Gofannon: a Cymric, Brythonic and Irish god (Great Smith)

Synonyms: Goibniu, Gobanos, Gobannus, Cobannus
Cym, Bryth, Goi: Great Smith

Gofannon fab Dôn is known from both the Mabinogi of Math fab Mathonwy and the tale of Culhwch ac Olwen. In Math mab Matholwch he receives little more than a passing mention for his role in the dath of his nephew. Dylan:

Thus was the boy baptized and as they performed the ceremony he sought-out the sea. And in that place when he plunged into the waters he assumed the nature of the nature of the sea and swam as well as the best fish that lived therein. For this reason was he called Dylan Eil Ton. Beneath him no wave ever broke and the blow that brought him death was struck by his uncle, Gofannon. And this was the third unfortunate blow. The tale is fragmentary and how the accident came about is unknown.

In Culhwch ac Olwen one of the tasks that Ysbaddaden Pencawr sets Culhwch the task of ploughing, clearing, seeding and harvesting a hill all in one day.

'Note, dost thou see that hill yonder?' Ysbaddaden enquired of Culhwch. 'I see it,' Culhwch responded.

'I require that it be rooted up and that the stumps be burned on the face of the land for manure. It should be ploughed in the morning and must ripen before the dew has left the land. From the harvested grain will I make food and lquor fit for thy wedding with my daughter. And all this should be accomplished within a day.'

'All this will be easy to accomplish, thou thou may think it is not,' responded Culhwch.

'Though this might be easy for thee, there is that which will not be so easy,' countered Yspydadden. 'For no husbandman can till or prepare this land, so wild is it, save Amaethon mab Dôn, and he will not come with thee of his own will nor can he be compelled to come.'

'All this will be easy to accomplish, thou thou may think it is not,' responded Culhwch once more.

'Though this might be easy for thee, there is that which will not be so easy. For Gofannon mab Dôn will need to come to the hill to eliminate the iron. He will not work for of his own good will except for a lawful king and you will not be able to compel him.'

This task is accomplished, but the action occurs off-stage as the main tale moves to the far more exciting pursuit for the Twrch Trwyth. There may be a lost fragment of the tale relating to how the hill was ploughed and seeded and this may have to do with Amaethon's power over the seasons.

Gofannon is part of the triad of elder gods, all the primary sons of Dôn who are Amaethon (Great Farmer), Gwydion (Great of Knowledge) and Gofannon whose name literally means 'Great Smith'. Though the goddess Dô had other children these were the primary thriad; the triad that denotes her as the mother goddess which is why her offspring are always denoted by the matronymic 'son/daughter of Dôn.

As the 'people of iron' it is only natural that the Celts would have a smith-god as one of their primary deities. Thus we have Gofannon for the insular Brythonic Celts, Goibniu for the Goidelic Celts, and Gobanos (who is known from an inscription found at Berne, Switzerland) for the continental Brythonic Celts. Indeed, the Smith-God was a particularly important member of the Celtic pantheon, as the smith was in Celtic society. For to be able to create strong shining metal from rough ore was seen as an almost magical ability.

A number of statues dedicated to Gobanos/Gobannus/Cobannus have been found in Gaul. He is mentioned in an inscription found at Fontenay-près-Vézelay, Yonne, France AVG[(VSTO) SAC(RVM) [DE]O COBANNO AI(...) AB(...) LEVG(...) (dedicated to Augustus and Deus Cobannus [...]) whereas the best-preserved dedication is found on the Berne zinc tablet which bears a Gaulish inscription written with Greek lettering: ΔΟΒΝΟΡΗΔΟ ΓΟΒΑΝΟ ΒΡΕΝΟΔΩΡ ΝΑΝΤΑΡΩΡ [DOBNOREDO GOBANO BRENODOR NANTAROR] (To Gobanos, world-traveller, from the people of the town of Brennos in the Aror [modern Aare] valley). The fact that the tablet is made of zinc is interesting in that it is not the modern metal, but rather an alloy containing the detritus remaining after iron smelting and as a white metal (sometimes known as 'mock silver') it may well have been deemed fit for dedication to the smith god.

There is a further inscription from Gaul, now of unknown source (AE 1994, 1915) which reads: Aug(usto) sacr(um) deo Cobanno L(ucius) Maccius Aeternus IIvir ex voto (To the Great and sacred god Cobannus, Lucius Maccius Aeternus, duovir, offers [this] in fulfilment of a vow). Cobannos is also known from a Gaulish cauldron inscribed: Deus Cobannos which was discovered in 1980 and illegally exported to the USA. This cauldron now resides in the Getty museum, California.

In Britain, the smith-god appears to have been particularly reverred in the North where a series of pots decorated with smithing tools have been discovered. They cover a wide area from Malton (Yorks) to Corbridge (Northumb). The Roman town at the latter has even produced a depiction of Gofannon himself (shown above). This shows a bearded man wearing a belted tunic and conical cap, he stands over his anvil with a pair of tongs in one hand and hammer in the other. However, there is only scant evidence for his worship in Southern Britain, from Colchester (Essex), Farley Heath (Surrey) and Barkway (Herts). A possible inscription to Gobannus is known from a stone fragment (RIB 45) found in the mid 1880s in the wall of Archbishop Cranmer's Palace at Ford, Canterbury. This is now held in the British museum and reads: ..GOBAN... ...OGVLP... ...ANTIS... ...VS..

In Goidelic mythos Goibniu was known as the provider of the Fled Goibnenn (the sacred feast). He was also associated with the brew-craft and is said to have created a brew which bestowed both immortality in battle, and release from illness and death for the one who imbibed. Goibniu was also the crafter of the Goidelic gods' weapons and created the replacement silver hand for Nuadu. He may have played a similar role in Cymric mythos, as suggested by the name of Nudd Llaw Ereint (Nudd of the silver hand) but the tale of the creation of this limb is lost; though it can be inferred from the equivalent Irish tale.

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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