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Cyhyraeth
The cyhyraeth () is a ghostly spirit in Welsh mythology, a disembodied moaning voice that sounds before a person's death. Legends associate the cyhyraeth with the area around the River Tywi in eastern Dyfed, as well as the coast of Glamorganshire. The noise is said to be "doleful and disagreeable", like the groans and sighs of someone deathly ill, and to sound three times (growing weaker and fainter each time) as a threefold warning before the person expires. Along the Glamorganshire coast, the cyhyraeth is said to be heard before a shipwreck, accompanied by a corpse-light. Like the Irish banshee and the Scottish Cailleach, to which the cyhyraeth and the Gwrach y Rhibyn are closely related, the cyhyraeth also sounds for Welsh natives dying far from home. Etymology The etymology of the term is unclear. The first element could be from Welsh ''cyhyr'' "muscle", "tendon", "flesh", but this is uncertain. An alternative possibility is that ''cyhyr'' is from ''cyoer'', from ''oer'' "co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Welsh Mythology
Welsh mythology (Welsh: ''Mytholeg Cymru'') consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of the predominantly oral societies Celtic mythology and history were recorded orally by specialists such as druids ( cy, derwyddon). This oral record has been lost or altered as a result of outside contact and invasion over the years. Much of this altered mythology and history is preserved in medieval Welsh manuscripts, which include the Red Book of Hergest, the White Book of Rhydderch, the Book of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin. Other works connected to Welsh mythology include the ninth-century Latin historical compilation ''Historia Brittonum'' ("History of the Britons") and Geoffrey of Monmouth's twelfth-century Latin chronicle ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' ("History of the Kings of Britain"), as well as later folklore, such as the materials collected in ''The Welsh Fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cailleach
In Gaelic (Irish, Scottish and Manx) myth, the Cailleach (, ) is a divine hag and ancestor, associated with the creation of the landscape and with the weather, especially storms and winter. The word literally means 'old woman, hag', and is found with this meaning in modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic, and has been applied to numerous mythological and folkloric figures in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man.Briggs, Katharine M. (1976) ''An Encyclopedia of Fairies''. New York, Pantheon Books. pp. 57-60. In modern Irish folklore studies, she is sometimes known as The Hag of Beara, while in Scotland she is known as Beira, Queen of Winter. Name ('old woman' or 'hag' in modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic) comes from the Old Irish ('veiled one'), an adjectival form of ('veil'), an early loan from Latin , 'woollen cloak'.Macbain, Alexander (1998) ''Etymological Dictionary Of Scottish-Gaelic''. New York: Hippocrene Books, , p. 63. The Cailleach is often referred to as the in Irish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spirit (animating Force)
In folk belief, spirit is the vital principle or animating essence within all living things. As recently as 1628 and 1633 respectively, both William Harvey and René Descartes still speculated that somewhere within the body, in a special locality, there was a "vital spirit" or "vital force", which animated the whole bodily frame, just as the engine in a factory moves the machinery in it. Overview People have frequently conceived of spirit as a supernatural being, or non-physical entity; for example, a demon, ghost, fairy, or angel. In ancient Islamic terminology however, the term ''spirit'' (''rūḥ''), applies only to "pure" spirits, but not to other invisible creatures, such as jinn, demons and angels. Historically, spirit has been used to refer to a "subtle" as opposed to "gross" material substance, as put forth in the notable last paragraph of Sir Isaac Newton's ''Principia Mathematica''. In English Bibles, "the Spirit" (with a capital "S"), specifically denotes the Hol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afagddu
Morfran (Middle Welsh: ''Moruran'' "cormorant"; literally "sea crow", from ''môr'', "sea", and ''brân'', "crow", from Common Brittonic *''mori-brannos'', as in French ''cormoran'' < L ''corvus marinus'') is a figure in . Usually portrayed as a warrior under King Arthur, he is noted for the darkness of his skin and his hideousness. He appears in the narratives about the bard and in the , where he is often contrasted with the angelically handsome |
Deities And Spirits
A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater than those of ordinary humans, but who interacts with humans, positively or negatively, in ways that carry humans to new levels of consciousness, beyond the grounded preoccupations of ordinary life". Religions can be categorized by how many deities they worship. Monotheistic religions accept only one deity (predominantly referred to as "God"), whereas polytheistic religions accept multiple deities. Henotheistic religions accept one supreme deity without denying other deities, considering them as aspects of the same divine principle. Nontheistic religions deny any supreme eternal creator deity, but may accept a pantheon of deities which live, die and may be reborn like any other being. Although most monotheistic religions traditionally e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wirt Sikes
William Wirt Sikes (November 23, 1836 – August 18, 1883) was an American journalist and writer, perhaps best known today for his writings on Welsh folklore and customs. Early life William Wirt Sikes was born in Watertown, New York, the son of William Johnson Sikes, a prominent local physician. He was the seventh of eleven children, of whom only six survived to adulthood. Sikes himself was seriously ill as a child and almost lost his hearing, so he was largely educated at home. At fourteen he went to work for a printer and learned how to set type. He supported himself thereafter by typesetting, contributing to local newspapers, and giving temperance lectures. At the age of nineteen, on August 28, 1855, he married Jeannette Annie Wilcox (1837–1889); they had two children, George Preston Sikes (1856–1957) and Clara Jeanette Sikes (1858–1956). Career in America In 1856 he was working at the ''Utica Morning Herald'' as a typesetter and contributor. He published a book of stor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benjamin Barron Wiffen
