Afallach (
Old Welsh Aballac) is a man's name found in several medieval Welsh genealogies, where he is made the son 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 h ...
. According to a medieval Welsh
triad, Afallach was the father of the goddess
Modron
Modron ("mother") is a figure in Welsh tradition, known as the mother of the hero Mabon ap Modron. Both characters may have derived from earlier divine figures, in her case the Gaulish goddess Matrona. She may have been a prototype for Morgan le ...
. The Welsh redactions of
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth ( la, Galfridus Monemutensis, Galfridus Arturus, cy, Gruffudd ap Arthur, Sieffre o Fynwy; 1095 – 1155) was a British cleric from Monmouth, Wales and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography ...
's ''
Historia Regum Britanniae
''Historia regum Britanniae'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called ''De gestis Britonum'' (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. I ...
'',
Brut y Brenhinedd
''Brut y Brenhinedd'' ("Chronicle of the Kings") is a collection of variant Middle Welsh versions of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Latin ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. About 60 versions survive, with the earliest dating to the mid-13th century. Adaptat ...
, associate him with Ynys Afallach, which is substituted as the Welsh name for Geoffrey's ''Insula Avalonsis'' (Island of
Avalon
Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...
), but this is fanciful medieval etymology and it is more likely his name derives from 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 (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
word ''afall'' "apple tree" (modern Welsh ''afal'' "apple", afallen "apple tree"
Bernhard Maier
Bernhard Maier (born 1963 in Oberkirch (Baden), Oberkirch, Baden) is a German professor of religious studies, who publishes mainly on Celtic studies, Celtic culture and religion.
Maier studied comparative religion, comparative linguistics, Celtic ...
, ''Dictionary of Celtic Religion and Culture'' (trans. Cyril Edwards, The Boydell Press, 1997). cf.
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-Celti ...
*''aballo-'' "apple"
University of Wales
, latin_name =
, image =
, caption = Coat of Arms
, motto = cy, Goreu Awen Gwirionedd
, mottoeng = The Best Inspiration is Truth
, established =
,
, type = Confederal, non-member ...
Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. (See als
this page
for background and disclaimers.) Cf. also th
University of Leiden database
.); from which, granted, the name of Avalon is also often thought to derive, so that the meaning of "Afallach" is associated but not necessarily directly. In the tale of Urien and Modron he is referred to by his daughter as the King of Annwn, therefore he may originally been cognate with Arawn or Gwyn or perhaps all three were once regional variants of the same Deity.
References
Pen. 147. trans. Rachel Bromwich. ''Trioedd Ynys Prydein''. Cardiff: UWP, 1963. p.459.
Welsh mythology
{{Celt-myth-stub