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Gwenhwyfar
Gwenhwyfar, Gwenhwyvar [W gwên, white, fair; (g)wyf, smooth, yielding (?)]. Welsh counterpart and possible antecedent of Guinevere, wife of King Arthur. Geoffrey of Monmouth (12th cent.) reported that she was of noble Roman stock and had been brought up in a Cornish court. Giraldus Cambrensis claimed to have seen Arthur and Gwenhwyfar's bodies exhumed in 1192 with the notation that she was a second wife. Like Guinevere, she is an adulteress, but with Medrod, the counterpart of Mo(r)dred, after which she becomes a nun. Several commentators have suggested that the name Gwenhwyfar is philologically related to the Irish Finnabair.
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Cite this article
JAMES MacKILLOP. "Gwenhwyfar." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES MacKILLOP. "Gwenhwyfar." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-Gwenhwyfar.html JAMES MacKILLOP. "Gwenhwyfar." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-Gwenhwyfar.html |
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Gwenhwyfar
Gwenhwyfar ♀ (Welsh) Traditional: from gwen, the feminine form of gwyn ‘white, fair; blessed, holy’ + hwyfar ‘smooth, soft’. See also Jennifer, Guinevere.
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Cite this article
PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Gwenhwyfar." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Gwenhwyfar." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Gwenhwyfar.html PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Gwenhwyfar." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Gwenhwyfar.html |
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