Angharad (; ) is a

feminine Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as socially constructed, and there is also some evidence that some behaviors considered fe ...

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...

, having a long association with Welsh royalty,

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

and

myth Myth is a folklore genre consisting of Narrative, narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or Origin myth, origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not Objectivity (philosophy), ...

. It translates to English as ''much loved one''. In Welsh mythology,

Angharad Golden-Hand Angharad Golden-Hand (; ) (otherwise Angharat, or Angharad Law Eurawc) is the heroine of the Welsh Romance ''Peredur son of Efrawg'', and associated with the '' Mabinogion''. In the Welsh tale of Peredur, Angharad Golden-Hand is a lady of King ...

is the lover of

Peredur Peredur (, Old Welsh ''Peretur'') is the name of a number of men from the boundaries of history and legend in sub-Roman Britain. The Peredur who is most familiar to a modern audience is the character who made his entrance as a knight in the Art ...

in the myth cycle ''The

Mabinogion The ''Mabinogion'' () are the earliest Welsh prose stories, and belong to the Matter of Britain. The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, create ...

''."Peredur the Son of Evrawc"
''The Mabinogion'', transl. Lady Charlotte Guest

877 __NOTOC__ Year 877 ( DCCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – King Charles II ("the Bald") sets out for Italy, accompanie ...

''sacred-texts.com'', pp. 100, 105. Retrieved 2012-01-02.

Historical figures

There have been a number of historical or semi-historical Angharads, most notably the daughter of Owain Gwynedd (1100–1170), King of

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...

, who married Gruffydd Maelor. Other historical Angharads include ( signifies 'daughter of'): *

Angharad ferch Owain Angharad ferch Owain (1065–1162) was the wife of Gruffudd ap Cynan, a king of Gwynedd. Biography Angharad was born in the region of Tegeingl in Flintshire county, Wales. Her father was Owain ab Edwin (1044–1105). Her mother was Morwyl ...

(1065–1162), wife of Gruffudd ap Cynan, Prince of Gwynedd *

Angharad ferch Meurig Angharad ferch Meurig was a 9th-century Welsh noblewoman. She was the wife of Rhodri the Great of Gwynedd, and mother of Anarawd (Rhodri's successor), Cadell ap Rhodri, and Merfyn. Life Angharad was the daughter of Meurig, evidently the King ...

, wife of Rhodri the Great (820–878) *

Angharad ferch Llywelyn Angharad ferch Llywelyn ( fl. 1260) was a daughter of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, Prince of Wales. The identity of her mother is uncertain; but several later genealogical sources, including ''Pedigrees of Some Of the Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants, ...

, daughter of Llywelyn the Great (1173–1240), Prince of Wales * Angharad ferch

Madog ap Gruffydd Maelor Madog ap Gruffudd, or Madog ap Gruffudd Maelor, was Prince of Powys Fadog from 1191 to 1236 in north-east Wales. Early life He was elder son of Prince Gruffydd Maelor and his wife, Angharad, a daughter of King Owain Gwynedd. He succeeded his fa ...

, sister to Gruffydd II ap Madog, Lord of Dinas Bran * Angharad ferch

Maredudd ab Owain Maredudd ab Owain (died ) was a 10th-century king in Wales of the High Middle Ages. A member of the House of Dinefwr, his patrimony was the kingdom of Deheubarth comprising the southern realms of Dyfed, Ceredigion, and Brycheiniog. Upon the d ...

, wife of Llywelyn ap Seisyll, King of Gwynedd and of Deheubarth * Angharad ferch

Rhys ap Gruffydd Rhys ap Gruffydd, commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh ''Yr Arglwydd Rhys'' (c. 1132 – 28 April 1197) was the ruler of the Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1155 to 1197 and native Prince of Wales. It was believed that he ...

(1132–1197) * Angharad ferch Gruffydd II ap Madog, Lord of Dinas Bran * Angharad of Brittany, wife of Idwal Iwrch * Angharad, daughter of

Rhydderch Hael Rhydderch Hael ( en, Rhydderch the Generous), Riderch I of Alt Clut, or Rhydderch of Strathclyde, (floruit, ''fl.'' 580 – c. 614) was a ruler of Alt Clut, a Britons (Celtic people), Brittonic kingdom in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North" of Brita ...

