Euroswydd is a 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 father of

Nisien Nisien is a figure in Welsh mythology, the son of Penarddun and Euroswydd and twin brother of Efnysien. He appears in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi, which names Brân the Blessed, Branwen, and Manawydan Manawydan fab Llŷr is a figure of Wels ...

and

Efnysien Efnisien fab Euroswydd (also spelled Efnissien or Efnysien) is a sadistic anti-hero in Welsh mythology, appearing prominently in the tale of ''Branwen ferch Llŷr'', the second branch of the Mabinogi. Described by Will Parker as "a study in the psy ...

Penarddun Penarddun is a figure in Welsh mythology, the wife of Llŷr. The Second Branch of the ''Mabinogi'' names Bran, Branwen, and Manawydan as her children by Llŷr, and ascribes to her two additional sons by Euroswydd: Nisien, a good man, and Efnysien ...

, daughter of

Beli Mawr Beli Mawr ("Beli the Great") 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 husb ...

. In the Second Branch of the ''

Mabinogi 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 ...

'' Penarddun is the wife of

Llŷr Llŷr ( cy, Llŷr Llediaith (); ''Lleddiaith'' meaning "half-speech" or "half-language") is a figure in Welsh mythology, probably originally a deity, probably derived from Irish Ler ("the Sea"), father of '' Manannán mac Lir''. Other than his p ...

, by whom her children are Brân,

Branwen Branwen, Daughter of Llŷr is a major character in the Second Branch of the ''Mabinogi'', which is sometimes called the "Mabinogi of Branwen" after her. Branwen is a daughter of Llŷr and Penarddun. She is married to Matholwch, King of Ireland, ...

, and

Manawydan Manawydan fab Llŷr is a figure of Welsh mythology, the son of Llŷr and the brother of Brân the Blessed and Brânwen. The first element in his name is cognate with the stem of the name of the Irish sea god Manannán mac Lir, and likely originate ...

. The circumstances of Nisien and Efnysien's conception are not described, but one of the

Welsh Triads The Welsh Triads ( cy, Trioedd Ynys Prydein, "Triads of the Island of Britain") are a group of related texts in medieval manuscripts which preserve fragments of Welsh folklore, mythology and traditional history in groups of three. The triad is a ...

mentions that Euroswydd had held Llŷr captive as one of the Three Exalted Prisoners of the Island of Britain; it is likely the traditions are connected.

References

*Rachel Bromwich (editor and translator), ''Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Welsh Triads'', Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1978. *Jeffrey Gantz (translator), ''The Mabinogion'', London and New York: Penguin Books, 1976. *Ifans, Dafydd & Rhiannon, ''Y Mabinogion'' (Gomer 1980) {{Celtic mythology (Welsh) Welsh mythology