Category: Welsh Folktales

Fairies of Llyn Dwythwch

Children were often warned in the past about the dangers of fairies and John Rhys in his ‘Celtic Folklore Welsh And Manx’ (1901) vouched for an account from a lady who grew up in Cwm Brwynog thirty to forty years earlier.

Tylwyth Teg of Llyn Cwellyn

In ‘Celtic Folklore Welsh And Manx’ (1901) John Rhys mentioned a story concerning fairies that had been passed to him by two brothers who had in turn heard it from Mari Domos Siôn, who died around 1850. ‘A shepherd had once lost his way in the mist on the mountain on the land of Caeau Gwynion, towards Cwellyn Lake, and got into a ring where the Tylwyth Teg* were dancing: it was only af

A Visit to Fairyland

The following fairy folk tale takes place around Llyn Cwellyn, a 215 acre, 120 feet deep glacial lake which has now been dammed to create a reservoir. The tale is taken ‘Bedd Gelert: Its Facts, Fairies, and Folk-Lore (1899) by D E Jenkins.

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Lludd (Llud) and Llefelys (Llevelys)

The earliest origins of this story are obscure, but it first appears in the twelfth century, when Geoffrey of Monmouth included it in his History of the Kings of Britain. Monmouth’s version was the basis for what is perhaps the best-known version, which appears in ‘The Mabinogion’, the collection of old Welsh stories compiled by Lady Charlotte Guest in the late 19th century.

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The Dream of Maxen Wledig

The Dream of Maxen Wledig is one of the Medieval Welsh tales translated by Lady Charlotte Guest, which were published collectively as the Mabinogion in 1849. The story is rooted in a mythic interpretation of the twilight of Roman era in Britain.

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Arawn

A Welsh god who is the ruler of the underworld. He is mentioned in the Mabinogion in the Tale of ‘Pwyll Lord of Dyfed’ and in ‘The Spoils of Annwn’.

Pwyll meets the god while he out hunting on the fringes of his kingdom, and offends Arawn by letting his hounds loose on a stag already being hunted by him.

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Arianrhod

A Welsh goddess mentioned in the old Welsh stories now incorporated into the Mabinogion. She is the daughter of Don and the sister of Gwydion, the bard and magician.

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The Treasure of Craig-y-Ddinas

The Rock of the Fortress, was a hillfort during the Iron Age period, it is supposed to have been one of the last place the fairies lived in Britain. The following legend conforms to a folklore motif found throughout the country, namely that of sleeping warriors under hollow hills.