Exploring
Celtic Spirituality
A Series of
Classes and Ceremonies Celebrating the Celtic Wheel of the Year
with Edie
Stone, MA
2027 Broadway, Suite H,
Boulder, Colorado 80302
303-415-3755
Article The Strange
Love Story of St. Dwynwen ©2010-2012 by Edie Stone.
Use with permission and website citation.
SAINT WHO?
Saint Dwynwen, the Welsh Patron
Saint of Lovers
by Edie Stone
Saint Dwynwen's Day in Denver,
January 26, 2013 - Dydd Santes Dwynwen
Note: Edie Stone helps produce an evening of folk traditions
for the Colorado Welsh Society every year on a Saturday near St.
Dwynwen's Day.
Where will you find a wassailing horse’s head, folk dancers, ancient
myths and recent ballads, a Welsh nun who is a patron saint of
lovers, storytelling, apples stuck with ribbons, a mythic Druid
mummers play, and a potluck? Only at Dwynwen’s Day Welsh
Fest.?
Learn about Dwynwen, the unlikely Welsh matron saint of lovers, and
Mari Lwyd, the mysterious Grey Mare. And of course, drink some good
hot tea.
The Colorado Welsh Society (CWS) presents this mini-festival of
Welsh culture on Saturday, January 26, 2013, in celebration of St.
Dwynwen’s Day. Welsh folk traditions will be shared in a fun,
participatory program.
The Welsh Fest will be held at The
Kirk of Bonnie Brae, 1201 South Steele Street, Denver, 80210. Doors
open
at 5:30, potluck at 6:00, followed by the program, which is free and
open to the public. (Donations gratefully accepted.)
We will learn about Calennig, a Welsh New Year's custom of
decorating apples and going wassailing. You will be able to make a
calennig apple if you wish. Bring bits of ribbon, lacy edging, or
little bells, if you have some.
Rowan Grove and G.R. Grove will delight listeners with storytelling
and poetry.
The CWS Folk Dancers will teach the audience an easy dance.
The Mari Lwyd will join the party, fresh from wassailing in South
Wales.
And we welcome back, for a special performance this year, members of
the Silver Branch Golden Horn Grove of the Denver Druids, and
members of CWS, who will mime a mythic mummers play. The play is
written by Gwernin, author, poet, and resident bard, from tales in
the Mabinogion.
Reservations not necessary, but for more information contact estone@ediestone.com and
put Dwynwen? in the
subject line.
See http://www.coloradowelshsociety.org/
for
more about Welsh activities in Colorado.
The Colorado Welsh Society is a state-wide, non-profit 501c3
organization, dedicated to promoting an appreciation of Welsh
culture and heritage, and to providing educational opportunities
to learn about Welsh culture, history, and
language. The next event will be a St. David’s Day
program, March 3, 2013.
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The Strange Love Story of St.
Dwynwen
by Edie Stone
St. Dwynwen, as a patron saint of lovers, is the Welsh equivalent of
St. Valentine. January 25, her feast day, is celebrated with
cards, flowers, and poetry. In recent years, there has been a
revival of interest in her legend.
St. Dwynwen was the daughter of 5th century Welsh saint and king,
Brychan Brycheiniog. She was in love with Prince Maelon
Dafodrill, but her father refused this match and promised her to
another. Some say that Dwynwen fled to the woods in grief,
others say that Maelon chased her and tried to seduce or rape her.
Dwynwen, in anguish, begged God to help her forget Maelon. In
a dream or vision, an angel came to her and gave her a potion which
eased her heartache. It also had the surprising effect of
turning Maelon into a statue of ice.
Dwynwen was also given three wishes. First, she wished that Maelon
be thawed. She also wished that she never fall in love again
or marry, and that God would answer all her prayers on behalf of
lovers. Lovers who invoked her either found true love or were
cured of their lovesickness.
Dwynwen became a nun and established a convent on Llanddwyn Island,
a small jut of land off the coast of Anglesey in north-west
Wales. Her holy well became a site of pilgrimage and
divination for hopeful or forlorn lovers. The movements of an eel
would reveal the lovers’ future relationship, and if the water moved
a lot, they would be particularly lucky.
