The story of Llew Llaw Gyffes (the Welsh counterpart to the
Irish
Lugh) is thus:
Math ap Mathonwy, King of Wales, could only rule is his feet rested
in the lap of a virgin. His foot holder was Goewin. Two brothers,
Gilvaethwy and the great magician, Gwydion were members of Math's
court. Now Gilvaethwy had fallen in love with Goewin and one day,
while Math was away from court, Gilvaethwy raped Goewin. When Goewin
told Math that she could no longer serve as his foot holder, he
punished the brothers before finally asking them to help him find a
replacement.
Gwydion suggested his sister, the Goddess Arianrhod, and she was
summoned to Math's court. She was asked if she was a virgin, and her
answer was "I do not know but that I am." Math held out his magic
scepter and asked her to step over and "if you are not a virgin, I
will know."
Arianrhod stepped over the wand, and as she did so, she birthed a
sturdy boy, who was named Dylan by Math. As she ran for the door,
she birthed another son, whom Gwydion rescued and hid safely. Upon
introducing the child to his mother, she laid a curse on the as yet
unnamed babe… "He shall have no name except by me."
Years passed, and Gwydion again brought the boy to Arianrhod. Not
recognizing her own child, she was tricked into naming him, "The fair
one with a skillful hand" or Llew Llaw Gyffes. Discovering the
trickery, Arianrhod cursed him again; "He shall have no weapons until
I arm him myself."
Gwydion came to the boy's aid again, and this time as Llew reached
manhood, he was taken before Arianrhod once more. Again, not
recognizing her son, she was tricked into giving him weapons.
Furious with their trickery, Arianrhod cursed the boy a third and
final time "He shall have no wife of the race that now inhabits this
earth."
Gwydion's magic got around this curse as well, and together with
Math's help, they created a beautiful wife for Llew, made of nine
blossoms. They named her Blodeuwydd, which means, "flower-face".
Llew married Blodeuwydd, but she was unfaithful to him and took a
lover, Gronw. She deceived Llew into revealing the only method of
killing him, and revealed the information to her lover. They plotted
for a year and a day to prepare for the murder of Llew. Gronw spent
a year and a day creating the spear with which to kill Llew. When
the spear was ready, again, Blodeuwydd tricked her husband into
standing with one foot on the rim of a cauldron and the other on the
back of a goat.
Gronw is hidden nearby with the spear, and as Llew gets into
position, Gronw hurls the spear and strike Llew with it. Instead of
dying however, Llew transforms into an eagle and flies away.
Time passes and Llew heals, so he takes his vengeance on his
unfaithful wife and her lover. He kills Gronw the same way that
Gronw tried to kill him, with the same spear while Gronw stands with
one foot on the rim of a cauldron and the other on the back of a
goat.
The punishment for his wife is different, he shows her mercy, and
instead of killing her, Gwydion transforms her into an owl, who still
mourns her dead lover, even today.
Thus is the myth of Llew Llaw Gyffes.
