The Fairy Bride Legend in Wales

Author(s): Juliette Wood

Reviewed work(s):
Source: Folklore, Vol. 103, No. 1 (1992), pp. 56-72
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of Folklore Enterprises, Ltd.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1261034 .
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Folklorevol. 103:i,1992 56

The Fairy Bride Legend in Wales

JULIETTE WOOD

Folklore Society Council Lecture, 1991

ON a recent visit to a Cardiffbookshop specialising in Welsh publications,the writer

of the presentarticlecountedeleven differentpublishedversionsof the story of the fairy
from Llyn Y Fan Fach. The tale,which first appearedin print in the nineteenthcentury,
tells the storyof a fairywomanfrom the depths of Llyn y Fan Fach in Carmarthenshire
who marrieda mortal.She returnedto her supernaturalrealmwhen her husbandviolated
conditionsshe herselfhadlaiddown,but her childrenbecamethe famousdoctor-magicians,
the Physiciansof Myddfai.'The publishedversions,both Welshand English, currently
gracing the shelves of the bookshop at the time of this little ad hoc field exerciseall
containedsuitablyromanticillustrations' la ArthurRackham.The talehas becomefirmly
fixed in the canon of 'Welsh folktales'.Somehow it seems so typically Welsh with its
otherworldfairy bride, poignant sense of lost love, and its doctor-magiciansons. Very
few printedcollectionsof 'WelshFolktales'arewithout it, which presentsthe interesting
situation,in regardsto the variantassociatedwith Llyn Y Fan Fach, of a Welshtalehaving
to be translatedback into its original language.2
Print is of course the importantword. The Llyn y Fan Fach story appearedin 1861
in the introductionto The Physiciansof Myddfaiwhich containeda translationof the
medical texts associatedwith this family and an introductioncontaininga long, printed
English versionof the tale.3This is the first time this story of an otherworldbride was
attachedto the quitegenuine,but presumablyindependent,traditionsandmedievalmedical
texts associatedwith this familyof famousphysicians.4The printedversion is long, and
ratherover-written.The lake lady's hair 'flows gracefullyin ringlets over her shoulders
... whilst the glassy surfaceof her waterycouch served for the purpose of a mirror'.
The sun 'gilds with its rays the peaks of the Fan' and the young man vainly 'strains
his eyeballs'over the lake looking for the 'enchantingvision'.5Although the elements
of the taleareprobablygenuine and werecollectedby the Welshpublisherand antiquary
WilliamRees, native of Tonn, which is not far from Llyn Y Fan Fach, the version is
given here in English. Once again the Celtic Twilight seems about to cast its roseate
and distortingglow on the folkloreitself. FortunatelyLlyn y Fan Fach is not the only
source for informationabout the Welsh Lake Lady.
About three dozen variantsof the tale dating from the tenth to the twentieth century
are known, and the very fact that the tale has attainedsuch a curious, almost icon-like
status, tells us much about perceptionsof Welsh traditionin and outside Wales. The
study of folkloreis not simply a matterof disentanglingthe purelyoralfrom the literary
and fictitious.The strandsintertwine,and despitethe comparativelysmall numbers,the
Welsh versions of the OtherworldBride allow us to chart the developmentof the tale
in a changingculturalcontext.The tale is partof a widelydistributedsupernaturallegend
traditionin which an otherworldwoman marriesa mortal,but eventuallyreturnsto her
world leaving him and their children. The tale is widespread,particularlyin northern
and westernEuropeancountrieswhere the woman is sometimesin animalform and the
loss and recoveryof her animal skin motivateher marriageand return.Sometimesshe
THE FAIRY BRIDE LEGEND IN WALES 57

is a mermaidand the possessionof some objectsuch as an item of clothing is the means

by which she becomessubjectto her humanhusbandand eventuallyreturnsto her own
world. In Walesshe appearsin human formand her returnis motivatedby the violation
of some taboo.In Walestoo the numbersof survivingvariantsare lowerthan elsewhere,
and mainly from printedsources.6Relativelylate collectingand the relativelyearly shift
to industrializationare factorswhich do not fosterthe survivalof this kind of complex,
supernaturaltale. Nevertheless the geographicaldistributionof even such a restricted
numberof variantsindicatesthe importanceof the traditionand,while absoluteconclusions
are not possible, a great deal more besides.
Both the earliestvariantsoccur in WalterMap's De Nugis Curialium.7Map wrotethis
fascinatingcompilationof tale, anecdote,local history and court gossip in the twelfth
century,and he includes a numberof supernaturallegends relatingto Wales,as well as
traditionsabout historicalfigures such as William the Conquerorand William Rufus
which were obviouslycurrentat the time.8The geographicalmilieu of the tales indicates
the close relationshipbetween the Welsh and the Anglo-Normans,and the richness of
culturewhich must have existed. One of the supernaturalbride tales is locatedin Llyn
Syfaddon(LlangorseLake) in South Walesand is attachedto the eponymous founder
of the area,BrychanBrycheiniog,a Welshhero,while the other is set in LedburyNorth
near Herefordand attachedto Wild Edric, an Anglo-Saxonheroic figure who opposed
the Norman invaders.
One of these medievalvariantsoccurs in a section with otherWelshtraditionsentitled
'IllusoryApparitions'. For three nights, BrychanBrycheiniog,called WastinWastiniac
at this point, sees women dancing in his oat field. As they disappearinto the lake, he
overhearsone revealhow they may be caught. On the third night he avails himself of
this advice. The narrativeis synopsizedhere in such a way as to make it clear that the
original had more informationthan Map is giving, and indeed comparisonwith other
variantsindicatesthat the motifs of the overheardsecret(N450) which allows the mortal
to overpowerthe fairy (F302.4)'0are common. In this variant,the fairy says she will
stay with Brychan(the name given in a corruptedform 'Wastin')until he rushes out
and strikesher with his bridle. When this happens Brychanmanagesto catch only one
of their sons, TriuneinVagelauc.The secondpartof this sectionconcernsthe adventures
of this son. Triuneinseems to be Map's real concern, since the narrativehere is both
more leisurelyand more expansive.The young man's name may indicate that he was
the youngestof a largefamily,and lame, a hint perhapsas to why he was caught." The
boy takesworkwith the King of Dehuebarth(South Wales),but makesan unwise boast
as to the superiorityof King Brychanand as a result is requiredto lead an expedition
back to Brycheiniog.InterestinglyBrychanis here Triunein'soverlordratherthan his
father,the kind of boastful choleric king familiarin heroic Welsh tradition.Severalof
the episodes in this section relateto Brychanas the king who kills the messenger,has
a wild ride on a shackledhorseand is a fiercebattleleaderwho dismembershis enemies.
Triunein, fighting on the side of the defeatedforces, disappears,but Map reportsthat
some thought he did not die but returnedto the lake with his mother.
Clearlythis section is far more complexthan just an 'instance'of the fairybride tale,12
and raises severalinterestingpossibilities. For example,did Map realize that Brychan
and Wastinwere the same character?Did Map have accessto a somewhatgarbledheroic
cycle attachedto BrychanBrecheiniog?The differentspellingof Brychan'sname(Wastin
Wastiniogwhen he wins his fairybrideand Brychanwhen he is the king) might indicate
that Map heard the fairy tale orally (or that it has an ultimate oral source), while the
58 JULIETTE WOOD

