in too! It's a very common element in many of the sequences in the Irish tales also;)<br />
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Jim.</div>
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Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com1Wales, UK52.1306607 -3.783711700000026249.6502257 -8.9472857000000268 54.6110957 1.3798622999999735tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-39993973492040707152015-04-22T23:21:00.000-07:002018-01-19T00:26:37.143-08:00The 'Death' of Lleu Llaw Gyffes<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">The
'Death' of Lleu Llaw Gyffes</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Following the third <i>tynged</i> of Aranrhod, that Llew shall not have a wife who is from this earth, Math and Gwydion took</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 22.39px;"> '</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 22.39px;">the flowers of the oak, and the flowers of the broom, and the flowers of the meadowsweet, and from those they conjured up the fairest and most beautiful maiden anyone had ever seen. And they baptized her in the way that they did at that time, and named her Blodeuedd'. She and Llew were married and lived at Mur Castell above the Cynfael Valley in Ardudwy. One day, whilst Llew was away visiting Math, the Lord of Penllyn, Gronw Pebyr, went by Mur Castell whilst chasing down a stag. He is spotted by Blodeuedd who sends an invitation of hospitality to him, which he accepts, but not before he catches the stag on the bank of the river Cynfael. The pair fall in love and</span></span><span style="line-height: 100%;"> sleep toget</span><span style="line-height: 100%;">her for three nights</span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 100%;">. Then they hatch a plan to kill Llew Llaw Gyffes. Will Parker translates:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 22.39px;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-left: 1.14cm; margin-right: 1.08cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">The
next day, he got ready to go, and she did not hinder him.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-left: 1.14cm; margin-right: 1.08cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">'Aye,'
he said 'remember what I said to you, and talk earnestly with him,
and do that under the guise of affectionate nagging. And find out
from him by what means death might be brought about.'</span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-left: 1.14cm; margin-right: 1.08cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">That
night he came home. They passed the day in conversation, song and
carousal. That night they went to sleep together. He spoke some words
to her, [once] and a second time. But no [reply] did he get then.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-left: 1.14cm; margin-right: 1.08cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">'What's
happened to you?' he asked 'are you well?</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-left: 1.14cm; margin-right: 1.08cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">'I've
been thinking,' she said 'something you wouldn't think about me, its
just' she continued 'that I've been worried about your death, if you
go before me.'</span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-left: 1.14cm; margin-right: 1.08cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">'Aye,'
said he 'God repay your care. But unless God kills me, however, it is
not easy to kill me.'</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-left: 1.14cm; margin-right: 1.08cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">'Will
you, for God's sake and mine, tell me by what means you might be
killed? Since my memory is a better safeguard than yours.'</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-left: 1.14cm; margin-right: 1.08cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">'I'll
tell you gladly,' he said 'It is not easy,' he continued 'to kill me
by a blow . It would be necessary to spend a year making the spear to
strike me with - and without making any of it [at any other time]
except when one was at mass on Sundays.'</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-left: 1.14cm; margin-right: 1.08cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">'And
is that certain?' she asked.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-left: 1.14cm; margin-right: 1.08cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">'It's
certain, God knows,' he replied 'I cannot be killed inside a house,
nor outside,' he continued 'I cannot be killed on horseback or on
foot.'</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-left: 1.14cm; margin-right: 1.08cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">'Aye,'
said she '[so] in what way can you be killed?'</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-left: 1.14cm; margin-right: 1.08cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">'I'll
tell you,' he replied. 'By making a bath for me by the side of a
river, making a curved, slatted roof over the tub, and thatching that
well and without [leaving] any gaps. And bringing a buck (the word translated here is <i>'bwch' </i>meaning billy goat or he-goat),' he
continued 'and putting it next to the tub, and me putting one of my
feet on the buck's back, and the other one on the side of the tub.
Whoever would strike me [while I am] like that would bring about my
death.'</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="orphans: 1;">
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-left: 1.14cm; margin-right: 1.08cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">'Aye,'
said she 'I thank God for that. That can be easily avoided.'</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">So here is the 'death stance' of Lleu: He has one foot on the rim of the well and one foot on the back of the goat. He takes this position beside the river Cynfael. On the opposite bank are the goats brought by Blodeuedd. Above him is the well-thatched roof. </span><span style="line-height: 100%;">Gruffydd surmised that in an earlier version of the tale a prophecy, geas or tynged, perhaps imposed by God, must have preceded this peculiar position which Llew must take in order that he may be slain. The very absurdity, obscurity and unguessable answer to the riddle, which Llew reveals to Blodeuedd, guarantees him immortality, unless, of course, he reveals the answer to someone like, well, Blodeuedd. But that's beside the point, the point is that this image meant to be unique, </span><span style="line-height: 100%;">unknowable,</span><span style="line-height: 100%;"> unrepeatable. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Now, h</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">ere is a
description of the constellation Perseus: He has one foot on the
uppermost rim of the Zodiacal belt, the area immediately below this
part of the Zodiac was anciently known as 'the waters of the well'
due to the predominance of constellations with watery themes. His
other foot (almost) rests on the back of the goat Capella in Auriga,
he takes this position on the South bank of The Milky Way, on the
opposite bank is the asterism known as The Kids usually depicted as
two goat kids. Above him is the entire firmament, centred on Polaris.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">As regards the 'well thatched roof', it is worth quoting W J Gruffydd's note to this
in full: "The word used is </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>cromglwyd,
</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">that
is literally, a round hurdle,- like an open umbrella. The word is
still used in Wales in the form of </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>cronglwyd
</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">
in the phrase, </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>dan
gronglwyd rhywun "under someone's roof</i></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">,"
i.e., in his house. What is meant here is a round pointed thatched
roof without sides, similar to those found in an African kraal".</span> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;">My idea that this
'roof' is meant to correspond to the dome of heaven, and that the pole which holds it up corresponds to the Axis Mundi is confirmed in
an old Irish poem ascribed to the legendary tree dweller Suibhne
Geillt:</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.99cm; margin-right: 0.93cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">My little hut in
Tuaim Inbhir,</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.99cm; margin-right: 0.93cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">a mansion would not
be more ingenious,</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.99cm; margin-right: 0.93cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">with its stars to my
wish,</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.99cm; margin-right: 0.93cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">with its sun, with
its moon.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.99cm; margin-right: 0.93cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">It was Gobban that
made it</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.99cm; margin-right: 0.93cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">-that the tale may
be told you-</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.99cm; margin-right: 0.93cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">my darling, God of
heaven'</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.99cm; margin-right: 0.93cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">was the thatcher
that roofed it.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.99cm; margin-right: 0.93cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">A house in which
rain does not fall,</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.99cm; margin-right: 0.93cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">a place in which
spears are not feared,</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.99cm; margin-right: 0.93cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">as open as if in a
garden</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.99cm; margin-right: 0.93cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">and it without a
wall round it.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">In his book
'The Quest for Merlin', Nikolai Tolstoy noted Professor O'Rahilly's
comment concerning ‘this thatched roof without sides...<i>The house
that Gobban built appears to be the firmament of heaven'</i>. And there
cannot be any doubt that this is the same thatched roof described in
Math vab Mathonwy. It is, surely, significant that Gobban is cognate
with Gofannon the Smith who delivers Dylan, Lleu's brother, the
Unfortunate Blow. It is also worth mentioning that the line 'A house in which rain does not fall' finds strong echoes in the second englyn which Gwydion (shortly after his wanderings in search of Lleu in the Milky Way) sings to Lleu as he calls him down from the oak tree, an acknowledged symbol of the Axis Mundi: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">'An oak grows on a high plain,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Rain does not wet it, </i>heat no longer melts it;</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">It sustained one who possesses nine-score attributes.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">In its top is Lleu Llaw Gyffes' </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The description of the 'little hut' as 'a place in
which spears are not feared' clinches it. The spear which the Strong
Man Gronw Pebyr prepared took a year of Sundays in the making, and
yet it still could not kill Lleu Llaw Gyffes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi47S4RIEDKuiVbfUzIqAzGClqcDC-TixIaWfRzXFzcHm7dDKDC9w-pgnh-jacfmjG4Xzs9YzgQkiEjxfmKjF8KgAQiyyFzugp83PPe4Cc3zEzA2WHbA7KBe59-rrAF07GaZzxxfTcV5hDI/s1600/thatch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi47S4RIEDKuiVbfUzIqAzGClqcDC-TixIaWfRzXFzcHm7dDKDC9w-pgnh-jacfmjG4Xzs9YzgQkiEjxfmKjF8KgAQiyyFzugp83PPe4Cc3zEzA2WHbA7KBe59-rrAF07GaZzxxfTcV5hDI/s1600/thatch.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">There is another tradition which insists that Llew must be wrapped or caught in a 'fishing net' and I have read (somewhere) that this net is </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;">meant to</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;"> be</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;"> a circular casting or throw </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">net, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy8kD6aCNNouRMHF1dvg3IfmdUHaFaPw2GlyecNlBseifDDi8ZfyQuWa2wJjvJYPxhvyPn-eSAARezdCxEhvQ2FP7K4OsoI1fqWmX_BCi41owCX3q0tPAPwe1sF5_R1PgbVJZ5c3sFgXKs/s1600/fish-cast-net-drawing-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy8kD6aCNNouRMHF1dvg3IfmdUHaFaPw2GlyecNlBseifDDi8ZfyQuWa2wJjvJYPxhvyPn-eSAARezdCxEhvQ2FP7K4OsoI1fqWmX_BCi41owCX3q0tPAPwe1sF5_R1PgbVJZ5c3sFgXKs/s1600/fish-cast-net-drawing-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHWyPi-AiNfbwwt-URCSQAjyRkL7XfYAIdYuNSx-2Qefyj7BpeLIL2P5umIPpMXDzIEnY_lV6w-dZI0sQi9uq-rN_c5Zvuh92Z5Di5seB_1KRINUEpUG6-QvhU-cx_ssJqC2TqCbY1NvHj/s1600/Will+MUSHROOM+SHIELD+PLANISPHERE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHWyPi-AiNfbwwt-URCSQAjyRkL7XfYAIdYuNSx-2Qefyj7BpeLIL2P5umIPpMXDzIEnY_lV6w-dZI0sQi9uq-rN_c5Zvuh92Z5Di5seB_1KRINUEpUG6-QvhU-cx_ssJqC2TqCbY1NvHj/s1600/Will+MUSHROOM+SHIELD+PLANISPHERE.jpg" width="199" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_GWCeb89SVtniLlceo5YLPKFD8ztkj0r_rhvA2Z-6Bgp_HAGy9DuspLFucVMHAJ_cc8n4RfDzdglUx2fs5wchWu1_phwaRC7hE4eRyfRf_I1_y0pOC3T7b4RKaHCASYDhed10UsbMElzH/s1600/mushroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_GWCeb89SVtniLlceo5YLPKFD8ztkj0r_rhvA2Z-6Bgp_HAGy9DuspLFucVMHAJ_cc8n4RfDzdglUx2fs5wchWu1_phwaRC7hE4eRyfRf_I1_y0pOC3T7b4RKaHCASYDhed10UsbMElzH/s1600/mushroom.jpg" width="189" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;"> This image of a radiated circle is a persistent image in <i>Math </i>The circular thatched roof and the circular casting net immediately remind one of Gwydion's golden shields made from mushrooms from the earlier swine swindling episode. They are all intended to invoke the celestial co-ordination grid. Recall also that St Lawrence, the Christian inheritor of the Lugus tradition also died on a grid.<i> </i> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Here is the text of the attempted murder of Llew Llaw Gyffes as
translated by Lady Guest from the Red Book of Hergest:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.95cm; margin-right: 1.05cm;">
“<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Lord,” said
Blodeuwedd unto Llew, “I have been thinking how it is possible that
what thou didst tell me formerly can be true; wilt thou show me in
what manner thou couldst stand at once upon the edge of a cauldron
and upon a buck, if I prepare the bath for thee?” “I will show
thee,” said he.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.95cm; margin-right: 1.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Then she sent unto
Gronw, and bade him be in ambush on the hill which is now called Bryn
Kyvergyr, on the bank of the river Cynvael. She caused also to be
collected all the goats that were in the Cantrev, and had them
brought to the other side of the river, opposite Bryn Kyvergyr.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.95cm; margin-right: 1.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">And the next day she
spoke thus. “Lord,” said she, “I have caused the roof and the
bath to be prepared, and lo! they are ready.” “Well,” said
Llew, “we will go gladly to look at them.”</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.95cm; margin-right: 1.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The day after they
came and looked at the bath. “Wilt thou go into the bath, lord?”
said she. “Willingly will I go in,” he answered. So into the bath
he went, and he anointed himself. “Lord,” said she, “behold the
animals which thou didst speak of as being called bucks.” “Well,”
said he, “cause one of them to be caught and brought here.” And
the buck was brought. Then Llew rose out of the bath, and put on his
trowsers, and he placed one foot on the edge of the bath and the
other on the buck’s back.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.95cm; margin-right: 1.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Thereupon Gronw rose
up from the hill which is called Bryn Kyvergyr, and he rested on one
knee, and flung the poisoned dart and struck him on the side, so that
the shaft started out, but the head of the dart remained in. Then he
flew up in the form of an eagle and gave a fearful scream. And
thenceforth was he no more seen.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;">Gronw Pebyr translates as 'The Strong Man' which is an ancient title for the constellation Hercules whom, in his third labour chases down the Cerynian Hind. Apollodorus thus: </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;"> </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="line-height: 100%; orphans: 1;">Hercules
set out on this adventure, and he hunted the deer for a whole year.
At last, when the deer had become weary with the chase, she looked
for a place to rest on a mountain called Artemisius, and then made
her way to the river Ladon. Realizing that the deer was about to get
away, Hercules shot her just as she was about to cross the stream.</span></blockquote>
The correspondences with Gronw's deer hunt are striking:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="orphans: 1;">
<span style="line-height: 100%; orphans: 1;">She
heard the blast of a horn, and in the wake of the horn-blast there
was an exhausted stag passing by...For his part, [Gronw] went after
the stag. At the River Cynfael, he caught up with the stag and killed
it.</span><span style="line-height: 100%;"> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="orphans: 1;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;">Any decent popular
amateur Astronomy application, enables one to watch The Strong Man or Hercules, 'rising on one knee', (recall that Claudius Ptolemy calls
Hercules </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">'Engonasin'</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;"> - 'The Kneeler') 'above the Hill of
Cyfergyr', as The Hero or Perseus (Lleu) sets, (dies?) on the
Northern horizon, while Aquila the Eagle, with the dart or arrow of
the constellation Sagitta sticking out of his wing, rises in the East
and then travels 180 degrees ('nine score hardships' or 'attributes' as Sioned Davies translates. Maybe 'degrees' would be better) across the sky
to set in the West, with Perseus (Lleu), also having travelled nine score attributes, now in the topmost branches
of the (world) tree, i.e. at Zenith .</span></blockquote>
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<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">He had one foot on
the rim of a well. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The paler blue stripe at the bottom of this chart
represents the upper rim of the zodiacal belt, beneath which are the
'Waters of the Well'. Clearly, the thatched circular gazebo represents the northern celestial hemisphere and the 'Well' represents the southern celestial hemisphere. The largest star represented on the chart is
Capella, The Goat. </span>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">He had one foot on
the back of a goat. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I mentioned in a previous post that </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%; text-align: justify;">Theony Condos noted of the she-goat Capella, known here as Amalthea the following “According to Hyginus, while Cronos was searching for Zeus, Amalthea placed the infant in a cradle which she hung from the branch of a tree, so that </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%; text-align: justify;">Zeus was not to be found either in the sky or on land or in the sea.</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%; text-align: justify;">” Zeus placed the figure of a goat among the stars, so that she would be remembered, this goat is marked by the bright star Capella '. Curious here, how one is forcefully reminded of the Llew Llaw Gyffes episodes in <i>Math</i>. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zjL6XM5JHDJWiI7qvoXHM160dbT1jH2cYXGaaB8Sjmi4Gk5__aHWz2cj-NA8eHDsVWR_GIIzwxclHHWnGf3E87f9xVqoo37PL3UzAWt7m0AmIyoqNWfofKpfryrNpDj6Ngg5jCY8l9M4/s1600/blog+Cynfael.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="571" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zjL6XM5JHDJWiI7qvoXHM160dbT1jH2cYXGaaB8Sjmi4Gk5__aHWz2cj-NA8eHDsVWR_GIIzwxclHHWnGf3E87f9xVqoo37PL3UzAWt7m0AmIyoqNWfofKpfryrNpDj6Ngg5jCY8l9M4/s1600/blog+Cynfael.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">Every single aspect of the 'unique' circumstances of the 'death' of Lleu Llaw Gyffes is contained in this image. It is simply inconcievable that this is a coincidence, Mabinogi scholars need to either challenge or accept these findings. There are more to come.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The Northern
Hemisphere superimposed over the Cynfael valley below the Hill of
Cyfergyr. The Milky Way has become the river Cynfael, in a rather
precise way. The Hero Perseus /Lleu stands on the South bank with one
foot on the rim of the well, one foot on the back of a goat, above
him is a well-thatched dome or <i>cronglwyd</i> (with it's stars).
The Strong Man Hercules/Gronw Pebyr rises on one knee (<i>Engonasin</i>)
above the Hill of Cyfergyr. With Perseus in the setting position,
Aquilla The Eagle, with the Arrow Sagitta sticking out of his wing, will rise in the East visible along the Cynfael
Valley. When the Eagle travels nine score degrees, the Hero will be in the topmost branches of the World Tree.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiaKFM3Id8kTQFKbEoL9afhiZqUAnfdoWkt1YT1eNN-RFPhOgn5ulgcA-y533qMcj6jAD5O75DKl5GV2e2EQ71NnrHpNJF47scisAD-hnEZxTYzch0NLMLTQOq2VfOyetSzWR2FANTgxUW/s1600/Perseus+Lleu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiaKFM3Id8kTQFKbEoL9afhiZqUAnfdoWkt1YT1eNN-RFPhOgn5ulgcA-y533qMcj6jAD5O75DKl5GV2e2EQ71NnrHpNJF47scisAD-hnEZxTYzch0NLMLTQOq2VfOyetSzWR2FANTgxUW/s640/Perseus+Lleu.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I made this copy. You can see my other work at <a href="mailto:johntoffee@weebly.com">johntoffee.weebly.com</a></span>
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Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-9103016690489826672015-01-23T05:55:00.000-08:002015-07-01T09:35:46.956-07:00The Stealing of the Swine (Illustrated)<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">The
Stealing of the Swine (Illustrated)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">Math the son of Mathonwy was lord over Gwynedd,</span>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">and Pryderi son of Pwyll was lord over twenty-one cantrefs in the south, namely the seven cantrefs of Dyfed, and the seven of Morgannwg, and the four of Ceredigion, and the three of Ystrad Tywi.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> At that time Math
son of Mathonwy could not live unless his feet were in the lap of a
virgin, except when the turmoil of war prevented him. The maiden who
was with him was Goewin daughter of Pebin from Dol Pebin in Arvon,
and she was the fairest maiden of her generation known at the time.
Math found peace at Caer Dathyl in Arfon. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">He was unable to
circuit the land, but Gilfaethwy son of Don, and Gwydion son of Don,
his nephews, sons of his sisters, together with the retinue would
circuit the land on his behalf. The maiden was always with Math. But
Gilfaethwy son of Don set his heart on the maiden, and loved her to
the extent that he did not know what to do about it. and behold his
colour and face and form were wasting away because of his love for
her, so that it was not easy to recognise him. One day Gwydion, his
brother looked at him closely.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> 'Lad, he said,
'what has happened to you?' </span>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> 'Why,' said the
other, “what is wrong with me?'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> 'I can see that you
are losing your looks and colour, and what has happened to you?' said
Gwydion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> 'Lord brother,'
said Gilfaethwy, 'there is no point my telling anyone what has
happened.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> “Why is that, my
friend?' he said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> 'You know of Math
son of Mathonwy's special attribute', said Gilfaethwy. 'Whatever
whispering goes on between people- no matter how quiet-once the wind
catches hold of it then Math will know about it.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> 'That's true,' said
Gwydion; 'say no more. I know your thoughts; you love Goewin.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> When Gilfaethwy
realized that his brother knew what was on his mind, he heaved the
heaviest sigh in the world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> “Friend , stop
your sighing,' said Gwydion; ' you will not get anywhere like that.
The only thing to do is for me to arrange that Gwynedd and Powys and
Deheubarth, gather for war, so that you can get the maiden; and cheer
up, because I will arrange it for you.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'Lord,' said Gwydion, 'I hear that some kind of creatures that have never been in this island before have arrived in the South.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'What are they called?' said Math.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'<i>Hobeu</i>, lord.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'What sort of animals are they?'</span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'Small animals whose flesh is better than beef. They are small, their name varies. They are called <i>moch </i>now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'Who owns them?'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'Pryderi son of Pwyll-they were sent him from Annwfn, by Arawn, king of Annwfn.' (And to this day that name survives in the term for a side of pork, half <i>a hob.)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'Well,' said Math, 'how can we get them from him?'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'I will go with eleven men disguised as poets, lord, to ask for the swine.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'He could refuse you,' said Math.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">“My plan is not a bad one, lord,' he said. 'I will not return without the swine.' 'Very well,' said Math, 'Then go on your way'.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Gwydion and
Gilvaethwy, together with ten men, travelled to Ceredigion, to the
place now called Rhuddlan Teivi; Pryderi had a court there.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9jhCSALapErd8Q5ublNLJHEw6L75iNanvi62y2BjQ8w3P7d7upPliGwTAro_3HLc35bc-AO1hILlJg2lpzQo9p1-KfYbFPc_MF1jaUN3ia_n1S_Ciq7osTWxlBDxghizBnGPUD5KALHPy/s1600/goingsouth16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9jhCSALapErd8Q5ublNLJHEw6L75iNanvi62y2BjQ8w3P7d7upPliGwTAro_3HLc35bc-AO1hILlJg2lpzQo9p1-KfYbFPc_MF1jaUN3ia_n1S_Ciq7osTWxlBDxghizBnGPUD5KALHPy/s1600/goingsouth16.jpg" width="273" /></a></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> They entered disguised as poets. They were made welcome. Gwydion was seated next to Pryderi that night.</span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'Well,' said Pryderi, 'we would like to have a story from some of the young men over there.'</span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'Our custom, Lord,' said Gwydion, 'is that on the first night we come to a great man, the chief poet performs. I would be happy to tell a story.'</span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Gwydion was the best story teller in the world. And that night he entertained the court with amusing anecdotes and stories, until he was admired by everyone in the court, and Pryderi enjoyed conversing with him.</span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">When that was over, 'Lord,' said Gwydion, 'can anyone deliver my request to you better than I myself?'</span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'No indeed,' said Pryderi, 'yours is a very good tongue.'</span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'Then this is my request, lord: to ask you for the animals that were sent to you from Annwfn.'</span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'Well,' he replied, 'that would be the easiest thing in the world, were there not an agreement between me and my people concerning them; namely, that I should not part with them until they had bred twice their number in the land.'</span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'Lord,' said Gwydion, 'I can free you from those words. This is how: do not give me the pigs tonight, but do not refuse me either. Tomorrow I will show you something you can exchange for them.'</span></div>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixowfqefiV9TX8wv_HWbEqeUqyhxp-6S8LGHivieog0NS8e2NZi35BJcLcbHytKIKNVBOPECXfqCLXfy6xZjF6Ol0fXHRSlrPkNWWWCQyCTywoWsh6iLRPZD-MtBixxlU6bjFLxFND5aD0/s1600/Gwydion+entertains+Pryderi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixowfqefiV9TX8wv_HWbEqeUqyhxp-6S8LGHivieog0NS8e2NZi35BJcLcbHytKIKNVBOPECXfqCLXfy6xZjF6Ol0fXHRSlrPkNWWWCQyCTywoWsh6iLRPZD-MtBixxlU6bjFLxFND5aD0/s1600/Gwydion+entertains+Pryderi.jpg" width="400" /></a>
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<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">That night Gwydion
and his companions went to their lodging to confer. </span>
</div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'My men,' said
Gwydion, 'We will not get the swine by asking for them.' </span>
</div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'Well,' they said,
'What plan is there to get them?' </span>
</div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'I will make sure
we get them .' said Gwydion. Then he drew on his skills, and began to
demonstrate his magic, and he conjured up twelve stallions... </span>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8eR2hSIpBmONMQ_uXRojJQGb63hEBbXFXvwBHo98-ZvcHsS564A7v0oYyJbn4-PmTNcJiCWnD4l2ytdi5nF_QshwN1GPOQ1uPxaB0L1FOZeqmNVVMXFzZ4pB5fXVXj0-enJJLlOjIk9P1/s1600/horse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8eR2hSIpBmONMQ_uXRojJQGb63hEBbXFXvwBHo98-ZvcHsS564A7v0oYyJbn4-PmTNcJiCWnD4l2ytdi5nF_QshwN1GPOQ1uPxaB0L1FOZeqmNVVMXFzZ4pB5fXVXj0-enJJLlOjIk9P1/s1600/horse.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguqpx73BPnXYh38ag0wg-hUsZs2Fzlfnt3Z-RjeD4XMVMnEVZhMKkXjkhUomdE3eNLd9ZcpC6nKPZkwOiDK2-2AwFtFP4rY6k8fZ6zgMdM48Tu1VmPd04iKThSZfueuPy7OtaMt9ny8jns/s1600/12+HORSES.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguqpx73BPnXYh38ag0wg-hUsZs2Fzlfnt3Z-RjeD4XMVMnEVZhMKkXjkhUomdE3eNLd9ZcpC6nKPZkwOiDK2-2AwFtFP4rY6k8fZ6zgMdM48Tu1VmPd04iKThSZfueuPy7OtaMt9ny8jns/s1600/12+HORSES.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">...and twelve
hounds, each one black with a white breast, and twelve collars with
twelve leashes on them, and anyone who saw them would think they were
of gold; and twelve saddles on the horses , and where there should
have been of iron there was gold, and the bridles were of the same
workmanship. </span>
</div>
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<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Gwydion came to
Pryderi with the steeds and the dogs.</span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'Good day to you,
lord,' he said.</span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'May God prosper
you,' said the Pryderi, 'and welcome.' </span>
</div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'Lord,' he said. </span>
</div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'Here is a way
out from what you said last night concerning the swine, that you
would not give them away or sell them. You can exchange them for
something better. I will give you these twelve horses, fully equipped
as they are with their saddles and bridles, and these twelve hounds
that you see, with their collars and leashes, and the twelve golden
shields you can see over there.' (He had conjured those up out of
toadstools). </span>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicVQy2OdLQhgZCLLO3I67mSx5QKn_U6ETXvklL3ZOE2hXtyH9CDOznoyIhhzl9YWw_emilNRacbYKtlwn6ysBPBotbYC7gtLeSg1PsQMdWvEYbFy46owBn1EKsx2b3P-rpFIq_OUwwZj6f/s1600/12+golden+shields.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="35" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicVQy2OdLQhgZCLLO3I67mSx5QKn_U6ETXvklL3ZOE2hXtyH9CDOznoyIhhzl9YWw_emilNRacbYKtlwn6ysBPBotbYC7gtLeSg1PsQMdWvEYbFy46owBn1EKsx2b3P-rpFIq_OUwwZj6f/s1600/12+golden+shields.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'Well,' he said,
'we will take advice.' They decided to give Gwydion the swine and
take from him in return the horses and hounds and shields.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Then they took their
leave, and set off with the swine. </span>
</div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'My brave men',
said Gwydion, 'We must move quickly. The magic will only last until
tomorrow'.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">(First, they
travelled through the district of Creuddyn.)</span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">And that night they
journeyed as far as the upper part of Ceredigiawn, to the place
which, from that cause, is called Mochdrev still.</span></div>
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<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">And the next day
they took their course through Melenydd, and came that night to the
town which is likewise for that reason called Mochdrev between Keri
and Arwystli. </span>
</div>
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<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">And thence they
journeyed forward; and that night they came as far as that Commot in
Powys, which also upon account thereof is called Mochnant, and there
tarried they that night.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">And they journeyed
thence to the Cantrev of Rhos, and the place where they were that
night is still called Mochdrev.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV9SDSpUbGbGXUKv3mmwJiTDCc6OkIkJ17yODw75yip4keX-sDoyfp8BYz9XuUzEEeyw39VAc184rloslSu2h047HmUzFnz3D4ZOp8i3qGxuSB-S7ydIxOzIgBD_dHrMHWuhpgjbeEBihI/s1600/pig+route+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV9SDSpUbGbGXUKv3mmwJiTDCc6OkIkJ17yODw75yip4keX-sDoyfp8BYz9XuUzEEeyw39VAc184rloslSu2h047HmUzFnz3D4ZOp8i3qGxuSB-S7ydIxOzIgBD_dHrMHWuhpgjbeEBihI/s1600/pig+route+7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">My men,” said
Gwydion, “we must push forward to the fastnesses of Gwynedd with
these animals, for there is a gathering of hosts in pursuit of us.”
So they journeyed on to the highest town of Arllechwedd, and there
they made a sty for the swine, and therefore was the name of
Creuwyryon given to that town.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">And after they had
made the sty for the swine, they proceeded to Math the son of
Mathonwy, at Caer Dathyl. And when they came there, the country was
rising. “What news is there here?” asked Gwydion. “Pryderi is
assembling one-and-twenty Cantrevs to pursue after you,” answered
they. “It is marvellous that you should have journeyed so slowly.”
“Where are the animals whereof you went in quest?” said Math.
“They have had a sty made for them in the other Cantrev below,”
said Gwydion.</span></div>
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Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-91647166924914622222015-01-15T01:36:00.002-08:002015-01-15T11:00:26.325-08:00The Royal Family<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">The
Royal Family</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibSdeI5pyBxEIh5aCB-dJoDJ7l3Op1jNxGpdqqs-e0zOd2UzYRQbXqKz9Ix2KpKcsgwj3Kf7cW6G4b6WPP-Tb3RCj_pQZzNnrSpV8gKti7THmBWIf1gJXXGuXtwRNfO1t9pG2ma345lqC8/s1600/Blog+Royals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibSdeI5pyBxEIh5aCB-dJoDJ7l3Op1jNxGpdqqs-e0zOd2UzYRQbXqKz9Ix2KpKcsgwj3Kf7cW6G4b6WPP-Tb3RCj_pQZzNnrSpV8gKti7THmBWIf1gJXXGuXtwRNfO1t9pG2ma345lqC8/s1600/Blog+Royals.jpg" height="400" width="398" /></a>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Don.........................Cassiepiea</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Math...........................Cepheus</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Aranrhod................Andromeda</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Lleu Llaw
Gyffes..........Perseus</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In order to
understand the birth of Llew Llaw Gyffes it is first necessary to
demonstrate the astronomical mechanics pertaining to the story of
Perseus' rescue of Andromeda. Ovid tells the story the best and while
Manilius' somewhat racy treatment is also good on the astronomy, the
episode is more neatly summarized by Apollodorus:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Arriving in
Ethiopia, which was ruled by Cepheus, he (Perseus) found the king's
daughter Andromeda exposed as prey to a sea monster; for Cassiepeia,
the wife of Cepheus, had claimed to rival the Nereids in beauty,
boasting that she surpassed them all. The Nereids were enraged by
this, and Poseidon, who shared there anger, sent a sea-flood and a
monster against the land. Now Ammon had prophesied deliverance from
this calamity if Cepheus' daughter Andromeda were offered as prey to
the monster, and compelled by the Ethiopians, Cepheus had done so and
tied his daughter to a rock. As soon as Perseus saw her, he fell in
love, and promised Cepheus that he would destroy the monster if he
would give him the rescued girl as his wife. When oaths had been
sworn to this effect, Perseus confronted the monster and killed it,
and set Andromeda free. </span>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">This cast of
characters, Cepheus the king, Cassiepeia the queen, Andromeda the
princess and Perseus the hero comprise the constellation group known
to astronomers as The Royal Family, a fifth member of this group is
the southern constellation Cetus, The Sea Monster.<a class="sdendnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote1sym" name="sdendnote1anc"><sup>i</sup></a>
The episode is clearly astronomical in origin, that is, it was
composed in order to describe the movements of these constellations.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmAYZOEIrpfLb6er6Hx2PREEtWnHRhBtuVvprZBhVMTstuoBmDo67vjXV5jjqSBD23-ayLX0zmiTCq82hQFdQucfl-rCZ-bNUrtEI0fSUnVux6eYn2q5kvjuC5y7TEikVfdRYHlTNOro-Y/s1600/blog+P+rescues+A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmAYZOEIrpfLb6er6Hx2PREEtWnHRhBtuVvprZBhVMTstuoBmDo67vjXV5jjqSBD23-ayLX0zmiTCq82hQFdQucfl-rCZ-bNUrtEI0fSUnVux6eYn2q5kvjuC5y7TEikVfdRYHlTNOro-Y/s1600/blog+P+rescues+A.jpg" height="393" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The sea monster
approaches.............Perseus cofronts it, slays it.............and
saves Andromeda</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Perseus rescues
Andromeda from Cetus</span></div>
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<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Welsh tradition,
(even if our knowledge of this tradition comes to us from a
comparatively late date) insists that the constellation of Cassiepiea
was known in Wales as Don, the shadowy mother figure in <i>Math</i>.
