Gronw Pebr () "Gronw the Radiant" is a warrior, hunter and
antagonist
An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.Welsh tradition, appearing primarily in the fourth branch of the ''Mabinogi'' as the lord of Penllyn, the lover of
Blodeuwedd
Blodeuwedd (; Welsh "Flower-Faced", a composite name from ''blodau'' "flowers" + ''gwedd'' "face"), is married to Lleu Llaw Gyffes in Welsh mythology. She was made from the flowers of broom, meadowsweet and oak by the magicians Math and Gwydio ...
and the murderer of
Lleu Llaw Gyffes
Lleu Llaw Gyffes (), sometimes incorrectly spelled as Llew Llaw Gyffes, is a hero of Welsh mythology. He appears most prominently in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, the tale of Math fab Mathonwy, which tells the tale of his birth, his marriag ...
. He is also mentioned in the
Welsh Triads
The Welsh Triads (, "Triads of the Island of Britain") are a group of related texts in medieval manuscripts which preserve fragments of Welsh folklore, mythology and traditional history in groups of three. The triad is a rhetorical form whereby o ...
and in the medieval poem ''
Cad Goddeu
''Cad Goddeu'' (, ) is a medieval Welsh language, Welsh poem preserved in the 14th-century manuscript known as the Book of Taliesin. The poem refers to a traditional story in which the legendary enchanter Gwydion animates the trees of the forest to ...
''.
Role in Welsh tradition
Lleu Llaw Gyffes
Lleu Llaw Gyffes (), sometimes incorrectly spelled as Llew Llaw Gyffes, is a hero of Welsh mythology. He appears most prominently in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, the tale of Math fab Mathonwy, which tells the tale of his birth, his marriag ...
has been placed under a
tynged
A ''tynged'' ("destiny, fate", ''plural tynghedau'') is the Welsh equivalent of the Irish '' geas'', similar to being under a vow, curse or spell. The most famous example is that placed by Arianrhod on her son Lleu Llaw Gyffes in the fourth of th ...
that he would never gain a wife of human birth. His uncle, the
trickster
In mythology and the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a character in a story (god, goddess, spirit, human or anthropomorphisation) who exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherw ...
and magician
Gwydion
Gwydion fab Dôn () is a magician, hero and trickster of Welsh mythology, appearing most prominently in the Fourth Branch of the ''Mabinogi'', which focuses largely on his relationship with his young nephew, Lleu Llaw Gyffes. He also appears ...
joins forces with the
Venedotian
The Kingdom of Gwynedd (Medieval Latin: ; Middle Welsh: ) was a Welsh kingdom and a Roman Empire successor state that emerged in sub-Roman Britain in the 5th century during the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain.
Based in northwest Wales, the ...
king
Math fab Mathonwy
In Welsh mythology, Math fab Mathonwy (), also called Math ap Mathonwy (Math, son of Mathonwy) was a king of Gwynedd who needed to rest his feet in the lap of a virgin unless he was at war, or he would die. The story of Math is the fourth of the F ...
to create a woman for Lleu, out of the flowers of oak,
broom
A broom (also known as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool, consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. It is thus a ...
and meadowsweet, naming her Blodeuwedd. One day, while Lleu is away on business, Gronw Pebr, lord of Penllyn, comes across Lleu's stronghold whilst out hunting and falls in love with Blodeuwedd. They conspire to kill Lleu so that they can be together.
Lleu can only be killed if certain conditions are met, and Blodeuwedd tricks him into revealing what these conditions are. He can not be killed indoors or outdoors, on horseback or on foot. Consequently, he can only be killed whilst he has one foot on a cauldron and one on a goat (the cauldron being placed on a stream bank but under a roof) and by someone using a spear forged over a year and only when people are attending mass.
Blodeuwedd coaxes the secret from Lleu and a year later, Gronw ambushes the prince. He flings the spear at Lleu, who disappears in the form of an eagle. Gronw and Blodeuwedd now assume power, but on hearing the news of his nephew Gwydion sets out to find and cure him. He finds Lleu in the form of a wounded eagle perched in an oak tree and restores him to human form.
Together they overcome Gronw, and make him stand in the same position that Lleu occupied when Gronw flung the spear at him. Gronw is allowed to hold a stone as a shield, but Lleu throws the spear so hard that it penetrates the stone and kills Gronw. Gwydion curses Blodeuwedd, turning her into an owl.