So What's the Deal with Llew? Part Three: The Death of Llew

For a while, Llew and Blodeuwedd live happily. But she eventually grows and learns, and realizes that she's been forced into a marriage that was not of her choice. Then, one day Llew goes off to visit his uncle Math, leaving Blodeuwedd alone in the castle.

By chance, a neighboring lord, Gronw Pebyr happens to be on a stag hunt, and with the hour growing late, asks for hospitality from Blodeuwedd. The two immediately fall in love, but realize the only way they can be together is to murder Llew.

There's a problem with this, however. As the son of a goddess and the nephew of two powerful magicians, Llew could be killed neither by day nor by night, indoors or out of doors, clothed or naked, riding or walking, nor by any lawfully made weapon.

Eventually Blodeuwedd, pretending fear for her husband's safety, worms the secret of the way to kill Llew. He may only be killed at twilight (or on the Summer Solstice) when on the bank of a river with one foot on the back of a he-goat (or a buck) and the other on the rim of a bath, under the thatch canopy of an unfinished house. (Sure, that's not at all complex!)

It takes Gronw a year and a day, working only on Sundays (though the Sunday bit was probably put in by later Christians telling the story) to create the spear.

Once again, faking concern, Bloduwedd asks Llew to show her the exact circumstances so that she won't have to worry. They set up this complex arrangement and with Llew balancing like this, Gronw leaps from the woods and stabs him. Llew turns into an eagle and flies away.

Understandably furious with his creation, Gwydion turns Blodeuwedd into an owl. He searches for Llew but cannot find him until he hears of a sow (the goddess Cerridwen) who has been eating rotting flesh dropped by an eagle sitting high in a tree. Being immortal, Llew still cannot merely die, but the spear in his flesh keeps festering. With a powerful magickal song, Gwydion persuades Llew to come down from the tree, pulls the spear from his flesh and restores him to life and health.

And now for the fun stuff as we get to tear this myth apart to understand it.

So What's the Deal with Llew? Part Two: Llew's Dooms

Continuing our story, as told by the The Mabinogion, Arianrhod is so incensed at Gwydion's treatment of her that she lays a "tynghed" upon the child that will one day be called Llew.  (A tynghed (tynghedau is the plural) is a "fate, doom or destiny".) The first is that he shall have no name save that which she gives him.

Remember however, that Gwydion is both a magician and a trickster. He disguises himself and the boy and goes to Arianrhod's castle. While they are there, Arianrhod witnesses the boy pick up a stone and strike a wren between "the tendon and bone of its leg". If you've ever seen a wren, they're pretty tiny, so this was a rather amazing shot.

Arianrhod says something to the effect of "what a fair little sure-shot!" (I've also seen "fair" translated as "golden" or "lion" and "sure-shot" translated as "skillful hand". One website offers the possible translation of "flowing vigor".) Inadvertently in saying so, she gives the boy a name and he becomes Llew Law Gyffes. Gwydion, of course, can't help but reveal himself and gloat, whereupon Arianrhod lays a second doom on Llew. This time she says that he will bear no arms (that's weapons, folks) unless she gives them to him.

Of course Gwydion isn't going to leave that one alone either.  He disguises himself and Llew once again and they go back to Arianrhod's castle. This time Gwydion creates an illusion of an army coming to attack the castle. Having few warriors there to defend the place, Arianrhod runs into the storeroom and grabs a spear and some other weapons and tosses them to Gwydion and Llew, asking that they defend the castle.

Thrilled with himself, Gwydion again reveals himself, as well as the fact that Arianrhod has by her own hands given the boy weapons. Arianrhod lays a third doom on Llew. This one says he shall have no wife of any mortal race upon this earth.

Here the trickster begins to trick himself. Had Gwydion left the whole thing happily alone, Llew would probably have been fine. Instead, Gwydion decides to create a golem, an artificial woman made of flowers. Blodeuwedd (or "Flower Face") is made of nine flowers: oak, meadowsweet, broom, cockle (burdock) , bean, nettle, chestnut, primrose, and hawthorn.

Unfortunately, Blodeuwedd becomes Llew's final doom - and one that Arianrhod did not set.

So What's the Deal with Llew? Part One: Llew's Birth Myth

Arianrhod's lone surviving myth, and the one which has caused confusion regarding her for scholars and pagans alike over many years, comes to us from The Mabinogion.

First, here's an overview of the myth:

The king of Caer Dathyl was Math, a renowned magician and uncle to Arianrhod. Math had a "footholder" a beautiful maiden named Goewin. Basically, the "footholder's" job was to rule the Kingdom in time of peace. The catch was that the footholder had to be a virgin.

Arianrhod had two brothers, Gwydion and Gilvaethwy (yes, I know that second one is a mess of consonants, welcome to Welsh myth).  Both were mischief making cut-ups, especially Gwydion, who was also Math's apprentice.

Unfortunately, Gilvaethwy fell in lust with Goewin and decided he had to have her. Gwyidion decided to help. Knowing that Goewin was in constant attendance on Math, and the only way to get rid of Math was to have him go to war, Gwydion stole some of the pigs belonging to the ruler of a neighboring kingdom, King Pryderi. Pryderi was angry (these were special magickal underworld pigs) and he and Math went to war.

Meanwhile, Gilvaethwy waltzed into his uncle's castle, bade all the attendants to leave except Goewin and raped the maiden right on his uncle's couch.

Well, when Math returned, he was none too happy. He realized that the war had been started by Gwydion's magick, that hundreds of good men - including Pryderi himself - had been killed, and further, he learned of Goewin's rape. Punishment was inevitable. Pulling out his magickal wand, Math touched Gwydion and Gilvaethwy into a mated pair of deer and sent them out into the woods for a year and a day.

A year later the two of them returned, and with them, a young fawn which Math named Hydwyn. Obviously feeling that the young men hadn't been punished enough yet, Math touched them with his wand again and turned them into wild hogs, and again set them lose for a year and a day. This time, on their return they had a young hog, which Math named Hychdwyn.

Naturally the punishment wasn't over (because everything happens in threes, right?) and Math turned his nephews into a pair of wolves. A year and a day later they returned, this time with a wolf cub, which Math named Bleiddwn.

At this point Math decided they'd had enough of this sort of punishment and turned them back into humans. During the intervening time, Math had married Goewin but his kingship was in danger because he received his sovereignty through her, and now that she was no longer virgin, this was in question. Naturally, it was Gwydion and Gilvaethwy's job to find a replacement footholder.

So Arianrhod is summoned to Caer Daethyl and told that she's going to be the new footholder. Math asks her if she is a maiden and Arianrhod says, "I know not but that I am." Now this is one of the pertinent points that has been mucked up and confused over the years, so we'll get in depth regarding that in a later post.

Math (obviously not trusting the brothers - would you?) asks Arianrhod to step over his wand to prove her maidenhood. She does so and immediately gives birth to two sons. Dylan scampers off into the waves (becoming a god of the Sea) and the other was an unformed blob. Arianrhod was horrified (wouldn't you be?) and ticked off and leaves, and Gwydion takes the blob/baby and puts him in a chest (the world's first incubator) and adopts him.