Rhiannon
Otherworldly queen of Welsh legend, whose magical birds sing the dead awake and the living to sleep.
In the Mabinogi, Rhiannon rides a pale horse that no rider can catch, until Pwyll asks her to stop. Falsely accused of killing her infant son, she is made to carry visitors on her back like a horse until the boy, Pryderi, is found alive. Scholars connect her to an older 'great queen' goddess.
Symbols
In the ancient sources
The Mabinogi and Welsh tales
- Mabinogi, First Branch From the mound of Arberth, Pwyll sees her ride past on a pure-white horse; no one can catch her until he calls to her.
- Mabinogi, First Branch Falsely accused of killing her baby son, she sits by the horse-block for seven years, offering to carry guests on her back.
- Mabinogi, Second Branch At Harlech the seven survivors hear the birds of Rhiannon singing for seven years, far over the sea yet clear as if close by.
- Mabinogi, Third Branch Married to Manawydan, she is trapped by a magic golden bowl and made to wear donkeys' collars, in revenge for her first suitor.
- Culhwch and Olwen The giant Ysbaddaden demands the birds of Rhiannon, whose song wakes the dead and lulls the living to sleep.
Her name probably comes from an old British title meaning 'great queen'; linking her to the Gaulish horse goddess Epona is a scholarly theory.
Cross-checked against these texts and records, in public-domain or freely available versions where they exist. Line, section and chapter numbers follow the standard editions, so a particular translation may differ slightly.
Correspondences Explore all
- Animals
- White horse, Songbirds
These mix ancient attributes with modern associations from contemporary pagan and magical practice; the modern ones weren't part of her original worship.