One pilgrim to St. Dwynwen’s island was the renowned medieval Welsh
poet, Dafydd ap Gwilym. He invoked her aid in helping him to
seduce a married woman, surely an odd role for a saint. Dangos
o'th radau dawngoeth / Nad wyd fursen, Ddwynwen ddoeth. “Prove, by
your gifts of splendid grace that you are no prim virgin, prudent
Dwynwen,” he wrote.
St. Dwynwen also gained a reputation for healing sick animals, a
tradition which has survived in parts of Wales to the present time.
Gifts from grateful lovers and pilgrims made Llanddwyn a rich area,
and in the Tudor era a lovely chapel was built on the site of the
original chapel. It now stands in ruins.
The Reformation suppressed but did not eliminate many of the
traditions of the saints. The legend of St. Dwynwen was
revived in the late 18th Century by Iolo Morgannwg, who probably
elaborated details. But there was a continuity of the folk
tradition throughout the centuries. Because of the remoteness of the
area, local customs of divination persisted on Llanddwyn, and there
was a “woman of the well” giving readings even in the 19th
Century.
The current interest in St. Dwynwen is part of a growing revival of
interest in Welsh culture, language, and folk traditions.
Ruins of St. Dwynwen's Church on Llanddwyn Island, 2007.
Image from Wikipedia Creative Commons, by
User:Noel.morgan2000
Older roots? Celtic Goddesses and
Healing Wells
There are aspects of the legend of Dwynwen that may point to an even
earlier layer of Celtic mythology. Throughout the British
Isles, there are sacred springs, holy wells, and other sacred sites
that are dedicated to female saints. In many cases, there was
a goddess associated with these locations in the centuries before
the Christian era.
St. Brigid is the most famous figure whose imagery and symbolism
arise from the mythology of a goddess and are carried forward and
integrated into the life and legends of a saint. Brigid was
the step-daughter of a Druid, a friend of St. Patrick, and the
founder of a monastery in Kildare, Ireland. Both goddess and
saint were renowned as healers, and the water of Brigid’s sacred
well attracts many pilgrims and visitors every year. Like St.
Dwynwen, St. Brigid was known as a protector and healer of
livestock. Brigid, both as goddess and saint, had a special
role in women’s lives as the patron of midwives and protector of
childbirth. (Perhaps St. Brigid’s services were more needed
after lovers’ prayers to St. Dwynwen were answered?)
St. Brigid is San Ffraid in Welsh. She was honored with
several churches in Wales named Llansanffraid. Her feast day
is February 1, which was the old Celtic festival of Imbolc.
This is so close to St. Dwynwen’s day of January 25, that one can
only wonder if there is a connection.
St. Dwynwen was not the only early Celtic saint to experience
difficulties from an ardent suitor. Brigid as a young woman
was nearly forced into a marriage -- she blinded herself in one eye
so as not to be attractive. She later miraculously healed
herself. (Many Celtic holy wells are associated with eye
cures.)
When St. Winifred (Gwenfrewi in Welsh) refused to marry a prince
named Caradoc, he pursued her and cut off her head. A fountain
burst forth when her head touched the earth. Fortunately, her uncle
St. Beuno was able to bring her back to life. She founded a
convent at Holywell, near Whitford. Pilgrims and tourists
still visit her sacred waters.
The image of the severed head may harken back to ancient Celtic
traditions in which skulls and heads held prophetic and healing
powers. Even in the Christian era, skulls, usually the relic
of a saint or hero, were often kept at holy wells for use by
pilgrims as drinking cups.
St. Non, the mother of the patron saint of Wales, Saint David (Dewi
in Welsh), was also attacked by a suitor. She was raped by
Sant, King of Ceredigion. She gave birth near a spring about a
mile from the present site of St. David’s Cathedral on the west
coast of Wales. Her holy well has been revered for
centuries. Again, the waters were famous for curing eye
diseases.
There are other aspects to Dwynwen’s legend that suggest
similarities to classical mythology. Like the Roman goddess
Diana, Dwynwen’s symbol was the crescent moon, and she carried a bow
of destiny. Also like Diana, she had to struggle to maintain
her chastity. But on the other hand, Dwynwen’s magic belt or
girdle was similar to the Cestus of Venus. Celtic deities
often embodied contradictory qualities. Whether there was a
Celtic goddess who embodied these images, or whether these are
elements added by Iolo Morgannwg, I don’t know.