incidentsrelatedto the King werecloserto writtensources.This would certainlyexplain

why Brychanis the boy's fatherin the first section and his king/enemyin the rest. The
importanceof the historicalkingdom of Brecon in the history of Walesis itself being
reassessed'3 and the view which concentratedon the North and the traditionsof the Gwr
Y Gogledd as the main route of transmissionof early materialinto Walesis beginning
to be refined.Anotherinterestingfactoris that the lake-fairysection functions as a kind
of familyoriginlegend.These talesareoftenconcernedwith the fateof the fairy'schildren,
and the samelink betweenmotherand child appearsin the verydifferentvariantattached
to Edricthe Wild at LedburyNorth. It is not possibleto determineat this stagewhether
Map is transmittingpartof a moreextensivecycle attachedto BrychanBrycheiniog,but
it seems clear that the sources for this relativelyshort section are more complex than
has been supposed.
Edric the Wild was an Anglo-Saxontheyn who initially resistedthe Anglo-Normans,
but madepeacewith Williamabout 1072. Howeverhe seems to havetakenon an 'outlaw
persona'in tradition.'"Here, there is no lake;the hero capturesthe bride and she tells
him she will staywith him until he reproachesher with her origins.This versiongrounds
the traditionalelements in a quasi-historicalframe.The woman'sbeauty is considered
proof enough of her supernaturalorigins, and William the Conqueroris said to have
visitedEdricto admirethe wife. The taboois of courseviolated,and the herodies broken-
heartedafterhis wife vanishes,leavingan heir, Alnoth, who is miraculouslycured. The
style of this tale is quitedifferent,WalterMap at his narrativebest with classicalallusions
to Dictymus, Dryadsand Lares.Map's concludingremarksare worth noting. 'We have
heard of demons that are incubi and succubi and of the dangersof union with them;
rarely do we read . .. of heirs or offspring who ended their day prosperously .. ."' Map
would most certainlybe awareof the fact that Henry II's familyorigins were associated
with the Melusine story.He includes an exampleof this story,and he may be making
a gracefuland courtly referenceto this here. Moreover,Map highlights an important
aspect: these stories often function as origin legends attachedto unusual families.
The legend of the FairyBride at LedburyNorth is the most untypicalof the variants
consideredin this paper. It sharescertainfeatureswith the Swan Maiden (AT400 and
465) in which the herostealsthe woman'sswan feathers,then loses her when he rebukes
her with her origins,althoughhe subsequentlyregainshis supernatural wife.This opening
episodemost closelyresemblesthe Map narrativewhich is locatedin the reignof William
the Conquerorwho comes to admirethe woman.Map's tale, however,does not develop,
and indeed simply may not have contained,the theme of the covetousking (H931.1).
Speculationas to the originof the talewouldbe inappropriate with so little earlymaterial.
The Welsh variantsform a unique sub-groupin that the woman is not in mermaidor
animal shape and she sets the conditionsunder which she will remain(unlikethe seal-
woman common in Scotlandand Scandinaviawho is vulnerableby virtue of being out
of her animal skin, or the Irish mermaidwho loses some object).'16
Other supernaturalbrides occur in the Welsh genealogical tracts, although it is
impossible to tell what traditions if any were associated with them." It has been
suggestedby SarahL. Keeferthat a marriagewith a seal creaturelies behind an incident
in the tale of Math from the Mabinogi.'8Aranrhod'stwo children betray her false
virginity.One is the hero,Lleu. The other,Dylan Eil Ton, makesonly a briefappearance.
Kafer'ssuggestionis that Aranrhodhas a child by a seal-manand that this child, Dylan,
could change into a seal. Keefer considers the otherworld-bridetales-which she calls
the seal-brideeven though this is not the commonestformin either Irelandor Wales-in
THE FAIRY BRIDE LEGEND IN WALES 59

order to establishthat 'selchie legends' are found in many folktalesfrom Celtic coasts
and islands." The Welsh examplesare in fact connected with inland lakes and rivers.
Eventuallyshe is forcedto admit that 'thereare no true seal-talesin Welsh.'20She then
comparesthe Welshepisode with the mid-nineteenthcenturyballad'The GreatSelchie
of Skul Kerry' in which the seal father reclaimshis son and prophesiesthat he shall
meet his deathby the hand of the wife's new husband.This ballad,Keeferasserts,with
great authoritybut no substantiation,'is clearly of great antiquity' and representsthe
closest extantanalogueto the tale-familyto which the Dylan fragmentbelongs.21 As so
often with these 'lost tale' arguments,no crediblecontext for such a tale is ever given.
The author admits that no true seal-talesexist in Welsh, but declines to suggest when
and wheresuch a tale might have existed.Presumably,as the argumentdependsheavily
on Irish and Scottish analogues,some common Celtic tale is being reconstructed,but
if so, then it hardlystrengthensthe position that the 'closestanalogue'is a Scots, not
a Scots-Gaelicballad. The argument is a good example of what ProfessorAlmquist
describes in his considerationof the mermaidbride tale in Ireland as 'Celtomania'.22
Undoubtedlytalesget lost duringthe processof transmissionand greatlight can be thrown
on them by carefulstudy,but not as in this case by jugglingtogetheranaloguesregardless
of regional or temporal differences and reconstructinga Celtic original. Although
supernaturalmothersare hinted at in the genealogies,the case for the appearanceof a
seal father in PedeirKeinc does not seem convincing.
It is perhapsmore interestingand certainlymore useful to look not for lost origins,
but how the tale may have functionedin a social context. Map's two medievalvariants
are associatedwith heroic figures and set in a quasi-historicalworld soon after the
appearanceof the Anglo-Normansin Wales. This reflects the court situation as Map
knewit: Williamthe ConquerorandWilliamRufuswerethe ancestors,quitenearancestors
as it happens, of Henry II, the king whom WalterMap served for so long. Much of
theDe Nugisis concernedwith creatinga kindof mythichistoryforthe Plantaganets,
and the Welshfit into this schemeas a kind of romanticexotic.23
Map nevercompletedDe NugisCurialium, but the linkingof materialin the text
as it standsmayrevealsomethingof his attitudesto the tales.24 The two FairyBride
narrativesarefollowed bya thirdstory,a variant
of anotherpopularlegendwhichresembles
it in someways,namelyThe Sonsof the DeadWoman.This taleconcernsa human
wife,supposedlydeadbut actuallyabductedby fairies,who is rescuedby herhusband.
Herchildrenarecalled'thesonsof the deadwoman'.On the levelof narrative, the two
fairybridesandthe rescued'deadwoman'all concernthe dangersof contactwith the
otherworld. Furthermore, Mapassertsthe truthof thesestoriesbecauseall threeof the
'mothers'havedescendents,realdescendentsand,in the caseof the sons of the dead
mother,Maphasmetthem.25 Scholarsoftenclassifythesefairylegendsaccording to the
typeof belief.26This concentrateson the natureof beliefin the otherworld,
its location
andshape,andthe sourcesforthis belief,usuallyseenas an olderstrata.Recentwork
hastakena newapproachandhasseenthe fictivecosmologynot justas an inheritance
of belief,but as an areain whichthe immediatesocialcontextitselfcan be examined.
Fairybeliefsbecomemorethanan elementof continuitywith a pastculture.They are
alsoa mechanismfor distancingoneselffromthe complexityof the socialcontextand
indeed commenting on it.27
The Sons of the Dead Woman,for example,reflectsthe belief that the prematuredead
were 'abducted'into fairy land. The fairy beliefs here may be seen as a strategyto deal
with untimely and thereforestressfuldeath.28The Welsh tale of the OtherworldBride
60 JULIETTE WOOD

