Math ap Mathonwy
Encyclopedia
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 book of The Four Branches of the Mabinogi.
had fallen in love with Goewin
, Math's footholder. The magician Gwydion
(Gilfaethwy's brother), devised a plan to make Goewin available. Gwydion told his uncle about an animal that was new to Wales, called pigs, and how he could get them from their owner, Pryderi
of Dyfed
. He took a band of men, including his brother, to Ceredigion
, where they disguised themselves as bard
s to gain audience with King Pryderi.
Gwydion was a skilled cyfarwydd (storyteller) and regaled the court with his tales. Having charmed the king, he offered to trade the pigs for some horses and dogs, which he had conjured through magic. Pryderi agreed to the trade and Gwydion and his men took the pigs back home to Gwynedd
, but his trickery was revealed and Pryderi waged war against Gwynedd. While Math went to battle, Gilfaethwy raped Goewin.
The war ended when Gwydion killed Pryderi in single combat. Upon his return to his castle, King Math went to rest his feet in Goewin's lap, but could not, as she was no longer a virgin. He took her as his wife to save her honor, and then as punishment, banished his nephews, turning them into a breeding pair of deer for a year. He then turned them into wild boars for the next year and wolves the year after that. They had three children over the three years: Hyddwn
, Hychddwn
, and Bleiddwn
.
. However, Arianrhod was not a virgin and when asked to step over Math's rod in order to prove her virginity she immediately gave birth to a son. Abandoning the child she fled in shame, letting drop a "lump of flesh" which was born away by Gwydion and concealed in a chest. When Gwydion later opens the chest he discovered the lump of flesh to be a second child.
Meanwhile the firstborn son of Arianrhod was acknowledged by his great uncle Math and given the name Dylan upon baptism. However, as soon as Dylan came in contact with his baptismal waters, he plunged into the sea and took on characteristics of a sea creature, moving through the seawater as perfectly as any fish, thus earning his epithet, Eil Ton ‘the son of the wave’:
The unnamed second child grew precociously and he and Gwydion grew very attached to one another. After four years Gwydion took the boy to see his mother, who refused to recognise him out of shame and anger that Gwydion should have nurtured the boy, and placed a tynged
on him that he should have no name unless she gave it to him. To trick her into naming him, Gwydion disguised himself and the boy as shoemakers and as they were making shoes for her, the boy threw a stone at a bird and killed it. Arianrhod declared "The fair one struck with a deft hand", and thus he was named Lleu Llaw Gyffes
("Fair-Haired One of the Skillful Hand").
His trick revealed, Arianrhod placed a tynged on the boy again that he would not take up arms until she gave them to him. Time passed and Lleu grew big and strong. Again, Gwydion disguised his nephew and himself, this time as bards, and like he did to King Pryderi, entertained Arianrhod's court with stories. In the morning, Gwydion deceived Arianrhod to believe that her estate was under attack. When she asked for his advice, he bade her gird a sword on Lleu Llaw Gyffes, whom he said was a skilful fighter. No sooner had she done so, than Gwydion revealed the truth.
Furious at being tricked again, Arianrhod placed a tynged on her son once more, that he would never have a human wife. By this time, Math had come to sympathize with Gwydion. Together, the Wizards created a woman from the flowers of the oak, of broom and of meadowsweet and brought her to life, giving her the name Blodeuwedd
("Flower Face").
and the other on a bath of water, underneath a canopy, using a spear that had been made over the course of a year only on Sundays. She told this to Gronw and he set out to make the spear.
A year later, she persuaded Lleu to demonstrate this odd position where he might be killed. Suspecting nothing, he did so. Gronw, who had been waiting in ambush, threw the spear he had made at him. However, rather than dying outright Lleu turned into an eagle
and flew away wounded. Gronw then took Blodeuedd and Lleu's land. Gwydion went searching for his nephew and, by following a pig, found him (still an eagle) in a very bad state at the top of an oak tree by a lake. He called him down from the tree with three stanzas of poetry called englyn Gwydion, transformed him back into a man and with Math nursed him back to health. Then Lleu sought revenge on Gronw and his wife.
Blodeuwedd heard of this and fled, taking her maidens with her, but they were so frightened, that they ended up walking backwards to make sure nobody attacked them from behind. Unfortunately, they ended up falling into a lake, with only Blodeuwedd surviving. Gwydion captured her and instead of killing her, turned her into an owl
.
