The Arthurian knight Tristan was a master of disguise, and posed as a swineherd in Welsh legends. When King Arthur jokingly challenged some of his knights to steal pigs from this apparently innocent swineherd, Tristan clobbered them one by one with his staff.
Chrispijn van den Broeck
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During the day, owls are often attacked by other birds. According to Welsh myth, this is because the wizard Gwydion transformed the woman Blodeuwedd into an owl after she tried to murder Gwydion's ward Lleu. Part of her curse was that all other birds would hate her. Jenny Dolfen
Flower Face - #Blodeuwedd
by Ardd Fotaneg, 2017
"There are many places that I love in the Garden one of which is ‘#FairyWoods’. Wandering through the woods you can see fairy doors in the tree trunks, their toadstool houses and even the remnants of a fairy tea party. I think I even saw a fairy once, hidden in the dell which reminded me of Blodeuwedd.
Blodeuwedd is one of the many tales to be found in the Mabinogion. The Mabinogion is a collection of ancient Welsh legends, myths and tales.
"Blodeuwedd was created by the relatives of Llew, the son of Arianrhod. Arianrhod had decreed that Llew could not marry a mortal woman; if he didn’t marry then he couldn’t own the land to which he was entitled. The Magicians, Math and Gwydion created a beautiful woman from nine flowers amongst which were #Oak, #Broom, #Primrose and #Meadowsweet. They called their creation ‘Blodeuwedd’ meaning ‘Flower face’. Blodeuwedd is also the ancient name for the Owl into which she was turned, after betraying her husband, Llew.
"Blodeuwedd is considered by some to be the Welsh Goddess of Spring bringing warmth and new life, in the form of flowers, after the cold and barrenness of winter.
"#Flowers are the symbol of Blodeuwedd; they demonstrate their beauty when they blossom and their resilience when they flower again in the #springtime. I feel the plants throughout the Botanic Garden of Wales display in its own way the beauty, the strength and the determination – sometimes with a little coaxing from Horti – of the plant world from which Blodeuwedd was created.
"The spirit of Blodeuwedd can be found in the in the Garden of Wales and although the ‘fairy’ that I saw in Fairy Woods has flown away for the winter she is now emerging wearing her Snowdrop costume heralding once again the return of Spring. Why not send her a letter or a picture that you have drawn and post it in the fairy post box in Fairy Woods?
"You see there really are fairies at the bottom of the Garden and if you are quick you might catch sight of her in the Great Glasshouse."
My father lay with my mother by a river. Less than a year later, she gave to him me and my twin brother. Then she left. They say she was Modron, a mother goddess our people worshipped long ago. If she was a mother goddess, why was she not a mother to me?
In many King Arthur legends, the knight Ywain is the son of Morgan le Fey. However, his Welsh equivalent (Owain) is the son of Modron, a mysterious supernatural being assumed by many to have originally been a pagan Celtic mother goddess, as her name means "Mother." Howard Pyle
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In the Middle Ages, many people believed the classical philosophers and poets had been so wise that they must have mastered magic. Welsh sorcerers such as Ceridwen consulted the books of Aristotle and Virgil to learn how to cast their spells. John Waterhouse
The most enigmatic Welsh monster is the gwyllion (the "twilight wanderer"). Some say it's a fairy hag who leads travelers astray, others say that it's a ghost or a wandering lunatic. Merlin learned prophecy from gwyllions he met as he himself wandered insane in the forest. T. H. Thomas
The only appearance of a unicorn in a medieval Welsh legend is a surprisingly savage creature that attacks any human it finds and drinks lakes dry, killing all the fish. Peredur (the Welsh Sir Percival) slays the unicorn, but then discovers it's the pet of a fairy lady.
In Welsh legends, the fastest of King Arthur's knights were the brothers Henwas and Henbedestyr. Both were quicker than any horse. Their brother Sgilti Light-Foot's footsteps were so light, branches didn't break under him. Even grass didn't bend under his feet. Gustave Dore
When a strange light is seen at night in the Welsh wilderness, often it's a pwca's candle. These black-furred goblins love to play nasty tricks. Sometimes pwcas turn into animals (such as horses), other times they use their candles to lead travelers into bogs or off cliffs. Huw Aaron
One of the most beautiful women in Welsh folklore was Princess Olwen, daughter of Ysbaddaden, king of the giants. Her hair was yellower than the broom plant, and gorgeous white flowers sprung up in her footprints. King Arthur helped Prince Culhwch woo Olwen. Alan Lee
Next to prophecy, Merlin's defining magic was shapeshifting. According to legend, he could transform himself into virtually anyone - young or old, man or woman. It was often hard to know if you were dealing with the person you thought or Merlin in disguise. Alan Lee
In some Welsh legends, the little fairies eat poisonous mushrooms and a "fairy butter" found in the crevices of limestone rocks. Fey illusions make the food's appearance and taste more appetizing. More charmingly, fairy gloves are made from foxglove flowers.
In Welsh folklore, King Rhitta was a giant who fashioned a huge cloak out of the beards of all the kings he conquered. When King Arthur received a message from King Rhitta demanding Arthur's beard to patch the cloak, Arthur dueled the giant and forced Rhitta to shave his own beard. Walter Crane
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In Welsh folklore, when King Arthur attacked the first sister of the giant Cribwr, he said his name was "Hot Porridge." When the giantess screamed that she needed help with Hot Porridge, her brother called back from another room that she should just let it cool. Jim Kavanagh
Every May 1 until Judgement Day, the Welsh hero Gwythyr battles Gwyn ap Nudd (king of the dead) for Creiddylad (Gwythyr's kidnapped fiancée). As May 1 is the first day of the Celtic summer, many scholars interpret this as a conflict between summer and winter.
In Welsh legends, the warrior Iddawc was so eager to witness war and slaughter that when delivering messages between King Arthur and Mordred, he made them as insulting as possible. This destroyed any chance for peace, and thus Arthur and Mordred killed each other. Gino D’Achille
In Welsh myths, when the people of northern Wales offended the fairies, the fairies unleashed an army of monsters. It included a huge toad with sharp claws, a serpent with 100 damned souls writhing under its skin, and a 100-headed monster so huge battles could be fought on its jaws. Jason Kang
In Welsh folklore, the Witches of Caer Lloyw are "maiden hags" skilled in both witchcraft and warfare. They teach combat skills to the Arthurian knight Peredur (the Welsh version of Sir Percival). However, when he discovers that the witches had tormented his relatives, Peredur takes revenge. Jérôme Lereculey