, a 6th-century king of Strathclyde

People

* Angharad Gatehouse (born 1954), British entomologist * Angharad James (poet) (1677–1749), Welsh poet *

Angharad James (footballer) Angharad Jane James (born 1 June 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur in the English Women's Super league and the Wales national team. James has previously played for English FA Women's Super Leagu ...

(born 1994), Welsh football player * Angharad Llwyd (1780–1866), Welsh historian *

Angharad Mair Angharad Mair (born March 1960) is a Welsh television presenter; she is the lead presenter on the nightly S4C Welsh language magazine programme, ''Heno'' and the BBC Wales news programme, ''Wales Today''. Background She was born in Carmarthen ...

(born 1960), Welsh television presenter *

Angharad Mason Angharad Mason (born 14 May 1979) is a Welsh racing cyclist, sports injury specialist, chartered physiotherapist and acupuncturist from Bridgend, Wales. Mason represented Wales in the women's road race at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. ...

(born 1979), Welsh cyclist *

Angharad Price Angharad Price is a Welsh academic and novelist. She is a recipient of the Glyndŵr Award. Biography Price was born in Bethel, Gwynedd, Wales, the daughter of the Welsh historian . She graduated with a BA and DPhil in Modern Languages fr ...

(born 1972), Welsh academic and novelist * Angharad Rees (1944–2012), Welsh actress *

Angharad Tomos Angharad Tomos (born 19 July 1958) is a Welsh author and prominent language activist. She is a recipient of the Tir na n-Og Award. Biography Tomos was born in Bangor, Gwynedd, in 1958, and raised with her four sisters in Llanwnda near Caerna ...

(born 1958), Welsh author

Fiction

* Angharad, mother of Princess Eilonwy in Lloyd Alexander's fictional land of Prydain * Angharad, fictional character in ''The Rowan'' by Anne McCaffrey * Angharad, fictional character in ''The Blue Sword'' by

Robin McKinley Robin McKinley (born November 16, 1952) is an American author best known for her fantasy novels and fairy tale retellings. Her 1984 novel ''The Hero and the Crown'' won the Newbery Medal as the year's best new American children's book. In 2022 ...

* Angharad, fictional character in ''Into the Green'' by

Charles de Lint Charles de Lint (born December 22, 1951) is a Canadian writer of Dutch, Spanish, and Japanese ancestry. He is married to, and plays music with, MaryAnn Harris. Primarily a writer of fantasy fiction, he has composed works of urban fantasy, cont ...

* Angharad, fictional character in ''Juniper'' by

Monica Furlong Monica Furlong (17 January 1930 – 14 January 2003) was a British author, journalist, and activist. She was born at Kenton near Harrow, north-west of London and died at Umberleigh in Devon. An obituary called her the Church of England's ...

* Angharad, fictional character in ''

How Green Was My Valley ''How Green Was My Valley'' is a 1939 novel by Richard Llewellyn, narrated by Huw Morgan, the main character, about his Welsh family and the mining community in which they live. The author had claimed that he based the book on his own persona ...

'' by Richard Llewellyn * Angharad, fictional character in the '' King Raven Trilogy'', by Stephen R. Lawhead * Angharad, fictional character in ''

Monk's Hood ''Monk's Hood'' is a medieval mystery novel by Ellis Peters, set in December 1138. It is the third novel in The Cadfael Chronicles. It was first published in 1980 (1980 in literature). It was adapted for television in 1994 by Central for IT ...

'' by Ellis Peters * The Splendid Angharad, fictional character in the film '' Mad Max: Fury Road'', played by Rosie Huntington-Whiteley * Angharrad, fictional horse in the young adult series ''

Chaos Walking ''Chaos Walking'' is a young adult science fiction series written by American-British novelist Patrick Ness. It is set in a dystopian world where all living creatures can hear each other's thoughts in a stream of images, words, and sounds call ...

'' by Patrick Ness * Angharad, sister of fictional character David in the book ''The Blue Rose'' by Kate Forsyth *Angharad is Queen Guenièvre's lady's maid in the television series Kaamelott * Angharad Scott, fictional character in the book ''

Piranesi (novel) ''Piranesi'' is a fantasy novel by English author Susanna Clarke, published by Bloomsbury Publishing in 2020. It is Clarke's second novel, following her debut ''Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell'' (2004), published sixteen years earlier. The novel ...

'' by Susanna Clarke * Angharradh goddess in elven pantheon of Seldarine in Dungeons and Dragons system

References

{{authority control Welsh feminine given names Welsh royalty