samuel | welsh | welsh mythology, folklore and history
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I’ve had a few messages asking me to elaborate on my comic and I gotta say, I’m super honoured that people are enjoying my silly little drawings and want to know more!!
In short, Gwyn, Edern and Blodeuwedd are figures from medieval Welsh literature and folklore. I just think they’re neat 😌🌸
Gwyn
Warrior, Arthurian knight, fairy king and supernatural huntsman, Gwyn is associated with lonely places, like moorlands and mountaintops. He’s evasive, untrustworthy and, especially in earlier texts, has a pretty bad temper. In Culhwch and Olwen, he abducts the object of his affection, Creiddylad, right before her marriage. When her fiancé raises an army against him, Gwyn goes off the deep end a bit, raining violence down on his opponents and taking a bunch of them prisoner. He even tortures one guy into insanity by forcing the guy to eat his own dad's heart. Gwyn’s really caught the imagination of writers throughout time, and at least he seems to have chilled out somewhat over the centuries. For some reason, I like imagining him as tired and sort of past it as a mischief-maker.
Edern/Yder/Ider
Edern is a spirited, confident youth and, like his brother, is a knight of King Arthur. He’s slightly better at it, though. Less violence, more chivalry. Apparently a bit of a hunk too since, in the Romance of Yder, Guinevere admits that Edern would be her first choice if she ever remarried (and it seems Edern was Guinevere’s lover in some traditions). He’s also impatient and cocky, frequently rushing ahead into danger, which normally ends badly for him. In Geraint and Enid, he appears as the ill-mannered Knight of the Sparrowhawk. Despite boasting the title of jousting champion for two years running, he ends up getting beaten badly by Geraint and, begging for mercy, is forced to admit that he’s behaving like a little shit. I like imagining him as a dumbass younger brother.
Blodeuwedd
Blodeuwedd is an owl now, but she used to be a woman. When Lleu Llaw Gyffes was cursed to never have a human wife, his meddling uncle Gwydion magicked him one out of flowers. This flower lady was named Blodeuwedd. When she had an affair and, with her lover, tried to kill Lleu, Gwydion punished her by turning her into an owl, a creature reviled by humans and birds alike. But Blodeuwedd never asked to be a woman and she never asked to be an owl; I think it’s impossible not to feel compassion for her. There’s no real connection between her and Gwyn, but I enjoy imagining them as weird friends. After all, Gwyn’s pretty disliked and feared too.
A (Very, Very Short) Reading List
Here are some links if you want to learn more!
Firstly, I recommend reading Sioned Davies’ translation of The Mabinogion, which is a collection of eleven medieval Welsh stories.
The Mabinogion translated by Sioned Davies (2007)
But there are some free translations online too:
The Mabinogion translated by Charlotte Guest (1877)
In particular, these are the stories I mentioned above:
Culhwch and Olwen
Geraint son of Erbin
Math son of Mathonwy
And here's one of my favourites (not from the Mabinogion): the story of St Collen and Gwyn ap Nudd.
Thanks for reading!!
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The Magic of Camelot: A Medieval Soap Opera
by Christopher Varaste
Barbie® Bazaar - August 2000
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An illustrated edition of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, 2022
Moving concertina book with digital illustrations and gold leaf.
Another one of my book projects that i'm finally posting. While there are certainly things I would adjust now, under the time constraints of a uni project i'm very happy with this work. Also unfortunately there is one illustration you can't see with these photos, but i'll post the image later.
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gwyn and edern (and blodeuwedd)
i wanted to design a gwyn ap nudd that isn’t just herne the hunter 2.0. i like gwyn’s association with the mist and dark, lonely places. i think blodeuwedd would be his friend
i also like to imagine edern is an annoying little brother lol
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The Wrexham Wolf. This creature is from Welsh mythology, coming from tales of a beast attacking stagecoaches passing near Wrexham in the 1700s. Though some connect it to wolf attacks across all of North Wales- unclear if it was an unusually violent wolf or perhaps even a werewolf or gwyllgi!
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welsh mythology: coraniaid
coraniaid are characterized by a sense of hearing so acute that they can hear any word the wind touches, making action against them impossible.
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Illustration from Lady Charlotte Guest's The Mabinogion by Alan Lee (2001)
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For Dogust. The Cŵn Annwn, the red-eared white hounds of the Wild Hunt in Welsh mythology. Annwn, the Welsh Otherworld, is said to be either ruled by King Arawn (as cited in the Mabinogion, the earliest Welsh prose stories) or Gwyn ap Nudd (king of the Fair Folk in later medieval lore). Some say the hunt rides through the sky, chasing wandering spirits, others that their hunting grounds include the mountain of Cadair Idris, where hearing the baying of the hounds is a foretelling of death. "Cŵn" is plural for "hounds", the singular form is "Ci".
I'm sure they're good doggies who like ear skritches just like any other.
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— Blodeuwedd: Welsh Goddess of Seasonal Sovereignty
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