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Blodeuwedd
A Cymric Goddess/Heroine: Flower Aspect
Blodeuwedd in a Cymric (Welsh) goddess an heroine known from the Mabiniogi of Math mab Mathonwy where she was created from flowers as a wife to Lleu. But she was unfaithful and plotted her husband's death. As a punishment the wizard Gwydion turned her into an owl, forever fated to shun the light of day. |
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Cym: Flower-face, Flower Aspect
A Cymric goddess, she was created from flowers by Gwydion as a wife for Lleu Llaw Gyffes who, because of a dihenydd (magical fate) placed upon him by his mother, Arianrhod could not take a human wife.
However, Blodeuwedd had an affair with Goronwy Bebyr and egged-on by her lover determined the magical way in which Lleu could be killed. She led him to his death and, mortally wounded, Lleu escaped to a magical oak in the form of an eagle.
Gwydion managed to transmute Lleu back into human form and he punished Blodeuwedd by turning her into an owl, forever to dwell in the night-time, shunned by all the other birds.
Blodeuwedd was created from nine types of flowers: oak, meadowsweet, broom, cockle, bean, nettle, chestnut, primrose, and hawthorn; thus she is in and of herself magical, being a nine-fold maiden. By definition she is a spring goddess, the maiden aspect of the Triple Goddess.
It should also be noted that in Cymric folklore the owl is known as aderyn y corff (the corpse bird) and is supposed to be a bird of ill omen, denoting the approach of death. The part Blodeuwedd palys in the attempted murder of Lleu and her conversion into an owl may indicate that she was a goddess of death and the otherworld.
For a complete translation of the Mabinogi of Math mab Mathonwy, where this tale is found, see my English version of Math son of Mathonwy.
If you would like to try the foods of the time of the ancient Celts, then why not have a look at the ancient recipes section of this site. For the foods of the time when some of these tales were written down, take a look at the Medieval recipes section of the site and, in particular, the recipes from The Forme of Cury.
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