deals with another stressful 'rite de passage' marriage.On the level of belief, the tale
expressesideasconnectedwith lakesand clearingsas entrancesto the otherworldthrough
which the fairy and cattle can pass; the extraordinarybeauty of otherworldbeings; the
extraordinaryfecundityof otherworldcattle and the fear of offendingthese beings (see
motif list p. 69). This fictive cosmology in which the lake/clearingis a contact point
between worlds presentsthe young man with a conundrum.The bride brings with her
the positive benefits of childrenand materialwealth, but carriesthe stress of the taboo
itself (in Walesit is three blows, or strikingwith iron, and less commonly criticism of
origins, strikingwith steel, and losing magic acorns)and the consequencesof complete
or partialloss of the advantageswhich winning the bride has broughthim. On the level
of human relationsthe young man's courtshipand the bride's conditionscan function
as a dramaticmetaphorfor the requiredadjustmentsof marriage.The followingscheme
suggests some of the tensions and resolutionswhich underlie the text.
Realistic
mode: Man + marriage + woman ) children ) Independentlives,
(courtship) (conditions) but affectedby
parents
Fabulous
mode: mortal man + Lake as + supernaturalbride ) supernaturalcattle
(gains power) contact with (taboo) return to
otherworld ) violation ) otherworld
Reducinga tale to this kind of scheme obscuresthe varietyinherentin these narratives
and over-emphasizesthe didacticelements. Clearlythe main motivationfor telling these
tales is the joy of the tale itself. Most of the Welsh Fairy Bride stories were collected
and analysedby John Rhys in his pioneeringworkon Welshfolklore.Rhys is underrated
as a folklorist.He had an excellentear for languageregisterand often reproducesWelsh
texts as they were given to him.29Rhys used sources, both written and oral, from all
the old countiesof WalesexceptFlintshireand Radnorshire, which he lists at the beginning
of volume one. There is enough variationamongthese textsto suggesta traditionwhich,
if lacking the richness found elsewhere,was still viable when was collecting.
The sub-set which comprisesthe Welsh Fairy Bride storieshas a number of unique
Rh.s
features.The most strikingis that the WelshFairyBridesarealwayshunran,in contrast
to the seal found in Scotlandand Scandinaviaor the swan in some Germanicvariants.
In most Irishvariants,the girl is a mermaid.There maybe a few hints of possibleanimal
form in just three Welsh variants. Wild Edric's bride 'vanishesinto the air'."30 A tale
which Rhys collectednear Llyn Y Fan Fach says the boy first mistookthe fairywoman
for a goose,and anotherof Rhys' variantssaysthe wife flew awayin the shapeof a water-
fowl.31This is hardlycompelling evidence for a fairywoman in animal form in Welsh,
but it is interestingthat what indicationthere is (evidence is too strong a word)points
to a bird.
Most Welsh tales associate the fairy with a lake, although in Carmarthenshire,
Denbighshire,Merionethshireand Herefordshire, the youngman maysee the fairydancing
or meet her near his home, presumablyon dry land. These are sufficientlydifferentto
be classifiedas a separatesub-type in The Typesand Motifs of WelshFolklore,but it is
well to rememberthat types and motifs are themselvesconstructsintendedto help the
scholar, and one should not become too obsessed with them.32The woman's consent
is gained by various means; capture,learningher name, offering her the right kind of
THE FAIRY BRIDE LEGEND IN WALES 61

bread,but alwaysthe prospectivewife imposesa condition.Its natureshowssome regional