We also know from comparative mythology that Perseus and Llew are
cognate figures and that it is likely, for the reasons I have given
above, that in celtic Gaul and Ireland the constellation of Perseus
was known as Lugus and Lugh Lamfhada respectively. I have also shown
that although Aranrhod ferch Don was associated in Wales with the
constellation Corona Borealis, this only refers to the sea-girt
fortress or <i>Caer </i>of Aranrhod, and a close inspection of her
tradition in Wales reveals a remarkably detailed resemblance to that
of Andromeda, daughter of Cassiepiea, our Don, mother of Aranrhod. I
also demonstrated that Math vab Mathonwy shares all his key
characteristics with the constellation Cepheus. His very name
<i>Bearborn son of Little Bear</i>, his ownership of a wand, his
kingship of the North, the fact that he has his feet in the 'lap' of
a virgin, his inability to do a 'circuit' of his realm, his
occupation of the dragon throne and finally his residence at Caer
Dathyl which stems from a word meaning 'to turn, in the north'; all
of these statements are true for both Math and the constellation of
Cepheus. Each of these identifications was arrived independently,
i.e. without reference to each other, and so it was surprising to
find that the principal characters in the Lleu episodes from Math vab
Mathonwy are all identifiable with the<i> constellations</i> which
represent the principal characters in the Perseus/Andromeda episode
from the Greek version of '<i>The King and his Prophesied Death'.</i>
I say a little surprising because although we might expect the
characters in Math to correspond with the characters from the Perseus
myth, simply because they belong to the same tale type, the author of
Math seems more concerned with describing the associated astronomy.
But this is not stargazing and telling stories round the campfire,
rather it is a sophisticated response to the figures who <i>represent</i>
star formations on the classical stereographic projections or
planispheric constellational charts. It turns out then, that these
are not isolated identifications, on the contrary, they form a
coherent group of celestial figures known as 'The Royal Family' who
are intimately linked to the international popular tale 'The King and
is Prophesied Death', a tale which underlies 'Math vab Mathonwy'. </span>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Cassiepeia or Don:
'The lady in the town with breasts'.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1A5oaXpe5z4Sii3-Di7oWg5oVu9dJXyRzovTzhuEV3wunOlZLDZ1K4Kl6zposmvmgKctK32g8ZkDD2127dsl7W9cJzudd1ndjX_1kKhlfK8et_kaDiaC4oJY9j53Xpf17dWf8p0fWudou/s1600/Andromeda+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1A5oaXpe5z4Sii3-Di7oWg5oVu9dJXyRzovTzhuEV3wunOlZLDZ1K4Kl6zposmvmgKctK32g8ZkDD2127dsl7W9cJzudd1ndjX_1kKhlfK8et_kaDiaC4oJY9j53Xpf17dWf8p0fWudou/s1600/Andromeda+4.jpg" height="360" width="400" /></a>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Andromeda or
Aranrhod: The Fettered Lady.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Cepheus or Math vab
Mathonwy: (Bear born son of the Little Bear), </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 100%;">King of the North</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: 0.03cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: 0.03cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Perseus the Hero or
Llew Llaw Gyffes</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: 0.03cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: 0.03cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: 0.03cm;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div id="sdendnote1">
<div class="sdendnote-western">
<a class="sdendnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote1anc" name="sdendnote1sym">i</a>Pegasus
is also sometimes included in this group.</div>
<br /></div>
Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-40381161123546243762015-01-05T16:48:00.001-08:002018-03-24T16:33:43.616-07:00Aranrhod and Andromeda<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Aranrhod
and Andromeda.</span></span><br />
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">All
this begs a question. Is there any evidence to show that Aranrhod was
ever associated with Andromeda in Welsh traditions? </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">It
can be shown that the respective traditions of Aranrhod and Andromeda
are remarkably similar. Both are associated with constellations, both
are princesses, both are beautiful 'virgins', both have 'snow white
arms', both are associated with a rock or rocks at the edge of, or
in, the Ocean. Both are central to legends of oceanic inundations.
Both are associated with chains or fetters, Andromeda is famous as
The Chained Lady and the Taliesin persona refers to the 'fetter of
Arianrod': </span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">My beloved is
below,<br />In the fetter of Arianrod<br />It is certain you know not<br />How
to understand the song I utter,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">In the <i>Etymologies.
</i>Isidore of Seville informs us that: “...There a rock is
displayed which still retains traces of the fetters of Andromeda.”.
Likewise, in reference to a variant of the Fourth Branch, Lewys Mon
penned: "My plaint concerning a maid is greater than (that of)
Math hen son of Mathonwy. The arm of a chaste white-armed wise maiden
was every night his pillow, Arianrhod white as snow; that man might
not live without her.". AchilIes Tatius, in the second century,
writing of a painting by Evanthes of 'Perseus and Andromeda',
described Andromeda thus : 'Her white arms were extended, and lashed
to the rock; but their whiteness partook of a livid hue, and her
fingers were like those of a corpse'. Andromeda is chained to a rock
by her parents and Arianrhod too suffers the same indignity of
imprisonment in very similar circumstances as those described of
Andromeda:</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Over her,
Luminary of the countryside, is a keeper as strong as the wall, an
angry husband, a veritable churl of low degree, who is skilled in
watching a woman; and again, <i>there is her father with his eyes
(upon her) and her mother, and this is all the worse for me.</i> <i>The
lissom lady dare not jump onto the cliff, these people will not let
her." </i></span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizIa8ywSkzDyNkHsSvxGihOBOzIAqAmzO48RJDYPL71VWtfQwsFWDQznvhGzfVtBOjSHKgcTTF9HUeFTKptaF_3g4XVjlDwM8WqGuqy5Kw-LrlH6QAm_ssbZMZIhzDQZBvJOLftrQU4o4t/s1600/Andromeda+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizIa8ywSkzDyNkHsSvxGihOBOzIAqAmzO48RJDYPL71VWtfQwsFWDQznvhGzfVtBOjSHKgcTTF9HUeFTKptaF_3g4XVjlDwM8WqGuqy5Kw-LrlH6QAm_ssbZMZIhzDQZBvJOLftrQU4o4t/s1600/Andromeda+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The Fettered Lady</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">These lines from
Kadeir Kerrituen in the '<i>Book of Taliesin' </i>supply
further detail: <i><br /></i><br />I saw desperate fighting in
Nant Ffrancon<br />Early on Sunday morning between raptors and Gwydion.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">On Thursday, for
sure, they went to Anglesey<br />to
look for a crafty one, and for enchanters.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Arianrhod, famed
for her appearance surpassing the radiance of fair weather, </i>her
terrifying was the greatest shame (to come) from the region of the
Britons;<br /><i>a raging river rushes around her court,,<br />A
river with its savage wrath beating against the land:<br />destructive
its snare as it goes round the world</i><br />(Bede's
books don't tell lies).</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">In
[Manilius,</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>
Astronomica </i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">1st
century A.D., Book 5, p.344-351] the story of Andromeda is described
thus:</span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.69cm; margin-right: 0.74cm; page-break-before: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">"There follows
the constellation of Andromeda, <i>whose golden light appears in the
rightward sky </i>when the Fishes have risen to twelve degrees. <i>Once
on a time the sin of cruel parents [Cepheus and Cassiopeia] caused
her to be given up for sacrifice, when a hostile sea in all its
strength burst upon every shore, the land was shipwrecked in the
flood, and what had been a king's domain was now an ocean.</i> From
those ills but one price of redemption was proposed, surrender of
Andromeda to the raging main for a monster [Cetus, the sea-monster]
to devour her tender limbs.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.69cm; margin-right: 0.74cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">..."Then as
soon as the procession reaches the shore of the tumultuous sea, her
soft arms are stretched out on the hard rocks; they bound her feet to
crags and cast chains upon her; and there to die on her virgin cross
the maiden hung. Even in the hour of sacrifice she yet preserves a
modest mien: her very sufferings become her, for, gently inclining
her snow-white neck, she seemed in full possession of her liberty.
The folds of her robe slipped from her shoulders and fell from her
arms, and her streaming locks covered her body. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.69cm; margin-right: 0.74cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">..."You,
princess, halcyons in circling flight lamented and with plaintive
song bewailed your fate, shading you by linking their spans of wing.
To look at you the ocean checked its waves and ceased to break, as
was its wont, upon the cliffs, whilst the Nereids raised their
countenance above the surface of the sea and, weeping for your
plight, moistened the very waves. Even the breeze, refreshing with
gentle breath your pinioned limbs, resounded tearfully about the
cliff-tops. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There is here a
close correspondence with the traditions surrounding Aranrhod, in
particular the phrase '<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Andromeda,
whose golden light appears in the rightward sky' where one is
strongly reminded of </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">"Arianrhod
of famous beauty, surpassing the hue of sunshine." from (the
poem mentioned above) Ceridwen's Chair in B.T., </span>but
also themes such as the weeping of the waves and the wind resounding
tearfully 'about the cliff-tops', but now we are reminded of Dylan
Eil Ton, Aranrhods aquatic son. Compare also the phrase, “<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">and
again, there is her father with his eyes (upon her) and her mother,
and this is all the worse for me. The lissom lady dare not jump onto
the cliff, these people will not let her." with “Once on a
time the sin of cruel parents [Cepheus and Cassiopeia] caused her to
be given up for sacrifice, when a hostile sea in all its strength
burst upon every shore” and, “ a raging river rushes around her
court, A river with its savage wrath beating against the land”
with, “destructive its snare as it goes round the world the land
was shipwrecked in the flood, and what had been a king's domain was
now an ocean”. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Caer Aranrhod is not the only tradition relating to land lost to the sea in these parts, Aranrhod's son Dylan '</span></span></span><i style="background-color: white;">as soon, as he was baptized he made for the sea. And there, as soon as he came to the sea, he took the nature of the sea' </i><span style="background-color: white;">(Translation by Will Parker) surely relates to the huge glacial erratic on the shore, a mile and a half to the south of Caer Aranrhod, known as Maen Dylan, which appears to be eternally about to dive in to the the ocean, ( I suspect that Maen Dylan may have been brought from somewhere nearby and deliberately placed at this precise point). Then about a mile and a half to the north of Caer Aranrhod is the Iron-age hill fort known as Dinas Dinlle, The City of Lleu's Fort (Dylan's twin) which is actually still crumbling into the sea. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The legends of the loss of Cantref Gwaelod and of Llys Helig to the sea are also part of a broader pattern of ancient memories of the permanent inundation of an earlier, extended Welsh coastline.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3qM61Ejx4CYTOdRhRbKBzrm3kgZIAfCN_44Z0rMJKEvWSUzlUrnsb55fBMwWRjNbVB2WQB8rP-nX7g3gbIpgQ8x16TKdyZwQjQFhOL4cZx8SjH8EfaI7LpVPD_oaT_oZ2ETYS3i8WCfRM/s1600/Arianrhod%252C+Dylan+and+Lleu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="1111" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3qM61Ejx4CYTOdRhRbKBzrm3kgZIAfCN_44Z0rMJKEvWSUzlUrnsb55fBMwWRjNbVB2WQB8rP-nX7g3gbIpgQ8x16TKdyZwQjQFhOL4cZx8SjH8EfaI7LpVPD_oaT_oZ2ETYS3i8WCfRM/s640/Arianrhod%252C+Dylan+and+Lleu.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
Aranrhod and her equidistant sons, Lleu and Dylan.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: justify;">The pale beige line is the present beach. But perhaps it is only the most recent coastline? Looking further east, ten or more, (highly pixelated darker blue) physical features can be discerned are these indications of even earlier coastlines In fact, the visible evidence, from these Google maps alone suggests multiple episodes of catastrophic coastal erosion due to major storm events and to rising sea levels.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiosxNnypNWBpzppvv_akl_KpqZ454hlIui8wrNEVK-mMonO_zq0GVyxDqt0OfaqHcNJrunSBwv0P5Vh9vL3ACb_10yK_vNCrTYNsYFdEbRDs5VX49Ndqnh8Y9J2T9h4Eb-1_JmoOTqkjup/s1600/Caer+Aranrhod+and+her+sons+from+the+air.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="1111" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiosxNnypNWBpzppvv_akl_KpqZ454hlIui8wrNEVK-mMonO_zq0GVyxDqt0OfaqHcNJrunSBwv0P5Vh9vL3ACb_10yK_vNCrTYNsYFdEbRDs5VX49Ndqnh8Y9J2T9h4Eb-1_JmoOTqkjup/s640/Caer+Aranrhod+and+her+sons+from+the+air.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
The coast overlain with an aerial photo showing the circular formation of Caer Aranrhod and her equidistant twins Lleu and Dylan.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Recent research has indicated that this area of the Welsh coast is particularly vulnerable to coastal erosion. This from a recent paper: Welsh Coastal Storms, December 2013 & January 2014 – an assessment of environmental change. Editors: Catherine Duigan, Nicola Rimington, Mike Howe<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
'We have
significant evidence of the impact of historical storm events in
Wales, with numerous examples cited by Davies & Jones (2014).
These include reports of wrecks of the Great storm of 1859, which
scattered wrecks along the whole of the Welsh coast, and a quote from
Giraldus Cambrensis on the winter of 1171-2:</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“The
wind blew with such unprecedented violence that the shores of South
Wales were completely denuded of sand….the seashore took on the
appearance of a forest grove, cut down at the time of the flood….The
tempest raged so fiercely that conger eels and many other fish were
driven up on the high rocks…”
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Looking
back over the longer term, the last 2000 years or so, we know from
work by Bristow (2009, 2011) at Morfa Dinlle in north Wales that
there is evidence of storm events. Bristow identified the presence of
around 20 low-angle erosion surfaces, tentatively interpreted to have
been formed during storm events. From dating information and the
number of erosion surfaces, the evidence suggests that the storm
erosion events which formed these may have occurred on a 100 year
time scale'.
<br />
<span style="color: #006621; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">https://naturalresources.wales/.../welsh-coastal-storms-december-2013-and-january-2</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
The graves of Dylan and Lleu are recorded in 'The Stanzas of the Graves'. Lleu's grave is 'under cover of the sea'.</div>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Britain around 7000 BC.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #111111; color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0.882); font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #006621;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: normal;">Britain around 3000 BC. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: normal;">Note the shrinking coastline along the Llŷn and Anglesey.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">These are clips from an animation</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: normal;"> which you can find on YouTube @ </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: justify;">Sea Level Rise: 13,000 bp to 5,000 bp in the British Mesolithic - TemporalMapping.org. A short description reads: ''</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sea level is calibrated to Global Sea Level estimates with data points at 1000 year intervals. This model does not yet account for isostacy, or glaciation'. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, this amply illustrates how this part of North Wales was witness to radical changes to the coast throughout the mesolithic and the neolithic - changes which would, no doubt, have been of great interest to the local inhabitants. It is noteworthy that certainly two of the sites resulted from the retreating ice sheet some 13,000 to 10,000 years ago; Dinas Dinlle was built on 'an isolated mound of glacial drift 'known as a drumlin, Maen Dylan is a glacial erratic, I'm less sure of how Caer Arianrhod was formed, information is hard to find, but I wouldn't be surprised if this striking feature was also linked to rising sea levels and the retreating ice sheet. These three remarkable, stand-out features were all part of this otherwise low-lying post glacial <i>landscape</i>. Could they have been chosen as the repository of the tale of Aranrhod and her twin sons Dylan and Lleu in order to alert future generations to the relentless onslaught by the sea on the land?</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQfY3h7sUbE6UPwnb0RHH1SbMk4iH7NEOhuhK6g8BoYzfY0Adi3SencEvRYbp0-QnTCZCtUInFDiaekodD0SzIWpFA3KAyiWAz4SMHMgfSZkkkw86-CdfKeR5iS0wPEFC4DfaB_RLk-ll/s1600/European+sea+levels+predicted.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="719" height="562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQfY3h7sUbE6UPwnb0RHH1SbMk4iH7NEOhuhK6g8BoYzfY0Adi3SencEvRYbp0-QnTCZCtUInFDiaekodD0SzIWpFA3KAyiWAz4SMHMgfSZkkkw86-CdfKeR5iS0wPEFC4DfaB_RLk-ll/s640/European+sea+levels+predicted.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">A map illustrating predicted future land loss due to rising sea levels </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">caused by </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">global warming</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">. Note the west coast of Anglesey and Morfa Dinlle on the north coast of Gwynedd.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">Some recent Headlines:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "scoutlight" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Entire
Welsh village to be evacuated before it’s lost to </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">the sea</span></span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "scoutlight" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 20pt;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "scoutlight" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;">Residents
of a ‘sinking’ town are hoping for £100million in compensation
after authorities said they should be evacuated. A report said
Fairbourne, a village in the north Welsh county of Gwynedd, would see
sea levels rise by one metre over the next century, eventually
becoming lost to the sea.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Ashitha
NageshThursday 11 Feb 2016 11:04 am. Facebook:
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/MetroUK/">https://www.facebook.com/MetroUK/</a></span></span></span></div>
<div class="western">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #121212; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "guardian egyptian web" , "guardian text egyptian web" , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 20pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Erosion
and rising seas threaten Wales's most </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;">beautiful beaches</span></div>
<div class="western" style="border: none; line-height: 125%; margin-bottom: 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #121212;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Historic
sites at risk from storms and tidal surges<br />National Trust
report calls for action to tackle crisis</span></span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">
</span><br />
<div class="western">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The
Guardian. Steven Morris. 13.02.2007</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">The story continues....</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.3333px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">There's a very good informative general introduction on the wider implications of changing sea levels - past, present and future - for Britain's coasts available on Youtube: Time Team Special 26 (2007) Britain's Drowned World.</span></span></div>
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Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-4945960857522976562014-09-22T12:48:00.000-07:002016-03-13T13:22:05.697-07:00Llys Don and Caer Aranrhod<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Llys Don and Caer Aranrhod </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">According to Lady
Charlotte Guest there are two central female characters in the Fourth
Branch of the Mabinogi or <i>Math vab Mathonwy</i>
whose identities are linked to the Ptolemaic or classical
constellations. She associated Aranrhod with that beautiful circle of
stars <i>Corona Borealis</i> or the
Crown of the North Wind which the Welsh call <i>Caer Aranrhod</i> or 'Aranrhod's Fort', and secondly she equated the shadowy
matriarch Don with <i>Cassiopeia</i> known in Wales as<i> Llys
Don</i> or the 'Court of Don'.<sup><a class="sdendnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote1sym" name="sdendnote1anc">i</a> </sup></span></span></div>
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<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">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, <i>Caer Sidi, sidydd,</i>
and the like <i>as astronomical terms</i> look like eighteenth
century inventions based on the extant Taliesin poetry'. <i>Caer Sidi</i>
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 <i>Cadeir
Ceridwen</i> which mentions Gwydion,
Llys Don and Arianrhod. The antiquity of Gwydion in association with
the Milky Way (<i>Caer Gwydion)</i>
is not in question. Can the same be said of Don and <i>Cassiopeia</i>
and Aranrhod and <i>Corona Borealis</i>?</span></div>
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<div align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Llys Don and
Casseiopeia</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwgn8imCgyPMtN_mQDYApPQwoMpbMoyu2amUzYOCAOqEidPcUZoDD4RqOFT6nllIFwm4TfwNH2HIsqdLbYJDQ1YGBdxEwE4O_Z_Jxo_dMOZ6sc5wJWH3j9kNCAE-nPENIyteZE7VFYd1UE/s1600/Cassiopeia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwgn8imCgyPMtN_mQDYApPQwoMpbMoyu2amUzYOCAOqEidPcUZoDD4RqOFT6nllIFwm4TfwNH2HIsqdLbYJDQ1YGBdxEwE4O_Z_Jxo_dMOZ6sc5wJWH3j9kNCAE-nPENIyteZE7VFYd1UE/s1600/Cassiopeia.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Cassiopeia</i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">
or 'Llys Don'. The lady in the town with breasts?</span></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">The
origins for the association of Don with the constellation </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Cassiopeia</i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">
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 </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Math</i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">,
or to her sources, (probably Iolo Morgannwg and Owen Pughe, maybe Robert
Roberts too).<a class="sdendnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote2sym" name="sdendnote2anc"><sup>ii</sup></a>
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 </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Llys Don,
</i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">the Home of Don,
their king of the fairies and father of the mythical character
Gwydyon, who gave his name to that great circle'.<a class="sdendnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote3sym" name="sdendnote3anc"><sup>iii</sup></a>
And, in '</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">Celtic
Mythology and Religion</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>'</i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">,
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
'</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Cassiopeia</i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">'
attached. Likewise, Matthew Arnold in '</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">On
the Study of Celtic Literature</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>'
</i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">enthused:</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>
'</i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">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 '</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">Celtic
Folklore: Welsh And Manx'</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>
</i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">treats
Don as the </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>mother</i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">
of the </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Plant
Don, </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">the
Children of Dôn</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>
</i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">and
says: '</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">The last
stage in the Welsh history of Don consists of her translation to the
skies, where the constellation</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>
</i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">of Cassiopeia is
supposed to constitute </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Llys
Don</i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"> or Don's
Court'. </span></span></span></span>
</div>
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<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">There
is, at least, one mention looking beyond the influence horizon of
Iolo Morganwg and Lady Guest, towards a traditional origin for Don =
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Cassiopeia</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">.
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,
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Arweiniad
i Wybodaeth o Seryddiaeth</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">
("A Guide to a Knowledge of Astronomy"), of his book
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Daearyddiaeth</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">
"Geography" (published in Chester in 1816). the following:
Llys Don – The Court of Don – Cassiopeia. This is, however, still
very late.</span></span></span><br />
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">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'.<a class="sdendnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote4sym" name="sdendnote4anc"><sup>iv</sup></a>) named Nwyfre, meaning 'Firmament', 'Sky', which seems to confirm this family's early celestial connections.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The earliest mention
I can find of 'Llys Don' is in the poem known as <i>Kadeir Kerrituen</i>
(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 <i>Cassiopeia</i> 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 '<i>Llys Don' </i> is
in the voice of Taliesin who declares, '<i>Ry'm gelwir kyfrwys
yn Llys Don', </i>'I'm called a
knowledgeable one in Don's Court'. Marged Haycock has suggested
'Don's Court (<i>llys) </i>was
imagined (like <i>Kaer Sidi</i>)
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. </span>
</div>
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<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">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</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Queen Cassiopiea
</b>Mother Wife (Queen) <b>Don
</b>Mother Sister Grandmother</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b>King Cepheus</b>
Husband Father (in-law) (King) <b>Math </b>Brother
Uncle Father-in-law</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Princess
Andromeda </b>Daughter Wife
(Princess) <b>Aranrhod </b>Daughter
Niece </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Hero Perseus
</b>Husband<b>
</b>Son-in-Law<b> </b>(Hero) <b>Llew </b>Grandson Nephew
Son</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">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:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cassiopeia
<i>Cassiopeia</i> = Don <i>Llys
Don</i> (The Court of Don) = <i>Cassiopeia.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Andromeda <i>Andromeda</i>
= Aranrhod <i>Caer Aranrhod</i> (The Fort of Aranrhod) = <i>Corona
Borealis</i>.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">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
<i>Cassiopeia</i> 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.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">There
is one curious passage, however, in </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Math
vab Mathonwy</i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">
itself which just might be a reference to Don in her guise as
</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Cassiopeia</i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.19cm; margin-right: 1.08cm; page-break-before: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">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, <i>where he knew there was a woman with
breasts</i>, and he fixed a price with the woman to foster the child.<a class="sdendnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote5sym" name="sdendnote5anc"><sup>v</sup></a></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">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 <i>Cepheus</i>
(husband of <i>Cassiopeia</i>). <span lang="en-GB">Scholars have
generally accepted that Don is to be equated with </span><span lang="en-GB"><i>Danu
'</i></span><span lang="en-GB">the
mother of the gods in the Irish pantheon', i</span><span lang="en-GB">t
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 </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-GB">Deborah
Holding has suggested:</span></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.14cm; margin-right: 0.95cm; page-break-before: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">A
distinguishing feature of Cassiopeia is the easily observed celestial
'W', formed by the shape of its five brightest stars. </span></span></span></span><strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">Schedar
</span></span></span></span></strong><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">(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.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.14cm; margin-right: 0.95cm; page-break-before: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUmmkNIvrMQuqvIujY8dzz-qEKgiF-PbL6hEArsOTJRsaXzorXeo-mboGRY_k8mafgz1lrFc2mbawJxQWYFr_rNJPActJnsBaSDroxMiywJpx91TAT7R8bZjbFCfRrI9PsHXbLhdbTxePN/s1600/blog+perseus+and+cassiopeia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUmmkNIvrMQuqvIujY8dzz-qEKgiF-PbL6hEArsOTJRsaXzorXeo-mboGRY_k8mafgz1lrFc2mbawJxQWYFr_rNJPActJnsBaSDroxMiywJpx91TAT7R8bZjbFCfRrI9PsHXbLhdbTxePN/s1600/blog+perseus+and+cassiopeia.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.14cm; margin-right: 0.95cm; page-break-before: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> '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, <i>where he knew there was a woman with breasts'.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">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.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Aranrhod and Coronae
Borealis.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">It
has often been remarked that the name of the classical mythological
princess most often associated with </span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Corona
Borealis</i></span><span style="font-size: small;">,
namely</span><span style="font-size: small;"> '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 </span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Corona Borealis</i></span><span style="font-size: small;">.
But it is worth mentioning that both Ariadne and Arianrhod are
characterised as princesses and as virginal island dwellers,
presenting multiple connections:</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Arianrhod princess virgin Island dwelling </span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Caer
Aranrhod </i></span><span style="font-size: small;">(</span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Corona
Borealis</i></span><span style="font-size: small;">)</span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ariadne princess virgin Island dwelling </span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Corona
Borealis</i></span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">It
is also true that, whatever the actual etymology of 'Aranrhod,' as
Rachel Bromwich noted '...</span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Aryanrot</i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">
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 </span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Ar(y)anrot</i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">
and the title (of the triad) </span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Tri
Aryanllu</i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">,
'Three Silver Hosts'. The second part of the name </span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Rot</i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">
or </span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Rhod</i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">
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 </span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Caer
Aranrhod</i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">
or </span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Corona
Borealis</i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">
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 </span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Cassiopeia</i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">,
her</span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>
</i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">brother
is represented as the Milky Way or </span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Caer
Gwydion</i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">
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'.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">There
is a further surprising connection. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;">The Welsh constellation </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-US"><i>Caer Arianrhod</i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;">, 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 </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-US"><i>Cambriae Typus</i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"> as </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-US"><i>Caer Ierjenrod. </i></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">A</span></span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
visual comparison of the constellation </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Caer
Aranrhod</i></span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
with the sea girt 'town' of </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Caer
Aranrhod</i></span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
reveals an uncanny topographical resemblance between </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Coronae
Borealis </i></span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">and
its relationship with the Milky Way (at the point where it branches),
and the 'island' </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Caer
Aranrhod</i></span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
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. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-GB"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-GB">There is even more to this, Caer Aranrhod, t</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-US">he natural rocky outcrop is</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-US"> known locally by several different names which recall not Ariadne but another classical princess, namely Andromeda. Edward Lhuyd noted </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-US"><i>Tre Ga'r Anthrag </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-US">and</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-US"> two other versions as </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-US"><i>Caer Anrhad </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-US">and</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-US"><i> Caer Anrhod, </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-US">(these two both closer to Andromeda than Ariadne)</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-US"><i> </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-US">whilst Rees recorded </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Tregan Anthrod </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-GB">(even closer)</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>. </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-US">The first part of the name Andromeda is from the Greek </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-US"><i>Andro</i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-GB"> or </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>anthro.</i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-GB"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-GB">T</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="en-GB">hese similarities are easily as noteworthy as that between Arianrhod and Ariadne.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;">Corona Borealis/Caer Arianrod</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><br /></span></span></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;">Caer Ierjenrhod on </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">Cambriae Typus</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Notes and References</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a class="sdendnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote1anc" name="sdendnote1sym">i</a>The
Mabinogion. Guest. 2<sup>nd</sup> ed. Notes to Math son of Mathonwy
pp 436 – 437 1877. London.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a class="sdendnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote2anc" name="sdendnote2sym">ii</a>
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.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a class="sdendnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote3anc" name="sdendnote3sym">iii</a>Star
Names. Their Lore and Meanining. Hinckley Allen. Stechert. 1899.