Gronw offered Lleu land or money as payment, but Lleu would only accept one resolution: that he throw a spear at Gronw in the same way that he had been attacked. Gronw accepted, but asked that a large stone be placed between him and Lleu. Nevertheless, Lleu threw the spear right through the stone and killed Gronw. After this he took back his lands and later succeeded Math as king of Gwynedd.
Welsh mythology
Welsh mythology, the remnants of the mythology of the pre-Christian Britons, has come down to us in much altered form in medieval Welsh manuscripts such as the Red Book of Hergest, the White Book of Rhydderch, the Book of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin....
, Math fab Mathonwy, also called Math ap Mathonwy (Math, son of Mathonwy) was a king of Gwynedd
Kingdom of Gwynedd
Gwynedd was one petty kingdom of several Welsh successor states which emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, and later evolved into a principality during the High Middle Ages. It was based on the former Brythonic tribal lands of the Ordovices, Gangani, and the...
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 book of The Four Branches of the Mabinogi.
Math is tricked by his nephews
Math's nephew GilfaethwyGilfaethwy
In Welsh mythology, Gilfaethwy was a son of the goddess Dôn and brother of Gwydion and Arianrhod in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi.His uncle Math ap Mathonwy, king of Gwynedd, must keep his feet in the lap of a young virgin at all times unless he is going to war...
had fallen in love with Goewin
Goewin
Goewin is a figure in Welsh mythology, where she has a small but crucial role in the fourth branch of the Mabinogi, named after Math fab Mathonwy...
, Math's footholder. The magician Gwydion
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...
(Gilfaethwy's brother), devised a plan to make Goewin available. Gwydion told his uncle about an animal that was new to Wales, called pigs, and how he could get them from their owner, Pryderi
Pryderi
Pryderi fab Pwyll is a prominent figure in Welsh mythology, the son of Pwyll and Rhiannon, and king of Dyfed following his father's death. He is the only character to appear in all Four Branches of the Mabinogi, although the size of his role varies from tale to tale...
of Dyfed
Dyfed
Dyfed is a preserved county of Wales. It was created on 1 April 1974 under the terms of the Local Government Act 1972, and covered approximately the same geographic extent as the ancient Principality of Deheubarth, although excluding the Gower Peninsula and the area west of the River Tawe...
. He took a band of men, including his brother, to Ceredigion
Ceredigion
Ceredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...
, where they disguised themselves as bard
Bard
In medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.Originally a specific class of poet, contrasting with another class known as fili in Ireland...
s to gain audience with King Pryderi.
Gwydion was a skilled cyfarwydd (storyteller) and regaled the court with his tales. Having charmed the king, he offered to trade the pigs for some horses and dogs, which he had conjured through magic. Pryderi agreed to the trade and Gwydion and his men took the pigs back home to Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
, but his trickery was revealed and Pryderi waged war against Gwynedd. While Math went to battle, Gilfaethwy raped Goewin.
The war ended when Gwydion killed Pryderi in single combat. Upon his return to his castle, King Math went to rest his feet in Goewin's lap, but could not, as she was no longer a virgin. He took her as his wife to save her honor, and then as punishment, banished his nephews, turning them into a breeding pair of deer for a year. He then turned them into wild boars for the next year and wolves the year after that. They had three children over the three years: Hyddwn
Hyddwn
Hyddwn appears in the fourth of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi and is one of the three sons of Gwydion and Gilfaethwy. As punishment for the rape of Goewin, Math banished his nephews, turning them into a breeding pair of deer for a year, then wolves, and finally pigs. They had three children...
, Hychddwn
Hychddwn
Hychddwn Hir appears in the fourth of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi and is one of the three sons of Gwydion and Gilfaethwy. As punishment for the rape of Goewin, Math banished his nephews, turning them into a breeding pair of deer for a year, then wolves, and finally pigs...
, and Bleiddwn
Bleiddwn
Bleiddwn appears in the fourth of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi and is one of the three sons of Gwydion and Gilfaethwy. As punishment for the rape of Goewin, Math banished his nephews, turning them into a breeding pair of deer for a year, then wolves, and finally pigs. They had three children...
.
Gwydion and his nephew
After their punishment was over, Math asked their advice as to who should be his next virgin footholder. Gwydion suggested his sister, ArianrhodArianrhod
Arianrhod is a figure in Welsh mythology who plays her most important role in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi. She is the daughter of Dôn and the sister of Gwydion and Gilfaethwy; the Welsh Triads give her father as Beli Mawr...