variation.In North Wales,the tabooinvolvestouchingwith iron. In the south, it is when
he gives her three blows. Alwayswealth and prosperityare dependenton the wife, and
afterher departureher cattle follow her back into the lake,and in one case, her children
as well. Often she returnsto visit the children and expressesher affectionfor them in
rhyme.Sometimesthe fairyheritageis beneficial.The physiciansof Myddfaigainedmagic
medicalknowledgefroma book given to them by their mother;Alnoth was a holy man,
and Triuneinwas supposedlyprotectedby his mother. However,the fairy ancestrycan
carry a stigma and Rhys describesfights which follow this accusation.
The proposed model also suggests that the legend expressesa number of cultural
relationships;the uniqueness,eitherpositive(Physiciansof Myddfai)or negative(Pellings)
of particularfamilies;the apparentlyrandomnatureof prosperity(the disappearanceof
cattle with the fairywife);a signifierfor heroiclife (BrychanBrycheniogwho must have
been well-knownhistoricalfigure in twelfth century Wales),all expressedin terms of
the potentialrewardsanddangersattendanton contactwith the liminalworld.Occasionally
thereis an onomasticelementas well. Both Rees'versionof Llyn y FanFachand Glasynys'
tale link it to some element of the landscape.These arehighly literaryversionsit is true,
but recentworkhas shownthe importanceof onomastictalesin Welshstories,particularly
to emphasizeand heighten importantevents,33and there is no reason to assume that
these elementsarenot genuine.The Llyn Y Fan Fach tale calls attentionto the furrows
left by the ox as the cattle hurried after the departingfairy,while Glasynys seems to
be adaptinga floating island mentioned by Giraldusas a means for the fairy and her
husbandto continueto meet. Glasynys'conceitis particularlyappropriate.The two meet
in a placewhich is neitherthis worldnor the fairyworld,namelya floatingisland,which
in effect resolvesthe differencesbetween her supernaturaland his mortal nature.
The effects of contact with the liminal world of fairy beings is an importantaspect
of the legend.Liminalityis attendedby both benefitsand dangers.The fairy,by definition,
neverbecomesfully integratedintoher husband'sworld,but she bringswith her prosperity
in the broadsense of children and, specifically,in the sense of cattle. The association
of woman as symbol of fertility in marriageboth in her own person and in bringing
a dowryis almostuniversal,but the animalsbroughtby the fairywife have supernatural
associationsin their own right.
The names of the cattle in the fairy'spoem, an unusual featurein Welsh tales, may
actually recall the names of certain primitive cattle types.34Otherworldcattle, and
indeed other stockbreedinganimals such as horses and pigs, are often envisaged as
emergingfromlakesandothercontactpointsbetweenthe worlds.Mostlytheirappearance
is beneficialif, like the fairywoman herself, they are treatedrespectfully.35One variant
locatedin Carmarthenshiregives the colour of the cattle as black. Another varianthas
the little calf lag behind, and out of fear of the black water of the lake it turns black
and is the origin of the famous Welsh black cattle, another instanceof origin legends
as a final element.36The deep glacial lakes of Wales are the focus for a number of
supernaturalbeliefs. Many of the traditionsare independentof fairywomen stories,but
they all relateto contactwith the otherworldand morespecificallywith the lakeas portal
to that world. Stock-rearingis a chancey business in which even good husbandrydoes
not always assuresuccess. Here, contact between the worlds involving a supernatural
woman and a supernaturalanimalresultsin marriageand prosperityfor a humanbeing,
and the loss of both supernatural womanandcattleresultsin the disruptionof the marriage
62 JULIETTEWOOD
andthelossor partiallossof the prosperity. In thiscontext,the ebbandflowof narrative
patternproduces a situationwhich reflectsthe uncertainties
accurately of actualcultural
experience.
The narrative mayalsoreflectproblemsinherentin the factthatmarriage, involving
as it doesdifferentkin groups,createsan uneasyalliancein whichthe wife is caught
in an 'in-between' state."Twoeuhemerized versionsrecorded by Rhysexpressthisvery
tensionandin this sensedealwiththe realgiveandtakeof husband/wife relationships.
In onevariant,the girlis a gypsy,not a fairy,andin anothersimplya girlfromanother
farm.Bothof theseomitthe supernatural element,but retainthe ideathatthe wifeis
an outsider,a liminalcharacter withall the attendantperilsthatimplies.However,the
talestructureis retained.Althoughthegirlis specificallynotsupernatural,merelya servant-
girl from another farm, she still with
quarrels her 'employer'three times andonly after
the thirdquarreldoesshe return'home'.The lakeandthe cattlealsoremain,but she
is presumed to havedrownedwhiletendingthe cattle.Rhyscommentsperceptively how
'modernrationalism hasbeenmodifyingthe story. .. withoutwhollygettingridof the
originalfeatures'.38The variantis allthe moreinteresting sinceRhyscollectedtwoothers
fromthe sameplacewhichincludedthe supernatural elements.The second'rational'
variantmakesthe wife a gypsy,an outsiderby definitionandaboutas liminalas it is
possibleto get. HereRhys addsthe information, not associatedwith fairybridesbut
culledfromthesamesource,thatEnglishmen andScotswholivedin Waleswerethought
to be fairies.39
The narrative oftenfunctionsas a familyoriginlegend,andhereagaintensionscreated
in the kin-groupas a resultof marriagefeatureprominently,particularlyin the effects
of fairy-mortal marriageon the offspring.Both variantsin WalterMap followthe
adventures of the fairy'ssons,andthe best-known Welshversionis linkedto the origin
of the physicians of Myddfai. The link between the Fairy Bride and this important
traditionalfamilyof doctors,allegedlyphysiciansto RhysGrygof Llandovery in the
thirteenthcentury,is somewhatproblematic.However,the existenceof the familyis not
in doubt,and Rhyslists a numberof practisingphysiciansand severalcontemporary
familieswho claimeddescentfromthem.40A NorthWalesvariantcollectedby Rhys
linkedthe FairyBridewith a localfamilyknownas Pelling,saidto be a corruptionof
the fairy'sname.41Locally,the familywerebelievedto be a cholericandunsociablelot.
Little childrenwere frightenedby threatsthat the Pellings would get them, and fights
werereportedon marketdayswhen membersof the familyweretauntedwith theirancestry.
The earliestversionof the Pellingstale appearsin WilliamWilliamsof Llandegai'sbook
Observations on theSnowdonMountains.He, by contrast,is very proudof the connection
and says they were
a raceof peopleinhabitingthe districtsaboutthe footof Snowdon... formerlydistinguished
and knownby the nicknamePellingswhichis not yet extinct.Thereareseveralpersonsand
evenfamilieswhoarereputedto be descendedfromthesepeople... Thesechildren[Penelope's]
andtheirdescendents, theysay,werecalledPellings,a wordcorrupted fromtheirmother'sname,
Penelope.The lateThomasRowlandsEsq of Caerusin Anglesey,the fatherof the late Lady
Bulkeley,wasa descendant of this ladyif it be truethatthe namePellingscamefromher,and
therearestill livingseveralopulentandrespectable peoplewhoareknownto havesprungfrom
the Pellings.The best bloodin my own veinsis this fairy's.42

Even without the context of a specific family, the fairy mother often returnsto see
her children,sometimesbringingthem luck. Her outsiderstatusis stronglyemphasized
THE FAIRY BRIDE LEGEND IN WALES 63

in this context. She recitescomfortingrhymesthroughthe bedroomwindow,where she

is clearly outside the house, or she meets the children at the edge of the lake. One of
the most common folktaleswith a female protagonistconcerns her marriage(as part of
the tale, not as part of the happy ever after ending) and estrangementfrom her
husband.43The estrangementis crucial to the developmentof the structureof these
tales;sometimes,as in the CalumniatedWife, she is re-unitedwith her husband;at other
times, as in the Fairy Bride legend, she is not. What is interestingis that the gender
perspectiveis sympatheticto the woman. The wife's position is vulnerableand often
marginal,but the taleclearlyshowsa degreeof sympathyforher plightandthe difficulties
she encounters.Anothernotablequalityof the Fairy Bride is her assertiveness.She sets
the conditions,unlike the bride in animalor mermaidform whose fate is linkedto the
possessionof her animalskin or some object.The fairybridein Waleshas characteristics
of both the active heroine and the outsider heroine. The conflicts inherentin this are
never resolved,but as ProfessorBo Almqvist has suggested:
folklegendsreflectvariousattitudesto thetraumatic problems causedby abandonment, separation
anddissolutionof marriages . . . it has not been stressedfrequentlyenoughthatfolklegends
ratherthanexpressing a singleattitudeto a particularproblem,dueto the flexibilityandvariation
whichis theirveryessence,oftenserveasvehiclesfordiscussionof differentsolutionsto questions
of vital interestto tellersand audience.44

One of the most strikingchangesin the modernretellingsof the Physiciansof Myddfai

tale is the characterof the heroine.The Physicians'tale, as retoldby John Williams ab
Ithel in the introductionto the nineteenth-centuryedition of the Physiciansof Myddfai
(1861),is a compositetale put togetherfrominformationgathered,presumablyin Welsh,
by Mr. Rees of Tonn from at least four informants.45 The descriptionof the woman
recalls the rather blandly beautiful and conventional fairytaleheroine. The prose is
overwrittenandthe whole piece an antiquarianeffort,but not one thatshouldbe dismissed
out of hand. In Rhys' opinion, the sourcesfor the compositetaleswere genuine enough.
Indeed the choices offeredto the fairybride by the young man are paralleledin another
Welshfolktale,in which Gwyndyddoffersher brotherMyrddinthreetypes of gift (wine,
milk and water)to induce him to prophesy,and he accepts only afterthe third.46The
motif of appropriategift plays a part in inducing the fairybride to enter into marriage.
The partlybakedbreadis an apt symbol for the marriagebetweentwo people, one from
the human and one from the supernaturalworld. The tale also contains a rareWelsh
exampleof the Three Laughs of the Fairy. However,Rhys visited the area some fifty
years afterthe Physicians'tale was printedand found little evidence of it, althoughhe
collectedother materialassociatedwith Llyn Y Fan Fach. One informanttold him that
until recentlypeople used to visit the lake on the first of August to see the fairybride
appear. Attempts to drain the allegedly bottomless lake resulted in failure and the
appearanceof a threateningsupernaturalbeing.47In short, the lake itself had remained
a focus for tradition.
The questionis reallywhetherthe tale printedin this editionof Welshmedicaltreatises
is an earlyone. MorfyddOwen in her extensivestudy of medievalWelshmedicaltreatises
says that althoughreferencesto the Physiciansare plentiful, the earliestin a fourteenth-
century Welsh poem, there is no mention of the lake legend prior to its appearancein
print.48Wirt Sykes, althoughan unreliablesource,cites both the Llyn Y Fan Fach tale
and another not linked to the Physiciansbut located in the same area.49More telling
64 JULIETTEWOOD

