|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
Ceridwen
Ceridwen, Cerridwen, Caridwen, Keridwen, Kyrridwen [W gwen, white, blessed (?)]. A shape-shifting keeper of a cauldron of wisdom (called Amen) at the bottom of Bala Lake (or Llyn Tegid) in north Wales. Her husband was Tegid Foel [W, the bald], and her children included the beautiful Creirwy and the odiously ugly Morfran (also called Afagddu). When three magical drops from the cauldron intended for Morfran fell instead on Gwion Bach, giving him unique wisdom and insight, she pursued him. Both pursued and pursued changed shapes, Gwion Bach into a hare, Ceridwen into a greyhound, etc. Eventually Gwion Bach turned into a grain of wheat and Ceridwen swallowed him, becoming pregnant as a result. Nine months later the child born to her was Taliesin. Ceridwen is often perceived as a witch or an unpleasant hag. See also CAILLEACH BHÉIRRE; CAITLÍN; SEAN-BHEAN BHOCHT; the Breton story of Koadalan may present parallels.
Bibliography See Ystoria Taliesin (=Hanes Taliesin), ed. Patrick K. Ford (Cardiff, 1992). |
|
|
Cite this article
JAMES MacKILLOP. "Ceridwen." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES MacKILLOP. "Ceridwen." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-Ceridwen.html JAMES MacKILLOP. "Ceridwen." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-Ceridwen.html |
|
Ceridwen
Ceridwen ♀ (Welsh) Apparently derived from cerdd ‘poetry’ + (g)wen, feminine of gwyn ‘white, fair; blessed, holy’. In Celtic folklore it is the name of the goddess of poetic inspiration and the mother of the 6th-century Welsh hero Taliesin.
Also: Cerridwyn. |
|
|
Cite this article
PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Ceridwen." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Ceridwen." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Ceridwen.html PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Ceridwen." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Ceridwen.html |
|
Ceridwen
Ceridwen in Welsh mythology, the goddess of poetic inspiration, an enchantress said to live beneath a lake; her magic cauldron conferred the gift of second sight.
|
|
|
Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Ceridwen." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Ceridwen." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Ceridwen.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Ceridwen." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Ceridwen.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
