Which Welsh Myth Is About A Woman Made Of Flowers?

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Which Welsh Myth Is About A Woman Made Of Flowers?

2 Answers

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Answer 1

The girl who was made from flowers was called Blodeuwedd and the story is told in the Mabinogion.
It is a sad story of betrayal.

The story is based around the site of Tomen Y Mur , 2 miles south east of Maentwrog in Gwynedd. The site itself is worth viiting for it's pre-historic, Roman and Norman landscape.
The Godess Arianrhod said that her son Llew Llaw Grffes was never to marry a mrtal. His uncles Gwydion and Math created Blodeuwedd from brrom, meadowsweet and oak ( all plants and trees with special properties) .
Blodeuwedd was lonely at Tomen Y Mur and and fell in love with a visting Gronw Pebyr.
Being the son of a goddess ,Llew was special and when his wife planned to kill him he was protected by a complex set of rules concerning the spear that could kill him.
Llew killed Gronw and in local legend/ mythology there's a stone near the River Cynfal which still has the hole in it where the spear pierced it on it's way to kill Llew .Gwydion restored Llew back to life.
Gwydion, Llews uncle then turned Blodeuwedd into an owl as a punishment - that her face should never again see the light of day.
It's a very complex story with many layers and well worth reading.

Answer 2

In this Welsh version of the famous Greek story of Pygmalion, Lleu Llaw was forbidden by his jealous mother, the semi-divine Arianrhod, to marry a mortal woman. His uncle Gwydion made him a woman out of broom, oak and meadowsweet flowers; she was of more than human beauty, and they called her Blodeudd, which means "made of flowers." All went well until Lleu went away for a while. When he was away Blodeudd met Gronw of Penllyn, a local landowner, and they fell in love. Gronw plotted to kill Lleu, which could only be done by magical means; according to some versions, he succeeded, but in others Lleu escaped by turning into an eagle. In any case, Gwydion hunted down Blodeudd and turned her into an owl. The story of the flower maiden was brilliantly recreated in a modern setting by Alan Garner in his 1967 novel "The Owl Service."