Branwen, Daughter of Llŷr is a major character in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi , which is sometimes called the "Mabinogi of Branwen" after her.
18-482: Branwen is a daughter of Llŷr and Penarddun . She is married to Matholwch , King of Ireland, but the marriage does not bring peace. The story opens with Branwen's brother, Brân the Blessed , giant and King of Britain , sitting on a rock by the sea at Harlech and seeing the vessels of Matholwch, King of Ireland , approaching. Matholwch has come to ask for the hand of Branwen in marriage. Brân agrees to this, and
36-754: A deity, probably derived from Irish Ler ('the Sea'), father of Manannán mac Lir . Other than his progeny and odd tidbits, his identity remains obscure. Llŷr appears as the father of Brân , Brânwen and Manawydan by Penarddun in the Branwen, Daughter of Llyr , the Second Branch of the Mabinogi . The Welsh Triads states that Llŷr was imprisoned by Euroswydd , and presumably, Penarddun subsequently married Euroswydd, giving birth by Euroswydd to her two younger sons, Nisien and Efnisien , as stated in
54-465: A feast is held to celebrate the betrothal. During the feast, Efnysien , a half-brother of Branwen and Brân, arrives at the stables and asks of the nature of the celebration. On being told, he is furious that his half sister has been given in marriage without his consent, and flying into a rage he mutilates the horses belonging to the Irish. Matholwch is deeply offended, but conciliated by Brân, who gives him
72-545: A magical cauldron which can bring the dead to life; he does not know that when the dead are brought back, they will be mute and deaf. When Matholwch returns to Ireland with his new bride, he consults with his nobles about the occurrences in the Isle of the Mighty. They are outraged and believe that Matholwch was not compensated enough for the mutilation of his horses. In order to redeem his honor, Matholwch banishes Branwen to work in
90-415: A river and destroys the bridges. However, Brân lays himself down over the river to serve as a bridge for his men, he said ("He would be a leader, let him be a bridge"). Matholwch, fearing war, tries to reconcile with Brân by building a house big enough for him to fit into in order to do him honour. Matholwch agrees to give the kingdom to Gwern , his son by Branwen, to pacify Brân. The Irish lords do not like
108-409: Is a small linear village , on Anglesey , North Wales about 10 miles (16 km) north east of Holyhead . The village takes its name from its parish church which is dedicated to the 2 Saints , St. Marcellus and Saint Marcellina . The church has medieval origins from the 12th century. It was wholly rebuilt in 1868 by a local Welsh architect, Goronwy Roberts. Llanddeusant is claimed to be
126-564: Is believed that if the story of Branwen is based on real events, these must have taken place during the Bedd Branwen Period of Bronze Age British history. In 1994 a feature film was released called Branwen . Ll%C5%B7r Llŷr ( Welsh : Llŷr Llediaith ( Welsh pronunciation: [ˈɬɨːr ˈɬɛðjaiθ] ); Lleddiaith meaning 'half-speech' or 'half-language' ) is a figure in Welsh mythology , probably originally
144-542: The Second Branch . William Shakespeare 's play King Lear is based on material taken secondhand (through Raphael Holinshed ) from Geoffrey of Monmouth 's mythical king King Leir , who has often been connected, but is likely unrelated, to Llŷr. (*) Unbordered names are figures not in Llŷr's line of descent, though perhaps members of the extended family. (*) This stemma is subject to further elaboration. If
162-462: The Beli above is to be equated with Beli Mawr then Caswallawn stands as Penarddun's sibling. But Bromwich observes that Penarddun should be emended to being the sister of Beli, which would bring consistency with statement elsewhere that Caswallawn and Brân are cousins. Llanddeusant, Anglesey Llanddeusant ( Welsh for 'the church of two saints'; Welsh pronunciation )
180-499: The attempt. The war is still extremely bloody, and leaves no survivors except for Branwen, Bran, and seven Welsh soldiers. They sail home to Wales. Upon reaching Wales, they realize that Bran has been hit by a poisoned arrow to his leg, and he dies. Branwen, overwhelmed with grief for everyone she has lost, dies of a broken heart. In the ensuing war, all the Irish are killed save for five pregnant women who lived in Wales who repopulate
198-462: The burial place of Branwen ( Mabinogion ). A cairn was discovered nearby and is now named 'Bedd Branwen' in Welsh. Branwen's grave is at the river (afon) Alaw. At Llanddeusant is Anglesey's and Wales' only working windmill , Llynnon Mill , opened in 1775 at a cost of £550 and renovated by the local council in 1986 and opened to the public. The mill was originally located there as it lies just to
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#1732772069351216-442: The fire. This causes chaos between the two countries, and they start fighting each other. The Irish forces at first appear to be losing, but by resurrecting their dead soldiers using the magical cauldron begin to win the battle. However, Efnisien sees what he has done, and regrets it. Disguised as a dead Irish soldier he is thrown into the magical cauldron, and pushes against its walls so that it breaks into four pieces. Efnisien dies in
234-528: The head of Brân in the White Mount. Legend said that as long as the head was there, no invasion would come over the sea to Britain. At Llanddeusant, Anglesey on the banks of the Alaw can be found the cairn called Bedd Branwen , her supposed grave. Now in ruins, it still has one standing stone . It was dug up in 1800, and again in the 1960s by Frances Lynch , who found several urns with human ashes. It
252-435: The idea, and many hide themselves in flour bags tied to the pillars of the huge, newly built house to attack the Welsh. Efnysien, inspecting the house prior to the arrival of Brân and his men, uncovers the men hidden in the bags and kills them all by crushing their heads one by one. At the subsequent feast to celebrate Gwern's investiture as King of Ireland, Efnysien, in an unprovoked moment of rage, throws his nephew Gwern into
270-513: The island, while only seven of the Welsh survive to return home with Branwen, taking with them the severed head of Bendigeidfran. On landing in Wales at Aber Alaw in Anglesey , Branwen dies of grief that so much destruction had been caused on her account, crying, Oi, a fab Duw! Gwae fi o'm genedigaeth. Da o ddwy ynys a ddiffeithwyd o'm hachos i! , "Oh Son of God, woe to me that I was born! Two fair islands have been laid waste because of me!" She
288-490: The kitchens. Branwen is treated cruelly by her husband Matholwch as punishment for Efnysien's mutilation of the horses, though not before she gives birth to an heir, Gwern . She tames a starling and sends it across the Irish Sea with a message to her brother and Brân brings a force from Wales to Ireland to rescue her. Some swineherds see the giant Brân wading the sea and report this to Matholwch, who retreats beyond
306-662: The north of the Afon Alaw , and a little west of Llyn Alaw . It also has the area's last working water mill, Melin Hywel. The co-educational village primary school, Ysgol Gynradd Llanddeusant closed in July 2011 after serving the village for 160 years. On 2 October 2013, the Isle of Anglesey Council planning committee granted permission for the council to demolish the school and build 8 houses. This Anglesey location article
324-585: Was buried beside the Afon Alaw . Brân had commanded his men to cut off his head and to "bear it even unto the White Mount, in London, and bury it there, with the face towards France." And so for seven years, his men spent feasting in Harlech, accompanied by three singing birds and Brân's head. After the seven years they go to Gwales in Penfro, where they remain for eighty years. Eventually, they go to London and bury
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