 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Arianrhod" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(April 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Arianrhod | |
|---|---|
The sky and the stars | |
| Member ofThree Beautiful Maidens of Britain[1] | |
| Major cult center | Wales |
| Planet | Moon |
| Symbol | Silver wheel |
| Gender | Female |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | Dôn andBeli Mawr[1] |
| Siblings | Penarddun,Amaethon,Gilfaethwy,Gofannon,Gwydion, andNudd[1] |
| Consort | Math fab Mathonwy by proxy |
| Offspring | Dylan ail Don andLleu Llaw Gyffes[1] |
Arianrhod (Welsh pronunciation:[arˈjanr̥ɔd]) is a figure inWelsh mythology who plays her most important role in theFourth Branch of theMabinogi. She is the daughter ofDôn[1] and the sister ofGwydion andGilfaethwy; theWelsh Triads give her father asBeli Mawr.[2] In theMabinogi her uncleMath ap Mathonwy is the King ofGwynedd, and during the course of the story she gives birth to two sons,Dylan ail Don andLleu Llaw Gyffes, through magical means.
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(April 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
According to the Fourth Branch (circa 12th century), Arianrhod's uncleMath fab Mathonwy would die if he didn't keep his feet in the lap of a virgin when he was not at war. Gilfaethwy develops a lust for Math's original footholder, pretty Goewin, and he and his brotherGwydion engineer a war with King Pryderi of Kingdom of Dyfed, forcing Math to leave his court. In Math's absence, Gilfaethwy rapes Goewin. When Math returns, he punishes his nephews severely by turning them into a series of mated pairs of animals and marries Goewin to alleviate her shame. However, he must find a new virgin to hold his feet.
Gwydion suggests his sister, Arianrhod. To test her virginity, Math tells her to step over his magician's rod. On doing this, however, she immediately gives birth to a young boy,Dylan ail Don, and a blob-like entity which becomesLleu Llaw Gyffes. Dylan is a sea spirit, who flees to the ocean immediately after he isbaptized. Gwydion grabs Lleu Llaw Gyffes before anyone else sees it and places it in a chest. Before long, it becomes a boy who grows at twice the normal rate; when he is four, he is as big as an eight-year-old. Gwydion takes him to see his mother at her home,Caer Arianrhod.
However, Arianrhod was angry about her humiliation at Math's court. She places atynged (ageis or taboo) on the boy that he will never have a name unless she gives it to him. Gwydion disguises the boy as ashoemaker and returns to Caer Arianrhod; while Arianrhod is being fitted, she sees the boy killing a wren with a single stone and remarks that the fair-haired one ("lleu") has a skillful hand ("llaw gyffes"). Gwydion reveals the disguise, and says she has just given her son a name – Lleu Llaw Gyffes. Arianrhod then places a secondtynged on Lleu, that he would never take arms unless she armed him. A few years later, Gwydion and Lleu return to Caer Arianrhod, this time disguised asbards. Gwydion is an accomplished storyteller and entertains her court. That night, while everyone sleeps, he conjures a fleet of warships. Arianrhod gives her guests weapons and armor to help her fight, thereby dispelling her second curse. When Gwydion reveals the trickery, Arianrhod places a finaltynged on Lleu: he would never have a wife from any race that is on this earth now. Gwydion and Math eventually break this curse by creating a woman out ofoak blossom,broom, andmeadowsweet; she is namedBlodeuwedd ("flower face").
With her curses, Arianrhod denied Lleu the three aspects of masculinity: a name, arms, and a wife.[citation needed]
One of the Welsh Triads, 35 byRachel Bromwich's numbering, establishes a different family connection for Arianrhod. Her father is named asBeli Mawr, and her brother isCaswallawn (the historical Cassivellaunus). She has two sons by Lliaws son of Nwyfre, Gwenwynwyn and Gwanar, who both accompany Caswallawn in his pursuit ofJulius Caesar after he has been chased from Britain. This triad is the only source connecting Arianrhod to Beli Mawr and the Caswallawn saga, but it is not incompatible with the tradition recorded in theMabinogion.[2]
The stories of Welsh mythology changed over time, and theMabinogion does not contain the only version of them. Welsh scholarWilliam John Gruffydd noted that 15th- and 16th-century poets apparently knew an alternate tradition in which Arianrhod actually became Math's footholder.[2] Additionally, some scholars have suggested that in an earlier form of the Fourth Branch, Gwydion was the father of Arianrhod's sons.[3]
Arianrhod's palace, Caer Arianrhod, is connected with a rock formation visible westward ofLlandwrog, North-West Wales at low tide.[4][2] This formation is one of several landmarks that attest to the localization of the events in the Fourth Branch in this area. The name "Caer Arianrhod" is also used in Welsh for the constellationCorona Borealis.[3]Robert Graves cites the riddling claim ofTaliesin to have spent three periods in the prison/castle of Arianrhod,[5] who Graves considers as "one more aspect of Caridwen, orCeridwen, the White Goddess...the Muse-goddess".[6]
The name "Arianrhod" (from the Welsharian, "silver," andrhod, "wheel") may be cognate withProto-Celtic *Arganto-rotā, meaning "silver wheel."[7] Alternatively, the earliest form of the name may have beenAranrot, in which case the first part of the name would be related to "Aran," a word with uncertain meaning, "but 'huge', 'round' or 'humped' would all be possible interpretations."[2]