Annwn

Annwn or Annwfn (Middle Welsh Annwvn, sometimes inaccurately written Annwyn, Annwyfn or Annwfyn) was the Otherworld, the land of souls that had departed this world in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn, or much later by Gwynn ap Nudd, it was essentially a world of delights and eternal youth where disease is absent and food is ever-abundant. Annwn was said to lie so far to the west that not even Manawydan ap Llyr had found it, for you could only reach Annwn by dying yourself. It was also said, though, that Annwn could be entered by those still living if they could find the door.

Name and etymology

Middle Welsh sources suggest that the term was recognised as meaning "very deep" in medieval times (Sims-Williams 1990). The appearance of a form antumnos on an ancient Gaulish curse tablet, however, suggests that the original term may been *ande-dubnos, a common Gallo-Brittonic word that literally meant "underworld" (Lambert 2003). The Modern Welsh spelling Annwn is pronounced /ˈannʊn/ or an'oon.

The door

The door was said to be at the mouth of the Severn near Lundy Island or on Glastonbury Tor. (The temple of Nudd archaeologically discovered near Lydney, and Brythonic stories such as the tale of Seithenyn, suggest that the Severn Bore held symbolic importance in Druid esoteric spiritual teachings. Glastonbury appears widely as a sacred Isle of the Dead and as the place where saints and kings are buried.)

Supposedly, on a certain day of the year, this door would open, and the inhabitants would welcome humans in for feasting and celebration, upon the condition that they took nothing back with them to the human realm. This went on until one reveller kept a flower in his pocket. From that day on, the door has remained closed.

Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed

In the First Branch of the Mabinogi, entitled Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed, the eponymous prince offends Arawn, ruler of Annwn, by baiting his hunting hounds on a stag that Arawn's dogs had brought down. In recompense he exchanges places with Arawn for a year and defeats Arawn's enemy Hafgan. Meanwhile, Arawn rules Dyfed. During this year, Pwyll does not sleep with Arawn's wife, earning himself gratitude from Arawn. On his return, Pwyll becomes known by the title Penn Annwn, "Head of Annwn."

Culhwch and Olwen

In Culhwch and Olwen, an Arthurian romance also associated with the Mabinogion, it is said God gave Gwyn ap Nudd control over the demons lest "this world be destroyed." He led the Wild Hunt. A Christian story tells of the Welsh Saint Collen entering Gwynn's palace to banish him with holy water.

Book of Taliesin

In the Book of Taliesin, an esoteric poem called Preiddeu Annwfn (conventionally translated The Spoils of Annwn) on its face tells a tale of Arthur and his knights traveling through Annwn, searching for a magical cauldron possessed by nine women. Only seven come back from the journey. It may be a precursor of later Holy Grail stories involving King Arthur and his knights. The nine maidens related to actual groups of nine priestesses in ancient Celtic society. Geoffrey of Monmouth told stories of Morgan le Fay and eight other priestesses in his poem, Vita Merlini, who lived on the Isle of Apples or Avalon. Avalon, as an otherworld island, is often identified with Annwn.

Scholars say the spelling in the text of the poem is 10th century. But Welsh poetry was for centuries transmitted orally by bards and it is possible that the poem in its original form dates back to the 6th century, when Taliesin is supposed to have lived.

See also

• Cŵn Annwn
• Other World

References

• Lambert, Pierre-Yves. 2003. La langue gauloise: description linguistique, commentaire d’inscriptions choisies. Paris: Errance. 2nd ed.
• Sims-Williams, Patrick. 1990. Some Celtic otherworld terms. Celtic Language, Celtic Culture: A Festschrift for Eric P. Hamp, ed. Ann T.E. Matonis and Daniel F. Mela, 57-84. Van Nuys, Ca.: Ford & Bailie.

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