Llyn y Fan Fach and the Lady of the Lake
Jan. 25th, 2017 12:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
braingunkLlyn y Fan Fach a Morwyn y Llyn
Rhiwallon was the son of Blaensawdde farm, Llanddeusant. His mother was a widow and the farm was his responsibility. One of his regular tasks was to check on the animals grazing the hill above Llyn y Fan Fach. He often got there just about lunchtime so it was his habit to stop at the lakeside to eat his lunch.
One day as he lay there enjoying the peace and quiet, there was a disturbance on the surface of the water and to his amazement, a woman – the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen – emerged from the lake and sat on a rock combing her hair in the sun. He offered her some of his lunch – barley bread and cheese – which she inspected briefly before saying “Cras dy fara, nid hawdd fy nala” (Your bread is coarse, you won’t catch me that easily”).
Encouraged by not having been rejected out of hand, when he returned home later that evening Rhiwallon told his mother what had transpired. She promised to bake some moister bread for him to take the following day in the hopes that this might be more to the lady’s liking.
The next day at lunchtime there she was again on the same rock, combing her long hair in the sunlight. Again, he offered her some of his bread and again she declined it, saying “Llaith dy fara, ti ni fynna”[1] (Your bread is too soggy, I don’t want you).
He knew he had to win her somehow so his mother gave him bread that was slightly less well-baked than usual for the following day. This time, instead of her sitting on the rock combing her hair, he saw a herd of cattle walking on the surface of the lake with the lady herding them. He offered her the bread and this time she accepted but said there was one further test he must pass if he wanted to marry her.
Having said this, she disappeared again beneath the surface of the lake to reappear minutes later with another, identical woman and a burly man. The man spoke to Rhiwallon and said that if he would marry his daughter, he must first be able to tell her apart from her sister. Rhiwallon was on the point of conceding defeat when ‘his’ lady moved her foot forwards very slightly. Rhiwallon declared that this was the sister he loved.
The father congratulated him on choosing correctly and gave his consent to the marriage on condition that if Rhiwallon should hit her three times[2] she would return to the lake and he would never see her again. Rhiwallon agreed on the spot and promised he would be a good husband.
For a dowry, the father promised her as many sheep, cattle and horses as she could count in a single breath. She counted as quickly as she could in fives and each time the same number of animals emerged from the lake. They went to live at Esgair Llaethdy farm, just over the hill in Myddfai parish and there they prospered and raised a healthy family.
The years rolled by and the children grew up and Esgair Llaethdy became renowned for pure white cattle with black points which calved easily and thrived on the poor mountain grazing. All seemed perfect until Rhiwallon asked her to fetch a pony from the field while he fetched something from the house. On returning and discovering that she had not brought the pony he smacked her playfully on the shoulder and urged her: “Cer! Cer!” (Go on, go!). Her face grew dark as she turned to him and said: “You’ve hit me once. If you hit me three times I must return to the lake”.
Years went by without incident until they were at a wedding in the parish and she started crying. Rhiwallon shook her gently as he pleaded with her not to cry and asked what was wrong. She told him “I have seen what lies in store for this couple and it would have been better if they had not married. The husband’s troubles are only just beginning.
“And now you’ve hit me twice. If you hit me again I will go back to the lake.”
The third time Rhiwallon hit her was at a funeral when she suddenly started laughing. This time the explanation was that “When people die, they pass beyond all pain and suffering. But now you’ve hit me three times and I must go back to my people.”
She got up and left the church. Returning to Esgair Llaethdy, she started calling the animals back home, calling the cattle by name:
Mu wlfrech, Moelfrech
Mu olfrech, Gwynfrech,
Pedair cae tonfrech,
Yr hen Wynebwen,
A’r las Geigen,
Gyda’r tarw gwyn
O lys y Brenin
A’r llo du bach
Sydd ar y bach,
Dere dithau yn iach adre’[3]
All the cattle got up and followed her back to the lake and disappeared forever, even the black calf hanging on the hook, and four oxen which were yoked to a plough. These dragged the plough with them, leaving a huge furrow in their wake which it is said can be seen to this day.[4]
As promised, that was the last Rhiwallon ever saw of his wife but she came back frequently to visit her children and to teach her sons how to use plants to treat illness. They later went to work at the court of Rhys Gryg, ruler of Deheubarth (died 1234) and were known as Meddygon Myddfai (the Physicians of Myddfai), the first of a long line of physicians and healers.
Afterthoughts
The line of physicians was unbroken until John Jones, died in 1739. There is a memorial stone to him in Myddfai parish church.
The white cattle at Dinefwr castle are reputedly descended from the cattle of Esgair Llaethdy;
Dr Robin Jones, consultant oncologist at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Chelsea, and former head of the sarcoma programme at the University of Washington / Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. is a direct descendant of the physicians of Myddfai.
Rhiwallon was the son of Blaensawdde farm, Llanddeusant. His mother was a widow and the farm was his responsibility. One of his regular tasks was to check on the animals grazing the hill above Llyn y Fan Fach. He often got there just about lunchtime so it was his habit to stop at the lakeside to eat his lunch.
