Arianrhod () is a figure in
Welsh mythology who plays her most important role in the
Fourth Branch of the ''
Mabinogi''. She is the daughter of
Dôn and the sister of
Gwydion and
Gilfaethwy; the
Welsh Triads give her father as
Beli Mawr.
[Triad 35. Bromwich, ''Trioedd Ynys Prydein'', pp. 284–285.] In the ''Mabinogi'' her uncle
Math ap Mathonwy is the King of
Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County B ...
, and during the course of the story she gives birth to two sons,
Dylan ail Don and
Lleu Llaw Gyffes, through magical means.
Mabinogion
According to the Fourth Branch (circa 12th century), Arianrhod's uncle
Math fab Mathonwy would die if he didn't keep his feet in the lap of a virgin when he was not at war. Gilfaethwy conceives a lust for Math's original footholder, pretty Goewin, and he and his brother
Gwydion engineer a war with King Pryderi of Kingdom of Dyfed, forcing Math to leave his court. In Math's absence Gilfaethwy rapes Goewin. When Math returns he punishes his nephews severely by turning them into a series of mated pairs of animals, and marries Goewin to alleviate her shame. However, he must find a new virgin to hold his feet.
Gwydion suggests his sister, Arianrhod. To test her virginity, Math tells her to step over his magician's rod. On doing this, however, she immediately gives birth to a young boy,
Dylan ail Don, and a blob-like entity which becomes
Lleu Llaw Gyffes. Dylan is a sea spirit, who flees to the ocean immediately after he is
baptized
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
. Gwydion grabs Lleu Llaw Gyffes before anyone else sees it and places it in a chest. Before long it becomes a boy who grows at twice the normal rate; when he is four he is as big as an eight-year-old. Gwydion takes him to see his mother at her home,
Caer Arianrhod.
However, Arianrhod was angry about her humiliation at Math's court. She places a ''
tynged
A ''tynged'' ("doom, fate, destiny", ''plural tynghedau'') is the Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (sur ...
'' (a ''
geis'' or taboo) on the boy that he will never have a name unless she gives it to him. Gwydion disguises the boy as a
shoemaker and returns to Caer Arianrhod; while Arianrhod is being fitted, she sees the boy killing a wren with a single stone and remarks that the fair-haired one ("lleu") has a skillful hand ("llaw gyffes"). Gwydion reveals the disguise, and says she has just given her son a name – Lleu Llaw Gyffes. Arianrhod then places a second ''tynged'' on Lleu, that he would never take arms unless she armed him. A few years later Gwydion and Lleu return to Caer Arianrhod, this time disguised as
bards. Gwydion is an accomplished storyteller and entertains her court. That night, while everyone sleeps, he conjures a fleet of warships. Arianrhod gives her guests weapons and armor to help her fight, thereby dispelling her second curse. When Gwydion reveals the trickery, Arianrhod places a final ''tynged'' on Lleu: he would never have a wife from any race that is on this earth now. Gwydion and Math eventually break this curse by creating a woman out of
oak blossom,
broom
A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. ...
, and
meadowsweet; she is named
Blodeuwedd ("flower face").
With her curses, Arianrhod denied Lleu the three aspects of masculinity: a name, arms, and a wife.
In other sources
One of the Welsh Triads, 35 by
Rachel Bromwich's numbering, establishes a different family connection for Arianrhod. Her father is named as
Beli Mawr, and her brother is
Caswallawn
Cassivellaunus was a historical British military leader who led the defence against Julius Caesar's second expedition to Britain in 54 BC. He led an alliance of tribes against Roman forces, but eventually surrendered after his location was revea ...
(the historical Cassivellaunus). She has two sons by Lliaws son of Nwyfre, Gwenwynwyn and Gwanar, who both accompany Caswallawn in his pursuit of
Julius Caesar after he has been chased from Britain. This triad is the only source connecting Arianrhod to Beli Mawr and the Caswallawn saga, but it is not incompatible with the tradition recorded in the ''Mabinogion''.
