Mallt-y-Nos ''(Matilda of the Night)'', also known as the Night Mallt,
is a
crone
In folklore, a crone is an old woman who may be characterized as disagreeable, malicious, or sinister in manner, often with magical or supernatural associations that can make her either helpful or obstructive. The Crone is also an archetypal fig ...
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 Celti ...
who rides with
Arawn
In Welsh mythology, Arawn (; ) was the king of the otherworld realm of Annwn who appears prominently in the first branch of the Mabinogi, and alluded to in the fourth. In later tradition, the role of the king of Annwn was largely attributed to ...
and the
hound
A hound is a type of hunting dog used by hunters to track or chase prey.
Description
Hounds can be contrasted with gun dogs that assist hunters by identifying prey and/or recovering shot quarry. The hound breeds were the first hunting dogs. ...
s (
Cŵn Annwn
In Welsh mythology and folklore, Cŵn Annwn (, "hounds of Annwn"; singular Ci Annwn () were the spectral hounds of Annwn, the otherworld of Welsh myth. They were associated with a form of the Wild Hunt, presided over by either Arawn, king of Annwn ...
) of the
Wild Hunt
The Wild Hunt is a folklore motif (Motif E501 in Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature) that occurs in the folklore of various northern European cultures. Wild Hunts typically involve a chase led by a mythological figure escorted by ...
, chasing sorrowful, lost souls to
Annwn
Annwn, Annwfn, or Annwfyn (in Middle Welsh, ''Annwvn'', ''Annwyn'', ''Annwyfn'', ''Annwvyn'', or ''Annwfyn'') is the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn (or, in Arthurian literature, by Gwyn ap Nudd), it was essentially a world of de ...
. The Mallt-y-Nos drives the hounds onward with shrieks and wails, which some say are evil and malicious in nature.
Others say that she was once a beautiful but impious noblewoman who loved hunting so much that she said, "If there is no hunting in heaven, I would rather not go!" She is said to have regretted making this wish, and now cries out
in misery rather than joy as she hunts forever in the night sky.
References
External links
* {{cite book , title=The doom of Colyn Dolphyn: a poem, with notes illustrative of various traditions of Glamorganshire , last=Williams , first=Taliesin , year=1837 , publisher=Longman, Rees, Orme and co. , page
71€“73 , url=https://archive.org/details/doomcolyndolphy00willgoog , quote=Mallt-y-Nos. , access-date=October 10, 2010
Welsh mythology