Republication Dover. 1963.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a class="sdendnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote4anc" name="sdendnote4sym">iv</a>See
Trioedd Ynys Prydein.Ed. Trans. Rachel Bromwich. 3<sup>rd</sup>
edition. 2006. Cardiff. P284.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a class="sdendnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote5anc" name="sdendnote5sym">v</a>Math
vab Mathonwy. Gruffydd. P. 19. 1928. Cardiff.</span></div>
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Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-82597967109847786662014-07-29T16:18:00.000-07:002014-10-21T10:07:15.626-07:00Gilfaethwy son of Don & The Ploughman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Gilfaethwy son of Don & The Ploughman</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">It is a fact that Gwydion's brother Gilvaethwy can be found nowhere else in the entire corpus of Welsh vernacular literature other than in the Fourth Branch, but I propose that he is one and the same, (in the mind of the author of <i>Math vab Mathonwy</i>) with the Amaethon (also Gwydion's brother), of the <i>Cad Goddeu </i>or <i>Kat Godeu</i> (The Battle of the Trees) and of <i>Culhwch ac Olwen.</i> I don<span lang="en-GB">’</span>t believe this is a new suggestion either, though I don't recall where I might have read it. Both names contain the Welsh word <i>amaeth, </i>in the case of Gilvaethwy it is the mutated form <i>faeth, </i>and<i> </i>means: farmer or agriculture. The endings in both names '<i>wy' </i>and '<i>on</i>' both signify divinity. Others have derived Amaethon from a proto-celtic word <i>ambaxtonos, </i>meaning: 'divine ploughman'.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Like Gilfaethwy in <i>Math</i>, Amaethon, in the poem <i>Kat Godeu</i> is responsible for a war between the Children of Don and the Lord of Annwfn after he steals a dog (Canis Major), a lapwing (Corvus) and a roebuck (Capricornus) from him. Gilfaethwy is the cause of the war in the mabinogi of <i>Math</i> because of his lust for Geowin (who, as explained in 'Lleu Llaw Gyffes and Perseus', is <i>Ursa Minor</i>, and when pregnant <i>Ursa Major</i> which contains The Plough). Gilvaethwy and Amaethon are, then, essentially the same character, playing esentially the same role, with essentially the same name.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The constellation <i>Bootes</i> is also called The Ploughman because he drives the oxen of The Plough, the great asterism of <i>Ursa Major,</i> and is credited by the Greeks with the invention of the plough. Whereas Amaethon appears in Culhwch and Olwen in the remarkable series of exchanges where it is stated that only he could till the field of Ysbaddaden Pencawr in one day, which is precisely what Bootes does - once a day, every day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In another Greek tradition <i>Bootes</i> is known <i>Arctophylax</i> The Bear Watcher or Lover of the Bear(s) because he gazes upon those constellations, as Gilvaethwy gazes upon Goewin. Accepting all of this, it is easy to see why we can equate <i>Bootes</i> with Gilvaethwy/Amaethon. What is further beginning to emerge at this stage is that, it is not only the direct pictorial clues and the mythical allusions which urge these identifications but also the spatial and geometric relationships which the constellations share.</span></div>
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Gilvaethwy/Amaethon - The Divine Ploughman </div>
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Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-77578891920158144162014-07-29T16:13:00.000-07:002014-10-20T11:08:58.447-07:00Pryderi, Pwyll and Arawn<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Pryderi, Pwyll and Arawn</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'...and Pryderi the son of Pwyll was lord over twenty-one cantrefs in the south.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Having found such a strong case for Math and Goewin as Cepheus and Ursa Minor it would seem inconsistent if the author did not intend that the figure of Pryderi ought similarly to be understood, that is, that the author also assigned a constellation to him. The fact that Math son of Mathonwy and Pryderi son of Pwyll are the two characters who are being juxtaposed in the very first sentence of the Fourth Branch, should, now, at least urge this suspicion.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">It took some time to fully understand the intentions of the author of the Four Branches in relation to the figure of Pryderi as we find him in Math, but when it did finally dawn on me what was going on, the full mechanism of the swine swindling saga, very quickly, began to unfold, almost literally, before my eyes. What I came to discover was completely extraordinary, and totally unexpected. I think that the identity of Pryderi is tied up with not one but two constellations. Two </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">identical</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> constellations – Orion and Hercules. To explain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In Trioedd Ynys Prydein, (3rd Ed.) Rachel Bromwich translates triad 84 thus:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'Three Futile Battles of the Island of Britain:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">One of them was the battle of Goddau: it was brought about because of the bitch, the roebuck and the plover'.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The other two battles do not concern us here. The reference in the triad is to the poem <i>Kat Godeu </i>attributed to Taliesin. In her notes to this triad Dr. Bromwich writes:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">A fragment of a story about the battle, containing two early <i>englynion</i>, is preserved in a seventeenth-century manuscript, Pen. 98B, 81-2... In this passage it is stated, in words which recall the triad, that the battle was brought about, 'because of a white roebuck and a greyhound pup which came from <i>Annwfn, </i>and Amathaon (= Amaethon) vab Don caught them'. According to this account the battle was fought between Amaethon, assisted by his brother Gwydion, and Arawn king of Annwfn... It would appear, then, that there was a tradition about a mythological battle in which Lleu and the sons of Don took part, and it is tempting to connect the allusion to its cause, (i.e. to the animals which Amaethon brought from Annwfn) with the swine originating from Annwfn, which Gwydion steals in the tale of <i>Math... </i>Perhaps originally Gwydion won the swine, as well as the dog and the white roebuck, in a raid upon Annwfn itself rather than upon Dyfed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In this Dr. Bromwich is at one with W. J. Gruffydd, who commented:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Whether this history of the mysterious <i>Cad Goddeu </i>correctly represents the tradition in every detail or not, we shall be justified in regarding Gwydion as concerned in an animal lifting raid upon Annwvn. It may be supposed therefore that the older tradition described Gwydion himself as the stealer of the swine, not from Dyfed, but from Annwvn. If that is so, then the choice of this particular method of causing war between Pryderi and the family of Don was obvious; it was already supplied by independent tradition.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">But what this also suggests is that the roles in the </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cad Godeu </i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">and in </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Math</i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> are identical, even if names have been changed. Gwydion is present in both and his role is the same in both, to defeat the king of the Otherworld, which he achieves through some form of trickery. The second role is that of Gwydion’s brother, who is the primary cause of the war in both stories - Amaethon in </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cad Godeu </i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">and Gilvaethwy in </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Math. </i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">They are essentially the same character, and it could be argued that even their names bear a suspicious resemblance to one another, but more on this later. The third role is that of 'Lord of Annwfn' the king of the Otherworld who must be defeated, this part is played by Arawn Pen Annwfn in </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cad Godeu </i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">and by the ’Powerful Swineherd’ Pryderi in </span><i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Math.</span> </i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">In the first episode of the First Branch the title 'Lord of Annwfn' is transferred from Arawn to Pwyll. Might it then be inferred that Pryderi may have inherited this role, if not the title, from his father? Or put another way; just as Pwyll plays the role of Lord of the Underworld in the First Branch so Pryderi plays the same role in the Fourth Branch. We therefore have a succession of ‘Lords of the Otherworld’ - Arawn - Pwyll - Pryderi. These three have something else in common - they are so similar in appearance that no-one can tell them apart. As Arawn King of Annwfn says to Pwyll:</span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">You will have my shape and manner, so that neither chamberlain, nor officer, nor any other who has ever followed me shall know that you are not I”. (Ford)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Later in the tale it is the uncanny physical likeness of Pryderi to Pwyll Pen Annwfn which allows Teyrnon to understand Pryderi’s true parentage:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In the matter of appearance, he (Teyrnon) began to realize that he had never seen a son so like his father as the boy was to Pwyll Pen Annwfn.(Ford)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">And this ‘exceeding’ similarity is again made plain when Teyrnon presents the boy at the court in Arberth, when he announces:</span></div>
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‘<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">And I believe…that there is none of all this company who will not recognise that the boy is Pwyll’s son.’ ‘There is none,’ said everyone, ‘who is not sure of it.’ (Ford)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Something of significance appeared to being hinted at here and it seemed worth taking a closer look at the opening episode of the First Branch to see what more, if anything, might be learned. The first thing that draws ones attention is the occurrence of 'Glyn Cuch' in both episodes. Also striking is the use of exactly parallel phraseology in the descriptions of Pwyll's journey to Glyn Cuch and Gwydion's flight from Glyn Cuch, as if deliberately inviting a comparison:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Math: 'And from there they went on, and that night they went as far as a commot in Powys which is called, also for the same reason, Mochnant, and they were there that night.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Pwyll: 'This is the part of his realm he wished to hunt - Glyn Cuch .and he set out that night from Arberth, and he came as far as Penn Llwyn Diarwya, and he stayed there that night'.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">This was an encouraging start. But it is the following passage, which describes the appearance of the hounds of Arawn which started a train of thought which was to lead to the stellar identities of all three Lords of Annwfn:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> And of all the hounds he had seen in the world, he had never seen dogs of this colour - they were a </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.99cm;">gleaming shining white, and their ears were red. And as the whiteness of the dogs shone so did their </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.99cm;">ears.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Canis Major & Canis Minor</span></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Such </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">is</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">the </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">description of the hunting dogs of Arawn. <span lang="en-GB">Now </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">the usual explanation for the white shininess and the red-ears of these dogs of Annwfn and for that matter other shiny white, red eared boars, horses, cattle and hinds etc., (which appear numerously in Welsh and Irish medieval literature), is that this is how the animals of the Otherworld were traditionally described. Or put differently, this red and white shininess acted as a signal enabling a contemporary medieval audience or readership to identify and anticipate imminent magical contact with the Otherworld. This has always seemed to me not so much an explanation as a tautology. It does not tell us anything about why these unearthly creatures are ‘</span>gleaming shining white, or why their ears are shiny and red.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">It was noticed in the section on Culhwch and Olwen that Drudwyn the whelp of Greid son of Eri or </span><u style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Fierce-White</u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> the whelp of </span><u style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Scorcher</u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> son of </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Eri</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> was a barely underhand reference to Canis Major the Great Dog and the </span><u style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">brightest</u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> star Sirius the '</span><u style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Scorcher</u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">' son of(?) </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ori</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">on, which Aratus described in the Phenomena</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 13px;"><span lang="zxx"> </span></span><span lang="zxx" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">'</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">…</span><span lang="zxx" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> the tip of its jaw is inset with a formidable star, that blazes most intensely: and so men call it the Scorcher. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, it</span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> occurred to me that in the description of Arawn's hounds in </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Math</i></span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> we have a similar reference, but now to both hunting dogs of Orion, the constellations </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Canis Major and Canis Minor - the Greater Dog and the Lesser Dog. Canis Major contains Sirius the brightest, shiniest star in the sky and his ears are marked by two red stars. Canis Minor contains Procyon, the fifth brightest star and is commonly depicted as a spaniel, or such-like, with a white coat and red ears. It seemed to me that the author of the First Branch had clearly provided as obvious a clue as he possibly could that Arawn the hunter and the ‘Cwn Annwfn’ are to be associated with the constellations depicting the celestial hunter Orion and his hounds, Canis Major and Canis Minor. </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Welsh tradition places the presence in the night sky of the Cwn Annwfn in the late Autumn, Winter and early Spring, precisely the months when Orion and his hounds dominate the southern night sky. The fact that it is Gwynn ap Nudd who is usually said to be the hunter who leads the Cwn Annwfn, may only reflect a separate, perhaps earlier insular tradition about these constellations.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The similarity in the names Orion and Arawn is undeniable and this becomes even more striking in the pronunciation; Orion -uh-<b>rahy</b>-uhn, Arawn -A-<b>ra</b>-oon. Clearly then, it seems not unlikely that Arawn is a Welsh rendering of the Greek Orion. Who then is Pwyll? If Arawn can be identified with Orion, who does he exchange places with? Consider the position of Orion as he appears on Ptolemaic constellation charts. Firstly, he is entirely below the Ecliptic, (the apparent path of the sun, moon and the planets) he is also neatly dissected through the three stars of his belt by the Celestial Equator, (this is the Earth's Equator extended out into space). Thus he occupies the liminal space between the Heavens above (the Northern celestial hemisphere) and the Underworld, (the Southern celestial hemisphere).This is most obviously illustrated in the charts which were drawn up by Schaubach towards the end of the 18th century, but based upon the Eratosthenean and Ptolemaic catalogues compiled in the 3rd Century BC and the 2nd Century AD, respectively.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The upper body of Orion is positioned at the edge of the Northern chart, whilst the lower torso and legs appear at the edge of the Southern chart. The figure of Orion can only be resolved if the two circular charts are placed one above the other and turned around their centres so that the two halves of the figure are joined where the charts touch at the celestial equator. With the maps so arranged it will be observed that directly above Orion, at the top of the Northern chart is another figure almost indistinguishable from Orion. This is the constellational figure of Hercules. Both figures are the same size. The pose is the same; right leg bent under, the left leg bent up but with the foot apparently to the ground. Both figures hold a club in the right hand, held high above the head. Both figures wear a lionskin. <span lang="en-US">Traditionally, both are hunters, but strangely both have also been envisaged as the prey which they hunt, i.e. the stag, (Allen). </span>The spatial relationship is also striking. To all intents and purposes these two constellational figures are identical.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">This resemblance is certainly not illusory and is well known to historians of Astronomy. In her book 'The Stargazers Guide', Emily Winterburn (former Curator of Astronomy at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich) notes of Orion:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> 'It's hard to ignore the similarity to the Hercules story ... Our hero is set impossible tasks, he destroys the relationship with the woman he loves while in a state of diminished responsibility and turns to the oracle for redemption. He even wears a lionskin, although it isn't commented upon in the Orion story. These similarities have provoked some commentators to suggest that both characters derive from the same source.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> The name Orion comes from Sumerian Uru-anna meaning 'light of heaven'. This is different from the Sumerian name for Hercules, Gilgamesh; so the Sumerians, who pre-date the Greeks and are the source for much of Greek mythology, must have had separate characters too. What is puzzling is that Orion is depicted wearing a lionskin and fighting Taurus, the bull. No myth appears to exist in which Orion kills a lion or fights a bull; but both the Greek Hercules and the Sumerian Gilgamesh do'.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Hercules and Orion as Pwyll and Arawn in Branch One, and as the double identity of Pryderi in Branch Four</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is important to be aware that this correspondence between the two constellation figures has nothing whatsoever to do with the appearance of their respective stars which they overlie and represent. Orion is probably the brightest and most recognisable of all the stellar groupings, whilst Hercules contains no bright stars and is not easily made out without reference to nearby constellations. <span lang="en-GB">It is crucially important to make the distinction between a constellation or 'star group' and the figure which traditionally represents that group of stars. The visual similarity between Orion and Hercules is only apparent in the context of </span><span lang="en-GB"><i>constellational charts</i></span><span lang="en-GB">. The point is that if one were to 'cut and paste' Orion into Hercules' position and vice versa, </span><span lang="en-GB"><i>nobody would know the difference. </i></span><span lang="en-GB">Says Arawn to Pwyll: "I shall arrange that no man or woman in your realm realizes that I am not you, and I will take your place". (Davies)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This notion of the two figures changing places may be based on the astronomical observation that when, during the winter months Orion dominates the night sky, rising to his highest point in the South, Hercules is in the North and setting below the horizon. Conversely during the Summer Hercules dominates the Northern celestial dome, whilst Orion has now returned to his realm beneath the Southern horizon. Indeed, the ’man who was Arawn’s’ defeat of Hafgan (Summer-white) at the ford has led some commentators to suggest a seasonal allegory behind this episode. There is an evident similarity, which has not gone unnoticed elsewhere, with this single combat and that between Pryderi and Gwydion in the Fourth Branch, both take place at a ford, (The Milky Way) victory is achieved in each case by the use of force and of magic, but here in a complete reversal, it is the son of the ’man who was Arawn’ who is defeated<span lang="en-US"> and Gwydion/Cygnus, The (white) Swan of Summer, who is the victor.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">It is therefore, this ability of Hercules/Pwyll and Orion/Arawn to interchange magically, pictorially, seasonally and astronomically, explicit in the First Branch, which informs us of the double identity of Pryderi in the Fourth Branch. In the first case an audience would see Pryderi son of Pwyll Pen Annwfn as Orion, the dominant figure of the 21 constellations of the southern hemisphere, as Pryderi is the dominant figure of the 21 cantrefs of the South. He is the inheritor of the role Lord of Annwfn, which his (identical) father, Pwyll, in turn inherited from his (identical) friend Arawn, (Orion).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Later in the tale when the twelve northern bards go to south Wales (or otherwise Annwfn, the southern celestial hemisphere), Pryderi will now be seen to be Hercules being entertained by Gwydion with his harp, (Cygnus and Lyra). Later still during the fight at the ford (The Milky Way), both Hercules (now upside down) and Orion (now split in two) combine to show how Gwydion defeated Pryderi by strength <u>and</u> by magic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The tale does not mention the number of cantrefs in the north, but historically Gwynedd combined with Powys make up 26 cantrefs, just 1 short of the constellations of Ptolemy's northern hemisphere. Within the first few paragraphs of Math a remarkable relationship between the geopolitical cartography of early medieval Wales and the Ptolemaic charts emerges, this theme of 'as above so below' pervades Math and finds it's most astonishing articulation in the form of Gwydion's circuitous route with the pigs and afterwards in the naming of Llew Llaw Gyffes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Gwydion/Cygnus disguised as a <i>Pencerdd</i> or Chief Poet, wearing his swan-feather <i>tugen </i>and playing his <i>crwth </i>or lyre as he entertains Pryderi in his guise as Hercules.</span></div>
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Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-14120611651645393242014-07-26T08:05:00.000-07:002014-08-05T02:00:55.003-07:00Geometry in Irish Maps<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Geometry in Irish Maps</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Ptolemy's Ibernia Britannica. (c. 87 - 150 AD). It is tempting to see in the three islands centered on the line of longitude in the Irish Sea (Mona, Limnos and ?) the source for the three mysterious islands which sometimes appear in the first printed maps of Ireland</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Hiberniae Britannicae Insvlae Nova Descriptio published by Abraham Ortelius in 1592. Note the phantom islands below Dublin on the east coast.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The underlying structure of the map is a fusion of circle and square, and the 'islands' can be seen to function as the eastern side of that square. The rendering of the North half of Ireland as a circle is very reminiscent of the depiction of South Wales in Cambriae Typus which is also based on a circle - the circle which is delineated by Gwydion's pig sties in Math vab Mathonwy. These two maps (</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Cambriae Typus</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"> and </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Hiberniae Britannicae),</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"> are clearly part of the same tradition of Cartography which generated the 'Angel of Lincoln', The Lion of Scotland and The Unicorn of England.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Mercator's Irlandia of 1602 has relegated the phantom isles to mere sand banks as 'South ground', 'Middel ground' and 'North ground' but still retains the tradition of the Giant's Head with it's Lake of the Red Eye.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The following is Lady Guest's translation of the famous 'night watchman scene' from the Second Branch or Branwen Daughter of Llyr.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">The
King's Head.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Then
he proceeded with what provisions he had on his own back, and
approached the shore of Ireland.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Now
the swineherds of Matholwch were upon the sea-shore, and they came to
Matholwch. </span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Lord,"
said they, "greeting be unto thee." </span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Heaven
protect you," said he, "have you any news?" </span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Lord,"
said they, "we have marvellous news, a wood have we seen upon
the sea, in a place where we never yet saw a single tree." </span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"This
is indeed a marvel," said he; "saw you aught else?" </span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"We
saw, lord," said they, "a vast mountain beside the wood,
which moved, and there was a lofty ridge on the top of the mountain,
and a lake on each side of the ridge. And the wood, and the mountain,
and all these things moved." </span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Verily,"
said he, "there is none who can know aught concerning this,
unless it be Branwen."</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Messengers
then went unto Branwen. "Lady," said they, what thinkest
thou that this is?" </span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"The
men of the Island of the Mighty, who have come hither on hearing of
my ill treatment and my woes." </span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"What
is the forest that is seen upon the sea?" asked they. </span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"The
yards and the masts of ships," she answered. </span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Alas,"
said they, "what is the mountain that is seen by the side of the
ships?" </span></span><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"Bendigeid
Vran, my brother," she replied, "coming to shoal water;
there is no ship that can contain him in it." </span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"What
is the lofty ridge with the lake on each side thereof?" </span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">"On
looking towards this island he is wroth, and his two eyes, one on
each side of his nose, are the two lakes beside the ridge."</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga1ICHlMrwG1GrSXSvFrCQL_zzHtAAujU6ZpRS8zcdlejqh6liFvDN4qghQINYvc8kNvvDJQjQ7VMGxRE2ivbH22MzLG8jKes8XXudxOUEM1phdOPbZf0Gs_mareaU6E0uXZNw2gcNWdfb/s1600/ireland+squared.jpg2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga1ICHlMrwG1GrSXSvFrCQL_zzHtAAujU6ZpRS8zcdlejqh6liFvDN4qghQINYvc8kNvvDJQjQ7VMGxRE2ivbH22MzLG8jKes8XXudxOUEM1phdOPbZf0Gs_mareaU6E0uXZNw2gcNWdfb/s1600/ireland+squared.jpg2.jpg" height="482" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Mercator's map, as well as maps derived from it, also kept to a strict underlying geometry, which in this case is comprised of two adjacent squares.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNuhnNWdUVnXZeo4fk6MxH2SeNHgOGDZM6zQzX1OIEW8_4W58pglFEI68qkrrKsyltQT86yXEwokdTD4UTEQ9gESbLm30sBvim2LlZVOFkwFt7PV4E8tOgz1YYODd-XOmJzzAJyg5hN-za/s1600/Topographia_Hiberniae_%2528Giraldus_Cambrensis%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNuhnNWdUVnXZeo4fk6MxH2SeNHgOGDZM6zQzX1OIEW8_4W58pglFEI68qkrrKsyltQT86yXEwokdTD4UTEQ9gESbLm30sBvim2LlZVOFkwFt7PV4E8tOgz1YYODd-XOmJzzAJyg5hN-za/s1600/Topographia_Hiberniae_%2528Giraldus_Cambrensis%2529.JPG" height="510" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Giraldus Cambrensis' (Gerald of Wales, c. 1146-1223) map of Ireland from the <i>Topographia Hiberniae, </i>suggests that he was not really capable of producing the now lost <span style="font-style: italic;">Totius Kambria Mappa</span><i>, </i></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">which is sometimes attributed to him and which </span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Henry Owen described as '<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 13.199999809265137px; text-align: justify;">a map of the whole of Wales, </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 13.199999809265137px; text-align: justify;">with the mountains. rivers, towns, castles and monasteries <u>carefully set out'</u>. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 13.199999809265137px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 13.199999809265137px; text-align: justify;">(See 'The Journey of the Swine' for the significance of this).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 13.199999809265137px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 13.199999809265137px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 13.199999809265137px; text-align: justify;">On the other hand it is clear that Rhygyfarch ap Sulien,, judging </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 13.199999809265137px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 13.199999809265137px; text-align: justify;">from the following excerpt from his <i>Vita Davidus,</i> possessed a </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 13.199999809265137px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 13.199999809265137px; text-align: justify;">more </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 13.199999809265137px; text-align: justify;">sophisticated concept of a map of Ireland: </span><br />
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 13.199999809265137px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">"Rejoice, Patrick, for the Lord hath sent me to you that I may show you the whole of the island of Ireland from the seat which is in Vallis Rosina," which now is named "the Seat of Patrick." And the angel says to him, "Exult, Patrick, for you shall be the apostle of the whole of that island which you see, and you shall suffer many things in it for the name of the Lord your God, but the Lord will be with you in all things which you shall do, for as yet it has not received the word of life; and there you ought to do good; there the Lord has prepared a seat for you; there you shall shine in signs and miracles, and you shall subdue the whole people to God. Let this be to you for a sign. I will show you the whole island. Let the mountains be bent; the sea shall be made smooth; the eye bearing forth across all things, looking out from [this] place, shall behold the promise." At these words he raised his eyes from the place in which he was standing, which now is called "the Seat of Patrick," and beheld the whole island.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="line-height: 13.199999809265137px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
</span><br />
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Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-59024109398514765412014-06-09T15:27:00.001-07:002014-07-29T23:34:55.876-07:00Culhwch ac Olwen, Authorship. (part one)<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Culhwch ac Olwen</span></i><span style="font-size: medium;">,
</span><span style="font-size: large;">Authorship. (part one)</span></span><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioDseNZrIQJjBITTpDnb8E2oVgo6kWHJxytPGzDlBbyAQOplaRmqYzQTiJbIl4yOYs63H6gXUW_CzJ_LMwBF0Oe04SAxLUgpNdFaVQBBas8HJJNO6aQ9Wofvhh2zWYn-MDjqjzS8gcWd_u/s1600/365px-Ricemarch_Psalter,_Psalm_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioDseNZrIQJjBITTpDnb8E2oVgo6kWHJxytPGzDlBbyAQOplaRmqYzQTiJbIl4yOYs63H6gXUW_CzJ_LMwBF0Oe04SAxLUgpNdFaVQBBas8HJJNO6aQ9Wofvhh2zWYn-MDjqjzS8gcWd_u/s1600/365px-Ricemarch_Psalter,_Psalm_1.jpg" height="320" width="194" /></a></div>
<span style="line-height: 100%;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 100%;">The Ricemarch Psalter, circa 1080, the start of Psalm 1:"Beatus vir..."</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Who in
eleventh/twelfth century Wales would write such a thing and why?</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In his study of the
Irish affinities in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi ' Branwen
Daughter of Llyr' Proinsias Mac Cana showed that "a reasonable
case could be made for attributing Branwen – and the <i>Mabinogi</i>
as a whole – to Rhygyfarch or his father Sulien, or to the two in
collaboration"<a class="sdendnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote1sym" name="sdendnote1anc"><sup>i</sup></a>.
In the same tentative spirit in which Mac Cana offered this
suggestion, I think that an equally reasonable case could be made
which suggests that Ieuan ap Sulien (again, perhaps in collaboration
with Rhygyfarch and Sulien himself), may also be implicated in the
writing of <i>Culhwch ac Olwen. </i></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">First
of all, some of Mac Cana's more general arguments regarding the
authorship of </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Branwen</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
may be usefully employed here too. For instance, as Mac Cana says:
'It was in the (Irish) monasteries that the judgement and taste of
the classical scholars were united with an enthusiasm for native
tradition and literature. If this means anything in terms of Welsh
literature, then the most likely place to look for the author of
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Branwen</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
(for which read 'the author of </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Culhwch'</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">)
is in a Welsh monastic community, in that same cultural atmosphere
which produced Nennius and Gerald and Geoffrey'. Material evidence
for this notion of a monastic backdrop within which </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Culhwch
</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">was
composed has been noticed by Bromwich and Evans: '</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Culhwch
ac Olwen</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
bears the signs of having been shaped by an author familiar with
Christian customs and practices'. They point to mentions in the text
of prayer, baptism, the use of 'God' in greetings, a bishop (Bitwini
Escob), a priest (Kethtrum Offeiriad), a guardian angel, saints,
devils, Hell, Creation and divine intervention. They further point
to the 'author's evident familiarity with the native learning of the
Welsh church', mentioning specifically: the </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Mirabilia</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
attached to the </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Historia
Brittonum, </i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">and
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Bonedd
y Sant</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">,
The Life of St Cadog by Lifris of Llancarfan and the Life of St
David by Rhygyfarch of Llanbadarn. Thus far both Rhygyfarch and
Ieaun would have to be amongst the list of candidates, along with,
say, Lifris of Llancarfan, who could have been the author of
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Culhwch. </i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">There is, however
some additional internal evidence which, I believe, furthers the
case for Ieuan son of Sulien considerably. The 'catalogue of the
court' contains the following genealogical list:</span></div>
<ol>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'Teregud son of
Iaen, <u>Sulien son of Iaen</u>, Bradwen son of Iaen, Moren son of
Iaen, Siawn son of Iaen, and Cradawg son of Iaen – they were men
of Caer Dathl, related to Arthur on their father's side (i.e.
Iaen's)'.</span></div>
</ol>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">The
name </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Sulien
</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">(</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Sulyen
</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">in
the MS) which means 'Sun-born' was 'extremely rare' in medieval Wales, and for that reason
alone it jumps off the page here, so to find it linked to the
patronym </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Iaen</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
in this list is highly suggestive. Bromwich and Evans note: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Iaen</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
'ice', but it does not stretch credulity to see here also a form of
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Ieuan</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
'John', Latin </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Iohannes,
</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">which
is how Ieuan ap Sulien autographed his Latin poetry, (with the
monogram IO)</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>.
</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">They
point out the occurence of the names </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Siaun</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
and </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Kyradawg</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">,</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">(Siawn
and Cradawg)</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
'among the six sons and daughters of 'Iaen', as found in the late
14</span></span></span><sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">th</span></span></span></sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
century </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Bonedd
yr Arwyr </i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">'Descent
of Heroes', (which also refers to the familial relationship with
Arthur). The full list goes:</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">Plant
Iaen (Children of Iaen)</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><br />Dirmig,
Gwyn goluthon<a class="sdendnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote2sym" name="sdendnote2anc"><sup>ii</sup></a>,
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">Siaun,
Kyradawg</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">,
Ievannwy, Llychlyn, Eleirch<a class="sdendnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote3sym" name="sdendnote3anc"><sup>iii</sup></a>
verch Iaen mam Kyduan ap Arthur.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">The
list of the sons of Iaen in the court list in </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Culhwch</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
is followed immediately by a list of the many sons of Kaw and it
cannot be coincidental that this is also the case in </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Bonedd
yr Arwyr . </i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">Now,
it has been argued that the </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Bonedd
yr Arwyr </i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">genealogies,
despite their late appearance, must represent the earlier tradition
because if it were otherwise they would have followed more closely
the lists in Culhwch. Note then, that the rare name Sulien does not
appear in the </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Bonedd
yr Arwyr </i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">genealogical
lists, it has in fact been bodily inserted into the list as it
appears in </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Culhwch,
</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">and
it seems likely therefore, that the author of </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Culhwch</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
has manipulated the pre-existing genealogy to suit his own ends,
whatever they were. Bromwich and Evans, who would prefer a Carmarthen
or Llancarfan origin for the tale, acknowledge that this 'was the
name of the famous 11</span></span></span><sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">th</span></span></span></sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">.-cent.
Abbot of Llanbadarn Fawr and later Bishop of St. David's' and in view
of several other internal references to St. Davids/Mynyw it can be
taken as almost certain that the Sulien in this list is one and the
same with the 'famous' Sulien of Llanbadarn-Fawr. An intriguing
possibility arises from this assessment: either Sulien himself or his
son Ieuan may have been responsible for this 'interpolation'.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">Though
none are recorded, it is possible that Ieuan son of Sulien may have
had a son or sons of his own, but his obituary in the </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Brut
y Tywysogyon </i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">hints
of a life of celibacy, - </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>s.a.
</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">1136
(1137): 'In that year died Ieuan, archpresbyter of Llanbadarn, the
most learned of the learned, having led a pious life without mortal
sin till his death'. However, he almost certainly had a</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>
</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">foster
son, who was named after Sulien. The custom of naming the grandson
after the grandfather was one which Ieuan's brother Rhygyfarch
followed when he named one of his sons after Sulien<a class="sdendnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote4sym" name="sdendnote4anc"><sup>iv</sup></a>,
Rhygyfarch died at the age of 42 and as a consequence his son Sulien
ap Rhygyfarch became a "foster son of Llanbadern Fawr",
which probably means that his uncle, Rhygyfarch's possibly childless
brother Ieuan, the 'archpresbyter of Llanbadarn Fawr' became the
foster father. It may not be a coincidence that Rhygyfarch died in
1099 and the most common date given for the composition of </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Culhwch</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
is about 1100.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">It
may have been that Ieuan, supposing he was our author, in his trawl
through the native genealogical material, (probably in the libraries
at both Mynyw and Llanbadarn) in his search for names to enter into
the hilariously overblown court list, came across a name very similar
to his own in a version of </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Bonedd
yr Arwyr</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">,
and, in the process of compiling the extended role call in </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Culhwch,</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
he took the opportunity to insert his (foster) 'son's' name in to
that list. Ieuan's praise of his father and brothers in his
introductory poem to </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>De
Trinitate </i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">(see
below) amply demonstrates his deep love for his immediate family
members </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>and</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
his readiness to incorporate them into his literary output. Has
Ieuan, at a stroke, written himself into his story by incorporating
his recently berieved foster 'son' into the list of the men of
Arthur's court, as an inclusive, affectionate and sympathetic gesture
towards him? Ieuan mab Sulien's authorship of </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Culhwch
</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">might
well explain the 'interpolated' </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Sulien
mab Iaen</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
in the Arthurian court list.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">If
there is any truth in this, 'Sulien son of Iaen' would be amongst
only a handful of historical figures, to appear in </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Culhwch</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">,
who were alive at the time of its composition. One other such figure
is </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Gwilhenen
brenhin Freinc</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
(William king of France) who 'probably stands for William the
Conqueror'. It is highly likely, and of great significance then,
that Ieuan had direct contact with William during his famous
'pilgrimage' to St. Davids in 1081, when his father Sulien was
serving his second term as bishop of that cathedral. To quote
Bromwich and Evans again:</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><br /></span></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">'Sir
Idris Foster stressed the historical events of the year 1081 as
significant for the dating of </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Culhwch,
</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">and
these events point to a period of composition similar to that
indicated by the ecclesiastical sources. In 1081 Gruffudd ap Cynan
came across from his exile in Ireland and landed (like the Twrch
Trwyth) at Porth Clais near St. David's, where he joined with Rhys
ap Tewdwr, the ruler of Deheubarth, and won the battle of Mynydd
Carn. In the same year William the Conquerer is said to have visited
St. David's, where it is most likely that he made peace with Rhys ap
Tewdwr. It is not unlikely that these happenings were in the mind of
the author of </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Culhwch,
</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">and
that they had an influence on his portrayal of certain events in the
story'. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">As
Nora Chadwick surmised, 'I think that we can hazard a guess that it
was Sulien </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>or
one of his family</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
who was responsible for the negotiations between the two Welsh
princes and the Conqueror at St. David's'. It is easy to imagine
that Ieuan, along with Sulien's other sons, was present at this
historic encounter and there can be little doubt of Ieuan's
implication in these events, however peripheral<a class="sdendnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote5sym" name="sdendnote5anc"><sup>v</sup></a>.
