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Branwen
A Cymric Goddess/Heroine of the Mabinogi: Blessed Raven
Branwen (Bendigaidd Frân; Bendigeidfran) is a Cymric (Welsh) deity and heroine known from the Mabinogi of Branwen Ferch Llŷr. Her name indicates that she was a Raven goddes, and thus a goddess of battle, though the epithet 'blessed' also indicates that she, like her brother, Brân might also have been a psychopomp (transporter of the spirits of the departed to the otherworld). |
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Cym: White Raven, Blessed Raven
A Cymric deity and sister of Brân and Manawyddan (the king of Ireland) and the second branch of the Mabinogi (Mabinogi Branwen ferch Llŷr) is dedicated to her. She is one of the Plant Llŷr and therefore of the Cymric race of giants and is mother to Gwern and the wife of Matholwch the king of Ireland.
Literally, Branwen's name means White Raven; though the epithet 'gwyn' is also used in the sense of blessed (as in Gwyn fab Nudd) so a more likely interpretation of Branwen as a goddess is 'Blessed Raven'.
Undoubtedly, like her brother Brân the crow or raven was Branwen's totemic emblem. As such she is undoubtedly a 'raven goddess'. Though essentially lost in the Cymric tradition the raven war goddess is well known in Irish mythos. Known collectively as the Mórigán they are the goddesses Badb, Macha, Nemain and the Mórigán. Triads of these goddesses represent the fates and they are often the inception of battles. They were offered the heads of the battle dead as a form of appeasement. The Mórigán are also intimately associated with water; where the Mórigán is deescribed as having intercourse with the Dagda astride water and Badb causes the waters to part so that an army may pass dry-shod. Returning to the Cymric tradition, there are a few oddities in the tale of Branwen. Firstly, there is how Brân obtains his cauldron of regeneration. Thsee are taken from Llasar Llaesgyfnewid and his wife Cymidei Cymeinfoll. Cymidei's name means 'Pregnant in Battle' and every six weeks she gives birth to a fully-formed and armed warrior. She is both larger than and dominant towards her husband whose only role seems to be as the guardian of the cauldron. Both also emerge from a lake — all of this together; the association with water, Cymidei as an obvious war goddess and her superiority over her husband makes her a raven warrior goddes in the same mould as the Irish Badb. However, might this not be an echo of an earlier tale where Branwen, herself, is the goddess? Certainly this would fit with Branwen having a raven association. There may be more confusions and confabulations in the tale in that Brân wades across the Irish sea to rescue his sister and he uses himself as a bridge so that his men can cross the rivers of Ireland. In earlier tradition it might have been Branwen herself who parted the Irish Sea and forded the rivers. Branwen is obviously the cause of the battle in the tale, though her role is diminished. It is also possible that her brother's severed head was originally presented as a gift for her keeping rather than Manawyddan's.
Taking all this together I think that there is some reason to re-appraise Branwen's role and to consider here a raven godess. In this respect she joins the Gaulish Nantosuelta and Cathubodua as a brythonic tripple raven-goddess. The same three-in-one deity that is referred to as the Lamiis Tribus (the triple Lamiae) in the Romano-Brython temple at Benwell.
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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