Aderyn y Corff

Last updated
Aderyn y Corff
Similar entities Ravens
Púca
FolkloreLegend
Other name(s)lit. transl.corpse bird
CountryWales

The Aderyn y Corff ( Welsh for 'corpse bird'; sometimes also known as Aderyn corff or Deryn corff, or archaically Aderyn y Corph) is a bird from Welsh folklore who portends death. It is said to chirp outside a soon-to-be deceased person's door with a cry that sounds similar to dewch ( Welsh for 'come'). [1] [2] The bird has no feathers or wings. [2] When not calling outside of a person's door, it is said to live on another plane of existence. [2]

The Aderyn y Corff is referenced twice in the Welsh-language version of the bible, which some authors have claimed is the origin of the superstition. [3] [1] Many contemporary accounts of the corpse bird have suggested that it is actually a screech owl, drawn to lights coming from the room of a patient. [3] [1] [4]

Related Research Articles

In linguistics, singulative number and collective number are terms used when the grammatical number for multiple items is the unmarked form of a noun, and the noun is specially marked to indicate a single item.

Pen Dal-aderyn is the westernmost point of mainland Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ankou</span> Servant of death in Breton folklore

Ankou is a servant of death in Breton, Cornish, and Welsh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Book of Carmarthen</span> Welsh manuscript

The Black Book of Carmarthen is thought to be the earliest surviving manuscript written solely in Welsh. The book dates from the mid-13th century; its name comes from its association with the Priory of St. John the Evangelist and Teulyddog at Carmarthen, and is referred to as black due to the colour of its binding. It is currently part of the collection of the National Library of Wales, where it is catalogued as NLW Peniarth MS 1.

Morgan Llwyd was a Puritan Fifth Monarchist and Welsh-language poet and prose author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abergynolwyn</span> Village in North Wales

Abergynolwyn is a village in southern Gwynedd, Wales, located at the confluence of the Nant Gwernol and the Afon Dysynni. The population of the community which is named after the village of Llanfihangel-y-Pennant was 339 at the 2011 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mari Lwyd</span> South Wales Christmas folk custom

The Mari Lwyd is a wassailing folk custom found in South Wales. The tradition entails the use of an eponymous hobby horse which is made from a horse's skull mounted on a pole and carried by an individual hidden under a sheet.

Alun Tan Lan is a Welsh singer-songwriter from the village of Pandy Tudur.

The cyhyraeth is a ghostly spirit in Welsh mythology, a disembodied moaning voice that sounds before a person's death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llangelynnin, Conwy</span> Village in Conwy County Borough, Wales

Llangelynnin is a former parish in the Conwy valley, in Conwy county borough, north Wales. Today the name exists only in connection with the church, a school in the nearby village of Henryd, and the nearby mountain ridge, Craig Celynnin.

Menna Elfyn, FLSW is a Welsh poet, playwright, columnist, and editor who writes in Welsh. She has been widely commended and translated. She was imprisoned for her campaigning as a Welsh-language activist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig yr Aderyn</span> Hill in Gwynedd, Wales

Craig yr Aderyn, also known as Bird's Rock, is a hill rising to a height of 258 metres (846 ft) above sea level on the south bank of the River Dysynni near Llanfihangel-y-Pennant in the county of Gwynedd, north-west Wales. Craig yr Aderyn has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest because of the choughs and other birds that breed there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Dysynni</span> River in Gwynedd, Wales flowing from Tal-y-llyn Lake to Cardigan Bay north of Tywyn

The River Dysynni is a river in mid Wales. Its source is the Tal-y-llyn Lake just south of the Cadair Idris massif and its mouth is in the Cardigan Bay area of the Irish Sea to the north of Tywyn. It measures about 16 mi (26 km) in length.

Dilys Elwyn-Edwards was a Welsh-language composer, lecturer and accompanist.

The Gower dialect refers to the older vocabulary or slang of the Gower Peninsula on the south Wales coast. It was Normanised/Anglicised relatively early after the Norman conquest of England. Relatively cut off from the Welsh hinterland, but with coastal links across south Wales and the West Country, the region developed their distinct English dialect which endured to within living memory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llanegryn</span> Human settlement in Wales

Llanegryn is a village and a community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It was formerly part of the historic county of Merionethshire. It is located within Snowdonia National Park south of the Snowdonia (Eryri) mountain range. Travelling by road, it is around 4 miles (6 km) north-east of Tywyn and 17 miles (27 km) south-west of Dolgellau. The nearest railway stations are at Tonfanau and Llwyngwril, both less than 3 miles (5 km) away.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penderyn, Rhondda Cynon Taf</span> Village in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales

Penderyn is a rural village in the Cynon Valley, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, located near Hirwaun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theatre of Wales</span> Theatrical works associated with Wales

Theatre in Wales includes dramatic works in both the Welsh language and English language. Actors from Wales have also achieved international recognition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gorsedd Cymru</span> Society of Welsh language

Gorsedd Cymru, or simply the Gorsedd, is a society of Welsh-language poets, writers, musicians and others who have contributed to the Welsh language and to public life in Wales. Its aim is to honour such individuals and help develop and promote their fields in addition to maintaining relationships with other Celtic nations and Y Wladfa in Patagonia. The Gorsedd is most prominent at the National Eisteddfod of Wales where it is responsible for the main ceremonies held.

<i>The Bone Houses</i> 2019 young adult fantasy novel by Emily-Lloyd Jones

The Bone Houses is a 2019 young adult horror fantasy novel by Emily Lloyd-Jones, following Ryn, a female gravedigger, and Ellis, an apprentice mapmaker, as they try to stop "bone houses" from roaming their world and affecting Ryn's family business. The book received mixed reviews from critics, and was also praised for its disability representation, owing to the character Ellis having chronic pain in the story. The audiobook was read by Moira Quirk.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Owen, David (1848). Allivedd y cyssegr, neu eglurhad byr ar yr Ysgrythyrau Sanctaidd, yn cynnwys casgliad detholedig o sylwadau Thomas Hartwell Horne, M.A., Francis Roberts, D.D., Stackhouse, Burder, Gleig, ac eraill (in Welsh). Llanymddyfri. p. 595.
  2. 1 2 3 Sikes, Wirt (1881). British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions. Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington.
  3. 1 2 "Relating to Wales and the border countries". Bye-gones: 3. 1878.
  4. "History of the Parish of Llanbyrnmair". Collections Historical & Archaeological Relating to Montgomeryshire. 22. Powysland Club: 327. 1888.