Celtic Folklore: Welsh and Manx (Volume 1 of 2)

by Sir John Rhys

CONTENTS

PAGE

[GEOGRAPHICAL LIST OF AUTHORITIES] xxv

[LIST OF BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES] xxxi

CHAPTER I

[Undine’s Kymric Sisters] 1

I.	[The legend of Ỻyn y Fan Fach]							2
II.	[The legend of Ỻyn y Forwyn]							23
III.	[Some Snowdon lake legends]							30
IV.	[The heir of Ystrad]							38
V.	[Ỻandegai and Ỻanỻechid]							50
VI.	[Mapes’ story of Ỻyn Syfađon]							70

CHAPTER II

[The Fairies’ Revenge] 75

I.	[Beđgelert and its environs]							75
II.	[The Pennant Valley]							107
III.	[Glasynys’ yarns]							109
IV.	[An apple story]							125
V.	[The Conwy afanc]							130
VI.	[The Berwyn and Aran Fawđwy]							135
VII.	[The hinterland of Aberdovey]							141
VIII.	[Some more Merioneth stories]							146
IX.	[The Children of Rhys Đwfn]							151
X.	[Southey and the Green Isles of the Sea]							169
XI.	[The curse of Pantannas]							173
XII.	[More fairy displeasure]							192

CHAPTER III

[Fairy Ways and Words] 197

I.	[The folklore of Nant Conwy]							197
II.	[Scenes of the Mabinogi of Math]							207
III.	[Celynnog Fawr and Ỻanaelhaearn]							214
IV.	[The blind man’s folklore]							219
V.	[The old saddler’s recollections]							222
VI.	[Traces of Tom Tit Tot]							226
VII.	[March and his horse’s ears]							231
VIII.	[The story of the Marchlyn Mawr]							234
IX.	[The fairy ring of Cae Ỻeidr Dyfrydog]							238
X.	[A Cambrian kelpie]							242
XI.	[Sundry traits of fairy character]							244
XII.	[Ynys Geinon and its fairy treasures]							251
XIII.	[The aged infant]							257
XIV.	[Fairy speech]							269

CHAPTER IV

[Manx Folklore] 284

	The fenodyree or Manx brownie							286
	The sleih beggey or littlepeople							289
	The butches or witches and thehare							293
	Charmers and their methods							296
	Comparisons from the ChannelIslands							301
	Magic and ancient modes ofthought							302
	The efficacy of fire to detect thewitch							304
	Burnt sacrifices							305
	Laa Boaldyn or May-day							308
	Laa Lhunys or the beginning ofharvest							312
	Laa Houney or Hollantide beginningthe year							315
	Sundry prognostications and thetime for them							317

CHAPTER V

[The Fenodyree and his Friends] 323

	Lincolnshire parallels							323
	The brownie of Blednoch andBwca’r Trwyn							325
	Prognostication parallels fromLincolnshire and Herefordshire							327
	The traffic in wind and theGallizenæ							330
	Wells with rags and pins							332
	St. Catherine’s hen pluckedat Colby							335
	The qualtagh or the first-foot andthe question of race							336
	Sundry instances of thingsunlucky							342
	Manx reserve and the belief in theEnemy of Souls							346
	The witch of Endor’sinfluence and the respectability of the charmer’s vocation							349
	Public penance enforced prettyrecently							350

CHAPTER VI

[The Folklore of the Wells] 354

	Rag wells in Wales							354
	The question of distinguishingbetween offerings and vehicles of disease							358
	Mr. Hartland’s decision							359
	The author’s view revised andillustrated							360
	T. E. Morris’ account of thepin well of Ỻanfaglan							362
	Other wishing and diviningwells							364
	The sacred fish of Ỻanberisand Ỻangybi							366
	Ffynnon Grassi producing theGlasfryn lake							367
	The Morgan of that lake and hisname							372
	Ffynnon Gywer producing BalaLake							376
	Bala and other towns doomed tosubmersion							377
	The legend of Ỻyn ỺechOwen							379
	The parallels of Lough Neagh andLough Ree							381
	Seithennin’s realmoverwhelmed by the sea							382
	Seithennin’s name and itscongeners							385
	Prof. Dawkins on the Lost Lands ofWales							388
	Certain Irish wells not visitedwith impunity							389
	The Lough Sheelin legend comparedwith that of Seithennin							393
	The priesthood of the wells of St.Elian and St. Teilo							395