One day as he lay there enjoying the peace and quiet, there was a disturbance on the surface of the water and to his amazement, a woman – the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen – emerged from the lake and sat on a rock combing her hair in the sun. He offered her some of his lunch – barley bread and cheese – which she inspected briefly before saying “Cras dy fara, nid hawdd fy nala” (Your bread is coarse, you won’t catch me that easily”).
Encouraged by not having been rejected out of hand, when he returned home later that evening Rhiwallon told his mother what had transpired. She promised to bake some moister bread for him to take the following day in the hopes that this might be more to the lady’s liking.
The next day at lunchtime there she was again on the same rock, combing her long hair in the sunlight. Again, he offered her some of his bread and again she declined it, saying “Llaith dy fara, ti ni fynna”[1] (Your bread is too soggy, I don’t want you).
He knew he had to win her somehow so his mother gave him bread that was slightly less well-baked than usual for the following day. This time, instead of her sitting on the rock combing her hair, he saw a herd of cattle walking on the surface of the lake with the lady herding them. He offered her the bread and this time she accepted but said there was one further test he must pass if he wanted to marry her.
Having said this, she disappeared again beneath the surface of the lake to reappear minutes later with another, identical woman and a burly man. The man spoke to Rhiwallon and said that if he would marry his daughter, he must first be able to tell her apart from her sister. Rhiwallon was on the point of conceding defeat when ‘his’ lady moved her foot forwards very slightly. Rhiwallon declared that this was the sister he loved.
The father congratulated him on choosing correctly and gave his consent to the marriage on condition that if Rhiwallon should hit her three times[2] she would return to the lake and he would never see her again. Rhiwallon agreed on the spot and promised he would be a good husband.
For a dowry, the father promised her as many sheep, cattle and horses as she could count in a single breath. She counted as quickly as she could in fives and each time the same number of animals emerged from the lake. They went to live at Esgair Llaethdy farm, just over the hill in Myddfai parish and there they prospered and raised a healthy family.
The years rolled by and the children grew up and Esgair Llaethdy became renowned for pure white cattle with black points which calved easily and thrived on the poor mountain grazing. All seemed perfect until Rhiwallon asked her to fetch a pony from the field while he fetched something from the house. On returning and discovering that she had not brought the pony he smacked her playfully on the shoulder and urged her: “Cer! Cer!” (Go on, go!). Her face grew dark as she turned to him and said: “You’ve hit me once. If you hit me three times I must return to the lake”.
Years went by without incident until they were at a wedding in the parish and she started crying. Rhiwallon shook her gently as he pleaded with her not to cry and asked what was wrong. She told him “I have seen what lies in store for this couple and it would have been better if they had not married. The husband’s troubles are only just beginning.
“And now you’ve hit me twice. If you hit me again I will go back to the lake.”
The third time Rhiwallon hit her was at a funeral when she suddenly started laughing. This time the explanation was that “When people die, they pass beyond all pain and suffering. But now you’ve hit me three times and I must go back to my people.”
She got up and left the church. Returning to Esgair Llaethdy, she started calling the animals back home, calling the cattle by name:
Mu wlfrech, Moelfrech
Mu olfrech, Gwynfrech,
Pedair cae tonfrech,
Yr hen Wynebwen,
A’r las Geigen,
Gyda’r tarw gwyn
O lys y Brenin
A’r llo du bach
Sydd ar y bach,
Dere dithau yn iach adre’[3]
As promised, that was the last Rhiwallon ever saw of his wife but she came back frequently to visit her children and to teach her sons how to use plants to treat illness. They later went to work at the court of Rhys Gryg, ruler of Deheubarth (died 1234) and were known as Meddygon Myddfai (the Physicians of Myddfai), the first of a long line of physicians and healers.
Afterthoughts
The line of physicians was unbroken until John Jones, died in 1739. There is a memorial stone to him in Myddfai parish church.
The white cattle at Dinefwr castle are reputedly descended from the cattle of Esgair Llaethdy;
Dr Robin Jones, consultant oncologist at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Chelsea, and former head of the sarcoma programme at the University of Washington / Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. is a direct descendant of the physicians of Myddfai.
[1] According to some sources, “ti ni chara’” (I do not/shall not love you)
[2] Some versions add ‘without cause’ and others specify ‘with iron’
[3] Hump-brindled, Poll-brindled, Rump-brindled, White-freckled, Four meadow-speckled ones, Old Whitefaced, and Grey Squinteye, with the white bull from the King’s court and the little Black calf which is on the hook, come you home sound, too (adapted from the 'tentative' translation given in T. Gwynn Jones: Welsh Folklore and Tradition (Methuen; 1930) p. 63)
[4] This puts me in mind of the legend of Cwys yr Ychen Bannog (the Furrow of the Horned Oxen) which separates Llanddewi Brefi from Tregaron. Both may be attempts to explain glacial features.