The stories of Welsh mythology changed over time, and the ''Mabinogion'' does not contain the only version of them. Welsh scholar
William John Gruffydd noted that 15th- and 16th-century poets apparently knew an alternate tradition in which Arianrhod actually became Math's footholder.
Additionally, some scholars have suggested that in an earlier form of the Fourth Branch, Gwydion was the father of Arianrhod's sons.
[MacKillop, ''Oxford Dictionary of Celtic Mythology'', p. 24.]
Arianrhod's palace, Caer Arianrhod, is connected with a rock formation visible westward of
Llandwrog, North-West Wales at low tide.
This formation is one of several landmarks that attest to the localization of the events in the Fourth Branch in this area. The name "Caer Arianrhod" is also used in Welsh for the constellation
Corona Borealis.
Robert Graves cites the riddling claim of
Taliesin to have spent three periods in the prison/castle of Arianrhod, who Graves considers as "one more aspect of Caridwen, or
Ceridwen, the White Goddess...the Muse-goddess".
[R Graves, ''The White Goddess'' (Manchester 1999) p. 94 and p. 492]
Etymology
The name "Arianrhod" (from the Welsh ''arian'', "silver," and ''rhod'', "wheel") may be cognate with
Proto-Celtic
Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the 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 reconstructed through the comparative method. Proto-Celt ...
*''Arganto-rotā'', meaning "silver wheel."
[Proto-Celtic—English lexicon](_blank)
an
English—Proto-Celtic lexicon
University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. (See als
this page
for background and disclaimers.) Cf. also th
University of Leiden database
. Alternatively, the earliest form of the name may have been ''Aranrot'', in which case the first part of the name would be related to "Aran."
In popular culture
*The term 'Arianrhod' is used in two different fantasy TV series during 2012. On both occasions it is a term connected to mind control.
**In the fourth series of ''
Young Dracula'', the mind-controlling Rings of Arianrhod are used by Ramanga (
Robbie Gee) as part of a plan to kill Vlad Dracula (
Gerran Howell) on his wedding day, though the scheme is thwarted by Bertrand De Fortunessa (Cesari Taurasi). Adze Ramanga (Nathasha Stokes) uses the Rings to control Erin Noble (
Sydney Rae White
Sydney Rae Cressida White (born 30 November 1991) is an English actress, best known for playing the role of "Erin Noble" in series 3 and 4 of the CBBC drama series ''Young Dracula''. White grew up in West London with her parents and her four bro ...
) and force her to stand on the roof of Garside Grange School, before striking her with a fireball, causing her to fall. The blast embeds fragments of the Ring in Erin's chest, and they remain there after Vlad turns her into a vampire. The other Ring is used by
Count Dracula (
Keith-Lee Castle) and Malik Vaccaria (
Richard Southgate) to track Ramanga down.
**In the fifth series of ''
Merlin'',
Merlin (
Colin Morgan) uses the Pool of Arianrhod to undo the brainwashing of
Guinevere Pendragon (
Angel Coulby
Angel Leonie Coulby (born 30 August 1980) is an English actress in film, television, and theatre. She gained recognition for portraying the character Gwen (Guinevere) in the BBC fantasy series ''Merlin''.
Early life
Coulby was born and grew u ...
) by
Morgana Pendragon (
Katie McGrath).
* In
Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Arianrhod is the name of a city in the Kingdom of Faerghus. It is destroyed by factions within the Adrestian Empire during the main story.
* In
The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure and
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III, one of the major antagonists is named Arianrhod.
Notes
References
*Bromwich, Rachel (2006). ''Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain''. University Of Wales Press. .
*Ford, Patrick K. (1977). ''The Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales''. University of California Press. .
*Gantz, Jeffrey (translator) (1987). ''The Mabinogion''. New York: Penguin. .
*Ellis, Peter Berresford (1994). ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology''. (Oxford Paperback Reference) Oxford University Press.
*MacKillop, James (1998). ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology''. Oxford University Press. .
*Wood, Juliette (2002). ''The Celts: Life, Myth, and Art''. Thorsons Publishers. .
{{Celtic mythology (Welsh)
Welsh mythology
Welsh feminine given names
Stellar goddesses