Afallach (

Old Welsh Old Welsh () is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic around 550, ha ...

Aballac) is a man's name found in several medieval Welsh genealogies, where he is made the son of

Beli Mawr was an ancestor figure in Middle Welsh literature and genealogies. He is the father of Cassivellaunus, Arianrhod, Lludd Llaw Eraint, Llefelys, and Afallach. In certain medieval genealogies, he is listed as the son or husband of Anna, cousi ...

. According to a medieval Welsh triad, Afallach was the father of the goddess

Modron Modron ("mother") is a figure in Welsh tradition, known as the mother of the hero Mabon ap Modron. Both characters may have derived from earlier divine figures, in her case the Gaulish goddess Matrona. She may have been a prototype for Morgan ...

. The Welsh redactions of

Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth (; ; ) was a Catholic cleric from Monmouth, Wales, and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur. He is best known for his chronicle '' The History of ...

's ''

Historia Regum Britanniae (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a fictitious account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the List of legendary kings o ...

'',

Brut y Brenhinedd ''Brut y Brenhinedd'' ("Chronicle of the Kings") is a collection of variant Middle Welsh versions of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Latin ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. About 60 versions survive, with the earliest dating to the mid-13th century. Adapt ...

, associate him with Ynys Afallach, which is substituted as the Welsh name for Geoffrey's ''Insula Avalonsis'' (Island of

Avalon Avalon () is an island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appeared in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' as a place of magic where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was made and later where Arthur was taken to recove ...

), but this is fanciful medieval etymology and it is more likely his name derives from the Welsh word ''afall'' "apple tree" (modern Welsh ''afal'' "apple", afallen "apple tree"

Bernhard Maier Bernhard Maier (born 1963 in Oberkirch, Baden) is a German professor of religious studies, who publishes mainly on Celtic culture and religion. Maier studied comparative religion, comparative linguistics, Celtic and Semitic studies at the Al ...

, ''Dictionary of Celtic Religion and Culture'' (trans. Cyril Edwards, The Boydell Press, 1997). cf.

Proto-Celtic Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the hypothetical ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly Linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed throu ...

*''aballo-'' "apple"

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. (See als
this page
for background and disclaimers.) Cf. also th
University of Leiden database
.); from which, granted, the name of Avalon is also often thought to derive, so that the meaning of "Afallach" is associated but not necessarily directly. In the tale of Urien and Modron he is referred to by his daughter as the King of Annwn, therefore he may originally been cognate with Arawn or Gwyn or perhaps all three were once regional variants of the same Deity.

References

Pen. 147. trans. Rachel Bromwich. ''Trioedd Ynys Prydein''. Cardiff: UWP, 1963. p.459. Welsh mythology {{Celt-myth-stub