CHAPTER VII

Triumphs of the Water-world 401

	The sea encroaching on the coast ofGlamorgan							402
	The Kenfig tale of crime andvengeance							403
	The Crymlyn story and its touch offascination							404
	Nennius’ description of OperLinn Liguan compared							406
	The vengeance legend of BalaLake							408
	Legends about the ỺynclysPool							410
	The fate of Tyno Helig							414
	The belief in cities submergedintact							415
	The phantom city and the bells ofAberdovey							418
	The ethics of the foregoing legendsdiscussed							419
	The limits of the delay ofpunishment							420
	Why the fairies delay theirvengeance							423
	Non-ethical legends of the eruptionof water							425
	Cutting the green sward a probableviolation of ancient tabu avenged by water divinities							427
	The lake afanc’s rôlein this connexion							428
	The pigmies of the water-world							432
	The Conwy afanc and the Highlandwater-horse							433
	The equine features of March andLabraid Lore							435
	Mider and the Mac Óc’swell horses							436
	The Gilla Decair’s horse andDu March Moro							437
	March ab Meirchion associated withMona							439
	The Welsh deluge Triads							440
	Names of the Dee and other riversin North Wales							441
	The Lydney god Nudons, Nuada, andỺuđ							445
	The fairies associated in variousways with water							449
	The cyhiraeth and the Welshbanshee							452
	Ancestress rather thanancestor							454

CHAPTER VIII

Welsh Cave Legends 456

	The question of classification							456
	The fairy cave of the ArennigFawr							456
	The cave of Mynyđ y Cnwc							457
	Waring’s version ofIolo’s legend of Craig y Đinas							458
	Craigfryn Hughes’Monmouthshire tale							462
	The story of the cave occupied byOwen Lawgoch							464
	How London Bridge came to figure inthat story							466
	Owen Lawgoch in Ogo’rĐinas							467
	Dinas Emrys with the treasurehidden by Merlin							469
	Snowdonian treasure reserved forthe Goidel							470
	Arthur’s death on the side ofSnowdon							473
	The graves of Arthur and Rhita							474
	Elis o’r Nant’s storyof Ỻanciau Eryri’s cave							476
	The top of Snowdon named afterRhita							477
	Drystan’s cairn							480
	The hairy man’s cave							481
	Returning heroes for comparisonwith Arthur and Owen Lawgoch							481
	The baledwyr’s Owen to returnas Henry the Ninth							484
	Owen a historical man =Froissart’s Yvain de Gales							487
	Froissart’s account of himand the questions it raises							488
	Owen ousting Arthur as acave-dweller							493
	Arthur previously supplanting adivinity of the class of the sleeping Cronus of Demetrius							493
	Arthur’s original sojournlocated in Faery							495

CHAPTER IX

Place-name Stories 498

	The Triad of the Swineherds of theIsle of Prydain							499
	The former importance ofswine’s flesh as food							501
	The Triad clause aboutCoỻ’s straying sow							503
	Coỻ’s wanderingsarranged to explain place-names							508
	The Kulhwch account ofArthur’s hunt of Twrch Trwyth in Ireland							509
	A parley with the boars							511
	The hunt resumed inPembrokeshire							512
	The boars reaching the LoughorValley							514
	Their separation							515
	One killed by the Men ofỺydaw in Ystrad Yw							516
	Ystrad Yw defined and its nameexplained							516
	Twrch Trwyth escaping to Cornwallafter an encounter in the estuary of the Severn							519
	The comb, razor, and shears ofTwrch Trwyth							519
	The name Twrch Trwyth							521
	Some of the names evidence ofGoidelic speech							523
	The story about Gwydion and hisswine compared							525
	Place-name explanations blurred oreffaced							526
	Enumeration of Arthur’slosses in the hunt							529
	The Men of Ỻydaw’sidentity and their Syfađon home							531
	Further traces of Goidelicnames							536
	A Twrch Trwyth incident mentionedby Nennius							537
	The place-name Carn Cabaldiscussed							538
	Duplicate names with the Goidelicform preferred in Wales							541
	The same phenomenon in theMabinogion							543
	The relation between the familiesof Ỻyr, Dôn, and Pwyỻ							548
	The elemental associations ofỺyr and Lir							549
	Matthew Arnold’s idea ofMedieval Welsh story							551
	Brân, the Tricephal, and theLetto-Slavic Triglaus							552
	Summary remarks as to the Goidelsin Wales							553

CHAPTER X

Difficulties of the Folklorist 556

	The terrors of superstition andmagic							557
	The folklorist’s activity nofostering of superstition							558
	Folklore a portion of history							558
	The difficulty of separating storyand history							559
	Arthur and the Snowdon Goidels asan illustration							559
	Rhita Gawr and the mad kings Nynioand Peibio							560
	Malory’s version and the nameRhita, Ritho, Ryons							562
	Snowdon stories about Owen Ymhacsenand Cai							564
	Goidelic topography inGwyneđ							566
	The Goidels becoming Compatriots orKymry							569
	The obscurity of certainsuperstitions a difficulty							571
	Difficulties arising from theirapparent absurdity illustrated by the March and Labraid stories							571
	Difficulties from careless recordillustrated by Howells’ Ychen Bannog							575
	Possible survival of traditionsabout the urus							579
	A brief review of the lake legendsand the iron tabu							581
	The scrappiness of the Welsh TomTit Tot stories							583
	The story of the widow ofKittlerumpit compared							585
	Items to explain the namesSìli Ffrit and Sìli go Dwt							590
	Bwca’r Trwyn both brownie andbogie in one							593
	That bwca a fairy in service, likethe Pennant nurse							597
	The question of fairies concealingtheir names							597
	Magic identifying the name with theperson							598
	Modryb Mari regarding cheese-bakingas disastrous to the flock							599
	Her story about the reaper’slittle black soul							601
	Gwenogvryn Evans’ lizardversion							603
	Diseases regarded as also materialentities							604
	The difficulty of realizingprimitive modes of thought							605

