Gofannon () is a

Middle Welsh Middle Welsh (, ) is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh (). Literature and history Middle Welsh is ...

reflex of

Gobannus Gobannus (or Gobannos, the Gaulish form, sometimes Cobannus) was a Gallo-Roman smithing god. A number of statues dedicated to him are preserved, found together with a bronze cauldron dedicated to ''Deus Cobannos'', in the late 1980s and illegally ...

, one of the

deities A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

worshipped by the ancient Celts. He features in Middle Welsh literature as a great

metal worker Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals in order to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term, it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on e ...

and as the son of

Dôn Dôn () is an ancestor figure in Welsh legend and literature. She is typically given as the mother of a group known as the "Children of Dôn", including Gwydion, Arianrhod, and Gilfaethwy, among many others. However, antiquarians of the earl ...

. His name can be compared with the

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic (, Ogham, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ; ; or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic languages, Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive written texts. It was used from 600 to 900. The ...

''gobae'' (gen. ''gobann'') ‘

smith Smith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England ** List of people ...

’,

/ Cornish /

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...

''gof'' (pl. ''gofein'') ‘

’,

Gaulish Gaulish is an extinct Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, ...

''gobedbi'' ‘with the smiths’, all of which are cognate with Lithuanian ''

gabija Gabija (also known as Gabieta, Gabeta) is the spirit of the fire in Lithuanian mythology. She is the protector of home and family. Her name is derived from ''gaubti'' (to cover, to protect) or from St. Agatha (, Gafiya). Gabija is only mentione ...

'' ‘sacred home fire’, ''gabus'' ‘gifted, clever’. His apparent counterpart in

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally Oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era. In the History of Ireland (795–1169), early medieval era, myths were ...

Goibniu In Irish mythology, Goibniu (; ) was the metalsmith of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He is believed to have been a smithing god and is also associated with hospitality. His name is related to the Welsh Gofannon and the Gaulish Gobannus. Etymology The ...

, in addition to his duties as a smith, also takes on the role of a divine hero who brewed an ale of immortality, in addition to being an architect and builder. In

Welsh mythology Welsh mythology (also commonly known as ''Y Chwedlau'', meaning "The Legends") consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of t ...

, Gofannon killed his nephew,

Dylan Ail Don Dylan ail Don () (in Middle Welsh) is a character in the Welsh mythic Mabinogion tales, particularly in the fourth tale, "'' Math fab Mathonwy''". The story of Dylan reflects ancient Celtic myths that were handed down orally for some generations ...

, not knowing who he was. One of the tasks given to

Culhwch Culhwch (, with the final consonant sounding like Scottish "loch"), in Welsh mythology, is the son of Cilydd son of Celyddon and Goleuddydd, a cousin of Arthur and the protagonist of the story '' Culhwch and Olwen'' (the earliest of the mediev ...

if he were to win the hand of Olwen was to get Gofannon to sharpen his brother

Amaethon In Welsh mythology, Amaethon ( (), meaning "Amaethon son of Dôn") was the god of agriculture, and the son of the goddess DônCotterell, Arthur: The Encyclopedia of Mythology, page 97. Hermes House, 2007. and Beli Mawr, and brother to Arianrhod, ...

's plough. Rankine and d'Este (2007), examining ''Talieisin's First Address'' from the

Red Book of Hergest Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secon ...

, also allude to Gofannon being a magician, with the ''First Address'' stating:

Bibliography

* d'Este, Sorita; Rankine, David (2007). ''The Isles of the Many Gods: An A-Z of the Pagan Gods & Goddesses of Ancient Britain worshipped during the First Millennium through to the Middle Ages''. Avalonia.

References

{{Celtic mythology (Welsh) Smithing gods Welsh gods Welsh mythology