Lord and king of Annwfn, the Welsh Otherworld, in several early narratives. Initially Arawn has a rival and archenemy Hafgan, who is eliminated in an alliance with Pwyll. Arawn and Pwyll struck up a friendship while hunting and agreed to change shapes and kingdoms for one year. No one discovered the ploy, not even Arawn's beautiful queen, whose chastity Pwyll respected. At the end of the year Pwyll disposed of Hafgan with a single blow. When he returned to his mortal shape, Pwyll learned that Arawn had been a just and wise king in his absence. The two remained strong friends.
Arawn owned a magic cauldron [Preiddiau Annwfn, the Spoils of Annwfn), one of the treasures of Britain, which Arthur coveted. He gave the pigs to Pryderi, son of Pwyll, which were to play such an important part in Welsh legend. The theft of Arawn's animals by Amaethon led to the Battle of the Trees, Cad Goddeu. In more recent Welsh legend, Arawn is displaced as ruler of the Otherworld by Gwyn ap Nudd. Some commentators see a parallel between Arawn and Tethra, a leader of the Fomorians in Irish tradition. R. S. Loomis suggested that Arawn was an antecedent of the Arthurian figure Alain li Gros, a keeper of the Grail. See also Pwyll, the first branch of the *Mabinogi.
Arawn
| Celtic Mythology: Arawn |
| WordNet: Arawn |
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
(Welsh) lord of Annwfn (the other world; land of fairies)
| Wikipedia: Arawn |
- For the character in Lloyd Alexander's 'Chronicles of Prydain' series see Arawn - Death Lord.
In Welsh mythology, Arawn was the king of the otherworld realm of Annwn.
In the First Branch of the Mabinogi, Pwyll mistakenly sets his hounds upon a stag, only to discover that Arawn has been hunting the same animal. To pay for the misdeed, Arawn asks Pwyll to trade places with him for a year and a day and defeat Hafgan, Arawn's rival, at the end of this time, something Arawn has attempted but has been unable to do. Arawn, meanwhile, takes Pwyll's place as lord of Dyfed. Arawn and Pwyll become good friends because when Pwyll wore Arawn's shape, he slept chastely with Arawn's wife.
In Welsh folklore, the Cŵn Annwn or "Hounds of Annwn" ride through the skies in autumn, winter, and early spring. The baying of the hounds was identified with the crying of wild geese as they migrate and the quarry of the hounds as wandering spirits, being chased to Annwn. However, Arawn himself is not referred to in these traditions. Later the myth was Christianised to describe the "capturing of human souls and the chasing of damned souls to Annwn", and Annwn was equated with the "Hell" of Christian tradition.
Some writers, notably Robert Graves, have written of an incident in which Amaethon steals a dog, lapwing and a white roebuck from Arawn, leading to the Cad Goddeu (Battle of the Trees), which Arawn lost to Amaethon and his brother, Gwydion. The standard text of 'Cad Goddeu' in the Book of Taliesin makes no mention of this, but the Welsh Triads records the Battle of Goddeu as one of the "Three Futile Battles of the Island of Britain...it was brought about by the cause of the bitch, together with the roebuck and the plover"[1], while Lady Charlotte Guest notes in her Mabinogion an account in the Myvyrian Archaeology[2] that the battle "was on account of a white roebuck and a whelp; and they came from Hell, and Amathaon ab Don brought them. And therefore Amathaon ab Don, and Arawn, King of Annwn (Hell), fought. And there was a man in that battle, unless his name were known he could not be overcome; and there was on the other side a woman called Achren, and unless her name were known her party could not be overcome. And Gwydion ab Don guessed the name of the man".
According to Koch[3], the name Arawn may be derived from the Biblical name Aaron, the name of Moses’s brother, and so is ultimately of Hebrew origin and meaning ‘exalted.’ That the name ‘Aaron’ had currency in Wales as early as Roman times is shown by Gildas who wrote that ‘Aaron and Iulianus were Christian martyrs at Urbs Legionis (the ‘city of the legion,’ probably Caerllion-ar-Wysg) in the time of the Emperor Diocletian.’ a cleric of the Old Welsh name Araun witnessed two charters of 860 preserved in the book of Llandaf[3].
See also
Arawn is also a term for an annoying man.
References
- ^ Rachel Bromwich, The Welsh Triads, 2nd Edition.
- ^ Guest The Mabinogion, from Peniarth manuscript 98b, 81-2 quoted at http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/cadgoddeu.html
- ^ a b Koch, J.T. (2006:79) Celtic culture: a Historical Encyclopedia. Oxford: OUP
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 | Celtic Mythology. A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Copyright © James MacKillop 1998, 2004. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. Read more |
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