Gronw Pebr () "Gronw the Radiant" is a

warrior A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have be ...

, hunter and antagonist in Welsh tradition, appearing primarily in the fourth branch of the ''Mabinogi'' as the lord of Penllyn, the lover of

Blodeuwedd Blodeuwedd (), (Welsh "Flower-Faced", a composite name from ''blodau'' "flowers" + ''gwedd'' "face"), is the wife of Lleu Llaw Gyffes in Welsh mythology. She was made from the flowers of broom, meadowsweet and oak by the magicians Math and Gwy ...

and the murderer of

Lleu Llaw Gyffes Lleu Llaw Gyffes (, sometimes spelled Llew Llaw Gyffes) is a hero of Welsh mythology. He appears most prominently in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, the tale of Math fab Mathonwy, which tells the tale of his birth, his marriage, his death, his ...

. He is also mentioned in 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 ...

and in the medieval poem ''

Cad Goddeu ''Cad Goddeu'' ( wlm, Kat Godeu, en, The Battle of the Trees) is a medieval Welsh poem preserved in the 14th-century manuscript known as the Book of Taliesin. The poem refers to a traditional story in which the legendary enchanter Gwydion animate ...

''.

Role in Welsh tradition

has been placed under a

tynged A ''tynged'' ("doom, fate, destiny", ''plural tynghedau'') is the Welsh equivalent of the Irish ''geis'', similar to being under a vow, curse or spell. The most famous example is that placed by Arianrhod on her son Lleu Llaw Gyffes in the fourth ...

that he would never gain a wife of human birth. His uncle, the

trickster In mythology and the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a character in a story ( god, goddess, spirit, human or anthropomorphisation) who exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherwi ...

and magician

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 ...

joins forces with the Venedotian king

Math fab Mathonwy In Welsh mythology, Math fab Mathonwy (), also called Math ap Mathonwy (Math, son of Mathonwy) was a king of Gwynedd who needed to rest his feet in the lap of a virgin unless he was at war, or he would die. The story of Math is the fourth of the ...

to create a woman for Lleu, out of the flowers of

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

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. I ...

and meadowsweet, naming her

. One day, while Lleu is away on business, Gronw Pebr, lord of Penllyn, comes across Lleu's stronghold whilst out hunting and falls in love with Blodeuwedd. They conspire to kill Lleu so that they can be together. Lleu can only be killed if certain conditions are met, and Blodeuwedd tricks him into revealing what these conditions are. He can not be killed indoors or outdoors, on horseback or on foot. Consequently, he can only be killed whilst he has one foot on a

cauldron A cauldron (or caldron) is a large pot ( kettle) for cooking or boiling over an open fire, with a lid and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger and/or integral handles or feet. There is a rich history of cauldron lore in religion, mythology, and ...

and one on a goat (the cauldron being placed on a stream bank but under a roof) and by someone using a spear forged over a year and only when people are attending mass. Blodeuwedd coaxes the secret from Lleu and a year later, Gronw ambushes the prince. He flings the spear at Lleu, who disappears in the form of an

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

. Gronw and Blodeuwedd now assume power, but on hearing the news of his nephew Gwydion sets out to find and cure him. He finds Lleu in the form of a wounded

perched in an

tree and restores him to human form. Together they overcome Gronw, and make him stand in the same position that Lleu occupied when Gronw flung the spear at him. Gronw is allowed to hold a stone as a shield, but Lleu throws the spear so hard that it penetrates the stone and kills Gronw. Gwydion curses Blodeuwedd, turning her into an

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

References

* Ifans, Dafydd & Rhiannon, ''Y Mabinogion'' (Gomer 1980) {{Celtic mythology (Welsh) Welsh mythology