Benjamin Barron Wiffen (1794–1867) was an English Quaker businessman, bibliophile and biographer of early Spanish Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ... reformers. Early life The second son of John Wiffen, ironmonger, and his wife Elizabeth (née Pattison), he was born at Woburn, Bedfordshire; his elder brother was Jeremiah Holmes Wiffen. He followed his brother to Ackworth school in 1803; on leaving in 1808 he went into his father's business. His mother Elizabeth was left widowed with a young family. Wiffen remained in business at Woburn till 1838, when his health failed, and he retired to Mount Pleasant, Aspley Guise, near Woburn, with his mother and two unmarried sisters. Anti-slavery and Spain Early in 1840 Luis de Usoz came to London from Madrid, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elias Owen (Welsh Cleric)
Rev. Elias Owen MA, F.S.A. (2 December 1833 – 19 May 1899) was a Welsh cleric and antiquarian whose works include ''The Old Stone Crosses of the Vale of Clwyd'', 1886 and ''Welsh Folk-Lore'', 1896. Family Owen was born in Montgomeryshire, probably in the village of Llandysilio, the third child and eldest son of James Owen (ca.1806–1886) and Susannah Morgan (1805–1868). His father was a farmer and one of the first 12 constables in the Montgomeryshire Constabulary. James Owen was the father of at least 15 children, nine by his first wife, Susannah, and five by his second wife, Mary Morris (ca.1848–ca.1921). Elias Owen married Margaret Pierce (1839–fl.1901) on 2 August 1858 at St. David's Church, the Welsh chapel in Brownlow Hill, Liverpool; she was the daughter of Eleanor and William Pierce, a quarryman. They had 13 children: * Edwin James Owen (1859–1928), who became the vicar at Brithdir, near Dolgelly, Merionethshire. * William Pierce Owen (1860–1937), who play ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taliesin
Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the '' Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to have sung at the courts of at least three kings. In 1960, Ifor Williams identified eleven of the medieval poems ascribed to Taliesin as possibly originating as early as the sixth century, and so possibly being composed by a historical Taliesin. The bulk of this work praises King Urien of Rheged and his son Owain mab Urien, although several of the poems indicate that Taliesin also served as court bard to King Brochfael Ysgithrog of Powys and his successor Cynan Garwyn, either before or during his time at Urien's court. Some of the events to which the poems refer, such as the Battle of Arfderydd (c. 573), are referred to in other sources. John T. Koch argues that the description of Easter in the praise poem ''Yspeil Taliesin'' ('The Spoils of Taliesin') indicates ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tegid Foel
Tegid Foel is the husband of Ceridwen in Welsh mythology. His name rendered into English would be "Tacitus the Bald". In folklore, Tegid Foel is associated with Bala Lake, Llyn Tegid (Bala Lake) in Gwynedd and may have been the tutelary deity of that lake. Tegid Foel is known chiefly from the story of Taliesin's birth, first recorded in full in the 16th century but dating to a much earlier period. According to the story, he lived by Llyn Tegid in the region of Penllyn (cantref), Penllyn with his wife, the sorceress Ceridwen. Together they had two children, a beautiful daughter named Creirwy and a son Morfran, called Afagddu ("utter darkness") because of his dark skin and hideous looks. Tegid's name is mentioned several times in Welsh literature in the patronymic of his more famous son Mofran; it appears in the ''Mabinogion'' tales ''Culhwch and Olwen'' and ''The Dream of Rhonabwy'', and in Welsh Triads 24 and 41. Apart from Creirwy and Morfran the Welsh genealogies also name other ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ceridwen
Ceridwen or Cerridwen ( ''Ke-RID-wen'') was an enchantress in Welsh mythology, Welsh medieval legend. She was the mother of a hideous son, Afagddu, and a beautiful daughter, Creirwy. Her husband was Tegid Foel and they lived near Bala Lake () in north Wales. Medieval Welsh poetry refers to her as possessing the cauldron of poetic inspiration (Awen) and the Tale of Taliesin recounts her swallowing her servant Gwion Bach who is then reborn through her as the poet Taliesin. Ceridwen is regarded by many Modern paganism, modern pagans as the Celtic goddess of rebirth, transformation, and inspiration. Etymology Marged Haycock catalogues various forms of the name in the early texts and in less detail in her edition of the Taliesin poems These mainly occur in manuscripts which have been dated to the 13th century, though they may, of course, be using earlier forms or 13th century adaptations of earlier forms. ''The Black Book of Carmarthen'' gives ‘Kyrridven’. ''Peniarth 3'' gives â ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harpy
In Greek mythology and Roman mythology, a harpy (plural harpies, , ; lat, harpȳia) is a half-human and half-bird personification of storm winds. They feature in Homeric poems. Descriptions They were generally depicted as birds with the heads of maidens, faces pale with hunger and long claws on their hands. Roman and Byzantine writers detailed their ugliness. Pottery art depicting the harpies featured beautiful women with wings. Ovid described them as human-vultures. Hesiod To Hesiod, they were imagined as fair-locked and winged maidens, who flew as fast as the wind. Aeschylus But even as early as the time of Aeschylus, they are described as ugly creatures with wings, and later writers carry their notions of the harpies so far as to represent them as most disgusting monsters. The Pythian priestess of Apollo recounted the appearance of the harpies in the following lines: Virgil Hyginus Functions and abodes The harpies seem originally to have been wind spirits (perso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