Llyn Corwrion

Llyn Peris

Llyn Cwellyn Llyn Du Arddu' DENBIGHSHIRE

Llyn y Gadair
CAERNARVONSHIRE 40

MERIONETHSHIRE
SHROPSHIRE

Llyn y Dywarchan

Bala
Lake
o
Ledbury
North

CARDIGANSHIRE

HEREFORDSHIRE

CARMARTHENSHIRE
BRECONSHIRE

0
GLAMORGAN

Llyn y Fan Fach

Llangorse

Llyn Nelferch

DISTRIBUTION OF FAIRY BRIDE VARIANTS IN WALES

(map not to scale)
THE FAIRY BRIDE LEGEND IN WALES 65

is the fact that Rhys failed to find any evidence for the tale only fifty years after it was
printed.It seems unlikelythat such a traditioncould survive from the fourteenthto the
nineteenth centuries and then disappearso shortly after its appearancein print."s
Traditionsassociatinga medical family with the area are very strong. The earliest
referenceoccurs in a fourteenth-centuryWelsh poem,5"although the supposed patron
of the family, Rhys Grug, lived earlier. A number of Welsh antiquariesrefer to the
physicians and their medical writings. Families alleged to possess medical skills are
associatedwith severalfarms in the area close to Myddfai. Parish recordsand a local
gravestonerecallthe deathof the 'last'hereditaryphysician;however,allegeddescendants
of the family were still practisingas late as 1971.52 The physiciansare associatedwith
Rhys Grug and with his fatherthe Lord Rhys, one of the most powerfuland important
of the native Welsh princes, noted for his patronageof both native and Latin learning.
Afterthe death of the Lord Rhys, the areaof Carmarthenshirewhich includesMyddfai
would have come under the control of Rhys Grug and he could very well have settled
courtofficialsthere,and a physicianmight havebeen amongthem. A degreeof continuity
could haveextendedeven to the Normanperiod,as the tenantsof the Maenorof Myddfai
had to supply the Lord of Llanymyddfriwith a doctor.53
What is known of doctors, their duties and methods from early Welsh law tracts is
broadlyconsistentwith certaintopics coveredin the medical tractsassociatedwith the
Physicians of Myddfai. Parallelsfrom other Celtic countries further corroboratethis
interpretationof the Myddfai traditionswhere certain professionalclasses bound by a
strong hereditaryprinciple with a well-definedlegal statusemergedat a relativelyearly
period. Of particularinterestis the history of a Scottish physicianfamily,the Beatons,
whose story resemblesthat of the Physiciansof Myddfai.They practisedmedicine and
owned land in territoriesheld by the Lord of the Isles in Gaelic Scotland until the
seventeenthcentury.Their knowledgeseems to have been of the esotericsort culled from
manuscripts held in the family.54They too were the focus of numerous traditions
associatingthem with supernaturalpowersgained fromcontactwith otherworldbeings.
Beaton allegedlygained his power as a child when he ate magic food and escaped the
machinationsof an evil magician, much in the manner of the Welsh poet Taliesin."
Indeed,parallelto whatDr. Owen refersto as the 'tenacityof customwhich is characteristic
of society'56 is probablyan assumptionthat a certainuncannypower is associatedwith
words, and the tale associatedwith the physiciansemphasisesthe liminal source, a gift
from a supernaturalmother,of the doctors'knowledge.The first published account of
the Myddfaitale accompaniedthe first edition and translationof the Myddfaimedical
manuscripts.The first manuscriptappearsto be a copy of a genuine medievaltext, the
second is probablya forgeryby the indefatigableIolo Morganwg.j'Iolo's interest lay,
as did that of so many early Celtic enthusiasts,in the antiquityof tradition,and where
he could find no medieval records,he very happily createdthem. It may be that this
kind of thinkingwas the inspirationfor linkingthe fairybride,evidentlya frequentfamily
origin tale, with a locally famous medical family by means of a story which combined
motifs common in analogoustales, importantthemes involvingthe ambiguousposition
of purveyorsof such knowledgeas is requiredto performmedical cures.
The variantsof the Fairy Bride in Wales are not a rich harvest, but they represent
an interestingand ratherunique sub-typein a widely dispersedlegend complex. When
Rhys collected this materialin the 1880s, the legend was alreadyno doubt beginning
to lose ground.PerhapsRhgs' interestprolongedits survivalsomewhat,and the Physicians
versionof the tale has certainlyensuredits place in the canonof Welshfolklore.However,
66 JULIETTEWOOD
if one looksat the distributionof the remainingvariants(see map 1), it seemslikely
thatthislegendwasoncewidelyknownthroughout Wales.The folktalehasneverbeen
systematically collected,and this map reflectsto a largeextenta fortuitousset of
circumstances. Rhyshimselfnotedthatmorerecordsof folkloreexistedin the counties
in whichthe Welshlanguagewasstill strong,but suggestedthatthis mightbe due to
the enthusiasm of the collectorsin thoseareasratherthanto an actuallackof material
elsewhere.58 Indeed the work of Rhidian Gwyn on the folkloreof Penllyn in
Merionethshire, andthatof RobinGwyndafof the WelshFolkMuseum"have,even
at a latedate,producedsomeinterestingdata.
Twoaspectsof the WelshFairyBriderequirecloseconsideration by folklorists.The
firstis theoft-retold
LlynY FanFachversionitselfandthesecondtheoriginandfunction
of thevariants whichhavebeenidentifiedandclassified in theforthcoming WelshFolktale
Index.In manywaysthe popularityof the LlynY FanFachversionhas obscuredthe
complexityof the traditionin Wales,as it hasthe historicalsignificance of the medical
writings."o RecentlyDr. Bromwichhasdrawnattentionto the relativelackof references
to Welshprosetales,evenamongWelshpoets,priortothenineteenth century.Sherightly
focuseson the romanticrevivalattendanton the writingsof MatthewArnoldandthe
publicationof Ossianas an impetusto renewedinterestin nativeproseliterature. Welsh
scholarspriorto the publicationof the Mabinogion by CharlotteGuestin 1849cannot
havebeensaidto haveignoredthe nativetales,butit is interesting that,as withOssian,
an Englishtranslation (not in this case a forgery)providedthe stimulusfor study."6
Somethingof thesamethingmayhavehappenedwithLlynY FanFach,whichis most
likelya hybridof currenttalesgraftedontothe traditional authorsof a medievalmedical
treatise.Whileitsauthenticityasanearlyversionis dubious,itsimportance in theemerging
pictureof Welshfolknarrative traditionis indisputable.
The Welshvariantsof the FairyBrideareundoubtedly relatedto the taleaboutan
otherworld womanwho marriesandhaschildrenby a mortal,a talereferred to as The
SealWoman,the commonest formin ScotlandandScandinavia,62 or The Mermaidwho
Marriesa Mortal,the formas it is commonlyfoundin Ireland.63 As Professor Almqvist
suggests,the wholecycleneedscarefulandin-depthanalysis.64 He inclinesto the idea,
supportedby Dr. Brufordof the Schoolof ScottishStudies,thatthe talemighthave
originatedin Scotlandand spreadto Scandinavia.65 The relativepaucityof Welsh
examplesand the unavoidably serendipitous natureof collectingmakesit difficultto
speculateon origins.Thereis a strongtendencyforthetalesto cluster,particularly along
riversandaroundlakes,andthis mayreflectthe localspreadof the tale.[Map2] The
featurewhichdifferentiates the WelshvariantsmoststronglyfromScottish,Irishand
Scandinavian onesis the character of the supernaturalwomanwho setsthe conditions
underwhichsheremains amongtheworldof menandbringswithhermaterial prosperity.
Moreworkneedsto be doneon this fascinatingcycle,but it seemsabundantly clear
that manystreamsof traditionhavecontributedto it.
University of Wales,
College of Cardiff

