Llefelys (

Middle Welsh Middle Welsh ( cy, Cymraeg Canol, wlm, Kymraec) 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 ( cy, Hen ...

orthography An orthography is a set of conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, word breaks, emphasis, and punctuation. Most transnational languages in the modern period have a writing system, and mo ...

''Llevelys'', ''Lleuelys'', ''Llefelis'') is a character in

Welsh mythology Welsh mythology (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Mytholeg Cymru'') 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 the predominantly oral ...

appearing in the medieval Welsh tale '' Cyfranc Lludd a Llefelys''. In the tale, Llefelys is king of

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only durin ...

while his brother

Lludd Lludd Llaw Ereint, "Lludd of the Silver Hand", son of Beli Mawr, is a legendary hero from Welsh mythology. As Nudd Llaw Ereint (the earlier form of his name, cognate of the Irish Nuada Airgetlám, derived from the pre-Roman Celtic god Nodens) he i ...

is king of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. The tale appears in the

Red Book of Hergest The ''Red Book of Hergest'' ( cy, Llyfr Coch Hergest, Oxford, Jesus College, MS 111) is a large vellum manuscript written shortly after 1382, which ranks as one of the most important medieval manuscripts written in the Welsh language. It preserv ...

and the

White Book of Rhydderch The White Book of Rhydderch (Welsh: ''Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch'', National Library of Wales, Peniarth MS 4-5) is one of the most notable and celebrated surviving manuscripts in Welsh. Mostly written in southwest Wales in the middle of the 14th century ...

, the source texts for the ''

Mabinogion The ''Mabinogion'' () are the earliest Welsh prose stories, and belong to the Matter of Britain. The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, create ...

'', and embedded into various versions of the ''

Brut y Brenhinedd ''Brut y Brenhinedd'' ("Chronicle of the Kings") is a collection of variant Middle Welsh versions of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Latin ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. About 60 versions survive, with the earliest dating to the mid-13th century. Adaptat ...

'', the Welsh adaptation of

Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth ( la, Galfridus Monemutensis, Galfridus Arturus, cy, Gruffudd ap Arthur, Sieffre o Fynwy; 1095 – 1155) was a British cleric from Monmouth, Wales and one of the major figures in the development of British historiograph ...

's ''

Historia Regum Britanniae ''Historia regum Britanniae'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called ''De gestis Britonum'' (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. ...

''.

Etymology

The name Llefelys seems to have been derived from Cligueillus (also spelled Digueillus and Eligueillus in various manuscripts), a character found in

's famous pseudo-history ''

'', which was early on translated into Welsh as the ''

''. Geoffrey makes Cligueillus/Digueillus/Eligueillus the father of Heli and grandfather of Lud, (the prototype of Lludd), Cassibellaunus, and

Nennius Nennius – or Nemnius or Nemnivus – was a Welsh monk of the 9th century. He has traditionally been attributed with the authorship of the '' Historia Brittonum'', based on the prologue affixed to that work. This attribution is widely considere ...

. In the Welsh ''Brut y Brenhinedd'', Geoffrey's Heli son of Cligueillus becomes Beli son Manogan, a figure already known to Welsh audiences due to the influence of the 9th-century ''

Historia Brittonum ''The History of the Britons'' ( la, Historia Brittonum) is a purported history of the indigenous British ( Brittonic) people that was written around 828 and survives in numerous recensions that date from after the 11th century. The ''Historia B ...

''. Beli is the father of Lludd, Caswallawn, and Nennwy, and Llefelys is added as a fourth son. As such Cligueillus/Llefelys may have been displaced from his position as Beli's father once the well-known figure of Beli was chosen to replace the otherwise unknown Heli. Geoffrey's ''Cligueillus'' / ''Digueillus'' may be a corruption of the Old Welsh name ''Higuel'' (specifically, the 10th century AD king ''Higuel (Howel/Houuel) Bonus'' – i.e.

Hywel Dda Hywel Dda, sometimes anglicised as Howel the Good, or Hywel ap Cadell (died 949/950) was a king of Deheubarth who eventually came to rule most of Wales. He became the sole king of Seisyllwg in 920 and shortly thereafter established Deheubart ...

– mentioned in one of Geoffrey's sources, the ''

Annales Cambriae The (Latin for ''Annals of Wales'') is the title given to a complex of Latin chronicles compiled or derived from diverse sources at St David's in Dyfed, Wales. The earliest is a 12th-century presumed copy of a mid-10th-century original; later e ...