Ieuan's authorship of </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Culhwch</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
might well explain the inclusion of </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Gwilhenen
brenhin Freinc</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
and the landings of the Twrch Trwyth (Gruffudd ap Cynan) at Porth
Clais and of Arthur at Mynyw.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">If
this is true, as seems likely, that these events were 'in the mind
of the author of </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Culhwch'</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">,
then it is certainly true of the Latin 'Life of David' by
Rhygyfarch. Again, Nora Chadwick has argued that the production of
Rhygyfarch's </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Vita
Davidus</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
resulted from a desire to commemorate these, apparently peaceful,
diplomatic outcomes overseen by Sulien, between William of Normandy
and Rhys ap Twdwr and Gruffydd ap Cynan.<a class="sdendnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote6sym" name="sdendnote6anc"><sup>vi</sup></a>:</span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-left: 1.01cm; margin-right: 1.16cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">It
would seem natural to suppose that the </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Life
of St. David</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
would be composed on this occasion, both in support of Sulien's
policy, and in celebration of the visit of the Conqueror to St.
David's. We may perhaps regard the </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Life</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
as one factor in the </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>rapprochement
</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">between
the native princes of West Wales and their powerful Norman enemy, an
appeal by the native Welsh Church to the Conqueror for his protection
against encroachment from Canterbury... The shrine of St. David which
he had 'honoured' must be duly 'celebrated'. It is probably as a
factor in the implementation of this great compact at St. David's in
1081 that we must regard the composition of the </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Life</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
of the saint.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">Rhygyfarch's
original version has not survived, but doubtless it would have
exhibited all the production values which were lavished upon
Rhygyfarch's Psaltery and Martyrology, and on Ieuan's </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>De
Trinitate, </i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">which
have survived and which are decorated with Ieuan's beautiful 'Irish'
initials. We may guess a similar arrangement in the making of the
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Vita
</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">and
that, in all likelihood, it was Ieuan's expert hand which supplied
the decorative initials there also. It seems clear then, that both
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Culhwch
ac Olwen</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">
and the </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Vita
Davidus </i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">commemorate,
each in their own way, the historic events of 1081 at St. David's,
and if Sulien and Ieuan ap Sulien are implicated in the one, they are
also implicated in the other. These reasons alone, however
speculative, provide a narrative which seems reasonable and natural
enough to throw strong suspicion upon the family of Sulien, including
Rhygyfarch and particularly Ieuan, as being the author/authors of
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx"><i>Culhwch
ac Olwen. </i></span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">But
now something else, the author of Culhwch seems to have been well
versed, to say the least, in late classical astronomical literature
and this is a description with particular applicability to the
brothers Ieaun and Rhygyfarch. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div id="sdendnote1">
<div class="sdendnote-western">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a class="sdendnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote1anc" name="sdendnote1sym">i</a>Whilst
it is true that Mac Cana later took a step back from his emphasis on
direct Irish borrowings in Branwen, his arguments placing the
composition of these tales in a learned ecclesiastical setting still
stand.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="sdendnote2">
<div class="sdendnote-western">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a class="sdendnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote2anc" name="sdendnote2sym">ii</a>'Gwyn'
- White, Fair, 'goluthon' - the Wealthy?</span></div>
</div>
<div id="sdendnote3">
<div class="sdendnote-western">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a class="sdendnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote3anc" name="sdendnote3sym">iii</a>Elierch
– 'Swans'. Elierch is 'a township in that part of Llanbadarn-Fawr
which is in the upper division of the hundred of Geneu'r Glyn, …
8 1/4 miles [E.N.E.] from Aberystwyth'. This fact may also have
caught Ieuan's eye.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="sdendnote4">
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a class="sdendnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote4anc" name="sdendnote4sym">iv</a>
And whose death was recorded in the year A.D. 1144: 'Julien ap
Rythmarch, (sic) one of the college of Llanbadarn, a person of great
reading and extensive learning, departed this life'.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="sdendnote5">
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a class="sdendnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote5anc" name="sdendnote5sym">v</a>
In the Domesday survey of 1086 we learn that Rhys paid the king an
annual rent of £40...The argument must have been an official and
technical one. </span></span>
</div>
</div>
<br />
<div id="sdendnote6">
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a class="sdendnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote6anc" name="sdendnote6sym">vi</a>
See also Wade-Evans' ominous assessment – that it was the related
threat of domination by Cantebury which prompted the learned men of
Mynyw and Llanbadarn to set down David's Life, as it asserted
David's dominion over the whole of Britain in contravention of
Canterbury's claims to hegemony.</span></span></div>
</div>
Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-59601533030991687582014-05-10T04:50:00.002-07:002014-07-29T16:08:00.900-07:00The Super Nova of 1006 in Culhwch and Olwen. Appendix 1: The Very Black Witch Daughter of the Very White Witch.<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Super Nova of
1006 in <i>Culhwch and Olwen. </i>Appendix 1:</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Very Black Witch
Daughter of the Very White Witch.</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG4pnfJEYkhG0aApbMdri9ysFcAeoflKQ1mnRvAcdnlJ5ySX91mKKV6aH8nTDrZuz_jDVbyqXF8XkHcvuMI4EnUTY1YRlEZpgpqNQ0AIlm8zzoiyh0h3EG6INbl-ADlEDghlraWAtaRWpk/s1600/white+%2526+black+witch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG4pnfJEYkhG0aApbMdri9ysFcAeoflKQ1mnRvAcdnlJ5ySX91mKKV6aH8nTDrZuz_jDVbyqXF8XkHcvuMI4EnUTY1YRlEZpgpqNQ0AIlm8zzoiyh0h3EG6INbl-ADlEDghlraWAtaRWpk/s1600/white+%2526+black+witch.jpg" height="156" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">Note
that the Scales are held by Astraea 'Justice'</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.04cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman Greek, serif;">Arthur
said, 'Is there anything now that has not been got of the things hard
to find?'</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-left: 0.93cm; margin-right: 0.79cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman Greek, serif;">One of the men
said, 'Yes, the blood of the Dark Black Witch, Daughter of the Bright
White Witch from the Valley of Grief in the uplands of Hell.'</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-left: 0.93cm; margin-right: 0.79cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman Greek, serif;">Arthur set out
towards the North and came to where the cave of the witch was. And
Gwyn son of Nudd and Gwythyr son of Greidawl counselled to send
Cacamwri and Hygwydd, his brother, to fight with the witch. And as
they came into the cave, the witch rushed towards them and took hold
of Hygwydd by the hair of his head and struck him to the floor
beneath her. And Cacamwri took hold of her by the hair of her head
and pulled her off Hygwydd to the floor, and she turned on Cacamwri
and thrashed the two of them soundly and disarmed them, and drove
them out whooping and hollering. And Arthur grew angry at seeing his
two servants nearly killed, and he sought to rush towards the cave.
But then
Gwyn and Gwythyr said to him, 'It is not fair and not pleasant for us
to see you wrestling with a witch. Send Long Amren and Long Eiddyl to
the cave. And they went. And if the trouble
was bad for the two earlier, worse was the trouble of those two, so
that God knew not one of those four was able to go from that place,
except that the four of them were set on Llamrei, Arthur's mare.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-left: 0.93cm; margin-right: 0.79cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman Greek, serif;">And then
Arthur rushed towards the entrance of the cave and from the entrance
he threw Carnwennan, his knife, at the witch and struck her through
the middle until she was as two tubs.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.04cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman Greek, serif;">The opening
sentence of the penultimate episode in <i>Culhwch,</i> '<i>Kychwyn a
oruc Arthur parth a'r Gogled, a dyuot hyt lle yd oed gogof y wrach',
'</i>Arthur set out towards the North<i> </i>and came to where the
cave of the witch was,' coupled with the conspicuous roles played by
the 'northerners' Gwyn ap Nudd and Gwythyr vab Greidawl, has
suggested to all commentators that the Hag's cave is in The North,
i.e. <i>Yr Hen Gogledd</i>, the Old North, the once Brythonic
speaking area of what is now part of Strathclyde in South-West
Scotland and Cumbria in the North-West of England. And there is no
doubt that there are certainly some very old traditions which locate
an entrance to the Otherworld somewhere North of Hadrian's Wall.
However, there is another way of thinking about the location of this
cave and one which does not necessarily contradict this common-sense
view. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.04cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman Greek, serif;">The more
precise address of the Black Witch given by the author, <i>Pennant
Gouut yg gwrthtir Uffern, </i>'the Valley of Grief in the uplands of
Hell' indicate that he was not just thinking of some place in North
Britain, but <i>also</i> of a very particular place in the sky. The
term 'Uffern' in <i>Culhwch</i> has always been translated as 'hell'
or 'Hell' as if it were the Christian Hell but this is misleading. In
later times this term <i>did</i> come to signify the Christian
concept of Hell, as it does in modern Welsh, but patently this cannot
be the case here. Neither could it be claimed that this is a
description of the entrance to that Happy Otherworld or Annwfn, which
we encounter elsewhere in the stories of the Mabinogion. It is well
known that 'uffern' is derived from the Latin word <i>inferno, </i>and<i>
'</i>the infernal region' would therefore be the less loaded, more
literal, English translation of this word in this context. Because
what is being described here is strikingly similar to the entrance to
the classical Hades, where the cave of the Very Black Witch in the
Valley of Grief seems to be identical to the cave entrance to the
'infernal regions of Dis' in the valley of Grief and Anxiety which is
guarded by the 'coal black' or 'pitch black' crone, the Erinye or
Fury, Tisiphone. Roaming close by are said to be other mythical
beasts including Centaurs and the Lernian Hydra, hinting at the
celestial location of the cave. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.04cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman Greek, serif;">What the
author appears to be offering here is another word-picture; we may
see in <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="zxx">The Very
Black Witch daughter of the Very White Witch an image of Kore (again)
otherwise called Persephone, Queen of Hades, daughter of Demeter the
goddess of the harvest. In the previous chapter on Dillus the
Horseman I pointed out that the abduction of Kreiddylad by Gwyn ap
Nudd from Gwythyr ap Greidawl has long been regarded as a British
version of the abduction of Persephone by Hades. It should not
surprise us, then, to find Gwyn and Gwythyr acting as advisors to
Arthur in the matter of the Very Black Witch, for they have both had
previous dealings with her, for it is they who will fight for her
every May 1</span></span><sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="zxx">st</span></span></sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="zxx">
forever until Judgement Day. Kreiddylat/Kore/Persephone is
represented in the night sky as the zodiacal constellation Virgo and
the cave of </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="zxx"><i>this</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="zxx">
'crone' is the constellation Crater, considered by the ancient poets
and philosophers to be the souls' entry point into corporeality,
situated, as it is, in the uplands of the 'infernal regions of Dis'.
Aratus describes it thus:</span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-left: 1.27cm; margin-right: 1.24cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">But if during an
evening in the Spring the observer faces South and looks almost
overhead, he will see how the souls, passing through the descending
portal of Cancer, by veering slightly to the left, would go by
Crater.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Note that Aratus
points us South and upwards not North, but this did not stop other
Greeks and Romans from thinking of entrances to Hades / Dis as being
somewhere in the North, or in the West, or for that matter at the
Cave of Dionysus, or the Cave at Ithaca. Indeed Macrobius describes
it as follows:</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-left: 1.27cm; margin-right: 1.24cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Cancer (is) the
portal of men, because through it descent is made to the infernal
regions; Capricorn (is) the portal of the gods, because through it
souls return to their rightful abode of immortality, to be reckoned
among the gods.This is what Homer with his divine intelligence
signifies in his description of the cave at Ithaca.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-left: -0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Proving that these
Cosmic entrance and exit caves could be said, in the same breath, to
have <i>both</i> a celestial <i>and</i> a mundane location. A little
later Macrobius adds more detail as to the specific celestial address
of the cave, although a little confusedly because as Stahl and others
have pointed out 'Crater is between Corvus and Hydra' or between
Corvus and Leo not Cancer and Leo:</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-left: 1.24cm; margin-right: 1.24cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Another clue to this
secret is the location of the constellation of the Bowl of Bacchus in
the region between Cancer and Leo, indicating that there for the
first time intoxication overtakes descending souls with the influx of
matter.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">So to recap, I think
that the Very Black Witch corresponds to Virgo in her guise as
Persephone Queen of Hades, (perhaps confused here with Tisiphone the
'pitch black' witch) and the cave of this crone is Crater also known
as the Bowl of Bacchus, the portal of descending souls into the
infernal regions (Uffern). </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Earlier, I gave
reasons which strongly suggested that Hygwydd who carries the
cauldron on his back should be equated with the serpent Hydra who
carries Crater on his back, and that his brother Cacamwri being
pulled to the depths by two millstones should be equated with 'long
and slender' Serpens being pulled to the depths, (by two mill wheels)
due to the precession of the Vernal equinox along the ecliptic. As
can be seen from fig ix, if the Black Witch is meant to be
Persephone/Virgo then it is now easy to appreciate the author's
meaning when he says, '<span style="font-family: Times New Roman Greek, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">the
witch ... took hold of Hygwydd by the hair of his head and struck him
</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman Greek, serif;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>to
the floor beneath her</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman Greek, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">.
Cacamwri grabbed her by the hair </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman Greek, serif;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>and
pulled her off Hygwydd</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman Greek, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">'.</span></span>
This is very much the picture which could be seen from Plinlimon Top
on the southern horizon at midnight, May 1<sup>st</sup> 1006, the
occasion of the first appearence of SN1006: Virgo above and
dominating Hydra who is laid out on the ground along the southern
horizon, Serpens, ready to strike, above Virgo.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Just in case we
missed it the author, as is his wont, tells it again but now Arthur's
two servants are called Hir Eiddyl
and Hir Amren. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-left: 0.93cm; margin-right: 0.79cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman Greek, serif;">And Arthur
grew angry at seeing his two servants nearly killed, and he sought to
rush towards the cave. But then Gwyn and Gwythyr said to him, 'It is
not fair and not pleasant for us to see you wrestling with a witch.
Send Long Amren and Long Eiddyl to the cave. And
they went. And if the trouble was bad for the two earlier, worse was
the trouble of those two...</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
meaning here, unambiguosly, of <i>Hir
</i>is 'Long'. Bromwich &
Evans suggest for <i>Eiddyl
</i>'weak', and Y Geiriadur
Mawr gives '<b>eiddil </b>FEEBLE,
FRAIL, but also SLENDER. Surely Hir Eiddyl should be translated 'Long
and Slender', terms often used to describe Serpens and which seems to
make much more sense, in any case, than 'Long and Weak'. Hir Amren is
also 'Long <i>Something or
other'</i>, (the meaning of
Amren is unclear to me). Who are 'Long and Slender', and 'Long
<i>Something</i>'
if not these two Serpent Constellations once again?</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The jocular image of
all four of these 'men' being carried away together, draped across
the back of Arthur's mare Llamrei (Grey Leaper), might appear to
challenge this analysis, but measured against the accumulative weight
of the surrounding evidence it is hardly a killer blow. Firstly, the
sending of two lots of two of Arthur's servants to fight the Black
Witch is patently another one of those 'doublets', which keep
cropping up, to go along with the two boar hunts, the two birds
visiting Twrch Trwyth and so on. The narrator consistently uses these
doublets to reinforce an image or to get across some other specific
aspect of an image. Sometimes this is not immediately apparent, for
instance, the image of Hygwydd with the cauldron on his back and the
image of Menw with the boar's bristle in his beak are really two
aspects of the same 'super constellation' of Hydra, Crater and
Corvus. I don't think it </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">is a coincidence </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 100%;">that this habit of relating two versions of the same story</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;"> is also a noted characteristic of the star tales related by Hyginius and Eratosthenes. In addition, in one or other, or both of these doublets it is
usual to find that the names of the characters appear to be fairly
transparent 'codewords' for the constellations, not just any
constellations mind, or made up ones, but only those classical constellations in the vicinity of
SN1006, and it is worth repeating here some other examples along side
Hir Amren and Hygwydd, and Hir Eiddyl and Cacamwri:</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The 'maiden' <i>uorwyn
</i>Kreiddylad – Kore - The Maiden = Virgo </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The Very Black Witch daughter of the Very White Witch - split
into two tubs – Persephone Queen of Hades, daughter of Demeter </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">(Tisiphone - 'the pitch black crone'?)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;"> =
Astraea/Libra?Virgo </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Dillus the Horseman –
Pholus the Horseman = Centaurus </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The <i>marchawc '</i>horseman' Kyledyr Wyllt
('the Wild') – The Wild Horseman = Centaurus </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Menw ab Teirgwaedd (in Bird form) - Little son of Three Shouts - Corvus the Crow</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Gwrhyr Interpreter of Languages (in Bird form) - Corvus the Crow</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Hygwydd carrying
Cauldron = Hydra carrying Crater </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Hir Amreu – Long
<i>something</i> = Hydra </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Caccymuri</i>? being pulled to the depths by 'millwheels' =
Serpens </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Hir
Eiddyl - Long and Slender = Serpens </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I
said earlier that I thought the author was likening Arthur, in his
nine day and nine night battle with Twrch Trwyth for the 'precious
things', to Phoebus Apollo's, (the Sun), nine day and nine night
journey through Scorpius. What he seems to be describing now, in the
denouement to <i>this</i>
episode, where Arthur throws <i>Carnwennan,</i>
his 'little white knife' at the witch and cuts her in two, is the
Sun's journey through Virgo at the Autumn Equinox, the place along
the ecliptic where the sun slices through Virgo, splitting her into
two parts, and where, in the present 'Age of Pisces' night and day
are also divided into two equal parts:</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-left: 1.29cm; margin-right: 1.23cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">And
then Arthur rushed towards the entrance of the cave and from the
entrance he threw Carnwennan, his knife, at the witch and struck her
through the middle until she was as two tubs.</span>
</span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">For the two thousand
or so years of the Age of Aries the Autumnul equinox occurred in
Scorpius, until around 6BC when the Age of Pisces began, but at some
point in late antiquity, (no one knows precisely when) a new
constellation was invented, Libra, the Scales, which took the place
of The Claws of Scorpius (this is the reason why the sun spends only
nine days and nights in the present, curtailed Claws). Hinckley Allen
pointed out that it was often said of Libra or 'The Balance', which
consists of <i>two pans</i> either side of the thin white line of the
ecliptic, 'that the constellation was invented when on the equinox,
and so represented the equality of day and night. Virgo was (and, as
Justice still is), often pictured holding these Scales.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-left: 1.27cm; margin-right: 1.53cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Astraea's scales
have weighed her minutes out, Poised on the zodiac</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The sequence of
zodiac constellations in this area of the ecliptic which have been
progressively 'pulled in to the Depths' at the Autumnal equinox in
historical times, if we incude Ophiuchus/Serpentarius – 'the
thirteenth house' and Libra the late replacement for the Claws of
Scorpius, is as follows: Sagittarius, <b>Scorpius, Serpentarius,
Libra, Virgo</b>. this suggests an interesting possibility: Arthur's
(<b>The Sun</b>) fight with Twrch Trwyth for the 'Precious Things'
(<b>Scorpius</b>), Cacamwri (<b>Serpens/Serpentarius)</b> being
dragged to the Depths, and Arthur (<b>Phoebus</b>) splitting into
'two tubs' (<b>Libra</b>) the Very Black Witch (<b>Virgo</b>) with
his little white knife (<b>the ecliptic</b>) may well be a display of
knowledge concerning this sequence</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In 6BC Virgo
'returned to the frame' at the Autumnal equinox, just as Pisces now
ruled the Vernal equinox, a cosmic event famously heralded by Virgil
as the start of a new Golden Age and which later Christians took as a
prophecy of the birth of Christ the Fish, son of the Virgin, a belief
which held particular currency in Wales. Virgil said: </span>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“Now comes the last
age by the song of the Cumaen sybil;
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
the great order of the
ages is born anew;
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
now the Virgin returns,
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
now the reign of Saturn
comes again;
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-left: 1.29cm; margin-right: 1.53cm;">
now a new child is sent down from heaven above.”
</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: -0.03cm;">
This, of course, is the 'prophecy' alluded to in the ` 'legendary'
Taliesinic poem <i>Cad Godeu:</i></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Sages, wise men,</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
prophesy Arthur!</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There is something
which has been before</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
[and] they sang of that
which has been:</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and one came about</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
because of the story of
the Flood,</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and [the second was]
Christ's Crucifixion</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and [the third is] The
Day of Judgement to come.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
[Like] a magnificent
jewel in a gold ornament</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
thus I am resplendent</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and I am exhilarated</div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-left: 1.24cm; margin-right: 1.3cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">by the prophecy of
Virgil </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Perhaps there is a
suggestion here that the appearance of SN1006 was seen as heralding
the emergence of a saviour, a new Arthur, in line with this prophecy.
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman Greek, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">As
David Carpenter has pointed out </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman Greek, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">'The
biography of Gruffudd ap Cynan saw its hero as specifically another
Arthur, 'king of the kings of the Isle of Britain'.<a class="sdendnoteanc" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote1sym" name="sdendnote1anc"><sup>i</sup></a>
</span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm;">
<br />
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.04cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman Greek, serif;">fig ix. The
Southern Horizon, Midnight, May 1<sup>st</sup>, 1006 A.D. From
Plinlimon Top</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.04cm;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<br />
<div id="sdendnote1">
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.04cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman Greek, serif;"><a class="sdendnotesym" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote1anc" name="sdendnote1sym">i</a>The
Penguin History of Britain: The Struggle for Mastery: Britain
1066-1284. By David Carpenter. No wonder an Anglo-Norman survey of
Britain in the 1150s lamented how the Welsh 'threaten us... openly
they go about saying, by means of Arthur they will have [the island]
back... They will call it Britain again'</span></div>
</div>
Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-91621617205695829712014-05-10T03:03:00.000-07:002014-05-10T03:03:22.856-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">The Journey of the Swine. Appendix 1: </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Images in <i>Cambriae Typus</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTFA1pfYAVxVJBRCcBozUgj_obNc8BoTPAvuJJ6Ey4SNLnUqC5SaISHAFJPJhDiD6HPWIK5I5KzkX2cR5gqriW1trQAlY6m7qLVWKYqA81M_i_KoTcbHyfKvDojlHbzggUF6WtmKA5yRAQ/s1600/blog+virgo+wirral+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTFA1pfYAVxVJBRCcBozUgj_obNc8BoTPAvuJJ6Ey4SNLnUqC5SaISHAFJPJhDiD6HPWIK5I5KzkX2cR5gqriW1trQAlY6m7qLVWKYqA81M_i_KoTcbHyfKvDojlHbzggUF6WtmKA5yRAQ/s1600/blog+virgo+wirral+3.jpg" height="520" width="640" /></a></div>
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The Northern Celestial Hemisphere may be rotated around its centre until Virgo is almost perfectly superimposed over the female figure of the Wirral </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfIasCOehwAfDOeYM9pViR-GcZGYiYmsWHWYDhHWyWktiNXti2fp-zpmmaRu695MvHjTem-ka49FByz8AhroNtcxY0-jrm1_lz6Og5yN9fj7_sXkGZOd33DixU6QPESe7lhkeFSWqGF9mN/s1600/wirral+as+virgo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfIasCOehwAfDOeYM9pViR-GcZGYiYmsWHWYDhHWyWktiNXti2fp-zpmmaRu695MvHjTem-ka49FByz8AhroNtcxY0-jrm1_lz6Og5yN9fj7_sXkGZOd33DixU6QPESe7lhkeFSWqGF9mN/s1600/wirral+as+virgo.jpg" height="185" width="320" /></a></div>
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The 'Wyral' or 'Cilguri' on <i>Cambriae Typus.</i> Note the non-existent island 'il bre' which becomes the head of an unmistakeably female figure.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3nPmUNjgDp8wlv4QKxRvobCnDJ-efHm6Fu9JFJw6kZSjZ1OHB-UD2baEv0YLMVaKdVubrJXRa7-8s_ku5uTU7JUCmIJG6KBoN7UcH__MWJcsA4TkyjA9kt_NrC4m71PSYvh3ctpSX3tN/s1600/virgo+as+wirral.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3nPmUNjgDp8wlv4QKxRvobCnDJ-efHm6Fu9JFJw6kZSjZ1OHB-UD2baEv0YLMVaKdVubrJXRa7-8s_ku5uTU7JUCmIJG6KBoN7UcH__MWJcsA4TkyjA9kt_NrC4m71PSYvh3ctpSX3tN/s1600/virgo+as+wirral.jpg" height="187" width="320" /></a></div>
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Virgo as drawn by Schaubach.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF5W3QBaZJs_FXCH4xQpFcpQ0pdS_ukaFtDGErtxq2RAld-q849-v-1U2cRqUijrad91IzCCpvBeziUgSDk9PkCQ15xnjQ0KZlPTbGWMRJ04ldCZE_4XPeQDe7RMNwR2NjcuLwTlP-Ikhq/s1600/wirral.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF5W3QBaZJs_FXCH4xQpFcpQ0pdS_ukaFtDGErtxq2RAld-q849-v-1U2cRqUijrad91IzCCpvBeziUgSDk9PkCQ15xnjQ0KZlPTbGWMRJ04ldCZE_4XPeQDe7RMNwR2NjcuLwTlP-Ikhq/s1600/wirral.jpg" height="176" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Wirral from a modern map.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgduRA0At2cY-NoDgs0D264QGl0rJzvFIP9qv6Qc97acgDpnwwgCV1YDrIwHoiRpc8-OVQ8Eo49yRPAkKoj1o5kzGDd4yHL9Nh_RoB9rnmKiS9aFlTJnjia7a34otfi6VSpqdlzqYYbZhbS/s1600/blog+bran.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgduRA0At2cY-NoDgs0D264QGl0rJzvFIP9qv6Qc97acgDpnwwgCV1YDrIwHoiRpc8-OVQ8Eo49yRPAkKoj1o5kzGDd4yHL9Nh_RoB9rnmKiS9aFlTJnjia7a34otfi6VSpqdlzqYYbZhbS/s1600/blog+bran.jpg" height="325" width="400" /></a></div>
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Bran</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBTolx9Tsg_c1NL4BABW5g94bPFeV2XpuwaJzrpWQ2RksiTOhT2dBuHL1Zl7uIoF0K-kOiI7vqqrc-09hTlSggb1yRzafHvyFO_9unnz753MuemYXdlPWxEQxvjowSNnFOzKhRzF7D7Ko-/s1600/blog+horse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBTolx9Tsg_c1NL4BABW5g94bPFeV2XpuwaJzrpWQ2RksiTOhT2dBuHL1Zl7uIoF0K-kOiI7vqqrc-09hTlSggb1yRzafHvyFO_9unnz753MuemYXdlPWxEQxvjowSNnFOzKhRzF7D7Ko-/s1600/blog+horse.jpg" height="325" width="400" /></a></div>
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Horse</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LaAsiAt4YDyqThUxk_2Qxtv2EJmLA04oNn62hC4ilynRgUJdARtG-t6WcqU9x7j9EXgwr_75WFq8bIVwFj2OYKAZXhrcFVq9XUMdj1_pLIgc0udM_Z7EOBKU71w0Vj9_PiubI3C5cc7p/s1600/blog+janus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LaAsiAt4YDyqThUxk_2Qxtv2EJmLA04oNn62hC4ilynRgUJdARtG-t6WcqU9x7j9EXgwr_75WFq8bIVwFj2OYKAZXhrcFVq9XUMdj1_pLIgc0udM_Z7EOBKU71w0Vj9_PiubI3C5cc7p/s1600/blog+janus.jpg" height="325" width="400" /></a></div>
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Janus. (Nysien and Efnysien?)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9e2clBucFJTSimRGfg9F0_ineC4Wl63PgOeMQMZVMCWkLaPa8TbLLmh7VemVgByh9j67L0CsYcd5uYbUvsOMHXGt_7tNTQrpJ60jyiEFsvpVdoFAF_KoW9Ro6d0WqLBVmT4qUN12bPMIs/s1600/blog+ladies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9e2clBucFJTSimRGfg9F0_ineC4Wl63PgOeMQMZVMCWkLaPa8TbLLmh7VemVgByh9j67L0CsYcd5uYbUvsOMHXGt_7tNTQrpJ60jyiEFsvpVdoFAF_KoW9Ro6d0WqLBVmT4qUN12bPMIs/s1600/blog+ladies.jpg" height="325" width="400" /></a></div>
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Two Ladies of the Court</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGPHZZNLExygQVV9AbixXeSlDl2NwrCx2KEIa7sgXnnMMeCtaDnKvSyf5NPhYIn5uL0URSPD9aGNuQpJR1BeN_rmCKl6ye97G7Ro6Dkf0UEsJ5yMgwFYnP3DLvogLgIohiy8Y415kwJVEU/s1600/blog+goat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGPHZZNLExygQVV9AbixXeSlDl2NwrCx2KEIa7sgXnnMMeCtaDnKvSyf5NPhYIn5uL0URSPD9aGNuQpJR1BeN_rmCKl6ye97G7Ro6Dkf0UEsJ5yMgwFYnP3DLvogLgIohiy8Y415kwJVEU/s1600/blog+goat.jpg" height="325" width="400" /></a></div>
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Goat</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3I4xWn8IE7W_dXsKzQtCm9K6EeUnFP-lc-8u1YBkDOb1LqhAIbZg6EEKxTFL1m9jxQ5WxYrWRKrOzmviAG-PtBtrnU0_Bcv1lz1HiMLAj3bqZCin_olIaHuUPc308xQT1W8JrfgzrFN6w/s1600/blog+salmon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3I4xWn8IE7W_dXsKzQtCm9K6EeUnFP-lc-8u1YBkDOb1LqhAIbZg6EEKxTFL1m9jxQ5WxYrWRKrOzmviAG-PtBtrnU0_Bcv1lz1HiMLAj3bqZCin_olIaHuUPc308xQT1W8JrfgzrFN6w/s1600/blog+salmon.jpg" height="325" width="400" /></a></div>
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Salmon</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnKOoyEX83x5xCHM3VGPrxXcBiJEH6TEumaHLpsT2HcOkG_HVvFWixqTb_WnZVelHKTOk9K04uzQC3CFGH2kbenzjLC0Hf87rCy2be-9YwgQG0Rzh4HrBMLdSMZo0ny4kQJ_8c9WcdPcNB/s1600/blog+pig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnKOoyEX83x5xCHM3VGPrxXcBiJEH6TEumaHLpsT2HcOkG_HVvFWixqTb_WnZVelHKTOk9K04uzQC3CFGH2kbenzjLC0Hf87rCy2be-9YwgQG0Rzh4HrBMLdSMZo0ny4kQJ_8c9WcdPcNB/s1600/blog+pig.jpg" height="325" width="400" /></a></div>
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Mochyn</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6jiVMDyQEXFEKIip50z4nhsQD1kp_ULveQoqpjdl_-dMlEvJ8aISXb8AWa66di6per2SKljOI6E-JdgojS73ZWQ3flquMcAL8VrH74yCNAd_mWo_hjeDi6Yvg60hYNnk4oR2vkUD9qWb_/s1600/blog+drag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6jiVMDyQEXFEKIip50z4nhsQD1kp_ULveQoqpjdl_-dMlEvJ8aISXb8AWa66di6per2SKljOI6E-JdgojS73ZWQ3flquMcAL8VrH74yCNAd_mWo_hjeDi6Yvg60hYNnk4oR2vkUD9qWb_/s1600/blog+drag.jpg" height="258" width="400" /></a></div>
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Y Ddraig Goch</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4NlvEHuP7pMBzoC7fDrVwWF16lLQE2ZOC0z0KBhLu6FDEk-9cMHeOnkiTOBa6pNrSYUeF4-fFd34C1chW6agY1s6NAhBGJr0hnQA38oQafH-ZpikjGoWyeV52fQ5Z1gCrzDySvGYoCGK5/s1600/Dragon+Heads.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4NlvEHuP7pMBzoC7fDrVwWF16lLQE2ZOC0z0KBhLu6FDEk-9cMHeOnkiTOBa6pNrSYUeF4-fFd34C1chW6agY1s6NAhBGJr0hnQA38oQafH-ZpikjGoWyeV52fQ5Z1gCrzDySvGYoCGK5/s1600/Dragon+Heads.jpg" height="393" width="400" /></a></div>
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Dragon heads. The Dragon head at bottom left is taken from the Black Book of Carmarthen.</div>
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<br />Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-73029545249817119912013-09-28T15:07:00.000-07:002014-07-29T16:03:47.992-07:00Cacamwri, Osla Big-Knife and Llyn LLiwan.<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 100%;">Cacamwri, Osla
Big-Knife and Llyn LLiwan.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwhvHDGSw1KwJXOwy3t_pBxrt78AY09Q1af-7P9-ZXPjmr1doxU_oTUHolWoYR9rf3cBLgJTRN1O3LoSq9dFb6-eu162fxIL3cATL4LhLCFpf9QMsFsnI3raLfYZtlpf_7BeKjEm6W70lj/s1600/ophiuchus3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwhvHDGSw1KwJXOwy3t_pBxrt78AY09Q1af-7P9-ZXPjmr1doxU_oTUHolWoYR9rf3cBLgJTRN1O3LoSq9dFb6-eu162fxIL3cATL4LhLCFpf9QMsFsnI3raLfYZtlpf_7BeKjEm6W70lj/s400/ophiuchus3.jpg" height="316" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-center;">Serpens wrestling Ophiuchus along the celestial equator.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTgc042f2rsZmw12jzHKmA5-Ug-I40FbWusE1x1moGaLtrS6PPxlKwdxKFW4wk7akTHk_5f8kqUXzDNzT_NfVSE_wRB8j7zzJnfHM54xbxU8x2vg7jKnCpz0OZkUZ83_Cd-PquWrqcFiqb/s1600/ori-ks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTgc042f2rsZmw12jzHKmA5-Ug-I40FbWusE1x1moGaLtrS6PPxlKwdxKFW4wk7akTHk_5f8kqUXzDNzT_NfVSE_wRB8j7zzJnfHM54xbxU8x2vg7jKnCpz0OZkUZ83_Cd-PquWrqcFiqb/s400/ori-ks.jpg" height="400" width="298" /></a></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">Orion the Hunter with his
short-broad knife in its sheath and one foot in </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">Zalos</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;"> the
'Whirlpool' in the River Eridanus.</span></div>
<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">In Culhwch and Olwen
during the frenzied events in the Severn estuary Cacamwri, the half
brother of Hygwydd, is described as being dragged 'into the depths by
two millstones', while his comrade Osla Big-knife is also dragged
'into the depths' by his sheath 'being full of water'.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-left: 1.24cm; margin-right: 1.19cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Of all the harm that
was got from seeking those treasures from him (Twrch Trwyth), worse
was got trying to save the two men from drowning. Cacamwri, as he was
being pulled up – two grindstones pulled him into the depths. As
Osla Big-knife was running after the boar, his knife fell out of its
sheath and he lost it; and his sheath thereafter being full of water,
as he was dragged forth, it dragged him back into the depths. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In the 'catalogue of
the court' the author prepared the way for this curious couplet full
of loaded imagery by firstly associating Cacamwri's physical strength
with the destructive power of an iron threshing flail:</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-left: 1.24cm; margin-right: 1.24cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Cacamwri, Arthur's
servant – show him a barn, though there would be in it the work of
fifty ploughs, he would thrash away with an iron flail until the
boards, the rafters, and the side beams would be no better off than
the fine oats in the heap of corn-sheaves at the bottom of the barn.
