Branwen- Celtic GodDeity"Fairest Woman in Britain"

The Fairest Woman in Britain

Branwen ferch Llŷr was a daughter of the sea god Llŷr and sister to Brân the Blessed, the giant High King of Britain. The Second Branch of the Mabinogi names her one of the three chief maidens of the Island of the Mighty.

Marriage to Matholwch

Matholwch, King of Ireland, came to Harlech to seek Branwen's hand. Brân agreed, and the marriage was celebrated at Aberffraw in Anglesey. But Branwen's half-brother Efnisien, a man capable of causing strife between the most devoted brothers, had not been consulted. Enraged at being overlooked, Efnisien mutilated the Irish horses, cutting their lips to their teeth and their tails to their backs. The Irish king prepared to leave in fury, but Brân gave him gifts to make amends, including new horses, treasures, and the Cauldron of Rebirth, which could restore dead warriors to life though they could never speak again.

The Abuse in Ireland

Matholwch took Branwen to Ireland, where she was honored as queen and bore a son, Gwern. But the Irish nobility never forgot the insult to their king. They persuaded Matholwch that he had been dishonored, and Branwen was made to pay. She was driven from the royal chamber to work in the kitchens, and every day the butcher struck her on the ear. No ships were permitted to cross between Britain and Ireland, so that no word of her treatment could reach her brother. For three years the fairest woman in Britain labored in degradation.

The Starling Messenger

During her servitude, Branwen raised a starling. She taught the bird to recognize her brother and attached a letter to its wing describing her misery. The starling flew across the Irish Sea and found Brân at Caer Saint in Arfon, delivering the message that revealed Branwen's suffering. Brân immediately summoned every warrior in the Island of the Mighty. Because he was a giant, too vast for any ship to bear, he waded across the Irish Sea while his fleet sailed beside him.

The War and Its Devastation

The Irish attempted peace by building an enormous house capable of containing Brân and offering to make young Gwern king of Ireland. But Efnisien discovered armed warriors hidden in bags along the pillars and crushed their skulls. At the feast, when Gwern walked among his uncles receiving their pledges, Efnisien seized the boy and thrust him into the fire. War erupted.

The Irish used the Cauldron of Rebirth to raise their dead, creating an inexhaustible army. Efnisien, in a final act of redemption, hid among the Irish dead, was thrown into the cauldron, and stretched himself until both the cauldron and his heart burst. The cauldron was destroyed, but only seven Britons survived the slaughter. Brân himself was mortally wounded by a poisoned spear through his foot and commanded his men to cut off his head.

The Death of Branwen

The seven survivors returned to Britain carrying Brân's severed head. They landed at Aber Alaw in Anglesey with Branwen. She looked upon Britain and across the water toward Ireland: countless warriors dead, her brother dying, her son murdered in the fire. She spoke the words: "Woe that I was ever born. Two good islands have been destroyed because of me." Her heart broke within her, and she died.

Branwen was buried on the bank of the River Alaw in a four-sided grave.