Description
Attributed by all of the mediaeval manuscripts to Dafydd ap Gwilym, but rejected from the canon by Parry on the somewhat flimsy grounds that Dafydd had already written a very different poem to an owl (also included in this collection). Paraphrased by Giles Watson. The story of Blodeuwedd, the maiden composed of flowers, and magically brought to life by Math, son of Mathonwy, and Gwydion, son of Dôn, is recorded in the fourth branch of the Mabinogion. Created as the ideal wife for Gwydion?s son, Lleu Llau Gyffes, Blodeuwedd fell in love with Gronw Pebyr, and conspired with him to murder her husband. This was achieved in a most improbable manner: by thrusting a spear through a standing-stone and into Lleu?s side as he drifted down the river on a boat. Gwydion transformed Blodeuwedd into an owl as an eternal punishment for her adultery and treachery. On being struck by the spear, Lleu transformed into an eagle, and was later healed and turned back into a man by his father. The age-long appeal of the story is partly attributable to its magical wisdom, and partly to the fact that it can be alternately interpreted as a tale of trust and betrayal, or as a parable about free will. In addition to this reinterpretation by Dafydd, it has inspired a poem by Robert Graves, and Alan Garner?s haunting modern re-enactment of the legend, The Owl Service. There can be little doubt that the tale is of great antiquity, and the reference to Conwy in this poem, which does not occur in the Mabinogion, suggests that Dafydd may have been using another source, now lost to us. For all my paraphrases of Dafydd's work, see: http://www.scribd.com/doc/29424634/Dafydd-ap-Gwilym-Paraphrases-and-Palimpsests

Tags
Dafydd, ap, Gwilym, Welsh, Blodeuwedd, Blodeuedd, Mabinogion