</span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">and secondly by
describing Osla's big knife and sheath as being as big and as useful as a
bridge: </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-left: 1.16cm; margin-right: 1.27cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Osla Big-Knife, who
carried <i>Bronllafn Ferylldan,</i> ('Short-Broad-Breast-Blade'). When
Arthur would come with his hosts to the edge of a torrent, a narrow
place over the water would be sought, and the knife would be placed
in its sheath across the torrent. Enough of a bridge would it be for
the hosts of the Three Islands of Britain and its Three Adjacent
Islands and their spoils.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The episode, then,
has the feel of a previously rehearsed set piece; the author has
carefully fed his readers a couple of lines in the 'catalogue' and
the punchlines duly appear here in the 'achievements'. Cacamwri's
propensity for extreme violence, compared in the 'catalogue' to the
destructive power of an iron flail upon the threshing barn <i>itself
</i>- until it was 'no better off than the fine oats in the heap of
corn-sheaves at the bottom of the barn' - is now, ironically, the
cause of his own undoing, for it is the weight of millstones, the
instruments subsequently required to grind the oats and corn to
flour, which drag him to the depths. Likewise Osla's vast knife and
sheath, previously of great beneficial value as a bridge over water,
are now the cause of his demise, as it is the sheath which drags him
into the water. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">It is possible to
construe in this some sort of wisdom tale, however ironic, and if
this were indeed true, then logic would lead us to believe that at
this point in the tale both characters ought to have drowned, which
is what the text appears to say, but this turns out not to be the
case certainly as far as Cacamwri goes, for we will meet him again a
little further on very much alive and, significantly, in a <i>wrestling
match</i>. Osla Big-Knife, on the other hand, is not mentioned
again, at least in this tale and it is therefore apparent that
Cacamwri was successfully dragged up from the depths, despite the
impression to the contrary, and that Osla was not. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">There are instances
of millstones in association with the sea or 'the depths' and with
punishments in the New Testament, this from Mathew 18.5</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-left: 0.95cm; margin-right: 1.14cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">And whoso shall
receive onesuch little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall
offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better
for him that a <strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">millstone</span></strong>
were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of
the sea. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The British
hagiographical legend of St. Perran appears to draw on this when it
is said that<span lang="en"> Irish pagans tied him to a mill-stone
and pushed him over a cliff-edge into the storm-tossed sea, which of
course became instantly calm as the saint floated safely and
righteously away to eventually land in Cornwall. </span>A further
reference comes from Revelations 18.21</span></div>
<ul>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 1.16cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">And a mighty angel
took up a stone like a great <strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">millstone</span></strong>,
and cast it into the sea, saying, 'Thus with violence shall that
great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at
all'. </span>
</div>
</ul>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en">Whether
any of this has anything to do with Cacamwri and Osla Big-Knife being
dragged into the depths of the Severn is difficult to assess,
although it would be hard to argue that the author of </span><span lang="en"><i>Culhwch,</i></span><span lang="en">
a man of considerable ecclestiastical learning,</span><span lang="en"><i>
</i></span><span lang="en">was not familiar with these biblical
passages, he may even have known the St Perran legend judging by his
evident familiarity with the </span><span lang="en"><i>Vitae </i></span><span lang="en">of
Welsh, Irish and Cornish saints (see below). </span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en" style="line-height: 100%;">However
that may be, t</span><span style="line-height: 100%;">here is another possible explanation for the
presence, here, of these millstones. In their controversial book
'Hamlet's Mill' Heartha von Dechend and Giorgio de Santillana believe
that they have identified a very widespread and apparantly </span><i style="line-height: 100%;">very</i><span style="line-height: 100%;">
old tradition attested in many myths and legends throughout the world
which suggests that mythic
millwheels have to do with the slow eastwards motion of the vernal
equinox through the ecliptic, (the path of the sun and the planets)
at its junction with the celestial equator and known as the
precession of the equinoxes. These tales consistently tell of
the destruction of a Mill which sinks to the bottom of the sea and
von Dechend and de Santillana have argued that this odd but
persistent image stands for the dragging into the southern celestial
hemisphere - 'The Depths' - of a succession of zodiacal
constellations which have marked the sun's rising at the Vernal
equinox through a series of 'World Ages'. A characteristic of these
'precessional myths' is that the destruction of this Mill, whoever
the owner is at the time, marks the 'World's End' and the </span><span style="line-height: 16px;">beginning</span><span style="line-height: 100%;"> of
a new 'World Age'. These 'precessional myths' also relate that the
sinking of this mill, with its millwheels, causes a whirlpool to come
into existence at the place where it becomes submerged. Martin
Bulgerin explains the idea in clear language:</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-left: 0.98cm; margin-right: 1.14cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Two very common
mythic motifs concerning precession are the Whirlpool and the
Millstone. The daily rotation of the Earth was viewed as the entire
cosmos rotating about our heads, much like the rotating millstones
used to grind grain. These cosmic millstones were not only a symbol
of regularity and order in the universe, but were revered as the
mills that ground out the fates of men and gods. The axis of this
mill was the north pole itself, the creative center that represented
divine power. Unfortunately, due to precession, the cosmic millstone
sometimes broke its axle and fell into disrepair. Quite often, this
broken mill fell into the ocean... disappearing into a giant
whirlpool to the center of the earth. The whirlpool could be either
pre-existing or caused by the falling millstone itself. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">It seems remarkable
then that the pulling of Cacamwri by two millstones into the depths
occurs 'betwixt Aber Gwy and Llyn Lliwan', a miraculous lake which is
described in the <i>Mirabilia</i> appended to the <i>Historia
Brittonom</i> as a 'whirlpool'. Earlier in the tale, during the search for Mabon
son of Modron, the Eagle of Gwernaby relates how he too was drawn
'down into the depths' by the Salmon of Llyn Llyw, just as Cacamwri
and Osla were, which is again all very suggestive of whirlpools. It
would be well to try to find the location of Llyn Lliwan with its
whirlpool and its millwheels, though it has hitherto proved illusive.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The text of <i>Culhwch</i>
regarding Twrch Trwyth's route to Llyn Lliwan is a little vague and
several interpretations are possible, this has led, perhaps not
surprisingly, to much confusion amongst all commentators of <i>Culhwch
</i>as to the whereabouts of Llyn Lliwan<i>.</i> For instance,
Bromwich and Evans thought that 'Evidently it was a lake or pool
which over flowed <i>into</i> the Severn Estuary', maybe on the
'English shoreline in Gloucestershire', but most likely 'on the Welsh
side of the Severn Estuary'...probably 'between the mouth of the Wye
and Gloucester', but their map shows it at the mouth of the Usk!
Bollard suggests tentatively, in his map, that Llyn Lliwan is about
midway between Aber Gwy and Caer Loyw (Gloucester), whilst Jones &
Jones have it midway between Aber Gwy and the mouth of the Usk.
Tatlock suggested 'somewhere on the Llymon Brook which flows from
Cross Ash in the middle of Gwent until it joins the River Trothy at
Court Farm, but the etymology of Oper Lin Liuan makes this unlikely
and Llyn Lliwan remains a mystery.'<a class="sdendnoteanc" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote1sym" name="sdendnote1anc"><sup>i</sup></a>
In recent years The Caerwent Historic Trust has focussed attention on
the Whirly Holes on the Neddern Brook near Caerwent, but even this
promising theory suffers from the fact that these inland 'whirlpools'
are far from the Mouth of the Wye and the waters of the Severn.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As mentioned, the
site of Llyn Lliwan is described in the <i>Mirabilia, </i>in obscure
and confusing language, and Geoffrey of Monmouth appears to closely
paraphrase this in the <i>Historia Regum Britaniae. </i>One thing,
however, is clear – the major inference in both texts is to the
creation of the Severn Bore by a whirlpool in a 'bottomless pit' at
the Mouth of the Severn. The two passages run as follows:<i> </i></span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-left: 1.24cm; margin-right: 1.03cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en">There
is another wonder, which is </span><span lang="en"><i>Oper Linn
Liuan</i></span><span lang="en">. </span><span lang="en"><i>The mouth
of this river flows into the Severn</i></span><span lang="en"> </span><span lang="en"><i>and
when the Severn is flooded at high tide, and the sea likewise floods
in the mouth of the aforesaid river and is received in the waters of
the estuary like a whirlpool</i></span><span lang="en">, and the sea
does not rush up; there is a shore beside the river, and whenever the
Severn is flooded at high tide this shore is not covered, and when
the sea and the Severn recede, then lake Liuan throws up everything
swallowed from the sea and that shore is covered, and like a mountain
in one wave it throws up and breaks.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-left: 1.24cm; margin-right: 1.03cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Arthur also told
Hoel that there was a ... pool in the parts of Wales which are near
the Severn. The local people call it Lin Ligua. <i>When the sea flows
into this pool, it is swallowed up as though in a bottomless pit</i>;
and as the pool swallows the waters, it is never filled in such a way
as to overflow the edges of its banks. When the tide ebbs away,
however, the pool belches forth the waters which it has swallowed, as
high in the air as a mountain, and with them it then splashes and
floods its banks. (Lewis Thorpe)</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">When, in <i>Culhwch</i>,
the Eagle of Gwernabwy and Arthur's men visit the Salmon of Llyn Llyw
at 'the place where he was', which must mean Llyn Llyw, it is implied
there that the lake is to be found in the Severn itself, in the Salmon's
assertion that 'With every tide I go up along the river until I come
to the bend of the wall of Caer Loyw'. This makes best sense if we
envisage this conversation as occurring in the Severn. Indeed, one
doesn't have to look further than the banks of the river to find a
'lake', as the Severn itself contains many pools and lakes, for
example: Salmon Pool, Count Lake, Plython Lake and Oldbury Lake are
all within 4 miles up river from <i>Aber Gwy,</i> as are the
suggestive S<i>turch</i> Pill and Pighole Pill, both nearby inlets on
the west bank of Severn. The description in the <i>Mirabilia</i> is
also clear that the whirlpool is actually <i>in</i> the River Severn
at the place where the incoming tide (the Bore) meets the river in
full spate.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj45_Tr88te4dQiAH7bcjeIMRrNBceBlbznpG6oxgalvALGz8RbaQQ4A0vuwwCOyIdlKnLl89kcPfgRz6V0leFFxEclLMT0XlDKDq9OEDDrxY4gKbONKXAILNa3eKcHbWuHjvR9Nd7RNIT/s1600/twrchrouteS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj45_Tr88te4dQiAH7bcjeIMRrNBceBlbznpG6oxgalvALGz8RbaQQ4A0vuwwCOyIdlKnLl89kcPfgRz6V0leFFxEclLMT0XlDKDq9OEDDrxY4gKbONKXAILNa3eKcHbWuHjvR9Nd7RNIT/s640/twrchrouteS.jpg" height="267" width="640" /></a></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">From Porth Clais to
Beachley Point</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">With all this in
mind it is worth now considering the route, as described in <i>Culhwch,</i>
which leads to Llyn Lliwann and there is one interpretation which, it
seems to me, fits the evidence contained in all of these texts whilst
supplying a fitting denouement to the chase. It is also one which
displays a general's, or at least an expert hunter's, grasp of the
terrain, indeed I suspect that the author of <i>Culhwch</i> may have
had access to a reasonably accurate map with which he worked out the
entire route and especially the climax to the chase. <a class="sdendnoteanc" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote2sym" name="sdendnote2anc"><sup>ii</sup></a></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Arthur's plan is a
clever one, he uses his (the author's) knowledge of the lie of the
land to trap the Boar and force him into the Severn in a classic
ambush:</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-left: 1.22cm; margin-right: 1.08cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Twrch Trwyth went
from there to between Tawy and Euyas, and Arthur summoned all
Cornwall and Devon unto him, to the estuary of the Severn, and he
said to the warriors of this Island, "Twrch Trwyth has slain
many of my men, but, by the valour of warriors, while I live he shall
not go into Cornwall. And I will not follow him any longer, but I
will oppose him life to life. Do ye as ye will." And he resolved
that he would send a body of knights, with the dogs of the Island, as
far as Euyas, who should return thence to the Severn, and that tried
warriors should traverse the Island, and force him into the
Severn.(Jones & Jones) </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The strategy appears
to have been to catch up with the Boar in Ewyas and then to chase him
across the Wye into the toungue of land between there and the Severn,
they then pressed him southwards through the Forest of Dean and
towards the west bank of the Severn where the land narrows
dramatically into the Beachley peninsula. He now has nowhere to go
but into the Severn itself, he cannot attempt to cross the Wye
because presumably Arthur and the rest of his men are lining the
opposite bank, waiting in ambush, perhaps the men of Devon and
Cornwall line the east bank of the Severn also. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">According to the
Welsh tale the place where the Twrch Trwyth was driven into the
Severn is 'betwixt Llin Lliwan and Aber Gwy', and Bromwich and Evans
note that in the <i>Brut Dingestow </i>the 'location of the <i>tidal
pool </i>is here given as near the Welsh border'. They then assume
that the border referred to is the old border, which Humphrey Lhwyd
and later Camden insisted upon, of the Severn itself, which
eventually led them to insinuate that the tidal reach of the Severn
at Gloucester was somehow also in the frame. But this seems to be a
mistake because there are two other Welsh borders to take into
consideration. In <span lang="en">928AD
king Aethelstan defeated the Welsh and established the River Wye as
the border and about 150 years earlier in the latter half of the 8</span><sup><span lang="en">th</span></sup><span lang="en">
century Offa of Mercia built the southern section of his famous dyke,
which began near Slimeroad Pill, someway below Sturch and Pighole
Pills, and from there crossed the mile or so over to the Wye,
effectively isolating the Beachley peninsula. It seems reasonable
then that we should concentrate our search for Llyn Llywan, the tidal
whirlpool, in this restricted area, namely somewhere off the Beachley
</span>peninsula south of
Offa's Dyke,<span lang="en">
(which obviously contains the ancient Severn border but also these
more recently established borders of Wales), and upstream of Aber
Gwy. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">And
it is obvious from this that the large river pool known as 'Whirls
End' is the place which the author of <i>Culhwch</i>
thought of as the location of Llyn Llywan<a class="sdendnoteanc" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote3sym" name="sdendnote3anc"><sup>iii</sup></a>.
Whirls End! The word 'Llywan' means 'Rudder' giving 'The Lake of the
Rudder' and as any local boatman will tell you this is the one thing
that is required in this most turbulent part of the Severn Estuary.
The mystery is: why has nobody suggested this before?</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrO8Cfyn5vwdDdh7syYhRc2Z-Na7adgPSXaKQzagzI8Aty4u6_SKz1fUFdl2VFTPFDKlhVFmRhlEnYiK9S98wXsDsMonrUlg5aw4Ueh-X-Fxv4XY7L_c3ouppSrl6ARSNppfz9i6MxVpQM/s1600/Whirls+End+composite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrO8Cfyn5vwdDdh7syYhRc2Z-Na7adgPSXaKQzagzI8Aty4u6_SKz1fUFdl2VFTPFDKlhVFmRhlEnYiK9S98wXsDsMonrUlg5aw4Ueh-X-Fxv4XY7L_c3ouppSrl6ARSNppfz9i6MxVpQM/s640/Whirls+End+composite.jpg" height="466" width="640" /></a></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Whirls End - Llyn
Llywan</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">As mentioned
Cacamwri is described in the 'catalogue of the court' as destroying a
'barn' which contains the work of 50 ploughs and the connection with
millstones or quernstones is obvious and later explicit. One is
reminded of the 50 tridents in the back of the Salmon of Llyn Llyw
(the same as Llyn Lliwan), who we meet in that portion of <i>Culhwch</i>
known as the Oldest Animals, an international popular tale which
recounts the quest of a hero or heroes who visits a succession of
animals, each one vastly older than the previous one, until finally
he meets the oldest creature ever created. Now, whilst this may not
be a theory of the precession of the equinoxes it is a surprisingly
good description of one; the Hero may be seen as the Sun moving
through the Zodiac i.e. 'The Circle of Animals', in this case the
Ousel, the Stag, the Owl, the Eagle and the Salmon</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I showed earlier
that there are very strong reasons for believing that the author of
<i>Culhwch</i> wanted Hygwyyd to represent the serpent constellation
Hydra, (pseudo Eratosthenes being the most likely source) perhaps
this is a clue to a celestial identity for his (half) brother
Cacamwri; might he also be a serpent constellation? There are, besides Hydra, two other serpents anciently depicted in the
sky, <i>Serpens</i> and Draco, (a fourth, Hydrus the Little Water
Snake, was added in the late 16<sup>th</sup> century). Circumpolar
Draco, 'the serpent of the Hesperides' is in fact said to be the
brother of Hydra, their parents being Typhon and Echidna, (Hesiod,
Hyginus<i> </i>&c.), but Draco, being circumpolar, is never
dragged to the 'Depths', never even sets below the horizon, and it
is therefore clear to me that in the Welsh author's scheme it is the
constellation <i>Serpens, (</i>often confused with Draco)<i> </i>the great Serpent winding along the
celestial equator which Ophiuchus wrestles, that Cacamwri is supposed
to correspond with. This 'long and slender' Serpent poised above
Virgo as if ready to strike at her, is traditionally drawn looped
around either the torso or one of the legs of Ophiuchus who holds the
Head <i>Kaput</i> in his left hand and the Tail <i>Cauda </i>in his
right, in an eternal wrestling match.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">What of Osla
Big-Knife, what constellation, if any, did the author have in mind
for this character? It has been stated that the historical origins of
Osla most likely lie with the 8<sup>th</sup> century Mercian king
Offa, whose name was occasionally spelt <i>Ossa</i>, and in <i>Bonedd
y Saint </i>it is given as <i>Offa Kyllellvawr vrenin Lloegr –</i>
'Offa Great Knife, king of England'. Others have suggested the saxon
Octha son of Hengist 'of the long knives' and this idea seems to be
reinforced by the portrayal of Osla as the enemy of Arthur at Badon
in the later (but related) medieval tale The Dream of Rhonabwy. So it
is notewothy that in <i>Culhwch, </i>the earlier tale<i>, </i>Osla is
depicted as a fully integrated member of Arthur's warband and any
historical associations with enemy Saxon kings have been entirely
suppressed, instead he is presented here as a mythical giant huntsman
who is the owner of a vast knife and sheath capable of forming
'enough of a bridge' to cross<i> '</i>a narrow place over the water'.
In this tale Osla Big Knife is explicitly a giant, a warrior and a
hunter, and there can be no doubt that we have here a perfect
description of the constellation figure of Orion (<b>Os</b>iris) 'the
Giant, the Warrior and the Hunter' (Allen, Star Names), the owner of
the three stars known as The Belt of Orion from which hangs the
asterism called The Sword of Orion. This celestial, short-broad blade
appears to form a bridge in the sky over the narrows of the river
constellation Eridanus. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 100%;">There is another
important element to the myth of the Millwheels and the Whirlpool and
it is to do with the celestial location of the Whirlpool. Orion's
left foot is in the River Eridanus and is marked by the star </span><i style="line-height: 100%;">Rigel, </i><span style="line-height: 16px;">apparently</span><span style="line-height: 100%;"> known as the 'whirlpool star', and it is true to say
of both Osla and (Osiris) Orion that during the hunt, as he was
'running after the boar' the giant was dragged into the Depths, I
might as well add 'at the Western verge'. This is how Brady,
following Hamlet's Mill</span><a class="sdendnoteanc" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote4sym" name="sdendnote4anc" style="line-height: 100%;"><sup>iv</sup></a><span style="line-height: 100%;">,
descibes the situation:</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-left: 0.95cm; margin-right: 1.11cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'Whatever the story,
and there are many, the Golden Mill fell to earth, landed in the
Oceans of the sky, and created a whirlpool. ...The whirlpool was
located at the tip of the constellation Orion, at the point occupied
by the fixed star Rigel, the foot of Orion, the point which slipped
into the great starry ocean.'</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.08cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Now if Cacamwri –
<i>Serpens,</i>,<i> (</i>in his wrestling match with Ophiuchus) is
being pulled up from the Depths in the east, (in spite of the two
'millwheels' which are tring to drag him down), then Osla Big-Knife –
Orion, on the opposite side of the sky in the west, is being dragged
down into the whirling Depths because his huge sheath is filling with
water. This is strikingly similar to the astronomical tale, mentioned
earlier, which Aratus tells for the rising of Scorpius and the
setting of Orion, in the <i>Phaenomena, </i>except Scorpius, which
was sometimes depicted as a serpent, has here been actually
substituted by the constellation figure of Serpens, which is more
truly on the opposite side of the sky from Orion.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBEG-LWOasoYCaMM3h-vfU-p6G5KRRWx-Vx6Wv0f3wn0zo-mDd05-uQgu2FqZXLlVtpyevO3-nb0fWZq2wBx4kNSOeFCqmHq3HPcWX5OUzaNnMnvugMQ7bWr4ZXKGVvqH1qNwKsNMNtQbx/s1600/1+hr+pre+SN1006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBEG-LWOasoYCaMM3h-vfU-p6G5KRRWx-Vx6Wv0f3wn0zo-mDd05-uQgu2FqZXLlVtpyevO3-nb0fWZq2wBx4kNSOeFCqmHq3HPcWX5OUzaNnMnvugMQ7bWr4ZXKGVvqH1qNwKsNMNtQbx/s640/1+hr+pre+SN1006.jpg" height="300" width="640" /></a></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.08cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.03cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">One hour before the
first appearance of SN1006. Serpens rose on the eastern horizon, 'was
dragged up from the Depths' as Orion the Hunter set beneath the
western horizon, 'was dragged into the Depths'.</span></div>
<div class="western">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
NOTES</div>
<br />
<div id="sdendnote1">
<div dir="LTR" id="Section1">
<div dir="LTR" id="Section2">
<div dir="LTR" id="Section3">
<div align="LEFT" class="western">
<a class="sdendnotesym" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote1anc" name="sdendnote1sym">i</a><em>Tatlock,
J. S. P., (1950), The Legendary History of Britain, p.76.</em></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="sdendnote2">
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="zxx" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-right: 0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a class="sdendnotesym" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote2anc" name="sdendnote2sym">ii</a>As
an aside, it is noteworthy that, following the crossing of the Irish
Sea, Twrch Trwyth comes to land at a <i>port</i>, why does a
monstrous boar need to come in at a port? The next time that he has
to cross a major body of water he finds himself at Aber Towy, where
from very ancient times a <i>ferry</i> has operated between
Llanstephan and Ferryside, why does a monstrous boar need to catch a
ferry? And again, the point where Twrch Trwyth crosses the Severn is
also the site of an ancient ferry crossing between Wales and
England. Curious.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="sdendnote3">
<div align="LEFT" class="western">
<a class="sdendnotesym" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote3anc" name="sdendnote3sym">iii</a>
The Blaenau Gwent County Council website reports in the section on
Arthurian Gwent: 'Ewyas was originally one of the comotes of Ergyng
and covered the eastern area of the Black Mountains. It is now split
between Wales and Herefordshire, but the name survives in the
Herefordshire village of Ewias Harold. Dyffryn Ewias ("The Vale
of Ewias") is where Llanthony Priory now stands. Aber Gwy ("The
Mouth of the Wye") speaks for itself, perhaps Beachley Point
under the Welsh end of the old Severn Bridge is the spot referred to
in the tale'.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
<br />
<div id="sdendnote4">
<div class="western">
<a class="sdendnotesym" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote4anc" name="sdendnote4sym">iv</a>“That
there is a whirlpool in the sky is well known; it is most probably
the essential one, and it is precisely placed. It is a group of
stars so named (<strong>zalos</strong>) at the foot of Orion, close
to Rigel (beta Orionis, Rigel being the Arabic word for ‘foot’),
the degree of which was called ‘death,’ according to Hermes
Trismegistos, whereas the Maori claim outright that Rigel marked the
way to Hades (Castor indicating the primordial homeland). Antiochus
the astrologer enumerates the whirl among the stars as Taurus. Franz
Boll takes sharp exception to the adequacy of his description, but
he concludes that the <strong>zalos</strong> must, indeed, be
<strong>Eridanus</strong> ‘which flows from the foot of Orion.’”
(Giorgio Santillana and Hertha Von Dechend, <em>Hamlet’s Mill: An
Essay Investigating the Origins of Human Knowledge and Its
Transmission Through Myth </em>(Boston: David R. Godine, Publisher,
Inc., 1998, 1969), p. 210)
</div>
<div class="western" lang="en">
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-65783888587053200332013-09-12T13:55:00.002-07:002015-01-05T16:36:06.667-08:00Lleu Llaw Gyffes and Perseus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Lleu Llaw Gyffes and Perseus</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lleu Llaw Gyffes
(Lleu of the Skilful Hand), the ‘Hero’ of The Fourth Branch of
the Mabinogi or <i>Math Vab Mathonwy </i>is almost certainly cognate
with one of the principal heroes of medieval Irish literature, namely
the semi-divine Lugh Samildanach (The Many Skilled), also styled Lugh
Lamfhada (of the Long Arm).<a class="sdendnoteanc" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote1sym" name="sdendnote1anc"><sup>i</sup></a>
Besides the obvious linguistic relationship in the names of Lleu and
Lugh and their similar respective epithets, many scholars, most
notably W. J. Gruffydd, have pointed out that the basis for each of
their stories is the ‘international popular tale’ known as <i>The
King and his Prophesied Death</i>, the best known version of which is
the Greek legend of Acrisius and Perseus. In turn, these two insular
heroes, Lleu and Lugh, are regarded as being literary survivals with
a <span lang="en-US">common mythological heritage which can be traced
to the</span> pan-European god Lugus, or in the (often triplicate)
plural form, Lugoves, a god known from dedications, statuary,
place-names and tribal names from across what were once the Celtic
speaking areas of mainland Europe. <span lang="en-US">It is widely
held that this Lugus is the god whom Caesar meant when he said in
‘The Conquest of Gaul’, ‘The god they (the Gauls) reverence
most is Mercury. They have very many images of him, and regard him as
inventor of all arts, the god who directs men upon their journeys,
and their most powerful helper in trading and getting money’. This
equivalence seems to have struck a chord with the Gauls so much so
that even the name Lugus dropped out of usage and was replaced by
that of Mercury. A similar transition occurred in sculptural
representations of the god as earlier native tricelaphic images of a
clothed figure holding a bag of money and a staff were replaced by
classical images of Mercury, who also holds a bag of money and a
staff, but now the figure is naked or semi-naked except for winged
sandals and a winged hat .</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL579g3H-k2EdnAIaEflLwCA9Q0_ckXmHLA1xqcVu3NQB3fefagIWBnkmMg-2ksMkOlE5SKf3sZo4Sm6owi_5_OaCLxpvv4ApdlCEEycpxD_ZJEhi6PabUpxrt-fgwNp0B8qU-SkOP5nVm/s1600/Tricephale_Carnavalet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL579g3H-k2EdnAIaEflLwCA9Q0_ckXmHLA1xqcVu3NQB3fefagIWBnkmMg-2ksMkOlE5SKf3sZo4Sm6owi_5_OaCLxpvv4ApdlCEEycpxD_ZJEhi6PabUpxrt-fgwNp0B8qU-SkOP5nVm/s320/Tricephale_Carnavalet.jpg" height="320" width="190" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> Lugus Lugus/Mercury
('or Perseus?')</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">There is a strong
connection between these images of Lugus/Mercury and the classical
images of Perseus in paintings, in both bronze and stone statuary and
as found on planispheric constellation charts. Both figures appear
naked or half naked except for winged sandals and a winged hat and
this is no coincidence since according to some versions of the myth
it was Mercury who loaned the winged sandals and cap to Perseus. That
is, they are depicted wearing <i>the same</i> sandals and cap. Both
figures carry a bag, Lugus/Mercury’s is full of money or gold and
Perseus’ bag, his <i>kybisis, </i>contains
the head of the gorgon Medusa. Mercury wields his twinned
serpent staff while Perseus has his scimitar. There is no denying that
it would be very easy to confuse the figures of Mercury/Lugus and
Perseus.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGm6SzJsssU8FJWcs0xxiXsqR2NzNWhUEZ2dkTE1zyOsSz8GOemO38yAe7gTmq3cfrTH9dveYlilYlt8mhTEPeDd7PViwaXCm0hLG3GHS6YVcHLkUTjX7FicIzQTjgxhBxK-e0TsvNAa4v/s1600/villa_san_marco_perseus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGm6SzJsssU8FJWcs0xxiXsqR2NzNWhUEZ2dkTE1zyOsSz8GOemO38yAe7gTmq3cfrTH9dveYlilYlt8mhTEPeDd7PViwaXCm0hLG3GHS6YVcHLkUTjX7FicIzQTjgxhBxK-e0TsvNAa4v/s400/villa_san_marco_perseus.jpg" height="400" width="267" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Perseus</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Whilst all this may
seem circumstantial, I think that the evidence for Lugus' association
with the constellation Perseus has been preserved elsewhere in a
slightly encrypted form, I believe that it has been transferred on to
the hagiographical material regarding the martyrdom of the great Roman
Catholic saint Lawrence. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Throughout northern
Europe and particularly in that area which was once known as Gaul,
the Perseid meteor shower is called 'The Shining Tears of St.
