Afallach

Last updated August 06, 2019

Afallach (Old Welsh Aballac) is a man's name found in several medieval Welsh genealogies, where he is made the son of Beli Mawr. According to a medieval Welsh triad, Afallach was the father of the goddess Modron.^[1] The Welsh redactions of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae , Brut y Brenhinedd, associate him with Ynys Afallach, which is substituted as the Welsh name for Geoffrey's Insula Avalonsis (Island of Avalon), but this is fanciful medieval etymology and it is more likely his name derives from the Welsh word afall "apple tree" (modern Welsh afal "apple", afallen "apple tree"^[2] cf. Proto-Celtic *aballo- "apple"^[3]); from which, granted, the name of Avalon is also often thought to derive, so that the meaning of "Afallach" is associated but not necessarily directly. In the tale of Urien and Modron he is referred to by his daughter as the King of Annwn, therefore he may originally been cognate with Arawn or Gwyn or perhaps all three were once regional variants of the same Deity.

Old Welsh is the label attached to the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic around 550, has been called "Primitive" or "Archaic Welsh".

Beli Mawr was an ancestor figure in Middle Welsh literature and genealogies. He is the father of Cassivellaunus, Arianrhod, Lludd Llaw Eraint, Llefelys, and Afallach. In certain medieval genealogies he is listed as the husband of Anna, cousin of Mary, mother of Jesus. According to the Welsh Triads, Beli and Dôn were the parents of Arianrhod, but the mother of Beli's other children—and the father of Dôn's other children—is not mentioned in the medieval Welsh literature. Several royal lines in medieval Wales traced their ancestry to Beli. The Mabinogi names Penarddun as a daughter of Beli Mawr, but the genealogy is confused; it is possible she was meant to be his sister rather than daughter.

Modron ("mother") is a figure in Welsh tradition, known as the mother of the hero Mabon ap Modron. Both characters may have derived from earlier divine figures, in her case the Gaulish goddess Matrona. She may have been a prototype for Morgan le Fay from the Arthurian legend.

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References

↑ Koch, J. T. (ed.), Celtic culture: a historical encyclopedia, ABC-CLIO, 2006, p. 146.
↑ Bernhard Maier, Dictionary of Celtic Religion and Culture (trans. Cyril Edwards, The Boydell Press, 1997).
↑ . University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. (See also this page for background and disclaimers.) Cf. also the University of Leiden database Archived 2006-02-11 at the Wayback Machine .

Pen. 147. trans. Rachel Bromwich. Trioedd Ynys Prydein. Cardiff: UWP, 1963. p.459.

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[1] Koch, J. T. (ed.), Celtic culture: a historical encyclopedia, ABC-CLIO, 2006, p. 146.

[2] Bernhard Maier, Dictionary of Celtic Religion and Culture (trans. Cyril Edwards, The Boydell Press, 1997).

[CAWCS-3] . University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. (See also this page for background and disclaimers.) Cf. also the University of Leiden database Archived 2006-02-11 at the Wayback Machine .