There is a pattern in ancient Greek mythology of goddesses who were
raped or seduced by male gods. This pattern arose in the era
when matriarchal, earth-centered cultures and their goddess shrines
were overrun and conquered by the patriarchal, Indo-European sky god
culture. Elements of the power of the goddesses survived in
local healing sites, springs, shrines, and legends.
Saints Dwynwen, Brigid, Winifred, and Non bear an archetypal
similarity to the earlier goddesses. The saints resisted the
patriarchal power of father or king, and were threatened or overcome
by their aggressive suitors. But each in their own way
triumphed over this disempowerment, maintained their integrity, and
founded communities. Their healing power and presence survive
in the healing qualities of their sacred wells.
Saint Who? Saint Dwynwen,
the Welsh Patron Saint of Lovers ©2010 by Edie
Stone.
Use with permission and website citation: http://www.ediestone.com/dwynwen-article.html
Mari Lwyd Begs for Food
photo ©2010 by Edie Stone
Calennig Apple photo
©2011 by Edie Stone
See http://www.coloradowelshsociety.org/
for
more about Welsh activities in Colorado.
Return to Celtic Spirituality page: http://www.ediestone.com/exploringcelticspirituality.html
Return to Edie Stone's main
page
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What’s this about a horse crashing the party??
Mari Lwyd, the Grey Mare, an ancient wassailing custom of South
Wales
by Edie Stone
Mari Lwyd is a wassailing custom which was common in the villages of
South Wales during Christmas, New Years, or Twelfth Night. It
nearly died out in the mid-twentieth century, but has been revived
by folk clubs and the Museum of Welsh Life, St. Fagan’s.
The custom of Mari Lwyd embodies images of death and rebirth, old
bones and fertility, hunger and plenty, begging and
generosity. It takes place at the turning of the year, when
hope and new light are reborn from midwinter darkness.
The Mari Lwyd is a horse’s
head, of bone, wood, or paper mache, which is set on a pole, covered
with a white sheet, and decorated with ribbons. It was worn by
a man and accompanied by a group of singers (sometimes also in
costumes, similar to a mummers play). They would sing at the
door of pubs or homes, demanding entry. The folks inside would
reply with verses of their own, in a fun and often insulting battle
of wits. Once admitted, the Mari Lwyd would bite and tease the
inhabitants, demand food and drink, and create much merriment.
A visit from the Mari Lwyd was believed to bring fertility and
prosperity to the inhabitants.
There is much speculation about the history and symbolism of this
strange custom. Some suggest that it originated in the Middle
Ages as a pageant in honor of Mary. (But why would anyone
honor Mary with a horse’s skull?)
Others believe that the Mari Lwyd is a remnant of an ancient Celtic
fertility custom. There is a similar white mare in Irish
legend, the Láir Bhán, which appeared at Samhuin at
the end of harvest. (Samhuin marked the turning of the old
year in the ancient Celtic calendar, and evolved into
Halloween). On the Isle of Man, the Laare Vane appeared at
harvest and Twelfth Night. Other aspects of an ancient horse
goddess appear in legends of Macha in Ireland and Rhiannon in Wales,
and in figures of Epona from Gaul.
There are similar hooded horses and “Hoodening” customs in Kent
during the Christmas season. A white horse also appears in the
Soul Caking customs of Cheshire at Halloween. Both Hoodening
and Soul Caking contain themes of death and resurrection.
So at least at the symbolic level, and perhaps at the historic
level, there is a common thread of imagery at this time of darkness
in mid-winter: wandering white horses, bones and rebirth, hunger and
plenty, exclusion and welcome, a crossing of the bounds of propriety
and a renewal of community. The mysterious custom of Mari Lwyd
itself nearly died, but has been reborn ... just another turning of
the wheel.
Mari Lwyd, the Grey Mare, an Ancient Wassailing Custom
of South Wales ©2010 by Edie Stone.
Use with permission and website citation: http://www.ediestone.com/dwynwen-article.html