Eufydd fab Dôn is a minor figure in

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 Cel ...

, the son of the mother goddess Dôn and brother to the better-known figures of

Gwydion Gwydion fab Dôn () is a magician, hero and trickster of Welsh mythology, appearing most prominently in the Fourth Branch of the ''Mabinogi'', which focuses largely on his relationship with his young nephew, Lleu Llaw Gyffes. He also appears ...

Amaethon In Welsh mythology, Amaethon ( (), meaning "Amaethon son of Dôn") was the god of agriculture, and the son of the goddess Dôn.Cotterell, Arthur: The Encyclopedia of Mythology, page 97. Hermes House, 2007. His name means "labourer" or "ploughman", ...

, Gofannon and

Arianrhod 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. B ...

. It has been suggested that he derives from the Gaulish god

Ogmios Ogmios (also known as Ogmius; grc, Ὄγμιος; la, Ogmius, Ogimius) was the Celtic deity of eloquence.OG ...

and is cognate to the Irish hero Oghma Grianainech.

Role in Welsh tradition

Eufydd appears in a number of Welsh texts, spelled variously as Euuyd, Eueyed, Euyd and Ieunydd. He appears twice in the

Book of Taliesin The Book of Taliesin ( cy, Llyfr Taliesin) is one of the most famous of Middle Welsh manuscripts, dating from the first half of the 14th century though many of the fifty-six poems it preserves are taken to originate in the 10th century or before ...

; first in ''Prif Gyfarch Taliesin'' in which it is stated: :And I have been with artful men, :With old Math, with Gofannon, :With Eufydd, with Elestron, :Mighty men my companions. and then again in ''Marwnat Aeddon:'' :When this chief came from Gwydion's land, from Seon's stronghold :A bitter business, four shaved heads coming at midnight – :Warriors fell, with nowhere to hide in the woods, the wind raging. :Math and Eufydd would make by magic a free man, a skillful one. :In Gwydion's days and Amaethon's, then there was wisdom. The implication is that Eufydd was remembered in Welsh tradition as a skilled magician, intimately associated with his more illustrious brothers Gwydion and Gofannon, and with his uncle Math fab Mathonwy. Eufydd also appears in the genealogical tract ''Bonedd yr Arwyr'' (The Descent of the Saints) in which he is listed among the children of Dôn.

Associations with Hefeydd Hen

It has been suggested that Eufydd can be identified with Hefeydd Hen, the father of Rhiannon who appears prominently in the first branch of the Mabinogi. Anwyl, E. "The Four Branches of the Mabinogi (I, II)", ''Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie''. vol. I. 1897. pp. 277–293.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eufydd Fab Don Welsh mythology