LIST OF WELSH VARIANTS BY OLD COUNTIES

Brecon: LlynSyfaddon, Walter
Llangorse: Mappp.77-8(quotedin Rhys,CelticFolklore,
pp. 771-2).
Cardiganshire:Newquay:WFMT 2993.
Aberystwyth:Communication
to the author.
I
Llandegai

1 Ll
Be
Corwrio
.Lyn

17 Llanberis
10S Ystrad* -11 Llyn Du
"

O -- Llyn Gwellyn

S-1 ----- lyn y D

Llyn y Gadair
5 Blaeu

Pennono/
0 1 6 Braich y Dinas

S Dolbenmaen

cegid-ganol
Ystu
"stom
cegid Isar

CAERNARVONSHIRE VARIANTS
(map not to scale)
68 JULIETTEWOOD
Carmarthen: Llyn Y Fan Fach, Llandeusant:(1) ThePhysiciansof Myddvai(Rees)1861(quoted
in J. Rhys, CelticFolklore,pp. 2-12);WFM Tape 1530;WFM Tape 1531;WFM
Tape 1535. (2) Cambro-Briton vol. ii, 1821,pp. 313-315;Elias Owen, WelshFolk-
Lore, pp. 22-24. (3) Wirt Sykes, British Goblins,p. 40.
Caernarvon: Afon Fach Blaen y Cae, Dolbenmaen: J. Rhys, CelticFolklore,p. 108.
Blaen Pennant, Dolbenmaen:J. Rhys, CelticFolklore,p. 108. Braichy Dinas:
DolbenmaenY Genhinenvol. xiii, pp. 290-1 (quoted in J. Rhys, CelticFolklore,
pp. 94-97).
Bron y Fedw, Betws Farmon:J. Rhys, Celtic Folklore,pp. 33-35.
Llanberis:J. Rhys, Celtic Folklore,pp. 26-30.
Llyn Corwrion, Llandegai:(1) Hugh Derfel Hughes, HynafiaethauLlandegai
& Llanlechid,1866 (quoted in J. Rhys, CelticFolklore,pp. 51-55)(2) J. Rhys,
Celtic Folklore, p. 61. (3) Hugh Derfel Hughes, HynaflaethauLlandegai &
Llanlechid,1866 (quoted in J. Rhys, Celtic Folklore,p. 55).
Llyn Du'r Arddu, Llanberis:J. Rhys, Celtic Folklore,pp. 31-2.
Llyn y Dywarchen,Betws Garmon:(1) BrythonIV, 70 (quotedin Rhys, Celtic
Folklore, pp. 86-89); (2) J. Rhys, Celtic Folklore,pp. 89-90; (3) Cymru Fu
(Glasynys' version), pp. 474-7 (quoted in Rhys, CelticFolklore,pp. 91-3).
Pennant, Dolenmaen: J. Rhys, Celtic Folklore,p. 108.
Pen-y-groes:WFM T 3553.
Rhoshirwaun:WFM T 1986.
Ystum Cegid, Dolbenmaen: J. Rhys, CelticFolklore,p. 220.
Ystrad,Bettws Garmon:(1) Williams, Observationson theSnowdonMountains,
1802 (quotedin Rhys, CelticFolklore,pp. 42-6). (2) Y Brython,1863, 193 (quoted
in Rhys, Celtic Folklore,pp. 40-1). (3) J. Rhys, CelticFolklore,p. 39.
Denbigh: Hafodgarreg,Pentrefoelas:Elias Owen, WelshFolklore,pp. 8-10.
Hafod y Dre, Pentrefoelas:ELias Owen, WelshFolklore,pp. 10-11.
Rhosllannerchrugog:WFM T 2758.
Llansannan:WFM T 3894.
Glamorgan: Llyn Nelferch, Rhondda: (1) J. Rhys, CelticFolklore,pp. 27-29. (2) J. RhYs,
Celtic Folklore,pp. 23-24. (3) J. Rhys, CelticFolklore,p. 25.
Hereford: Ledbury North: WalterMap (ed. Mynor and James), p. 82.
Merionethshire: Llanfrothen:Elias Owen, WelshFolklore,p. 15.
Penllyn: Rh. Gwyn, 'Penllyn' 129, 130 (3 examples).
Llanfachreth:(1) Rh. Gwyn, 'Penllyn' 131; (2) Cymru& (1895), 178.

NOTES ON NAMES: In many of the variantslocal names have been used by informantsfor
farms, rivers and lakes. For purposes of clarity it has not always been possible to indicate this
on the map.Romannumbersin bracketshavebeen used whereseveralversionshavebeen collected
from the same location.

KEY TO SOURCES: The following lists the details of all oral material, journals and books
containing original materialrelating to the Welsh Fairy Bride tale.
WFM T = WelshFolk Museum Tape,for all materialin the archivesof the WelshFolk Museum,
St. Fagans.
Y Brython:cylchgrawnllenyddolCymru 1 (1858)-5 (1986/3).
Cymru 1 (1891)-72 (1927).
Y Geninen1 (1883)-46 (1928).
Glasynys (Owen Wynne Jones), CymruFu (Wrexham:Hughes and Son, 1862).
Gwyn, Rhidian, 'Chwedlau Ileol Penllyn a phlwf LlanfachrethMerionethshire'unpublished
University of Wales M.A. thesis, 1983.
Hughes, Hugh Derfel, HyniaethauLlandegai(Llandegai, 1872), quoted in Rhys.
Owen, Elias, WelshFolk-Lore(Oswestry and Wrecsam 1887).
Rh5s, John, Celtic FolkloreWelshand Manx (1901, rpr. Wildwood House, 1980), 2 vols.
Sykes, Wirt, British Goblins(London, 1880).
THE FAIRY BRIDE LEGEND IN WALES 69

WalterMap, De Nugis Curialium(1983 ed., see n. 7 below).

Williams, William, Observationson theSnowdonMountainswith someAccountof the Customsand
Mannersof the Inhabitants(London, 1802), quoted in Rhys.