. However, Arianrhod was not a virgin and when asked to step over Math's rod in order to prove her virginity she immediately gave birth to a son. Abandoning the child she fled in shame, letting drop a "lump of flesh" which was born away by Gwydion and concealed in a chest. When Gwydion later opens the chest he discovered the lump of flesh to be a second child.
Meanwhile the firstborn son of Arianrhod was acknowledged by his great uncle Math and given the name Dylan upon baptism. However, as soon as Dylan came in contact with his baptismal waters, he plunged into the sea and took on characteristics of a sea creature, moving through the seawater as perfectly as any fish, thus earning his epithet, Eil Ton ‘the son of the wave’:
‘So they had the boy baptized, and as they baptized him he plunged into the sea. And immediately when he was in the sea, he took its nature, and swam as well as the best fish that was therein.'
The unnamed second child grew precociously and he and Gwydion grew very attached to one another. After four years Gwydion took the boy to see his mother, who refused to recognise him out of shame and anger that Gwydion should have nurtured the boy, and placed a tynged
Tynged
A tynged is the Welsh equivalent of the Irish geis, the most famous of which were those that Arianrhod placed on her son Lleu Llaw Gyffes in the fourth of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, the Mabinogi of Math fab Mathonwy....
on him that he should have no name unless she gave it to him. To trick her into naming him, Gwydion disguised himself and the boy as shoemakers and as they were making shoes for her, the boy threw a stone at a bird and killed it. Arianrhod declared "The fair one struck with a deft hand", and thus he was named Lleu Llaw Gyffes
Lleu Llaw Gyffes
Lleu 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 resurrection and his accession to the throne of Gwynedd...
("Fair-Haired One of the Skillful Hand").
His trick revealed, Arianrhod placed a tynged on the boy again that he would not take up arms until she gave them to him. Time passed and Lleu grew big and strong. Again, Gwydion disguised his nephew and himself, this time as bards, and like he did to King Pryderi, entertained Arianrhod's court with stories. In the morning, Gwydion deceived Arianrhod to believe that her estate was under attack. When she asked for his advice, he bade her gird a sword on Lleu Llaw Gyffes, whom he said was a skilful fighter. No sooner had she done so, than Gwydion revealed the truth.
Furious at being tricked again, Arianrhod placed a tynged on her son once more, that he would never have a human wife. By this time, Math had come to sympathize with Gwydion. Together, the Wizards created a woman from the flowers of the oak, of broom and of meadowsweet and brought her to life, giving her the name Blodeuwedd
Blodeuwedd
Blodeuwedd or Blodeuedd, , is the wife of Lleu Llaw Gyffes in Welsh mythology, made from the flowers of broom, meadowsweet and the oak by the magicians Math and Gwydion, and is a central figure in the fourth branch of the Mabinogi.-Role in Welsh tradition:The...
("Flower Face").
Lleu and Blodeuwedd
One day, when Lleu was away from home visiting Math, Blodeuwedd saw a nobleman, named Gronw Pebr, passing and invited him to stay (for it would be rude not do so). They fell in love and concocted a plot to kill Lleu. Blodeuedd found out from Lleu how he could be killed — with one foot on the back of a buckDeer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
and the other on a bath of water, underneath a canopy, using a spear that had been made over the course of a year only on Sundays. She told this to Gronw and he set out to make the spear.
A year later, she persuaded Lleu to demonstrate this odd position where he might be killed. Suspecting nothing, he did so. Gronw, who had been waiting in ambush, threw the spear he had made at him. However, rather than dying outright Lleu turned into an eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
and flew away wounded. Gronw then took Blodeuedd and Lleu's land. Gwydion went searching for his nephew and, by following a pig, found him (still an eagle) in a very bad state at the top of an oak tree by a lake. He called him down from the tree with three stanzas of poetry called englyn Gwydion, transformed him back into a man and with Math nursed him back to health. Then Lleu sought revenge on Gronw and his wife.
Blodeuwedd heard of this and fled, taking her maidens with her, but they were so frightened, that they ended up walking backwards to make sure nobody attacked them from behind. Unfortunately, they ended up falling into a lake, with only Blodeuwedd surviving. Gwydion captured her and instead of killing her, turned her into an owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
.
Gronw offered Lleu land or money as payment, but Lleu would only accept one resolution: that he throw a spear at Gronw in the same way that he had been attacked. Gronw accepted, but asked that a large stone be placed between him and Lleu. Nevertheless, Lleu threw the spear right through the stone and killed Gronw. After this he took back his lands and later succeeded Math as king of Gwynedd.