In ''Pwyll Pendefig Dyfed'', the
first branch of the ''Mabinogi'', Hefeydd Hen (or Heyfedd the Old) was the father of
Rhiannon
Rhiannon is a major figure in the Mabinogi, the medieval Welsh story collection. She appears mainly in the First Branch of the Mabinogi, and again in the Third Branch. She is a strong-minded Otherworld woman, who chooses Pwyll, prince of Dyfe ...
.
Hefeydd Hen, according to legend, tried to force his daughter Rhiannon to be married against her will to
Gwawl
In Welsh mythology, Gwawl (Gwawl fab Clud) was the son of Clud, and tricks Pwyll into promising him Rhiannon. She decides to marry Pwyll instead. Nothing is known of his father Clud.
Gwawl, son of Clud, is initially mentioned in the first of the F ...
. She met
Pwyll
Pwyll Pen Annwn () is a prominent figure in Welsh mythology and literature, the lord of Dyfed, husband of Rhiannon and father of the hero Pryderi. Meaning ''wisdom" he is the eponymous hero of Pwyll Pendefig Dyfed, the first branch of the Four ...
of
Dyfed
Dyfed () is a preserved county in southwestern Wales. It is a mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel.
Between 1974 and 1996, Dyfed was also the name of the area's county council and the name remains in use f ...
and fell in love, planning to marry in one year and one day at his court on his estate. In accordance with the plan, they tried to marry but were thwarted by Clud and his son Gwawl. They put the wedding off for a further year. Pwyll and Rhiannon then went to Hefeydd's court; he dressed as a beggar, asking for food. By a trick, Gwawl was captured and killed and Hefeydd was forced to allow Rhiannon to marry Pwyll in his court and then let her to return to
Arberth.
Heyfedd Hir (''Hir'' meaning "long" in Welsh, but also referring to distance in time
), is mentioned as one of the Seven Knights left to take charge of the Island of Britain when Bran went to rescue his sister in the
second branch of the Mabinogi.
He is also to be found in the 6th century epic poem ''
Y Gododdin
''Y Gododdin'' () is a medieval Welsh poem consisting of a series of elegies to the men of the Brittonic kingdom of Gododdin and its allies who, according to the conventional interpretation, died fighting the Angles of Deira and Bernicia a ...
'' where the word "''Hir''" is used to describe no less than seven individuals.
References
Welsh mythology
Mabinogion
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