'', now Modern Welsh ''Hywel''. An alternate theory is that the name Llefelys is a compound, with the first element deriving from ''

Lleu Lleu Llaw Gyffes (, sometimes spelled 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 marriage, his death, his ...

'' (the name is usually written as ''Lleuelis'' in the Red Book and White Book texts). Lleu is a major figure in the Fourth Branch of the

Mabinogi The ''Mabinogion'' () are the earliest Welsh prose stories, and belong to the Matter of Britain. The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, create ...

, and is counterpart to the Irish mythological figure

Lugh Lugh or Lug (; ga, label= Modern Irish, Lú ) is a figure in Irish mythology. A member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, a group of supernatural beings, Lugh is portrayed as a warrior, a king, a master craftsman and a savior.Olmsted, Garrett. ''The ...

and the

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient 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, most of Switzerl ...

god

Lugus Lugus was a deity of the Celtic pantheon. His name is rarely directly attested in inscriptions, but his importance can be inferred from place names and ethnonyms, and his nature and attributes are deduced from the distinctive iconography of Gal ...

. Lludd is also probably related to an earlier pan-Celtic figure, represented by the Irish Nuada and the British

Nodens *''Nodens'' or *''Nodons'' ( reconstructed from the dative ''Nodenti'' or ''Nodonti'') is a Celtic healing god worshipped in Ancient Britain. Although no physical depiction of him has survived, votive plaques found in a shrine at Lydney Park ...

, via the earlier form Nudd. Elements of ''Lludd and Llefelys'' bear some similarity with the Irish story of Nuada and Lugh, particularly the narrative ''

Cath Maige Tuired ''Cath Maige Tuired'' (modern spelling: ''Cath Maighe Tuireadh''; ) is the name of two saga texts of the Mythological Cycle of Irish mythology. It refers to two separate battles in Connacht: the first in the territory of Conmhaícne Cúile T ...

''. Like Llefelys, Lugh is dispossessed while the kingdom (in this case

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

) is ruled by his kinsman Nuada. Eventually the kingdom is beset by oppressors and both fertility and the food supply are affected, but Lugh returns to overcome the oppression with his vast skill and knowledge.

Role

In the ''

Lludd and Llefelys ''Lludd and Llefelys'' ( cy, Cyfranc Lludd a Llefelys) is a Middle Welsh prose tale written down in the 12th or 13th century; it was included in the ''Mabinogion'' by Lady Charlotte Guest in the 19th century. It tells of the Welsh hero Lludd Llaw ...

'' narrative,

inherits the kingship of Britain from his father, Beli, and shortly thereafter helps his brother Llefelys marry the king's daughter of France. Llefelys becomes King of France, but Lludd must soon request his aid when Britain is beset by three menaces: the Coraniaid, a mysterious people who can hear everything; a terrible scream that is heard every May Eve, terrifying the people and causing pregnant women to miscarry; and the continual disappearance of the provisions of the king's court. Llefelys provides his brother with solutions to each problem. He advises Lludd to mix a

potion A potion () is a liquid "that contains medicine, poison, or something that is supposed to have magic powers.” It derives from the Latin word ''potus'' which referred to a drink or drinking. The term philtre is also used, often specifically ...

of crushed insects that will destroy the Coraniaid. The scream, he reveals, comes from two dragons fighting, so Lludd must set a trap for them and bury them beneath

Dinas Emrys Dinas Emrys () is a rocky and wooded hillock near Beddgelert in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. Rising some above the floor of the Glaslyn river valley, it overlooks the southern end of Llyn Dinas in Snowdonia. Little remains of the Iron Age hillf ...

. The final problem is caused by an enchanter who puts Lludd's court to sleep; Lludd must defeat him in combat. Lludd makes good use of his brother's advice and overcomes each obstacle. Mention is made of the "short discussion of Lludd and Llefelys" (''ymarwar Llud a Llefelis'') in a poem called ''Ymarwar Llud Bychan'' from the

Book of Taliesin The Book of Taliesin ( cy, Llyfr Taliesin) is one of the most famous of Middle Welsh manuscripts, dating from the first half of the 14th century though many of the fifty-six poems it preserves are taken to originate in the 10th century or befor ...

and the same phrase is repeated in a poem by

Llywelyn Fardd Much of Welsh language poetry has, until quite recently, been composed in various forms of strict metre (''canu caeth''), latterly with the encouragement of the eisteddfod movement. The following list is as inclusive as possible for the years p ...

.Bartrum, Peter. ''A Welsh Classical Dictionary'', National Library of Wales, 1993, p. 417.

References

{{Celtic mythology (Welsh) Welsh mythology