The following is a composite summary of events and motifs in the Welsh versions of this tale.
No attempt has been made to indicate which variants contain which motifs.
I. A young man sees a company of fairiesdancing by moonlight, on or near a lake, or meets
a fairy(rarely,gypsy) girl, in hills or field near home. He offers her bread(sometimesthree kinds
of bread, or asks for one of the apples she is eating).
F217 Congregatingplacesof fairies.F214 Fairieslive in hills. F261 Fairiesdance.F212 Fairyland
under water.F261.3.1.2 Fairies dance under oak tree. F92.1 Visit to lower world through hole
made by lifting clump of grass. P715.2* Nations, gypsies.
II. He gains consent to marriage(occasionallyby capture).Sometimesshe becomes his servant
until he discoversher name. Usually she agreesto marryhim on the condition that he not give
her threeblows (quarrels)without cause(nevertouch her with iron, steel or clay).In some versions
he must find out her name or identify her from among her identical sisters.
H323 Suitor test learning girl's name. N475 Secret name overheardby eavesdropper.F302.4
Man obtains power over fairy mistress. F302.2 Man marries fairy and takes her home. F300
Marriageor liaison with fairy.C31.8 Tabu:striking supernaturalwife. H161.0.1 Recognition of
personamongidenticalcompanions,prearrangedsignal. H324 Suitortest:choosingprincessfrom
amongidenticallyclad sisters.H335.0.1 Bridehelps suitorperformtasks.T110 Unusual marriage.
F300 Marriageor liaison with fairy.P715.2.1* Marriagewith gypsy girl. C531 Tabu:touching
with iron. C31.11 Tabu:reproachingsupernaturalwife about her sisters. C32 Tabu:offending
supernaturalwife. C517.1* Tabu:losing acorns. D985.4 Magic acorns. C211.3.2 Tabu: fairies
eating mortal food. F243.1 Fairies' bread.
III. They prosper,often because of cattle/money(rarelygiven by fatherof girl) which the wife
brings as dowry, and they have children. One day while trying to catch an animal, the wife is
accidentallyhit by an iron bridle, bit, clump of earth, etc., or the husband accidentallybreaks
the tabuby touching her with his gloves when she laughs at an inappropriatemoment. She then
disappearsinto the lake followed by her cattle.
F342 Fairy gives mortal money. F343.9 Fairy gives man horses, cattle, etc. F305 Offspring
of fairy and mortal. P715.2.3* Gypsy children. C31 Tabu:offending supernaturalwife. C31.8
Tabu:striking supernaturalwife. C435.1.1 Tabu:uttering name of supernaturalwife. C31.8.1*
Tabu:three quarrelswithout cause. C531.2* Tabu:touching with steel. C531.3* Tabu:touching
with clay. P617 People laugh at funeraland weep when child is born. C932 Loss of supernatural
wife forbreakingtabu. C952: Immediatereturnto Otherworldafterbreakingtabu. F241.2.3 Fairy
cattleunderlake.F241.2 Fairies'cows. F241.2.1* Fairieshaveblackcows. A951.4 Contourcaused
by ploughing of beasts. F989.13 Animal dives into lakeand disappears.F989.13.1* Supernatural
being disappearsinto lake.
IV. Sometimes she returnsto visit her children, comfortsthem with a rhyme, gives them a gift
such as knowledgeof medicine, or their descendantscarrya stigma, because of their supposed
fairy origins.
F305.2* Fairy mother returnsto visit children. F305.1.1 Fairy mother bestows magic power
upon half-mortalson. F343.7* Fairygives book. F305.1.2* Fairymotherreturnsto visit children.
E425.1.1 Revenant as lady in white.

NOTES
1. This article was given as the Folklore Society Council Lecture in 1991. I would like to
expressmy gratitudeto the Society for their invitation,to Mr. Robin Gwyndaf of the WelshFolk
Museum and to Dr. Alan Brufordof the School of Scottish Studies for their helpful discussions
on the subject of Welsh and Scottish fairy brides, and particularlyto Dr. Brufordfor allowing
me accessto the Archivesof the School which contain so many Scottish variants.Finally, I wish
to thank Guto Davis for help in the preparationof the maps.
70 JULIETTEWOOD
2. D. Parry-Jones,WelshLegendsand Fairy-lore(Batsford,1953),pp. 75-85;W.JenkynThomas,
The WelshFairy Book (University of Wales Press, 1907), pp. 1-11.Gwyn Jones, WelshLegends
and Folk-Tales(Oxford, 1955);Joseph Jacobs, CelticFairy Tales(New York, 1882); Hugh Evans,
Y TylwuthTeg(Gwasg Y Brython, 1935); Aneirin TalfanDavies, CrwydroSir Gar (Llandybid,
1970); F. G. Payne, YrAradr Gymreig(University of Wales Press, 1901); FrederikHelmann,
MdrchenAus WalesHerausgegeben und Ubersetzt(Verlag,1982),pp. 156-162,268. Furthercomments
see W. J. Gruffydd,Folkloreand Myth in theMabinogion(Cardiff, 1950), p. 10ff; K. H. Jackson,
The InternationalPopular Taleand Early WelshTradition(Cardiff, 1961), pp. 48-9; Alwyn and
Brinley Rees, Celtic Heritage(Cardiff, 1961), pp. 266, 344.
3. John Williams (Ab Ithol), editor, The Physiciansof Myddfai:MeddygonMyddfai.English
translationby John Pughe (Llandovery 1861).
4. Morfydd Owen, 'Meddygon Myddfai:A PreliminarySurvey of some Medieval Medical
Writing in Welsh', Studia Celtica X/IX (1975-76), pp. 210-233; 'Llawsysgrif Ffeddygol a
Anwybyddwyd',Bulletin of the Board of CelticStudies XXVI (1956), 48-9; P. Diverres, Le plus
ancien textedes MeddygonMyddveu(Paris, Maurice Le Dault, 1913).
5. John Rhys, CelticFolklore:Welshand Manx (1901), 2 vols. (Wildwood House rpr. 1980),
pp. 1-12from Williams and Pughe, Physiciansof Myddfai,op. cit., xxi; also published by Rhys
in Y CymmroderIV (1881), 155ff.
6. No comprehensivestudy of this legend exists, and one is certainly needed. For examples
of texts and comments on the legend in Scandinavia, Ireland and Scotland see Reidar Th.
Christiansen, TheMigratoryLegends:A ProposedList of Typeswith a SystematicCatalogueof the
NorwegianVariants,FF. CommunicationsNo. 175 (Helsinki, 1958);Bo Almqvist, 'Of Mermaids
and Marriages:SeamusHeaney's"MaighdeanMara"and Nuala ni Dhomhnaill's"AnMhaighdean
Mhara"in the Light of Folk Tradition',Bealoideas58 (1990), 1-74;0. Andersson 'Seal-Folkin
East and West: Some Comments on a Fascinating Group of Folk Tales',FolkloreInternational
Essays in Honor of WaylandDebs Hand (Hatboro, 1967), pp. 1-6; Bo Almqvist, 'Scandinavian
and Celtic Folklore Contacts in the Earldom of Orkney',Saga-Bookof the VikingSociety XX
... 1-2 (1978-79), 103; Linda-May Ballard, 'Seal Stories and Belief on Raithlin Island', Ulster
Folklife(1988), 33-42.
7. WalterMap, De Nugis Curialium:Courtier'sTrifles,edited and translatedby M. R. James,
revisedby C. N. L. Brooksand R. A. B. Mynors (ClarendonPress, 1983). All referencesto the
text follow this edition unless otherwise stated;WalterMap's De Nugis Curialium,trans. M. R.
James,notesby J. E. Lloyd,editedby SidneyHartland,Cymmrodorion RecordSeriesNo. ix (London,
1923).
8. JulietteWood,'WalterMap:The Contentsand Contextof De Nugis Transactions
of the HonourableSocietyof Cymmrodorion1985, pp. 91-103. Curialium"
9. Map, De Nugis Curialium,Dist II, cap. 11.
10. In, for example, Owen WelshFolk-Lore(Oswestry and Wrecsam, 1887), p. 22 from
Carmarthenshire,and Rhys, Celtic Folklore,p. 62.
11. Map, De Nugis Curialium, p. 150 n.1. Nagelauc-lame or with a crutch.
12. T. Gwynn Jones, WelshFolk-Loreand Folk Custom,1930 (rpr.D. S. Brewer,1979), p. 62.
13. EwanCampbelland Alan Lane, TheLlangorseCrannogInvestigations in 1987-88,an interim
report pamphlet.
14. Charles Kightly, Folk Heroesof Britain (Thames & Hudson, 1982), pp. 111-118.Map,
De Nugis Curialium,p. 159.
15. Kightly, p. 117.
16. Bo Almqvist,'Of Mermaidsand Baloideas 58 (1990)8, n.16. ProfessorAlmqvist
suggestthatthe taleis unknownin BrittanyMarriages',
and Wales,but surelythe Welshtaleof the supernatural
wife whose sojourn with a mortal husband is dependent on such conditions must be related.
17. P. C. Bartrum,'FairyMothers' Bulletinof theBoardof CelticStudiesXIX (1962), pp. 6-8.
18. SarahLaratt Keefer, 'The Lost Tales of Dylan in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi',
Studia Celticaxxiv/xxv (1989/90), pp. 26-37.
19. Ibid., pp. 36, 30.
20. Ibid., p. 30.
21. Ibid., p. 33.
THE FAIRY BRIDE LEGEND IN WALES 71