Lawrence'.<span style="font-size: medium;"><b> </b></span>St. Lawrence is one of the most
revered of all Catholic saints, ranking only below saints Peter &
Paul, his feast day is August 10th and this seems to be the
historically accurate date for his death in 258 and though modern
scholars generally agree that he was beheaded the tale that his
opportunistic hagiographers would have us believe is quite different.
The manner of his <i>invented</i> death, his traditional
accoutrements, his status as the third member of the triune of the
great saints along with Peter and Paul, his association with the
Perseids and even the coincidence of the similarity of his name-
<b>Law</b>rence with Lugos, Llew Llaw and Lugh indicate that he was
deliberately being compared with the pan-European demi-god. Moreover,
these Christian mythographers seemed to have been aware that Lugus
was known in Romano-Celtic Gaul to be represented in the night sky,
and in images of the same, as the constellation Perseus. According to
both the poet Prudentius and St. Ambrose of Milan writing in the 4th
century, St. Lawrence was roasted alive on a gridiron over hot coals.
His famous last words, they say, were "Turn me over, this side
is done." He is often depicted carrying a bag of money or
treasure which is empty for the rich but full for the poor, and great
emphasis is placed on his (moral) victory over his tyrant persecutor
the Emperor Valerian. It is also to be noted that St. Lawrence was
accredited with rescuing what later became known as the <span lang="en-GB">Holy
Chalice of Valencia, the chalice said to have been present at the
Last Supper.</span> It seems clear that these details emerged because
of a deliberate attempt by the Catholic Church to replace the popular
image of Lugus/Mercury with that of Lawrence.<span style="font-size: medium;"><b>
</b></span>However, in doing so
they also revealed a desire to identify Lawrence with the
constellation Perseus.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Firstly, I suggest
that the idea for this image of a naked man on a fiery grid who wants
to be turned over, has been influenced with reference to images of
Perseus on the celestial co-ordinate grid, perhaps the glowing coals
stood for stars, remember this is a made up episode, so why did his
chroniclers choose this particular method of martyrdom?. The image of
a naked man on a grid , who is reversible, probably came about
because his hagiographers had in there possession two conflicting
star charts, one showing the constellation Perseus from God's
eye-view the other being geocentric. That is, the constellations are
reversible, like Lawrence... like Perseus. Furthermore, This 'grid'
turns up, in slightly altered yet unmistakable, forms in the two
versions of the death stance of Lleu Llaw Gyffes which have come down to us
in Welsh literature, but more on this shortly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-GNL5EeDkiNyrR-IdOpfBolIEzuXWichgvW0-QCmkOCHxzJJ6zJdvl8MuDN7ZvCBe0qH_pkbz6V72l_LissmnFTm3dUR26ugc42UFK3yhCereysSz0MLHn2IxUG_SjpGSSJOiBc5SK3Z/s1600/Perseus+et+Triangulum+Mercator.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-GNL5EeDkiNyrR-IdOpfBolIEzuXWichgvW0-QCmkOCHxzJJ6zJdvl8MuDN7ZvCBe0qH_pkbz6V72l_LissmnFTm3dUR26ugc42UFK3yhCereysSz0MLHn2IxUG_SjpGSSJOiBc5SK3Z/s320/Perseus+et+Triangulum+Mercator.jpg" height="257" width="320" /></a></div>
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</div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Mercator’s Perseus
from God’s point of view</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWbuz5j3dJY7H3UkKYM-mhuhm_6tYL1Y0eJ5i93WoWWuXZYFIAR8LtREBSF_9Ek_DlGRgCLVvhB0_dhnwv6JHAKWRT7xoBfQ7VLSJVdRVvmw09j4LpmnErDPzj4JHjmIIeDUPp6hqfXUt_/s1600/Lawrence+martyred+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWbuz5j3dJY7H3UkKYM-mhuhm_6tYL1Y0eJ5i93WoWWuXZYFIAR8LtREBSF_9Ek_DlGRgCLVvhB0_dhnwv6JHAKWRT7xoBfQ7VLSJVdRVvmw09j4LpmnErDPzj4JHjmIIeDUPp6hqfXUt_/s1600/Lawrence+martyred+1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">St. Lawrence. “Turn
me over, This side is done”.</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Second, the bag of
money traditionally held by St. Lawrence has this peculiarity; It is
empty for the rich but full for the poor. Compare this to the bag of
money Lugus is sometimes shown carrying, indicating his function as a
god of financial transactions. More recognisably, recall the 'Crane
bag' owned by Irish Lugh which is empty of treasure at low tide but
full when the tide is in. Perseus also has a bag, the <i>Kybisis</i>,
in which he carries the head of Medusa. In the constellation Perseus
this is represented as the asterism <i>Caput Medusa</i>e<i>,</i> The
Head of Medusa, the left eye of which is the famous star Algol, The
Demon star, which is actually an eclipsing binary. Every two to three
days the smaller of the two stars in the system passes in front of
the larger and the 'star' appears to fluctuate dramatically by a full
magnitude of brightness. The connection between these concepts seems
obvious to me, the fluctuating contents of these bags – Lugus’s
bag of money, Mercury's bag of money, Lawrence’s bag of money and
Lugh's bag of treasure are all ultimately allusions to the apparent
oscillations of the 'star' Algol, the blinking Eye of the Gorgon
contained in the bag of the constellation Perseus.</span></div>
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</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Third, the
traditional date for the martyrdom of Lawrence on August 10<sup>th</sup>
happens to coincide, to within a few days, with the height of the
Perseid meteor shower. The Perseid meteor shower is the most intense
of all the meteor showers which bombard the upper atmosphere
throughout the year. Beginning in mid July it reaches a peak in the
hours before dawn on the 12<sup>th</sup> of August, sending anything
up to a 150 bright streaks across the night sky every hour. The
Perseids are so called because the radiant, the point in the sky from
which they appear to emerge, is centred on the constellation of
Perseus. That the Perseids are called 'The Shinining Tears of St.
Lawrence' implicitly connects the saint to the constellation,
reminding us that in Ireland the Perseids are the Games of (shining)
Lugh. Irish tradition refers to the Perseid Meteor Shower as the
'Games of Lugh' and it seems likely that this is predicated upon this
very same reason, i.e. they radiate from the constellation which they
thought of as Lugh of the Long Arm. The respective mythologies of
Perseus and Lugh, as has been mentioned, are so similar that they are
often grouped together as 'Perseus Type Tales' or 'The King and his
Prophesied Death'. These narrative parallels between Lugh and Perseus
combined with the fact that the Irish regarded the Perseid meteor
shower as 'belonging' to Lugh - I.e. The Games of Lugh - and that
they radiate from the head of the constellation Perseus ought to
alert us to the possibility that the constellation Perseus was known,
at least to the Irish, as the constellation of Lugh Lamfhada - Lugh
of the Long Hand or Lugh <span lang="en-GB">Lonnbeimnech -'Fierce
Striker'. It is also good evidence that Lawrence was being equated
with both Lugus and the constellation Perseus.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Fourth, it is
tempting to see in the emphasis placed on Lawrence’s<i> prophesied
</i>(moral) defeat of the tyrant Valerian one of the central motifs
belonging to all ‘Perseus type tales’ including the life of Lugh.
This is ‘The Prophesied Death of the (tyrant) King’ scenario
being played out in the context of the Roman Catholic Church’s
stated aim of grafting the identities of its divine heroes, its
Saints and Angels, onto the pre-existing pantheon of the pagans they
were intent on converting to Christianity.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">There are a few
further points worth making which appear to hint at a deliberate
campaign by the early Church which aimed to replace Lugus with
Lawrence. Saint Lawrence is the third member of the trinity of
principal Catholic saints Peter, Paul and Lawrence which seems to me
to correspond with the (also alliterating) Gaulish triune of
principal divinities Teutatis, Taranis and Esus described by Lucan.
Many scholars agree that Esus and Lugus are one and the same.
Finally, Lawrence’s reputation as the saviour of the original Holy
Chalice of the Last Supper - the wine bearing cup symbolised in the
rite of the Holy Eucharist - is highly reminiscent of the Chalice
associated with Lugus/Mercury and Rosmerta in the continental
iconography and with Lugh and the Maiden of Sovereignty in the later
Irish literature. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">There
are then good reasons to at least suppose that Lleu's Irish and
Continental counterparts, Lugh and Lugus, were historically
associated with both the mythical figure of Perseus </span><span lang="en-GB"><i>and</i></span><span lang="en-GB">
the constellation figure of Perseus or The Hero. Are there any
indications in </span><span lang="en-GB"><i>Math </i></span><span lang="en-GB">which
might show that this astronomical association persisted into the
Welsh tradition?<a class="sdendnoteanc" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote2sym" name="sdendnote2anc"><sup>ii</sup></a>
I hope to show that</span> the set pieces in the part of the tale
involving Llew Llaw Gyffes; his mysterious conception, his birth, his
second gestation at the foot of Gwydion’s bed and subsequent second
birth, his suckling at the breast of ‘the lady in the town’, his
naming, his arming, his death stance, his transformation into an
eagle, his position in the topmost branches of the oak (world) tree,
his return to human form and finally his revenge upon Gronw Pebyr may
all be interpreted as references to the traditional figure of the
Ptolemaic constellation Perseus, or the The Hero, and the positions
this constellation takes in the yearly round. There are also, I will
argue, clear references to other northern hemisphere constellations
particularly those known as the ‘Royal Family’, these being
Cassiepeia, Cepheus and Andromeda but also to Cygnus, Bootes, Corona
Borealis, Lyra and Auriga or rather its asterisms
- Capella (The She-Goat) and The Kids. There are, I suggest,
further references to Hercules, Sagitta and Aquila, others too. Also
encoded within this part of the text I find references to several
southern hemisphere constellations, these include Cetus, Corvus and
Argo Navis. The Milky Way and the equinoctial colure ,at the First
Point of Aries, have also been cleverly woven into the tale.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The evidence points
to an intimate knowledge on the part of the author of charts or
planispheres depicting the constellations of both celestial
hemispheres, of the kind which frequently accompanied manuscript
copies of the various translations of the astronomical poem <i>Phenomena
</i>by Aratus of Soli, such as that by Germanicus in the <span lang="en-GB">oldest
scientific manuscript in the National Library of Wales </span>(<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="en-GB">NLW
MS 735C)</span></span><span lang="en-GB">. In this manuscript the
</span><span lang="en-GB"><i>Phenomena </i></span><span lang="en-GB">is
accompanied by other astronomy based texts including Macrobius’
commentary on Cicero’s </span><span lang="en-GB"><i>Somnium
Scipionis,</i></span><span lang="en-GB"> these comprise the first 27
folios of the manuscript, designated part ’A’, which according to
P. McGurk was produced early in the 11</span><sup><span lang="en-GB">th</span></sup><span lang="en-GB">
century in the Limoges area of France. In McGurks view this part of
the MS arrived in Britain later in the 11th century where part ’B’,
Hyginius’s </span><span lang="en-GB"><i>Astronomica </i></span><span lang="en-GB">accompanied
by illustrations of the constellations and consisting of 21 folios,
was appended, ’Perhaps produced to complete A in a Welsh centre‘.
This is precisely the period of time when, most experts agree, The
Four Branches was written down - in a Welsh centre. I am not
suggesting that this particular manuscript was involved in the
production of the Mabinogi, but it as an ‘illustrated witness from
Wales‘ of the kind of astronomical material available to the author
of the Mabinogi tales. There is however, another manuscript which may
very well have had a part to play in the writing of the Mabinogi, it
is known as the </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">'Macrobius
Manuscript' MS Cotton Faustina C 1.<a class="sdendnoteanc" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote3sym" name="sdendnote3anc"><sup>iii</sup></a>
</span></span><span lang="en-GB">Alison Pedden has identified
this MS. as a product of Llanbadarn Fawr and the family of Sulien and
his sons Rhygyfarch and Ieaun, considered by many to be the most
likely authors of the Mabinogi, (but more on this in a seperate post
on likely authorship). Certain passages within Math reveal
familiarity with other classical texts which have to do with the
origins of the constellations. These works are, The Library of Greek
Mythology by pseudo Apollodorus and the </span><span lang="en-GB"><i>Catasterismi
</i></span><span lang="en-GB">by pseudo Eratosthenes, and the
</span><span lang="en-GB"><i>Poeticon Astronomicon </i></span><span lang="en-GB">of
Hyginus</span><span lang="en-GB"> which often circulated in
various forms alongside the </span><i>Phenomena</i><span lang="en-GB">. </span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Conception and
Birth Of Llew Llaw Gyffes</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Conception</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
respective conceptions and births of Lugh and Perseus are just two of
the many parallels which have allowed scholars to identify these
figures with the Hero of the international popular tale </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US"><i>The</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US"><i>King
and his Prophesied Death. </i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In
both the Irish and Greek versions it is prophesied that a certain
king will be killed by his grandson, and so the king imprisons his
daughter in a tower, to guard against any risk of pregnancy, thus
avoiding the fulfilment of the</span><span lang="en-US">
prophecy. In the Greek version Zeus easily overcomes this obstacle by
transforming himself into a shower of gold raining through the
ceiling of Danae's cell and so entering her womb.There are several
versions of the conception of Lugh in the Irish tradition, the main
gist being that the father, usually one Cian, gains access to the
princess in the tower with the magical help of a Druid. The result is
the same in both tales -the daughter becomes pregnant and the first
part of the prophecy -that the daughter will have a son - has come
true. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="en-US">In
Math the role of the daughter is played, in the first instance, by
Goewin the king's virgin footholder, whose chastity is ensured by the
imposition of Math's feet upon her 'womb', (see The Astronomy of Math
(part)1). The role of the (potential) father is played by Gilvaethwy,
the king's nephew, who has become ill with lust for Goewin. This
situation is overcome when Gwydion, Gilvaethwy's brother disguised as</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">
a </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US"><i>Pencerdd
</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">or
chief poet, engineers a war between Gwynedd and and the twenty-one
cantrefs of the South thus obliging Math to leave his stronghold of
Caer Dathyl so he may attend to the war. Gwydion then aids Gilfaethwy
to gain access to the unprotected Goewin. The result is, of course,
that Goewin becomes pregnant. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Only no son ensues.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
conception (and birth) of Lleu in </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US"><i>Math
vab Mathonwy</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">
is problematical and its relationship to the Perseus type tale seems
more than a little obscure, notwithstanding W.J. Gruffydd's
painstaking analysis. The first set of problems are these: </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<ol>
<li><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">There is no
prophecy stating that the king will die by the hand of his grandson.</span></div>
</li>
<li><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">There is no
grandfather. There is no daughter. There is no son. </span>
</div>
</li>
<li><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Instead, the king's
(unrelated) virginal footholder Goewin is raped by the king's
nephew.</span></div>
</li>
<li><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The pregnant Goewin
then becomes the wife of the king and is given power over his realm.</span></div>
</li>
<li><div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">No mention is ever
made of the resultant offspring and Goewin drops out of the story,
seemingly eternally pregnant.
</span>
</div>
</li>
</ol>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: 1.49cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">We
pick up the tale immediately following Gwydion's stunning
announcement that 'A sty has been made for them (the swine) in the other
cantref below':</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-right: 1.49cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.26cm; margin-right: 1.49cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">And
that night Gwydyon son of Don and Gilfaethwy his brother returned to
Caer Dathyl, and Gilfaethwy and Goewin daughter of Pebin were put to
sleep together in Math the son of Mahonwy's bed; and the maidens were
roughly forced out, and she was lain with against her will that
night.</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US">
</span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">There then follows
the series of battles between north and south Wales which culminates in the
defeat of Pryderi (by strength and by magic) at the hands of Gwydion.
Thus Math returns victorious to Caer Dathyl. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.26cm; margin-right: 1.49cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Math
went to his chamber and bade a place be prepared for him to recline,
so that he might put his feet in the fold of the maiden's lap.
'Lord,' said Goewin ' seek now a maiden to be under thy feet. I am
woman.' </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">'How
is that?' 'An assault was made upon me, lord, committed upon my
person, and that openly. Nor did I bear it in quiet; There was none
in this court did not know of it. They who came were thy nephews,
lord, thy sister's sons, Gwydion son of Don and Gilfaethwy son of
Don. And they wrought rape upon me and upon thee dishonour. And I was
lain with, and that in thy chamber and thy bed.' 'Aye,' said he 'What
I can, I will do: redress for thee first, and then I too will seek
redress. As for thee,' he said, 'I will take thee to wife, and the
authority over my realm will I give into thy hands.'</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">There
is no further mention of the 'brave' and 'most beautiful' Goewin. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">This
dead end represents the most serious departure from the expected run
of events as they usually occur in <i>The King and his Prophesied
Death. </i>But what if our expectations are wrong? What if the author
of <i>Math</i> had some other agenda in mind? In 'The Astronomy of
Math vab Mathonwy (part 1)' I proposed that the <i>virginal</i> (i.e.
small) Goewin was to be identified with the northernmost
constellation Ursa Minor (the Small Bear). Could it be that, in the
elevation by Math of the now <i>pregnant</i> (i.e. big) Goewin to
rulership over the realm, the author is indicating her transformation
or transference into the constellation Ursa Major (the Big Bear)? If
this seems like an odd idea, it will be instructive to examine the
origin legends of the two Bear constellations to see what, if any,
light might be thrown on the 'cul de sac' figure, as Gruffydd calls
her, of Goewin.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The
author of <i>Math</i> would have known several different versions
from classical sources which tell of the origin of the Bears. Aratus,
Hyginus, Ps. Erastothenes, Ovid and Ps. Apollodorus (writers, whose
works were familiar to, say, Rhygyfarch and Iaeun the sons of Sulien;
if not the authors of the the Four Branches, then direct
contemporaries.) all record a variety of traditions concerning the
Bears. <a class="sdendnoteanc" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote1sym" name="sdendnote1anc"><sup>i</sup></a>
And, to digress only slightly, Aratus' version in the <i>Phaenomena</i>
is interesting because it demonstrates an ancient author bringing two
different traditions together to make a new 'myth':</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">...Two
bears surround this pole</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">...if
the tale is true,</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Zeus
the Almighty stellified these two</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Because,
near Ida, in his infancy,</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">They
found him lying on Dicte's dittany</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">And
picked him up and housed him in their den.</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">One
year they nursed him while the elder men</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Of
Crete distracted Cronos from his son.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">As
Aaron Poochigian, translator of the <i>Phaenomena</i>, has noticed
Aratus has here combined two seperate tales: “(1) That of Callisto,
an Arcadian maiden, and follower of Artemis,” a virgin who was
raped by Zeus, then turned into a bear and eventually into the
constellation Ursa Major; and (2) that of the Goat Amalthea, “who
is said to have nursed the infant Zeus.” As regards this Amaltheia,
Theony Condos noted that “According to Hyginus, while Cronos was
searching for Zeus, Amalthea placed the infant in a cradle which she
hung from the branch of a tree, so that <i>Zeus was not to be found
either in the sky or on land or in the sea.</i>” Zeus placed the
figure of a goat among the stars, so that she would be remembered,
this goat is marked by the bright star Capella 'The She-Goat' in
Auriga, which figure is always drawn on consellation charts in full
and being carried, awkwardly, by the Charioteer (Auriga). I will have
more to say about this goat when I come to discuss the 'death stance'
of Lleu Llaw Gyffes.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">The most widely told tales of the Bears are those which relate to Callisto (<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The name </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Kallisto
</i></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">comes from the Greek
</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Καλλίστη</b></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">,
which means "most beautiful". Compare with</span> <b>Goewin</b>...
She was the “most beautiful”
woman known) to Ursa Major and Phoenice to Ursa Minor, in this
tradition 'the story of Ursa Major is transferred to Ursa Minor and
the latter is identified with a maiden who suffers the same fate as
Callisto'. In other words both Bears represent the same figure of
Callisto, 'the most beautiful' virgin who was raped, transformed into
a bear and finally raised to the very top of the sky. As we have seen
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Goewin's story does not sit at
all well within the scheme of </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The
King and his Prophecied Death</i></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">
despite superficial resemblances, instead we have a tale which is
singularly alike with that of Callisto/Phoenice; it tells of a
'brave' and 'most beautiful' woman whose station in life requires her
to be a virgin, but she is raped and can no longer function in her
previous role (beneath the king's feet). Subseqeuntly the king
elevates her to a position of great authority over his realm. </span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72Y-EeGIkI2K0FeX1wAS2vatm34B-fjZUIN9vBXbNdp3v4B69tsszKZXEOIMvt2s2qYvoE7ZNzJtO9gTuBJ2kgextFN18OKXjYgslsWb4ED9ovJxLaFgSi2HUjBZC7ugmaS4YkKgZXZWE/s1600/blog+Ceph+&+bears.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72Y-EeGIkI2K0FeX1wAS2vatm34B-fjZUIN9vBXbNdp3v4B69tsszKZXEOIMvt2s2qYvoE7ZNzJtO9gTuBJ2kgextFN18OKXjYgslsWb4ED9ovJxLaFgSi2HUjBZC7ugmaS4YkKgZXZWE/s400/blog+Ceph+&+bears.jpg" height="370" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Ursa Major -
Callisto - The Most Beautiful</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">Next 'The Birth of Llew'. (P.S. More notes, references etc. to follow) </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><br /></span></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">Notes:</span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div id="sdendnote1">
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a class="sdendnotesym" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote1anc" name="sdendnote1sym">i</a>
Other characters in the<i> Mabinogi </i>who have counterparts in
Irish literature are: Don - Danu, Gofannon - Goban, Llyr - Lyr,
Manawyddan - Mannanan mac Lyr </span>
</div>
</div>
<div id="sdendnote2">
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a class="sdendnotesym" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote2anc" name="sdendnote2sym">ii</a>Schaubach's
charts are very useful here in that they contain none of the modern
constellations. This chart was compiled around 1780 but it is
faithful to traditions described by Eratosthenes and Ptolemy. Also
very useful is the Philips Planisphere for 51.5 degrees North, this
allows you to track the movements of the constellations over time as
they appear to an observer in Wales. </span></span>
</div>
</div>
<br />
<div id="sdendnote3">
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a class="sdendnotesym" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote3anc" name="sdendnote3sym">iii</a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">
See Science and Phlosophy in Wales at the Time of the Norman
Conquest; A Macrobius Manuscript from Llanbadarn. Alison Peden.
(Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies 2 (Winter 1981)). Ed. Patrick
Simms Williams.</span></span><span lang="en-GB"> </span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<br />Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-66330080946966295232013-08-19T14:18:00.002-07:002014-07-29T16:04:54.645-07:00What's this about then?<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">What's this about then?</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The
'Mabinogion' are a collection of Middle Welsh prose tales which were
first grouped together by Lady Charlotte Guest, who translated them
into English, in the 1830's and 1840's. A good number of
re-translations have appeared since that time and each one has
brought fresh insights into these complex tales. They have also
generated a great deal of scholarly comment in books and in essays in
specialist academic journals which have explored a wide range of
themes through: origins - dating the compositions, to comparitive
analysis – International Popular Tales, Celtic Affinities, to
narrative structure and to thematic structure - Myth and Tradition,
Sovereignty, Gender, Inheritence and Lordship, Friendship and
Marriage.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
However,
up until very recently one aspect of these stories has received scant
attention from Mabinogi scholars, and it is this: characters from
several of the tales of the Mabinogion are associated, in Welsh
tradition, with the Classical or Ptolemaic constellations. For
instance the Milky Way is called <i>Caer Gwydion</i> after the
enchanter from the Fourth Branch, Corona Borealis is <i>Caer Aranrhod</i>
after Gwydion's sister, Cassiepeia is <i>Llys Don</i>
(Don's Court) after their mother. Others have associated Arthur, who
appears in five of the tales, with Ursa Major or with the lucida of
Bootes – Arcturus. In the 19<sup>th</sup>
century, that infamous forger of Welsh manuscripts Iolo Morgannwg,
(perhaps pointing to one of the reasons why this subject has been
largely avoided) published a list of what he claimed were ancient
Welsh names for the (presumably Ptolemaic) constellations, other than
those just mentioned<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">
he cited a further eight, possibly ten, constellations named after
characters who appear in the tales of the Mabinogion (to include here
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Hanes
Taliesin</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB">),
though unfortunately it is rarely clear which constellation is meant.
Anyway, they are: Arthur's Harp (?Lyra), The Grove of Blodeuwedd, The
Chair of Teyrnon (?Cepheus), Caer Sidi (?The Milky Way), The Cauldron
of Ceridwen (?Crater), The Horse of Llyr (?Pegasus), Elffin's Chair,
Olwen's Hall (?Milky Way) and The Woodland Boar (?Lupus).</span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I wondered what lay
behind all this. How far back did these associations go? Were the
authors of these old tales aware of these stellar connections, and if
so, does this come across in the texts? Years of trying to find
answers to these and related questions in the academic literature
proved almost entirely fruitless, so I decided to conduct my own
inquiry, I began by asking: Did Llew Llaw Gyffes, the 'Hero' of <i>Math
</i>have any connection to the constellations? The answer to this
question was definitely in the affirmative.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In 2012 professor
Arfon Rees of Birmingham University published 'The Mabinogi Decoded'
in which he independently made several identifications which agreed
fully with my own findings. But in other areas I disagreed with his
methods, particularly in his use of the modern constellations. The
purpose of this site, then, is to set down my own musings concerning
these matters and thereby to broaden this debate. To this end, I
therefore welcome any criticism, comments and ideas.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">JT. Aug 2013</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-9203745582707606932013-08-17T14:46:00.006-07:002022-04-07T16:43:24.220-07:00'The Journey of the Swine'<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'The Journey of the
Swine'</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 100%; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPAXsBlNw3PVqTOCEuJxFMWOAYCX1qL3XgBJOe8YR-EPDDQp0rGyouipD8gU_XkgyuPqubucXpcmoMg_UZ2Z5LwIkqypULELqt2_qhmDnIhqje5diRqKgCVa8UtjMkyeHOgOuIANTl9RLp/s1600/bollard+map+fine+red+blackline.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPAXsBlNw3PVqTOCEuJxFMWOAYCX1qL3XgBJOe8YR-EPDDQp0rGyouipD8gU_XkgyuPqubucXpcmoMg_UZ2Z5LwIkqypULELqt2_qhmDnIhqje5diRqKgCVa8UtjMkyeHOgOuIANTl9RLp/s400/bollard+map+fine+red+blackline.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<div style="line-height: 100%;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Journey of the
Swine according to JK Bollard.<sup><a class="sdendnoteanc" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote1sym" name="sdendnote1anc" sdfixed="">1</a></sup></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Gwydion is the most
mobile of all the individuals in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi
and his movements there are <span lang="en-GB">characterised </span>by
their circuitousness, one could say by their circularity. This aspect
of Gwydion finds echo in his traditional association with the Milky
Way which is known in Wales even now as <i>Caer Gwydion</i>,
Gwydion's Fort. This tradition can be traced from the present day
through many writers in the 20th century to Lady Charlotte Guest and
Iolo Morganwg in the 19<sup>th,</sup> to Lewis Morris in the 18<sup>th</sup>,
John Jones Gelli Lyvdy in the 17<sup>th</sup>, David Johns and
William Salesbury in the 16<sup>th</sup>, Lewis Glyn Cothi in the
15<sup>th</sup> to Gruffudd Grug in the 14th century. In other words
the association of Gwydion with the Milky Way was current as the
White Book of Rhydderch and the Red Book of Hergest were being
compiled. Indeed, Mark Williams (perhaps following Gruffydd), has
mooted that “It may represent a variant of the story of Gwydion
older than that represented in the <i>Mabinogi</i>”.<a class="sdendnoteanc" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote2sym" name="sdendnote2anc" sdfixed=""><sup>2</sup></a>
Although to be fair he also says it may be a later development. The
circularity of the Milky Way and its motion across the sky has not,
as far as I know, been compared before with Gwydion's circuitous
movements in the variant of Math which we do possess in the Red and
White Books.<i> </i>W.