CHAPTER XI

Folklore Philosophy 607

	The soul as a pigmy or a lizard,and the word enaid							607
	A different notion in the Mabinogiof Math							608
	The belief in the persistence ofthe body through changes							610
	Shape-shifting and rebirth inGwion’s transformations							612
	Tuan mac Cairill, Amairgen, andTaliessin							615
	D’Arbois deJubainville’s view of Erigena’s teaching							617
	The druid master of his owntransformations							620
	Death not a matter of course somuch as of magic							620
	This incipient philosophy asGaulish druidism							622
	The Gauls not all of one and thesame beliefs							623
	The name and the man							624
	Enw, ‘name,’ and theidea of breathing							625
	The exact nature of the associationstill obscure							627
	The Celts not distinguishingbetween names and things							628
	A Celt’s name on him, not byhim or with him							629
	The druid’s method ofname-giving non-Aryan							631
	Magic requiring metricalformulæ							632
	The professional man’s curseproducing blisters							632
	A natural phenomenon arguing athin-skinned race							633
	Cursing of no avail without thevictim’s name							635
	Magic and kingship linked in thefemale line							636

CHAPTER XII

Race in Folklore and Myth 639

	Glottology and comparativemythology							640
	The question of the feminine inWelsh syntax							642
	The Irish goddess Danu and theWelsh Dôn							644
	Tynghed or destiny in the Kulhwchstory							646
	Traces of a Welsh confarreatio inthe same context							649
	Þokk in the Balder storycompared with tynghed							650
	Questions of mythology all theharder owing to race mixture							652
	Whether the picture ofCúchulainn in a rage be Aryan or not							653
	Cúchulainn exempt from theUltonian couvade							654
	Cúchulainn racially a Celtin a society reckoning descent by birth							656
	Cúchulainn as a rebirth ofLug paralleled in Lapland							657
	Doubtful origin of certain legendsabout Lug							658
	The historical element in fairystories and lake legends							659
	The notion of the fairies being allwomen							661
	An illustration from CentralAustralia							662
	Fairy counting by fives evidence ofa non-Celtic race							663
	The Basque numerals as anillustration							665
	Prof. Sayce on Irishmen andBerbers							665
	Dark-complexioned people and fairychangelings							666
	The blond fairies of the Pennantdistrict exceptional							668
	A summary of fairy life fromprevious chapters							668
	Sir John Wynne’s instance ofmen taken for fairies							670
	Some of the Brythonic names forfairies							671
	Dwarfs attached to the fortunes oftheir masters							672
	The question of fairycannibalism							673
	The fairy Corannians and thehistorical Coritani							674
	St. Guthlac at Croyland in theFens							676
	The Irish sid, side, and the WelshCaer Sidi							677
	The mound dwellings of Pechts andIrish fairies							679
	Prof. J. Morris Jones explainingthe non-Aryan syntax of neo-Celtic by means of Egyptian and Berber							681
	The Picts probably the race thatintroduced it							682
	The first pre-Celtic peoplehere							683
	Probably of the same race as theneolithic dwarfs of the Continent							683
	The other pre-Celtic race, thePicts and the people of the Mabinogion							684
	A word or two by way ofepilogue							686

Additions and Corrections 689

Index 695

We are too hasty when we set down our ancestors in the gross for fools, for the monstrous inconsistencies (as they seem to us) involved in their creed of witchcraft. In the relations of this visible world we find them to have been as rational, and shrewd to detect an historic anomaly, as ourselves. But when once the invisible world was supposed to be opened, and the lawless agency of bad spirits assumed, what measures of probability, of decency, of fitness, or proportion—of that which distinguishes the likely from the palpable absurd—could they have to guide them in the rejection or admission of any particular testimony? That maidens pined away, wasting inwardly as their waxen images consumed before a fire—that corn was lodged, and cattle lamed—that whirlwinds uptore in diabolic revelry the oaks of the forest—or that spits and kettles only danced a fearful-innocent vagary about some rustic’s kitchen when no wind was stirring—were all equally probable where no law of agency was understood …. There is no law to judge of the lawless, or canon by which a dream may be criticised.

Charles Lamb’s Essays of Elia.