22. Almqvist, Bealoideas8, 22.

23. Wood,op.cit., 'WalterMap' Transactions of theHonourableSocietyof Cymmrodorion (1985),
pp. 91-103.
24. James Hinton, 'WalterMap, Its Plan and Structure',PMLA (1918), p. 132; Map (edited
Brooke and Mynors), pp. xxiv, xxxii.
25. Map, p. 161.
26. Stith Thompson, Motif Indexof Folk Literature,6 vols. (BloomingtonIndianaUniversity
Press, 1955-58);ReidarTh. Christiansen, TheMigratoryLegends,op. cit.; KatharineM. Briggs,
TheAnatomyof Puck (London, 1959), Pale Hecate's Team(London, 1962).
27. See Motif List at end of article.
28. GearoidO Crualaoich,'Contestin the Cosmologyand the Ritual of the IrishMerryWake',
in 'Contests' edited by Andrew Duff-Cooper, Cosmos(Yearbookof the TraditionalCosmology
Society) 6 (1990), pp. 145-160.
29. J. Thomas, 'The Development of FolkloreStudies in Wales 1700-1900' KeystoneFolklore
Quarterly20 (1975), pp. 33-42.
30. Map, p. 158; 'et cetera lurgia facit in aerem'.
31. Rhys, op. cit., p. 55; 'iar-coed'-wood hen.
32. 5090/5092 (W),J. Wood, The TypesandMotifsof WelshFolkNarrative(FFC, forthcoming).
33. T. Gerald Hunter, OnomasticLore in the Native Middle-Welsh Prose Tale,M. Phil 1989
University College of Wales, Aberystwyth.
34. FfransisPayne, YrAradr Gymreig(Cardiff, 1950) 162ff. The difficulty in accepting that
the name of the cattle may reflect ancient Welsh breeds is that there is nothing in the language
or verse of the cattle-calling poems to suggest antiquity.
35. JenniferWestwood,Albion:A GuidetoLegendary Britain(London, 1985, 1987),pp. 314-316.
36. Personal communication to the author on a recent visit to Aberystwyth.
37. Rhys, op. cit., p. 25.
39. Ibid., p. 106.
40. Ibid., pp. 13-15.
41. Ibid., pp. 46-48.
42. Ibid., quoted by Rhys, p. 48.
43. Heda Jason, 'A MultidimensionalApproachto Oral Literature'CurrentAnthopology10
(1969), pp. 413-426; 'The Fairy Tale of the Active Heroine: An Outline for Discussion' in G.
Calame-Griaule,V. G6r6g-Karadyand M. Chiche (editors)Le Conte:Pourquoi?Comment?Folktale
... Whyand How?(CentreNationale de la RechercheScientifique,Paris, 1984),pp. 79-97; Linda
Degh, 'How StorytellersInterpretthe Snake Prince Tale' in The Tellingof Stories:Approaches
to a TraditionalCraft:A Symposium(Odense University Press, 1990).
44. Bo Almqvist, op. cit., Bealoideas,p. 39.
45. Rhys, op. cit., p. 2.
46. Thomas Jones, 'GwraigMaelgwyn Gwynedd a'r Foddrwy',Bulletinof theBoardof Celtic
Studies 18 (1958/60), pp. 55-58.
47. Rhys, op. cit., pp. 15-16.
48. Morfydd Owen, op. cit., Studia CelticaX/XI (1975-76), pp. 210-233.
49. Wirt Sykes, British Goblins(London, 1880), p. 40ff.
50. Morfydd Owen, Studia Celtica, p. 213 n. 2.
51. Ibid., p. 213 n. 7; Rhys, Celtic Folklore,p. 3.
52. Morfydd Owen, Studia Celtica, pp. 215-219.
53. Ibid., pp. 220-221.
54. J. Wood, 'A Celtic Sorcerer'sApprentice:The Magician Figure in Scottish Tradition',
Proceedingsof the ThirdInternationalConferenceon ScottishLanguageand Literature,ed. R. J.
Lyall and Felicity Riddy (Glasgow, 1983), pp. 127-142.
55. Ibid., pp. 136-138;
56. Morfydd Owen, Studia Celtica, p. 221.
57. G. Williams, 'Meddygon Myddfai' Lljn-Cymru 1 (1950-51), pp. 169-73.
58. Rhys, op. cit. Preface to volume one.
72 JULIETTE WOOD

59. RhidianGwyn. 'ChwedlauIleolPenllyna phlwfLlanfachrethMerionethshire', unpublished

Universityof WalesM.A. thesis, 1983. This is an extremelythoroughcollection of folk narrative
in a particulararea. Robin Gwyndaf, who has been collecting Welsh folk narrativesfor many
years, also collected interesting materialin the area in May 1967 (WFM T 1528-1536).
60. Morfydd Owen, Studia Celtica, p. 210.
61. Rachel Bromwich, 'The Mabinogion and Lady Charlotte Guest', Transactionsof the
HonorableSociety of Cymmrodorion (1986), 127-141.
62. Bo Almqvist, 'Scandinavianand Celtic Folklore Contacts in the Earldom of Orkney'
Saga-Book of the VikingSociety XX . . . 1-2 (1978-79), p. 103.
63. PatriciaLysaght, The Banshee: TheIrish SupernaturalDeath-Messenger (Dublin, 1986).
Of particularinterest is the map showing the distribution of these tales, p. 161.
64. Bo Almqvist, Bdaloideas,64.
65. Alan Bruford 'A note on the Folktale Evidence' in R. J. Berry and H. N. Firth (eds.),
The Peopleof Orkney(Kirkwall, 1986), pp. 171-4.