J. Gruffydd for instance cites the John Jones Gelli Lyvdi account of
Gwydion searching for Huan (Llew Llaw Gyffes) in the Milky Way on two
occasions but never once is he moved to question the origins of this
astronomical tradition. Mabinogi scholars in general
have paid scant attention to this interesting question. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 100%;">When we first meet
Gwydion, at the start of the tale, the author </span><span style="line-height: 16px;">immediately</span><span style="line-height: 100%;"> </span><span lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%;">emphasises</span><span style="line-height: 100%;">
this characteristic when he contrasts Math's </span><i style="line-height: 100%;">inability, (</i><span style="line-height: 100%;">whom
I think the author equated with Cepheus, see 'The Astronomy of Math
vab Mathonwy. (part 1)) against Gwydion's </span><i style="line-height: 100%;">ability</i><span style="line-height: 100%;"> to
make a circuit of the land:</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.99cm; margin-right: 0.93cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 100%;">(Math) found his </span><span style="line-height: 16px;">tranquillity</span><span style="line-height: 100%;"> at Caer Dathyl</span><a class="sdendnoteanc" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote3sym" name="sdendnote3anc" style="line-height: 100%;"><sup>i</sup></a><span style="line-height: 100%;">
in Arfon, and he might not go the circuit of the land, save
Gilfaethwy son of Don and Gwydion son of Don, his nephews, his
sister's sons, and the war-band with them, would go the circuit of
the land in his stead.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.99cm; margin-right: 0.93cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">This 'circuitous'
motion of Gwydion here may not seem significant in itself, it
is surely just a figure of speech apparently referring to the <i>cylch
</i>or 'royal circuit', but
this emphasis surfaces again on his return journey from Rhuddlan
Teifi in quite an astonishing way. What is often described as
Gwydion<span lang="en-GB">’</span>s <span lang="en-GB">‘</span>circuitous
flight<span lang="en-GB">’</span> with the pigs of Annwfn has been
the subject of a great deal of discussion, but it is now universally
accepted that this is an onomastic episode, <span lang="en-GB">’</span>to
explain how various places came to have a name associated with
pigs<span lang="en-GB">’</span>.<a class="sdendnoteanc" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote4sym" name="sdendnote4anc"><sup>ii</sup></a>
W.J. Gruffydd, however, early <span lang="en-GB">recognised</span>
that this interpretation falls short of a full explanation:</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.99cm; margin-right: 0.93cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Now Gwydion, as he
himself states, was in a great hurry to reach Arvon and Caer Dathal
before the men of Dyfed should overtake him, and his obvious course
was the (direct) one which Pryderi took... Instead of that he started
away from the coast, went to the uplands of Ceridigion, and went
further out of his way through Elenydd in the Pumlumon district, and
to the district between Keri and Arwystli, almost on the march of
England. He then turned northwards, and came to Rhos, the district
around the modern Colwyn Bay. He was now far to the eastward of his
destination, and so he had to come west towards Caer Dathal, passing
through Arllechwedd.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.99cm; margin-right: 0.93cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">He goes on to
observe that:</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.99cm; margin-right: 0.93cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">...there was no
dearth of Mochtrevs in Wales; every manor had one...So we cannot
suppose that Gwydion is made to take this devious route in order to
pass through Mochtrev and Mochnant.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">This is his route as
we have it in the Red and White books:</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">From (somewhere
near, see below) Glyn Cych (Valley of Pigs) to Mochdrev (Pigtown) in
the hills of Keridigyawn; from there across the Elenid and then
stopping between Keri and Arwystli in a second town called Mochdrev.
From there through a commot in Powys called Mochnant (Pigstream).
Then they made for the cantrev of Rhos and spent the night at a third
town called Mochdrev. The next day they headed for the Upper Town of
Arllechwedd, where they made a sty for the swine, and so the town is
now called Creuwryon (Gwydion's Sty). They then go to Caer Dathyl where it is announced that a sty has now been made for the pigs
“in the other cantref below”. Gruffydd pointed
out that Creuddyn (Stronghold of the Sty) in Ceredigion and Creuddyn in the
cantref of Rhos dovetail into either end of the route, and he
supposed these also formed part of the original route. </span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajiVaU5eaeQwtfbnY0Z2y9cJBFXsGU7y04h2Vzd7_tCqJiiXzXt51Us4RnnG9IsvfHVRO2UqbJCoSeJ8_pgACqKLkwfl9-RLg6H8guKSC7Wm9SrjtQssj1i7eS9p3Tkw868ibVuTEGKUw/s1600/pigsty2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajiVaU5eaeQwtfbnY0Z2y9cJBFXsGU7y04h2Vzd7_tCqJiiXzXt51Us4RnnG9IsvfHVRO2UqbJCoSeJ8_pgACqKLkwfl9-RLg6H8guKSC7Wm9SrjtQssj1i7eS9p3Tkw868ibVuTEGKUw/s400/pigsty2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
It should be remembered that the traditional Welsh pigsty was a circular, stone built, beehive construction. This is what the author of <em>Math</em> would have imagined Gwydion's sties to look like. I am reminded of another circular, conical structure which occurs later in the tale, this is the thatched, circular roof beneath which Lleu Llaw Gyffes must stand 'in order that he may be slain', (See 'The Death of Lleu Llaw Gyffes'). Without referring to the circles which Gwydion's 'pig route' traces across Wales, there are at least two more circular images in <em>Math</em>, (discussed below) these are the twelve (circular) mushrooms or toadstools and the twelve (circular) golden shields which Gwydion 'created by illusion' from the mushrooms. This is a theme, and I hope to show that each of these images of radiated circles carry a similar, if not the same, function.</div>
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">According to the
tale these various pig or swine towns, stream and fortresses and sties
are so called <i>because</i> Gwydion passed through them with the
pigs but it is now universally accepted that this is an onomastic
tale, i.e. Gwydion<span lang="en-GB">’</span>s route was invented
by the story-teller in order to explain the numerous occurrences of
Pig-towns etc. that exist throughout Wales. This apparently
reasonable deduction is, I think, quite wrong, for Gwydion<span lang="en-GB">’</span>s
flight with the pigs of the South inscribes across the landscape of
Wales two interlocking circles, one above the other, and overlapping
at the centre of the country. In other words this devious route is but a part of a larger, and very specific design. </span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">My suspicions that
Gwydion's circular motions in <i>Math</i> were related to his
traditional association with the Milky Way were partly confirmed
whilst studying the map entitled <i>Place names in the Mabinogi </i>in
J.K. Bollard's translation (with Anthony Griffiths photographs) of
The Mabinogi, and subtitled <i>Legend and Landscape of Wales. </i>This
is possibly the most accurate map of the route yet compiled.<i>
</i>In studying Gwydion's route on this map, ones first inclination
is to join the pig sties or dots, as it were, by straight lines,
however, I came to realise that the 'pig route' could be better
described as two curves or arcs, one stretching from west Wales
across mid-Wales and the other along the north coast, these two arcs
are joined by a straight, not quite north-south, line from Mochdref
in Powys to Mochdref in Creuddyn and passing through the comote of
Mochnant. What is really striking and surprising is that these two
arcs, when extended, appear to be segments of two circles with
identical radii which overlap or intersect in mid-Wales<i>. </i>These
intersecting circles cover the whole length of Wales, north to
south, as well as the width, with the exception of Anglesey and the
peninsulas of Lleyn and Dyfed, (approximately modern Pembrokeshire).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvVlWU3bDAk4ReMRdBLcX-UexEhsSffGIVLkeG9_36vi8w2bg2V33WHjuZ6mQ3SzJLQWc-KIZgvy9Nzif7XjbxRDsaD3LOF38FunUyB0K-Vdbdsjfx7mf3i_81brxShuruRi2ocbwyO-LS/s1600/blogpigroute.jpg"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvVlWU3bDAk4ReMRdBLcX-UexEhsSffGIVLkeG9_36vi8w2bg2V33WHjuZ6mQ3SzJLQWc-KIZgvy9Nzif7XjbxRDsaD3LOF38FunUyB0K-Vdbdsjfx7mf3i_81brxShuruRi2ocbwyO-LS/s400/blogpigroute.jpg" width="556" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The underlying
structure of the Pig Route.</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">You will notice in
JK Bollard's map that:</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">a. The two arcs
describing the south and north sections of Gwydion's route can be
extended to form two circles of <i>exactly equal circumference</i>.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">b. A line drawn
through the centres of the two circles reveals that they are tilted
several degrees west from true north. As a result of this, a line
drawn through the two points where the circles intersect has a
noticeable slant, rising from west to east. (This is very significant
as I will demonstrate shortly).</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">c.The part of the
route represented by the line Mochdre - Mochnant - Mochdre / Creuddyn
<i>perfectly dissects the northern circle.</i> (The angle this line
takes is not north - south, nor does it follow the axis of the
centres of the two circles).</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">d. The angular
distance between the styes ranges through: 12.5°, 20°, 22.5°, 30°,
30°, 40°. I may be wrong but this seems to be a very neat sequence, hardly random.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">e. Utilising the
centres of the two circles a <i>Vesica Piscis </i>can
be drawn, and it transpires that the ratio between the inner and outer
circles is the same as the ratio between the Tropics and the
Celestial Equator found on the stereographic projections of medieval
celestial charts and astrolabes.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">According to this analysis Gwydion's starting point is neither at Rhuddlan Teifi
nor at the sty of Glyn Cuch in <i>Emlyn</i>, (the 'north-easternmost
cantref' of Dyfed) - the location of the (seven) swine as given in
Triad 26 - but at a point in between, in fact at precisely the
meeting place of the three boundaries of the territories of
Ceredigion, Dyfed and Ystrad Tywi. This would have been a very
sensible place, for all sorts of reasons, for the exchange of the
swine with Gwydion<span lang="en-GB">’</span>s magical creations to
have taken place. Though the author doesn't actually specify where
that exchange took place, we
are merely told that, 'He came to Pryderi with the horses and the
dogs', I feel strongly that he must have had this site, or a ford
somewhere close by, in mind. </span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">To explain. The
First Branch begins with these words, 'Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed, was
lord over the seven cantrefs of Dyfed.', but by the end of the First
Branch Pryderi has extended his father's territory to include, 'The
three cantrefs of Ystrad Tywi and the four cantrefs of Ceredigion'.
Now it is obvious that if the pigs were being kept at Glyn Cych,
which is south of the Teifi, then they were in Dyfed, this therefore
is the 'country' which Pryderi means when he informs Gwydion that the
pigs cannot leave because of a covenant between him and his country.
But Gwydion's initial meeting with Pryderi takes place at Rhuddlan
Teifi which is north of the Teifi and in Ceredigion. When Gwydion
meets with Pryderi the following morning the story implies that
Pryderi has the pigs with him, they must therefore have removed from
Rhuddlan Teifi in Ceredigion to within the confines of the 'country'
of Dyfed and the nearest entry point into Dyfed from Rhuddlan Teifi
is precisely at the point where his three territories of Dyfed,
Ceredigion and Ystrad Tywi meet. This must, therefore, have been the
starting point for Gwydion's 'circuitous flight' with the pigs of
Annwfn.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">WJ Gruffydd noticed
that the first part of the route would have taken Gwydion and the
pigs through the district of Creuddyn, meaning 'Stronghold of the
Sty' between the rivers Rheidol and Ystwyth, 'which he would pass on
his way north and east'. But the first named stopover is in 'the
uplands of Ceredigion, the place that is still called for that reason
Mochtrev'. This must refer to the
township or hamlet of Nant y Moch, meaning 'Pig's Stream',
which was flooded during the
creation of the Nant y Moch Reservoir in 1964. Accepting this
and acknowledging some uncertainty in the <i>exact</i> siting of
these 'pigsties', account should also be made for the expertise of
the map's compiler, (J.K. Bollard) and the care taken to provide as
accurate a map as possible.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The details in the
build up to '<i>The Journey of the Swine', </i>(to use Gruffydd's
term), and those immediately following, are pertinent to
understanding that the author of Math intended that this route could
be understood to have occurred on two distinct levels. There is a
terrestrial component and a celestial component, the terrestrial
route appears unnecessarily slow and circuitous, hence the author has
Math's men quip "Strange how very slowly you have journeyed!"
However, I hope to show that Gwydion, in his 'disguise' as the
constellation figure of Cygnus the Swan, actually did take the
swiftest route possible on his return journey to Caer Dathyl. The
numbers in the text provide some obvious clues:</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">a. When Gwydion is
<i>disguised</i> as a<i> Pencerdd </i>or Chief Bard, (perhaps he is
wearing a <i>tugen</i> and carrying a <i>crwth. </i>or<i>
</i>Swan feather mantle and Lyre) <b>12</b> men travel to the South.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">b. Pryderi cannot
part with the swine unless 'they have bred <b>double their number </b>in
the land.'</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">c. Gwydion conjured,
('created by illusion') in exchange the for the (7) swine, <b>3 </b>sets
of <b>12 </b>magical items; <b>12</b> Stallions, <b>12</b> Hunting
Dogs and <b>12</b> Golden Shields (these last 'he had made by magic
out of toadstool'). I.e. <b>36</b> items in all.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">d. It is necessary
that Gwydion and his men should travel in haste, via the quickest
route, because 'the magic will not last but from one time to
another'. 'i.e. for twenty-four (<b>24</b>) hours'.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">e. The mustering of
the <b>21</b> cantrefs of the South. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">All of this is
relevant in determining that, in the intention of the author, the
actual route taken by Gwydion was as much celestial as it was
terrestrial. These details appear to refer to the temporal divisions,
the coordination system and constellation figures which characterised
the celestial charts, and the astrolabes, of the early Middle Ages.
To take the number <b>12</b> first, most people would immediately
associate <b>12</b> with the zodiac, but it is also an important
subdivision on the outer ring of the <i>mater</i> of an astrolabe or
of a constellation chart. This outer circle was divided into <b>24</b>
hours, but was very often written as two consecutive sets of <b>12</b>
hours. The circle of <b>24</b> hours was accompanied by a second ring
which counted off the 360<span style="font-family: "symbol";"><span lang="zxx">°</span></span>
and which was further arranged into <b>36</b> decans of 10<span style="font-family: "symbol";"><span lang="zxx">°</span></span>
each, primarily for astrological purposes, (there were <b>3</b>
decans or faces for each of the <b>12</b> signs of the zodiac).
Furthermore it is important to point out here, though it may seem
obvious, that a circle contains <b>12</b> 'wedges' of 30<span style="font-family: "symbol";"><span lang="zxx">°</span></span>
and this division is also a convention commonly found on
ancient star charts and astrolabes. It is important to note also that
according to Ptolemy's scheme, if we include the zodiacal
constellations, there were 27
constellations in the northern hemisphere and <b>21 </b>constellations<b>
</b>in the southern hemisphere.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">It is remarkable
that when the author of Math describes Gwydion in a company of <b>12
</b>and conjuring <b>3</b> sets of <b>12</b> magical items, (<b>36</b>
in all) whose efficacy would only last for <b>24</b> hours, followed
by the mustering of <b>21 </b>southern cantrefi,<b> </b>he perfectly
duplicates the number of constellations in the southern hemisphere,
the temporal divisions, the coordination system and the major
operation of the <i>mechanics</i> of a medieval astrolabe.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The order in which
Gwydion conjures his magical items is revealing and it is possible
that the 12 horses, the 12 hounds and the 12 shields are intended to
be understood as a sequence of three particular southern
constellations, namely Centaurus, Canis Major and Cetus respectively.
Both the stallions and the dogs are described as ’black but white
breasted’, which easily fits this idea. Canis Major was frequently
depicted by many of the later celestial cartographers, (Hevelius
1687, Zahn 1696, Flamsteed 1729, Thomas 1730 etc.) as a greyhound or
hunting hound </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">wearing a golden</i> </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 100%;">collar</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;">, but
whether this reflects earlier tradition is hard to say, though it
would be impossible to argue that the 12 golden collar wearing
greyhounds in </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 100%;">Math</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;"> had influenced these giants of the Golden
Age of Celestial Cartography, perhaps indicating the use of a common
source. All three of these constellation figures are contained within
three consecutive 30</span><span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="zxx">°</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;">
wedges set 90</span><span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 100%;"><span lang="zxx">°</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;">
apart, (we are interested only in the curled tail of Cetus) as
depicted on a conventional stereographic star chart of the Southern
Hemisphere, centered on the south ecliptic pole and based on the star
catalogues of Eratosthenes or Ptolemy. So, precisely 12 Centaurs
(minus human torso) would be required to make a full circle and
exactly 12 Canis Majors would also be required to do the same.</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The tail of Cetus as
shield requires explanation. My idea the that the author of Math was
thinking of this tail, which was always depicted as wound into a
circle, as the inspiration for golden shields made from mushrooms,
may at first appear not very convincing. But I think this must have
occurred to the author of Math also, and so he omits their magical
construction from his narrative. (The way they <i>are</i> introduced
sounds suspiciously like a cue to an audience "and the twelve
golden shields <i>you see over there</i>", and then an aside,
'Those he had made by magic out of the toadstool'). </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Yet, I believe his
scheme required an image from this 30<span style="font-family: "symbol";"><span lang="zxx">°</span></span>
section containing the coiled tail of Cetus which reminded him of a
mushroom or toadstool and then of a round shield or a buckler, and I
think that the author has also taken this opportunity to<i> </i>convey
an image of a star map containing the 360<span style="font-family: "symbol";"><span lang="zxx">°</span></span>
radials. In the Mabinogi of Math this image of the heavens is made
explicit through the form of three very effective visual puns.
Gwydion conjures 12 golden shields from mushrooms. Consider a diagram
of an upturned, open cap mushroom or toadstool; you would see a slim
outer rim of flesh surrounding the gills which radiate from a central
circle representing the stalk. To turn this into a diagram of a
round shield or a targe, with a central boss, no changes need to be
made to the original diagram of the mushroom. Now, to turn this into
a planispheric template of a celestial hemisphere, no changes need to
be made to the original diagram of the mushroom. According to James
E. Morrison 'most astrolabes included several plates (tympans)
covering a reasonable range of latitudes'. Six plates per astrolabe
seems to have been the norm. Is it possible that in the passage "and
the twelve golden shields <i>you see over there</i>", a
reference is being made to 12 polished brass tympans? It is easy to
see how these could be compared with twelve golden shields and 12
mushrooms. Evidently, magician Gwydion was a master of optical
illusion and understood the power of suggestion. But Welsh tradition
insists that he was also an Astronomer. </span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigxzLcF_yolWr-ZPOjIovv40bVawHUWY7N3YFXlbJFyEakkXVEqq2pYsai6UR8ETzYlOLTN6rW5YvTAT15qAWJK6Tm1D_4iRPFjEVfRHZB2MzximQB3L4QHduf6CKi6HWqAh-3Jy7M1JDu/s1600/Will+MUSHROOM+SHIELD+PLANISPHERE.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigxzLcF_yolWr-ZPOjIovv40bVawHUWY7N3YFXlbJFyEakkXVEqq2pYsai6UR8ETzYlOLTN6rW5YvTAT15qAWJK6Tm1D_4iRPFjEVfRHZB2MzximQB3L4QHduf6CKi6HWqAh-3Jy7M1JDu/s320/Will+MUSHROOM+SHIELD+PLANISPHERE.jpg" width="319" /></a></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">360º Planispheric
projection (derived from Schaubach), Mushroom and Shield</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 100%;">The motif of the
gift of a golden shield inscribed with the constellations and the
Milky Way has a very ancient provenance for it occurs in the </span><span style="line-height: 16px;">fountain-head</span><span style="line-height: 100%;"> of Western European literature, in Homer’s </span><i style="line-height: 100%;">Iliad.
</i><span style="line-height: 100%;">This is the famous shield the
smith god Hephaistos forged for Achilles. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0.95cm; margin-right: 0.98cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> First he
(Hephaistos) began to make a huge and massive shield, decorating it
all over. He put a triple rim round its edge, bright and gleaming,
and hung a silver baldric from it. The body of the shield was made of
five layers: and on its face he elaborated many designs in the
cunning of his craft. On it he made the earth, and sky, and sea, the
weariless sun and the moon waxing full, and all the constellations
that crown the heavens.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -0.05cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The author of <i>Math
</i>describes Gwydion's magical activity thus 'And then he betook him
to his arts, and began to display his magic'. This phrase bears a
striking resemblance to Homer's description of Hephaistos, (just
quoted) who is also engaged in the making of a magical golden shield
'...he elaborated many designs in the cunning of his craft'. </span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBwdWUsAPRq0UEU5QytdaMwR2ubemWszu0QhyvAA9ma26lNMLrOqY6QKyknbfZeUSavoM_c2ywcFC6tKM1_Uz4IkJdOlpoMd6zsvh2PMqvlHf5lCUXl9akn4kXCSQY-plZbDnxfx28eban/s1600/AMgolden+shield+1090.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBwdWUsAPRq0UEU5QytdaMwR2ubemWszu0QhyvAA9ma26lNMLrOqY6QKyknbfZeUSavoM_c2ywcFC6tKM1_Uz4IkJdOlpoMd6zsvh2PMqvlHf5lCUXl9akn4kXCSQY-plZbDnxfx28eban/s320/AMgolden+shield+1090.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Golden Shield /
Planispheric Tympan</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -0.05cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 100%; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh9qqTOyXvoevfcmtgqUgIDPykWID3DjCPI7X8M6CZM4NcEnxAG_PJGRX-xYdshYaQPTCnuvktWe9vnwKHK5MZ5zmQsU5q5HfY1Z2HvmNBngiaYLJyoa1pKpbMChUlNr60q0lPTa-kYHac/s1600/ABmacrobius1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh9qqTOyXvoevfcmtgqUgIDPykWID3DjCPI7X8M6CZM4NcEnxAG_PJGRX-xYdshYaQPTCnuvktWe9vnwKHK5MZ5zmQsU5q5HfY1Z2HvmNBngiaYLJyoa1pKpbMChUlNr60q0lPTa-kYHac/s320/ABmacrobius1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The 12 divisions
with Earth at the centre (According to a Macrobius MS)</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -0.05cm;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US">In
the Chapter on Dillus the Horseman I provided an argument which
proposed that the author of Culhwch and Olwen was identifying the
Boar which Dillus singes over his fire and the giant Boar Twrch
Trwyth with the constellation then known as Therion, now known as Lupus. As I have said Therion or the Wild Beast has elsewhere been
identified as representing the Erymanthian Boar and I have further
argued that it seems likely that this constellation could also be
thought of as the 'roast meat' which the centaur Pholus the Horseman
singes over his fire, (he of course ate his raw) whilst entertaining
Hercules </span><span lang="en-US"><i>before</i></span><span lang="en-US">
the hunt for the Erymanthian Boar. I suggested there that a
connection existed, other than their shared 'seven-ness' and their
supernatural provenance, between the boars in Culhwch and the pigs of
Pryderi in Math. I think that the author of Math also had the
constellation Therion (</span><span lang="en-US"><i>pars pro toto) </i></span><span lang="en-US">in
mind when he was thinking of the pigs of Annwfn.</span><span lang="en-US">
</span></span></span>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjpTs6wQKV6dW_OoMp8EeHSYem69GhxIA6mIkGh-gt2D_79MstqgkeuVyWd0IdaWrkjE2WRHhdyHw-j7e3ECyrh8bDZRbGjX4k4qRNqtNxHCSA0s80NSmKsxokiDEHYwWbmX5svh6HA4yl/s1600/horse+hound+shield+pig+small.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjpTs6wQKV6dW_OoMp8EeHSYem69GhxIA6mIkGh-gt2D_79MstqgkeuVyWd0IdaWrkjE2WRHhdyHw-j7e3ECyrh8bDZRbGjX4k4qRNqtNxHCSA0s80NSmKsxokiDEHYwWbmX5svh6HA4yl/s400/horse+hound+shield+pig+small.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;">Horse, Hound,
Shield, Pig.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpALcO3N2LoXpyNroR1BTRgEOf8RnDYyRVadCWvphx97XlgeoEtqZApdEWrYNzGnC32wRy4KlWz-vCI9z1JJSwGja3Tri-uy6QXv8cuX_Yh7Ab1ZKPPi2FSkhxY2HjFgTUbuI-CcVg6TYX/s1600/12+HORSES.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpALcO3N2LoXpyNroR1BTRgEOf8RnDYyRVadCWvphx97XlgeoEtqZApdEWrYNzGnC32wRy4KlWz-vCI9z1JJSwGja3Tri-uy6QXv8cuX_Yh7Ab1ZKPPi2FSkhxY2HjFgTUbuI-CcVg6TYX/s400/12+HORSES.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;">12 Horses</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWbf6Rgbwx0VGIjz46VBDpE3dyXHgTHGPxz5EySDWCpPrDf0_a1KBGr_dhEJbrtbBCGKCl0ROA1NH9GBTGyN4f0vhNws5znC_ZebD49lXsqdccKsvNere-CPmvtt2Oa_4OriYaxfWz6Q7j/s1600/dog12.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWbf6Rgbwx0VGIjz46VBDpE3dyXHgTHGPxz5EySDWCpPrDf0_a1KBGr_dhEJbrtbBCGKCl0ROA1NH9GBTGyN4f0vhNws5znC_ZebD49lXsqdccKsvNere-CPmvtt2Oa_4OriYaxfWz6Q7j/s400/dog12.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">12 Hounds</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcyguNzXEqvj2kVScmAHHHQyUxML6q66lfKD4yS6ByZgF6ZH54vesa9Aodtyva_RBwuH0oXhE8Z4GL5xzGtsDKx3a7kT7dd5q32UMrlNtNAsFd8VQeG8m_-vIc10852MHjDj1AzbsKuNH/s1600/Will+CETUS+WHEEL.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcyguNzXEqvj2kVScmAHHHQyUxML6q66lfKD4yS6ByZgF6ZH54vesa9Aodtyva_RBwuH0oXhE8Z4GL5xzGtsDKx3a7kT7dd5q32UMrlNtNAsFd8VQeG8m_-vIc10852MHjDj1AzbsKuNH/s400/Will+CETUS+WHEEL.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">12 Shields</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><span lang="en-US">Cambriae
Typus</span></i></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US">Gwydion's
route with the swindled swine seemed to me to be evidence for a
sophisticated and precise cartographical knowledge of Wales at the
time that </span><span lang="en-US"><i>Math</i></span><span lang="en-US">
was set down in writing, moreover the text seemed to be implying that
this knowledge was linked somehow to the stars and the
constellations, or better, to the astrolabe. If this was truly the
case I wondered, though it hardly seemed likely, if there was any
material elsewhere which might throw some light on this tantalising
evidence. So I Google Imaged 'ancient + map + Wales'. The first map
that came up was the map of Wales by Humphrey Lhuyd </span>called
<span lang="en-US"><i>Cambriae Typus. Cambriae Typus </i></span><span lang="en-US">was
the earliest map specifically of Wales to be printed,</span><span lang="en-US"><i>
</i></span><span lang="en-US">it </span>was
first published as a fly sheet in Ortelius' <i>Theatrum Orbis
Terrarum </i>in 1573. I knew this
map from a lecture I attended some 25 years ago and had all but
forgotton about it. I realized - <i>I could see,</i>
immediately, that I had found the evidence I barely dared to suspect
might be there, simply by pressing a computer key. </span>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span lang="en-US"><i>Cambriae
Typus</i></span><i> </i><span lang="en-US">belongs to an </span><span lang="en-US"><i>apparently</i></span><span lang="en-US">
short-lived cartographic tradition with characteristics discernible
in several other of the earliest printed maps from the late sixteenth
century. Whoever the original authors of these maps were, they
organised land into figures and animals in much the same way as the
ancients constellated the heavens. This was achieved by subtly
altering the course of rivers, lakes and coastlines so as to
emphasise the zoomorphic and anthropomorphic imagery which these
geographical features suggested; often towns churches, monasteries,
hills and mountains were drawn in such a way as to imply facial
features or other details. For example the </span>Map of the British
Isles including Ireland, as drawn by Abraham
Ortelius in 1579, contains a half hidden image known as 'The Angel of
Lincoln'. His 1573 map of Ireland appears as the head of a bearded
man whose 'eye' is the Lake of The Red Eye. Similarly the 'Old Man of
Scotland' first appears in printed maps of this period. Another map
of Northern Europe figures Scandinavia as a lion pouncing on Denmark
which appears to be a mouse. <i>Cambriae Typus</i> contains at least
twelve 'hidden' images, the most well known of which is the dragon
aspect of the map which was recognised by everyone in Wales up until
recent times, in fact the map was usually hung with West at the top
to make the dragon of Wales even more obvious. But turned with North
at the top Wales is also the head of a pig, Herefordshire is a dog,
(which bears comparison with Canis Major), a head of a goat for
Powys, a head of a horse for the Lleyn Peninsula, a salmon for
Ceridigion, Anglesey is made up of two human male heads, Janus-like,
a Cetus like sea monster makes up Deheubarth, a Giants head dominates
Harlech, Denbighshire has two female heads wearing medieval
headdresses.The Wirral has become a slender woman.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmjUQ-OwVo-iit8GeegEXYkSP4fsuanZPxlB61kF-weWY1lFbsoCJQ6kGyH2qp2ykZY60eaVTX9oiOhbbDv34kPaPqoaphO7Unxci3GUB1Sk8ZHSHHwFYdmcL7LN6jX3LdGpZ3dut6bphb/s1600/Angel+of+Lincoln.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmjUQ-OwVo-iit8GeegEXYkSP4fsuanZPxlB61kF-weWY1lFbsoCJQ6kGyH2qp2ykZY60eaVTX9oiOhbbDv34kPaPqoaphO7Unxci3GUB1Sk8ZHSHHwFYdmcL7LN6jX3LdGpZ3dut6bphb/s400/Angel+of+Lincoln.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The 'Angel of
Lincoln'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEKdhNDJJ8RkPsAt0rM3uWDJ6wQGI6Tq73hLg80Jyfiv9ImYgDhJZyRakK4Sm3TWsoRGSda1dnyvpeH_F24ePn1fP4QTsAWdWnfxPyIbz6X9N1iFgAnEr-OhekOxvqMiciBITICLauQ9TK/s1600/ScotlandQuad2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEKdhNDJJ8RkPsAt0rM3uWDJ6wQGI6Tq73hLg80Jyfiv9ImYgDhJZyRakK4Sm3TWsoRGSda1dnyvpeH_F24ePn1fP4QTsAWdWnfxPyIbz6X9N1iFgAnEr-OhekOxvqMiciBITICLauQ9TK/s640/ScotlandQuad2.jpg" width="456" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The Old
Man of Scotland </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0HAfYPeYv-EdTUFY0h2uTYrXX_mLdAbz4feC8JPVRKTQxGof5yPBypyfW8EdtSCSjXT2lprl3uPfQnW4qomq8Y-HPxg5jGf_frhst9EX9R1o5tfDgUDiWaXO30UnTQNcdz30nfbZD8CGC/s1600/ireland+ortelius1573.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0HAfYPeYv-EdTUFY0h2uTYrXX_mLdAbz4feC8JPVRKTQxGof5yPBypyfW8EdtSCSjXT2lprl3uPfQnW4qomq8Y-HPxg5jGf_frhst9EX9R1o5tfDgUDiWaXO30UnTQNcdz30nfbZD8CGC/s640/ireland+ortelius1573.jpg" width="488" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;">The King of
Ireland</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH__jvmHGUH0BNVRhyphenhyphenT3gGdwcKNLxsErm5zvTLYUFlW9AycxfeqiaACQ7KWWt-8yAiBYYNz-dtxg4IKmMR2x4Xv5FFt71ALrA8JR5SaW_fJ59_S-2tDgWddTQQWYfESbn1OWgnrW9-VHpP/s1600/pigwalesmapoverlay.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH__jvmHGUH0BNVRhyphenhyphenT3gGdwcKNLxsErm5zvTLYUFlW9AycxfeqiaACQ7KWWt-8yAiBYYNz-dtxg4IKmMR2x4Xv5FFt71ALrA8JR5SaW_fJ59_S-2tDgWddTQQWYfESbn1OWgnrW9-VHpP/s640/pigwalesmapoverlay.jpg" width="476" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The Dragon of Wales</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi0N8dlFtVo03HXsoD9cXmZY1oXl7L6qFpj1iC6VpRZpJXE63u7uDxJFUzm9-sHaJM1A1j-y4NT_mjGiaTWQfgop9yw07fLn97tFMAsjUcFPqNZkTUzo-tEfjilMzPuhO2Bd44uzNL1eNl/s1600/Camb+TYp1573.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="505" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi0N8dlFtVo03HXsoD9cXmZY1oXl7L6qFpj1iC6VpRZpJXE63u7uDxJFUzm9-sHaJM1A1j-y4NT_mjGiaTWQfgop9yw07fLn97tFMAsjUcFPqNZkTUzo-tEfjilMzPuhO2Bd44uzNL1eNl/s640/Camb+TYp1573.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Zoomorphic Wales.
