Gwyn ap Nudd (Welsh pronunciation:[ˈɡwɨnapˈnɨːð], sometimes found with the antiquated spellingGwynn ap Nudd) is a Welsh mythological figure, the king of theTylwyth Teg or "fair folk" and ruler of the WelshOtherworld,Annwn, and whose name means “Gwyn, son of Nudd”. Described later on as a great warrior with a "blackened face", Gwyn is intimately associated with the otherworld inmedieval Welsh literature, and is associated with the international tradition of theWild Hunt.
Gwyn is the son ofNudd and would thus be grandson toBeli Mawr and nephew ofArianrhod,Llefelys,Penarddun,Afallach,Gofannon,Nynniaw,Peibaw, andCaswallawn. Based on their shared patronymic (ap Nudd), his siblings includeEdern, a warrior who appears in a number of Arthurian texts, and Owain ap Nudd, who is mentioned briefly inGeraint and Enid. InCulhwch and Olwen, Gwyn is the lover ofCreiddylad, the daughter of Lludd, who may therefore be Gwyn's own sister, though that connection was not made by the medieval author(s) ofCulhwch and Olwen.
Gwyn plays a prominent role in the earlyArthurian taleCulhwch and Olwen in which he abducts his sister Creiddylad from her betrothed,Gwythyr ap Greidawl. In retaliation, Gwythyr raised a great host against Gwyn, leading to a vicious battle between the two. Gwyn was victorious and, following the conflict, captured a number of Gwythyr's noblemen including Nwython and his sonCyledr. Gwyn would later murder Nwython, and force Cyledr to eat his father's heart. As a result of his torture at Gwyn's hands, Cyledr went mad,[1] earning the epithetWyllt.
After the intervention ofArthur, Gwyn and Gwythr agreed to fight for Creiddylad everyMay Day until Judgement Day. The warrior who was victorious on this final day would at last take the maiden. According toCulhwch and Olwen, Gwyn was "placed over the brood of devils inAnnwn, lest they should destroy the present race".[2]
Before he can winOlwen's hand,Culhwch ap Cilydd must complete a number of seemingly impossible tasks given to him by Olwen's father, the giantYsbaddaden. One of these tasks is to retrieve the comb and scissors from the head of the vicious boar,Twrch Trwyth. As it is impossible to hunt the boar without Gwyn's aid, he is called upon to joinArthur and his retinue against Twrch Trwyth. During the hunt, he is mounted on Du y Moroedd, the only horse that can carry him. Both Gwyn and Gwythyr set out with Arthur to retrieve the blood of Orddu, witch of the uplands of hell.[2]
Gwyn appears prominently in the medieval poemThe Dialogue of Gwyn ap Nudd and Gwyddno Garanhir, found in theBlack Book of Carmarthen. In this narrative—Gwyn, returning from battle, chances uponGwyddno Garanhir, king ofCantre'r Gwaelod, and grants him his protection. Gwyn then relates his exploits on the battlefield beforeBran the Blessed, Meurig ap Carreian,Gwendoleu ap Ceidaw andLlacheu ab Arthur. His skill in combat is extolled in this poem; he is described as "the hope of armies" and "hero of hosts" and, when asked from which region he comes, he simply replies: "I come from battle and conflict."[3] The poem ends with Gwyn's proclamation:
I have been where the soldiers of Britain were slain.
From the east to the north
I am the escort of the grave.
I have been where the soldiers of Britain were slain.
From the east to the south
I am alive, they in death![3]
Gwyn apparently witnessed a "conflict" before Caer Vandwy, an otherworldly fortress mentioned inPreiddeu Annwfn.[3]
Over time, Gwyn's role would diminish and, in later folklore, he was regarded as the king of theTylwyth Teg, the fairies of Welsh lore. He appears as a simpler figure inBuchedd Collen (The Life ofSaint Collen), in which he and his retinue are vanquished fromGlastonbury Tor with the use ofholy water. According to theSpeculum Christiani, a fourteenth century manuscript against divination, Welsh soothsayers would invoke Gwyn's name before entering woodlands, proclaiming: "to the king of Spirits, and to his queen—Gwyn ap Nudd, you who are yonder in the forest, for love of your mate, permit us to enter your dwelling."[4]
The celebrated fourteenth-centurybardDafydd ap Gwilym refers to Gwyn in a number of texts, suggesting that the character was widely known in Wales during the medieval period. InY Dylluan, he describes the eponymousowl as the "fowl of Gwyn ap Nudd".Y Pwll Mawn, in which the bard tells an unfortunate autobiographical account in which he and his horse were almost drowned in a lake, described as the "fish lake of Gwyn ap Nudd" and "the palace of the elves and their children."
Gwyn is often associated with the Wild Hunt, in a role akin toWoden orHerne the Hunter. Some traditions name Gwyn's chief huntsman as Iolo ap Huw, who, everyHalloween, "may be found cheeringCŵn Annwn overCader Idris".[5] In theBlack Book of Carmarthen Gwyn states that his finest hound isDormarch.[6]
According to a 14th-century Latin manuscript against witchcraft, Welsh "dynion hysbys" (soothsayers) would repeat the following:[7]
Ad regem Eumenidium,
et reginam eius:
Gwynn ap Nwdd
qui es ultra in silvis
pro amore concubine
tue permitte nos venire domum.
To the King of the Faeries,
and to his Queen:
Gwyn ap Nudd
thou who art far in the forest
for the love of your consort
permit us to enter thy dwelling.
The Latin termEumenidium is used, which can be translated as"the Benevolent Ones"[8] and act as a euphemism to meany tylwyth teg orfaeries, and the king of the faeries is Gwyn ap Nudd; with logic, it could be argued that Gwyn ap Nudd is "Eumenidium."
Gwyn means "fair, bright, white", cognate with theIrishfionn, both deriving from a reconstructedCommon Celtic stem*windos 'the white one'.[9][10] As such, he has some connection to theIrish heroFionn mac Cumhail,[10][11] whose maternal great-grandfather wasNuada. The name of Gwyn's father, Nudd, appears like Nuada to be cognate with theBrythonicdeityNodens.[12]
Gwyn is in everyday use as a common noun and adjective: it also remains a popular personal name. Especially in Old and Middle Welsh, "gwyn" also has the connotations of "pure, sacred, holy".
Linguistically cognate with Irish Finn is WelshGwynn, a figure who appears in Welsh tradition as a supernatural hunter ...