Note the rounded shape of South Wales and the slanting line of text
naming the Irish Sea; also note the political divisions – Gwynedd,
Powys and Deheubarth – they are the same political divisions found
in <i>Math vab Mathonwy.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWFnnbTG9WshBwHN-w90qmqLJJaZ6c_10prIwCgNMhUY3z8YQu5DV_hjgo1N0qb-VbHgatMAZUt4Rim3nq_bkf5RLXnhhCxStkgSMeOP61YFhVtOcUvUcL5bowzbhVA0LcT_hS_83UsIf_/s1600/Wales+1610.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWFnnbTG9WshBwHN-w90qmqLJJaZ6c_10prIwCgNMhUY3z8YQu5DV_hjgo1N0qb-VbHgatMAZUt4Rim3nq_bkf5RLXnhhCxStkgSMeOP61YFhVtOcUvUcL5bowzbhVA0LcT_hS_83UsIf_/s400/Wales+1610.jpg" width="347" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 100%;">John Speed's map of
1610 appears modern by comparison and contains none of the imagery </span><span style="line-height: 16px;">discernible</span><span style="line-height: 100%;"> in the above series of maps.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">As mentioned, I
attended a lecture in the mid-eighties where these strange maps were
first brought to my attention. The lecturer suggested that they may
be much older than their first appearance in print, pointing out that
other contemporary maps do not share these odd characteristics. One
only has to compare them with Christopher Saxton's maps of England
and Wales published in 1579, or John Speed's maps of Wales published
somewhat later in 1610 to see how 'old school' they appear, although
I didn't agree with the lecturer's suggestion that they may have
originated with the Druids. It seemed more likely, to me anyway, that
they could very well be the products of monastic institutions where
astrolabes had been used since at least as early the 1090's when
Prior Walcher of the monastery of Great Malvern pointed his astrolabe
at an eclipse of the moon. As Jonathon Lyons has pointed out this was
a method the early Abbasid astronomers had used 'to establish the
difference in geographic coordinates between cities and other
important places'. By the mid-12<sup>th</sup> century, Adelard of
Bath's translation of al-Khwarizmi's <i>zij al-Sindhind </i>and
the availibility of Euclidian texts '...allowed the vast magnitudes
involved in measuring the celestial bodies to be captured and
expressed in terms of “angular distance” relative to the earth or
to one another. It also allowed the accurate calculation and mapping
of terrestrial and celestial positions, either on a sphere or
“projected” onto a two-dimensional map or chart, <i>or
onto the faceplate of an astrolabe</i>'.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">It
is certain that at least one ambitious mapping project was undertaken
in Wales by monks at an early period for, according to the NLW
website 'The earliest <i>recorded</i>
map specifically of Wales was a manuscript map (owned) by Giraldus
Cambrensis (Gerald of Wales) produced in ca. 1205 and entitled
“<i>Totius Kambriae Mappa</i>”.
This map is referred to in a letter of Gerald’s and several 17th
century sources state that it was at Westminster Abbey. The map is
said to have shown no less than 43 towns and villages in Wales. By
1780 the map’s whereabouts were unknown and it was probably
destroyed in a fire at the Abbey’s Library in 1695'.<a class="sdendnoteanc" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote5sym" name="sdendnote5anc"><sup>iii</sup></a>
And in 1889 Henry Owen opined, '...what is the greatest loss of all,
a map of the whole of Wales, with the mountains, rivers, towns,
castles, and monasteries carefully set out...Both Bishop Tanner and
Wharton state that the " Totius Kambriae Mappa" was in
existence in the library at Westminster Abbey. Wharton says that
forty-three towns or villages in Wales were marked on it'.<a class="sdendnoteanc" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote6sym" name="sdendnote6anc"><sup>iv</sup></a>
Now it is very curious that Humphrey Lhuyd served as Member of
Parliament for East Grinstead in 1559, and as the Member for Denbigh
Boroughs in 1563 making it highly likely that this bookish man was a
visitor to the library at Westminster and that he was familiar with
<i>Totius Kambriae Mappa. </i>I
wonder if this was the source for Humphrey's map <i>CambriaeTypus.
</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Dr. F.J. North wrote
a "classic" monograph entitled 'Humphrey Lhuyd's Maps of
England and of Wales', on the origins of these maps, he made several
crucial observations concerning <i>Cambriae Typus</i>, (italics are
mine):</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">a. "A critical
examination of the map leads to the conclusion that it cannot have
been the direct outcome of a new personal survey of the area".</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">b. "It would
seem that we must seek for a method whereby a map could be prepared,
more accurate in its general shape and proportions than in minor
details".</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">c. "...the
Glamorgan coast is given a <i>diagrammatically rounded outline</i>".
(In fact, it forms part of a perfect circle, with the upper 'coast'
of Ceredigion providing the north western arc of this circle). </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">d. "...the
displacement of the south coast is not due merely to an inclination
of the axis of the map, because all the key points in the north are
fairly correctly placed. <i>The change takes place </i><i>suddenly</i><i>
along an east-west line through Aberdovey,</i> ... It is interesting
to note that this displacement takes place about midway between the
top and the bottom of the engraved area".</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">e. "Lhuyd was
careful to point out that the manuscript sent to Ortelius was not
"beautifully set forth in all poynctes," but would serve
the purpose if "certain notes be observed," and it seems
likely that the original manuscript was in four sheets, <i>or that
the northern and the southern portions were each drawn on either side
of a large folded sheet.</i> If the co-ordination of such sections
had not been carefully indicated, <i>the engraver may well have been
responsible... for much that makes the map appear inaccurate".</i></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Something which Dr.
North did not make comment upon is that there seems to be no apparent
reason why the three lines of text naming the Irish Sea in Latin,
<i>Britannis </i>and <i>Anglis </i>have been set down at an odd
slant, rising from west to east, when all other text, (except river
names) had been set down parallel with the northern and southern
edges of the map. This quirk only appeared on the very first edition
of the map and was 'corrected' for all subsequent (almost fifty)
editions. The top of the line "VERGIVIVM SIVE HIBERNICVM MARE"
is in perfect accord with the line generated by the intersection of
the two circles describing Gwydions route with the swine, (according
to J.K. Bollard's map). It occurred to me that this line - VERGIVIVM
SIVE HIBERNICVM MARE- is the fossilised remains of the original
centre of the map.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">In the composite map
below the bottom layer is J.K. Bollards map, visible in the wedge
shape between the two halves of Lhuyd's map. The second layer is
Humphrey Lhuyd's map, but with the two halves, (following Professor
North that 'The
change takes place suddenly along an east-west line through
Aberdovey')<i> </i>restored using the interlinked
circles derived from Bollards map as the template. The top layer
consists of Schaubach's stereographic projections of the
constellations based upon the <i>Catasterismi</i> of Eratosthenes. The two
circles generated from Gwydion's 'circuitous flight' with the swine
will now be seen to be the tropics of Cancer and of Capricorn. I have
a great deal of evidence which suggests that Gwydion is to be equated
with Cygnus (to Christians the Northern Cross) and that the
constellation figure we now call Lupus is to be equated with the
Underworld swine. I have highlighted these figures. If the two
hemispheres are rotated so that the line Mochdre-Mochnant-Mochdre
passes through Deneb, the alpha star of Cygnus, then the Prime
Meridian, which passes through the First Point of Aries and the First
Point of Libra will form two sides of an equilateral triangle.
Finally, the equators of the two charts now interlink to form a
perfect Vesica Piscis, one of the most sacred symbols of Christian
iconography. Gwydions Route with the Pigs of Annwfn was not only the
swiftest possible path from Glyn Cuch to Caer Dathyl, it was the <i>only</i>
possible path.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 100%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;">Cambriae Typus
Vesica Piscis</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 100%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 100%;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I therefore conclude
that:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">1 Gwydions route
with the pigs is a record of a survey of Wales which used an
astrolabe as the principal means of surveying. </span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">2 The purpose of the
survey was twofold. a. To produce a map of Wales. b. To throw a
protective, sacred talisman, in the form of the Vesica Piscis over
the land.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">3 The map which
resulted from this survey may have been the original of the now lost
<i>Totius Kambriae Mappa </i>of
Geraldus Cambrensis, and it would be surprising if copies weren't
made of this map, one at least may still exist but in a
slightly bungled form as Humphrey Lhuyd’s <i>Cambriae Typus</i>.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Which came first?
The Map of Wales or the Flag of Wales?</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Math Vab Mathonwy (The Stealing of the Swine)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; text-align: start;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">MATH the son of Mathonwy was lord over Gwynedd, and Pryderi the son of Pwyll was lord over the one-and-twenty Cantrevs of the South; and these were the seven Cantrevs of Dyved, and the seven Cantrevs of Morganwc, the four Cantrevs of Ceredigiawn, and the three of Ystrad Tywi.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">At that time, Math the son of Mathonwy could not exist unless his feet were in the lap of a maiden, except only when he was prevented by the tumult of war. Now the maiden who was with him was Goewin, the daughter of Pebin of Dol Pebin, in Arvon, and she was the fairest maiden of her time who was known there.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">And Math dwelt always at Caer Dathyl, in Arvon, and was not able to go the circuit of the land, but Gilvaethwy the son of Don, and Eneyd the son of Don, his nephews, the sons of his sister, with his household, went the circuit of the land in his stead.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now the maiden was with Math continually, and Gilvaethwy the son of Don set his affections upon her, and loved her so that he knew not what he should do because of her, and therefrom behold his hue, and his aspect, and his spirits changed for love of her, so that it was not easy to know him.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">One day his brother Gwydion gazed steadfastly upon him. "Youth," said he, "what aileth thee?"</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Why," replied he, "what seest thou in me?"</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"I see," said he, "that thou hast lost thy aspect and thy hue; what, therefore, aileth thee?"</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"My lord brother," he answered, "that which aileth me, it will not profit me that I should own to any."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"What may it be, my soul?" said he.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"Thou knowest," he said, "that Math the son of Mathonwy has this property, that if men whisper together, in a tone how low soever, if the wind meet it, it becomes known unto him."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"Yes," said Gwydion, "hold now thy peace, I know thy intent, thou lovest Goewin."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When he found that his brother knew his intent, he gave the heaviest sigh in the world. "Be silent, my soul, and sigh not," he said. "It is not thereby that thou wilt succeed. I will cause," said he, "if it cannot be otherwise, the rising of Gwynedd, and Powys, and Deheubarth, to seek the maiden. Be thou of glad cheer therefore, and I will compass it."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So they went unto Math the son of Mathonwy. "Lord," said Gwydion, "I have heard that there have come to the South some beasts, such as were never known in this island before." </div>
</span><br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; text-align: start;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"What are they called?" he asked. </span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; text-align: start;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Pigs, lord." </span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; text-align: start;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"And what kind of animals are they?" </span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; text-align: start;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"They are small animals, and their flesh is better than the flesh of oxen."</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"They are small, then?"</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"And they change their names. Swine are they now called."</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Who owneth them?"</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Pryderi the son of Pwyll; they were sent him from Annwn, by Arawn the king of Annwn, and still they keep that name, half bog, half pig."</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Verily," asked he, " and by what means may they be obtained from him?"</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"I will go, lord, as one of twelve, in the guise of bards, to seek the swine."</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"But it may be that he will refuse you," said he. "My journey will not be evil, lord," said he;</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"I will not come back without the swine."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"Gladly," said he, "go thou forward."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So he and Gilvaethwy went, and ten other men with them. And they came into Ceredigiawn, to the place that is now called Rhuddlan Teivi, where the palace of Pryderi was. In the guise of bards they came in, and they were received joyfully, and Gwydion was placed beside Pryderi that night.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"Of a truth," said Pryderi, "gladly would I have a tale from some of your men yonder." </div>
</span><br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; text-align: start;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Lord," said Gwydion, "we have a custom that the first night that we come to the Court of a great man, the chief of song recites. Gladly will I relate a tale." Now Gwydion was the best teller of tales in the world, and he diverted all the Court that night with pleasant discourse and with tales, so that he charmed every one in the Court, and it pleased Pryderi to talk with him.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; text-align: start;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">And after this, "Lord," said he unto Pryderi, "were it more pleasing to thee, that another should discharge my errand unto thee, than that I should tell thee myself what it is?" </span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; text-align: start;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"No," he answered, "ample speech hast thou." </span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; text-align: start;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Behold then, lord," said he, "my errand. It is to crave from thee the animals that were sent thee from Annwn." </span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; text-align: start;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Verily," he replied, "that were the easiest thing in the world to grant, were there not a covenant between me and my land concerning them. And the covenant is that they shall not go from me, until they have produced double their number in the land." </span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; text-align: start;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Lord," said he, "I can set thee free from those words, and this is the way I can do so; give me not the swine to-night, neither refuse them unto me, and to-morrow I will show thee an exchange for them."</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">And that night he and his fellows went unto their lodging, and they took counsel. "Ah, my men," said he, "we shall not have the swine for the asking." </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; text-align: start;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Well," said they, how may they be obtained?" </span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; text-align: start;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"I will cause them to be obtained," said Gwydion.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Then he betook himself to his arts, and began to work a charm. And he caused twelve chargers to appear, and twelve black greyhounds, each of them white-breasted, and having upon them twelve collars and twelve leashes, such as no one that saw them could know to be other than gold. And upon the horses twelve saddles, and every part which should have been of iron was entirely of gold, and the bridles were of the same workmanship. And with the horses and the dogs he came to Pryderi.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Good day unto thee, lord," said he. "Heaven prosper thee," said the other, "and greetings be unto thee." </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; text-align: start;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Lord," said he, "behold here is a release for thee from the word which thou spakest last evening concerning the swine; that thou wouldst neither give nor sell them. Thou mayest exchange them for that which is better. And I will give these twelve horses, all caparisoned as they are, with their saddles and their bridles, and these twelve greyhounds, with their collars and their leashes as thou seest, and the twelve gilded shields that thou beholdest yonder." Now these he had formed of fungus. "Well," said he, "we will take counsel." And they consulted together, and determined to give the swine to Gwydion, and to take his horses and his dogs and his shields.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Then Gwydion and his men took their leave, and began to journey forth with the pigs. "Ah, my comrades," said Gwydion, "it is needful that we journey with speed. The illusion will not last but from the one hour to the same tomorrow."</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">And that night they journeyed as far as the upper part of Ceredigiawn, to the place which, from that cause, is called Mochdrev still. And the next day they took their course through Melenydd, and came that night to the town which is likewise for that reason called Mochdrev, between Keri and Arwystli. And thence they journeyed forward; and that night they came as far as that Commot in Powys, which also upon account thereof is called Mochnant, and there tarried they that night. And they journeyed thence to the Cantrev of Rhos, and the place where they were that night is still called Mochdrev.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"My men," said Gwydion, "we must push forward to the fastnesses of Gwynedd with these animals, for there is a gathering of hosts in pursuit of us." So they journeyed on to the highest town of Arllechwedd, and there they made a sty for the swine, and therefore was the name of Creuwyryon given to that town. And after they had made the sty for the swine, they proceeded to Math the son of Mathonwy, at Caer Dathyl. And when they came there, the country was rising. "What news is there here?" asked Gwydion.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Pryderi is assembling one-and-twenty Cantrevs to pursue after you," answered they. "It is marvellous that you should have journeyed so slowly."</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Where are the animals whereof you went in quest?" said Math. "They have had a sty made for them in the other Cantrev below," said Gwydion.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></div>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Notes</div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div id="sdendnote1" style="line-height: 100%;">
<div class="sdendnote-western" style="text-align: left;">
<a class="sdendnotesym" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote1anc" name="sdendnote1sym">1</a>The
Mabinogi. Legend and Landscape of Wales. Translation by: John K.
Bollard. Photography by: Anthony Griffiths. Gomer Press. Llanndysul.
2006.
</div>
</div>
<div id="sdendnote2" style="line-height: 100%;">
<div class="sdendnote-western" style="text-align: left;">
<a class="sdendnotesym" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote2anc" name="sdendnote2sym">2</a></div>
</div>
<div id="sdendnote3" style="line-height: 100%;">
<div class="sdendnote-western" style="text-align: left;">
<a class="sdendnotesym" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote3anc" name="sdendnote3sym">i</a>See
'The Astronomy of Math vab Mathonwy' for 'Caer Dathyl'.</div>
</div>
<div id="sdendnote4" style="line-height: 100%;">
<div class="sdendnote-western">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="sdendnote5" style="line-height: 100%;">
<div align="LEFT" class="western" style="border: currentcolor; margin-bottom: 0.5cm; padding: 0cm;">
<a class="sdendnotesym" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7448311033874507176#sdendnote5anc" name="sdendnote5sym">iii</a>NLW
Early Mapping of Wales (Retrieved 12.11.11.)</div>
</div>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448311033874507176.post-12477260813973908942013-08-04T08:36:00.000-07:002015-06-02T01:13:03.451-07:00The Astronomy of Math vab Mathonwy (part 1)<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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<span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Astronomy of Math vab Mathonwy (part 1)</span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisXrqVzS3GTnIwn0abPAYe3B1sCIasYbhdczGuxi1RQOyH5rmonLkdyy4LdRPRuuN_F3e5iMLZp8z0hLHLOstaG0b9JS5xgl29WnjNFL63dwa5MIpKBk75VsazsNpfdZVxeeMbBgvBh5sr/s1600/cepheus4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisXrqVzS3GTnIwn0abPAYe3B1sCIasYbhdczGuxi1RQOyH5rmonLkdyy4LdRPRuuN_F3e5iMLZp8z0hLHLOstaG0b9JS5xgl29WnjNFL63dwa5MIpKBk75VsazsNpfdZVxeeMbBgvBh5sr/s640/cepheus4.jpg" width="510" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB"><b>Bear-born
son of the Little Bear, King of the North</b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">'Math son of
Mathonwy was lord over Gwynedd'.</span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">These, the first
words of <span lang="en-US">the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi,</span> <span lang="en-US">are the first major indication that the characters
in this medieval Welsh tale are being sourced from graphic images of the </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">classical</span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;"> constellation figures which adorned the celestial planispheres or star
charts of the Middle-ages. I believe that t</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">hese introductory
words are a reference to two specific constellations and that they were intended to give readers or an audience their </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">bearings</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">. The word </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">bearings </i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">is an old navigational term which
stems from the fact that the two northern celestial bear
constellations </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">Ursa Major </i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">and </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">Ursa Minor</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;"> are
circumpolar, the Greater Bear points to the Pole Star and</span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;"> </i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">the
Lesser Bear contains the Pole Star and neither constellation sets below the horizon. Hence 'North' on old maps is written </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">Septentriones
</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">referring to the seven stars of
these respective Bears, also recall 'Arctic' meaning 'of the Bears'. To
know this is 'to know your bearings'. I think that the author of The
Fourth Branch had in mind the most northerly constellation figures of
</span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">Cepheus</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;"> the King and </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">Ursa Minor</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;"> the Little Bear when he
first drew the figures of Math vab Mathonwy and Goewin his
footholder.1 </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;"> How have I
arrived at this conclusion? To answer that question we need first to
establish the known facts concerning Math vab Mathonwy and his
footholder Goewin.</span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Math vab Mathonwy</b>
</span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Professor W. J.
Gruffydd's analysis of the name <i>Math vab Mathonwy</i> is as
follows: He equates Irish <i>Mathgen</i> with <i>Math. 'Math </i>belongs
to a well known order of names...deriving from animals; Gaulish
<i>Artogenos</i>, "son of bear" and <i>Matugenos </i>"Son
of the Bear" are examples<i>...</i>The Irish <i>Mathgen
</i>[bear-born]<i>, </i>if
borrowed into Welsh, would be written in Old Welsh <i>Mathgen</i>,
and in Medieval Welsh <i>Mathyen</i> or <i>Mathien</i>. It will by
this time be clear that the name <i>Math</i> is a corruption of
<i>Mathien.'</i>...'Speculation as to his father's (or mother's )
name, <i>Mathonwy, </i>must be largely a matter of conjecture. It has
been suggested by Professor Zimmer that it is an adaptation of the
Irish name <i>Mathgamnai</i>, anglicised <i>Mahoney. </i>In the Irish
Bible, as de Jubainville points out, the Hebrew <i>do^b, "bear,"
</i>is translated <i>mathghamhuin, </i>which literally means a "bear
cub." Whether there be any connection between these words and
<i>Mathonwy</i> it is difficult to say‘. However, he concluded (and
other major scholars, such as Rachel Bromwich have concurred): "
We may then translate <i>Math(ien) vab Mathonwy</i> as "Bear(kin)
son of Bearling…" <span lang="en-GB"><i>Bearling </i></span><span lang="en-GB">meaning
'bear cub' or 'little bear'. On the face of it this presents us with
a very strange idea indeed; it is easy to imagine a powerful warrior
king in an heroic age society being named as </span>"Son of the
Bear", but <span lang="en-GB">what would it have meant to be
named “Son of the Bear Cub“ or </span>“Son of the Little Bear”<span lang="en-GB">?
As a patronymic (or matronymic), it appears, at least on the surface,
more demeaning than heroic.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Goewin</b></span></span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">A peculiar
characteristic of Math is that he must have his feet in the <i>croth,
</i>literally ‘womb’ but usually translated ‘fold’, of a
virgin’s lap in order that he may live. The name of this virginal
footholder is Goewin which translates as 'the Brave One'. This odd
situation represents another departure from the norm because although
medieval Welsh law provided space for the king’s foot holder, the
position appears to have been an exclusively male one. In the normal
run of affairs the presence of the foot holder elevated the king
above ordinary men but Math's situation makes him beholden to the
footholder, his life depends upon the presence of his virginal female
footholder. Therefore, rather than being elevated by his footholder
Math's status is, it would seem, diminished; his power to act in the
world is thus severely curtailed and in consequence Math
is unable to do a circuit of the country (<i>gylch y wlat</i>).
The picture emerging here is, therefore, a static one, the
Son of the Little Bear and his 'brave' footholder are effectively
immobile, held symbolically at the centre of the land. This <i>status
quo </i>can only be altered, we are
told, in the event of a war.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Hutlath</b></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Although Math is not
the principal character in the Fourth Branch, he is literally, as
well as figuratively, a central character. Events occur around him
and because of him, sometimes through the agency of his <i>hutlath</i>
or magic-wand which he will use to transform his nephews into wild
beasts and whom he forces to mate and have human offspring, to test
the virginity of his niece and to create a flower-faced woman not
'from the race that is on the earth'. <span lang="en-US">As regards
Math</span>‘<span lang="en-US">s </span>‘<span lang="en-US">wand</span>’<span lang="en-US">
or </span><span lang="en-US"><i>hutlath</i></span><span lang="en-US">,
Gruffydd alludes to the poem </span><span lang="en-US"><i>Daronwy</i></span><span lang="en-US">
from The Book of Taliesin in which it is stated that:</span></span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">"Few there are
who know where </span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">the magic wand of
Mathonwy grows in the wood"</span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Whatever the
confusion here between Math and Mathonwy, it is certain that
"Mathonwy like Math is distinguished as the possessor of a magic
wand", and that knowledge of the whereabouts of this wand is, it
is intimated, secret or privileged information. </span>
</div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Draco</b> </span>
</div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Though it is not
mentioned in the tale, the symbol for the Gwynedd royal house has,
since post Roman times, been that of a dragon and this would have
been common knowledge to both the author of Math vab Mathonwy and his
audience. I<span lang="en-GB">t is widely considered that the red
dragon which adorns the national flag of Wales may have had its
origins in the so called Draco standards of the Romans. Following
their withdrawal this Draco standard was apparantly adopted by the
Welsh kings of Aberffraw symbolising the continuation of Roman style
administration. </span>As early as the sixth century Gildas, in <span lang="en"><i>De
Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae, </i></span>names<span lang="en">
</span> the Gwynedd king Maelgun <i>Maglocunos Draco. </i>A<span lang="en-GB">round
the seventh century, it became known as the Red Dragon of Cadwaladr,
(king of Gwynedd from 655 to 682), and it is recorded in the </span><span lang="en-GB"><i>Historia
Brittonum</i></span><span lang="en-GB"> (Nennius) as being the symbol
of Gwynedd at least as early as the 8th century.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Caer Dathyl</b> </span>
</div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The whereabouts of
Caer Dathyl, Math's principal abode, has long been a matter of speculation. It
has variously been associated with Tre'r Ceiri, Pen Y Gaer, Caer
Engan, Caernarfon, Pen Dinas, Craig Y Dinas and Y Foel or perhaps it
no longer exists because it has fallen into the sea. Gruffydd derives
Dathyl from the more correct form Dathal or Tathal, a Welsh adaption
of the Irish Tuathal. I wondered what this word Tuathal meant and
what it's origin was. I do not having any formal education in
etymology and so I gleaned most of the following from a web site for
scholars and students of Old Irish called Old Irish-L Archives.<br />There
are two words to consider:<br />1. Tuath translates as people, tribe,
nation. As in the Tuatha de Danaan - the people of (the goddess)
Danu, (cognate with Welsh 'Don' the sister of Math). <br />2.
Tuath- (used in compounds) translates as northern, left, on the left;
consequently perverse, wicked, evil, sinister. <br />Whether the two
words are related seems to be an open question. Macbain gives Rhys'
suggestion that Scots Gaelic -tuath- - 'north' may come from do-huth
< to-su - 'turning to' the root being -su- 'turn'. Interestingly,
in view of Math's ability to hear even the quietest whisper, Pokorny
suggests that tuath comes from proto Indo- European teu - 'to listen,
to observe'. He also noticed middle Welsh tut - 'magician' cognate
with middle Irish tuathhaid -'magician'. The history of this word
then carries these meanings: 'the people', 'of the north', 'turning
(to the left?)', 'listening', 'magician'. To what extent the author
and his audience where aware of these connotations is open to
speculation, but it must be remembered that most, if not all monks
were at least bilingual and some were trilingual. In Wales, it would
not have been unusual for a monk to be fluent in Welsh, Latin and
Irish or even in English and French. Moreover, there was in fact a
great deal of interest in etymology, (however inexact) as is
evidenced by the popularity of Isadore of Seville's etymological
encyclopaedia.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB"><b>Royal
Family</b></span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Finally, mention
should be made here, concerning three of Math's close relatives all
of whom have traditional associations in Wales with the Ptolemaic
constellations. Cassiepeia (the wife of Cepheus) is known in Wales as
Llys Don, Don is the sister of Math. Corona Borealis is known in
Wales as Caer Aranrhod, Aranrhod is the neice of Math. The Milky Way
is known in Wales as Caer Gwydion, Gwydion is the nephew of Math. (I
will show later that the author intended that Aranrhod represented
Andromeda, the daughter of Cepheus).</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -0.03cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Grouping all of
these characteristics together it is clear that this is an exact
description of the constellation figure of Cepheus (son of Cepheus or
sometimes of Belos ). A comparison may be tabulated thus:</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Math is the king of
the 29 cantrefs of the North. Cepheus is the King of the 27
constellations of the Northern Hemisphere.</span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Math vab Mathonwy
means 'Bear-born son of Little Bear'. Cepheus appears to be the son
of the Little Bear.</span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">It is true of both
Math and Cepheus that their "feet are in the fold of a virgin's
womb".</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The name of the
footholder is Goewin – 'the Brave One'. The (brave) Little Bear is
known as the 'king's footstool'. </span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Math cannot make a
circuit of the land. Cepheus cannot make a circuit of the sky.</span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Math carries a
powerful magic wand. Cepheus carries a royal sceptre. </span>
</div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The emblem of
Gwynedd is the Red Dragon. Cepheus sits on the Dragon throne, <i>Draco.</i></span></span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Math's sister is
Don, in Welsh tradition <i>Cassiepeia. </i> <i>Cassiepeia</i>
in Greek tradition is the wife of Cepheus.<i> </i></span></span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Math's niece is
Aranrhod, in Wales <i>Corona Borealis</i> <i>Corona Borealis </i>is
a Northern constellation</span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -0.03cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Math
has in his family tree Beli Mawr and Don. Cepheus son of Cepheus has
in his family tree Belos and Danae.</span></span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I am led to several
conclusions:</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">1.The name Math vab
Mathonwy, 'Bear-kin son of Bearling', can now be explained as a
descriptive term for the graphic figure of the constellation Cepheus
with respect to the figure of the constellation Ursa Minor, i.e. Ursa
Minor, (the bearling) <i>appears</i> to have given birth to Cepheus,
the King of the North. What seemed at first to be a puzzlingly
demeaning name can now be seen as a good technical description of the
appearance of the Northern-most of the circumpolar constellations.
Gruffydd<span lang="en-GB">’</span>s assertion, (and both Rachel
Bromwich and Marged Haycock concurred) that Math vab Mathonwy belongs
to that class of <span lang="en-GB">‘</span>nonsense<span lang="en-GB">’</span>
names such as are found in <i>Culhwch and Olwen (</i><span lang="en-GB"><i>‘</i></span>Suck
son of Sucker<span lang="en-GB">‘</span>, <span lang="en-GB">‘</span>Ear
son of Listener<span lang="en-GB">’, ‘Aim son of Aimer’</span>
etc.) is therefore a red herring. Indeed this whole notion of <i>male</i>
animals giving birth to humans is a central and deeply embedded theme
of this tale, and it may be that it was intended to be an amusing
irony that it was Math (Bear-born) who inflicted the bestial
punishments upon Gilvaethwy and Gwydion which resulted in the <span lang="en-GB">‘</span>three
sons of Gilvaethwy<span lang="en-GB">’</span>, Bleiddwn -
Wolf-born, Hyddwn - Stag-born and Hychtwn - Swine-born.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">2.The peculiarity of
Math that he must have his feet in the 'fold of a virgin's womb' can
thus be recognised in this configuration. Geowin - <span lang="en-GB">‘</span>the
brave one<span lang="en-GB">’</span> is therefore to be identified
with the constellation figure of <i>Ursa Minor </i>which
has been called 'the king's footstool', for obvious reasons.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">3. Furthermore, we
find here not just the source for these two characters but also the
inspiration for the narrative foil</span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">
</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;">which will drive the events of the first episodes of Math vab
Mathonwy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 100%;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjITmmgaCPpNiQ8i0N856iDZWbqOJCxhvEnTJycnFN9gUD1BoFz7FDYPE2ziODSCz8A7FuGj2D2NzOYzAYA8w_KqszFnjYDTVhEBh6y-4vApqxS8dc4PFYdhJTiAe0K-IpBAWwvvqNIbLRZ/s1600/cepheusb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjITmmgaCPpNiQ8i0N856iDZWbqOJCxhvEnTJycnFN9gUD1BoFz7FDYPE2ziODSCz8A7FuGj2D2NzOYzAYA8w_KqszFnjYDTVhEBh6y-4vApqxS8dc4PFYdhJTiAe0K-IpBAWwvvqNIbLRZ/s640/cepheusb.jpg" width="508" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Confronted with
this image of the wand waving king of the north who appears to be
emerging from the womb, of <i>Ursa Minor </i>and
apparently seated next to a dragon, I do not doubt that a
medieval audience to this tale would have had any difficulty in
identifying the constellation <i>Cepheus </i>with
Math vab Mathonwy, (Bear-born Son of the Little Bear), lord of
Gwynedd (the king of the North) whose feet are resting on the <i>croth</i>
of his virginal footholder.<i>.</i> Note that close by sits
his sister Don (Cassiepeia). </span>
</div>
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Notes</div>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">1.Later in the tale, I will argue, when Goewin is pregnant and Math makes her his wife, she can be seen as representing </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ursa Major</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> the Greater Bear, in the same way that Zeus made Callisto the queen of Heaven.</span></span></div>
Mabinogion Astronomyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09826240171892521334noreply@blogger.com7bristol51.464274829664411 -2.587280273437551.147109829664409 -3.2327272734375 51.781439829664414 -1.9418332734375001