Warren Street
Welsh Mythology
The Mabinogion: Math Son of Mathonwy
14th century, Middle Welsh, National Library of Wales
Aranrhod
Aranrhod, Silver Wheel. the Milky Way? Queen of Heaven? One of her parents is Dôn, a Welsh form of Danu, or Dana, the goddess who gave her name to the Irish Tuatha de Danaan.
Following the rape of the king's virgin foot-supporter, who is required to be a virgin, and having the culprits punished by turning them into deer, then pigs and then wolves and forcing the two men, so transformed, to bear children from one another, Math, son of Mathonwy, finds himself in need of another virgin foot-supporter.
He turns to his sister's daughter. But is she really a virgin? Her name might suggest that she is: Aranrhod, Silver Wheel. the Milky Way? Queen of Heaven? One of her parents is Dôn, a Welsh form of Danu, or Dana, the goddess who gave her name to the Irish Tuatha de Danaan. Aranrhod protests that she is a virgin, if not a Virgin, but when tested magically by Math, she produces two children. As soon as one of them is Christened, he goes off, perhaps Christlike, to live with the fishes. The other is secretly kept by Gwydion, and soon becomes a little red-haired boy.
In due course, Gwydion takes the boy to receive the things that only a parent can give. They arrive at Aranrhod's castle disguised as shoemakers. Aranrhod, who is considered by Gwydion to be a wicked woman,
refuses to give her son a name; but by a trick, the boy receives one from her. They go again to her castle disguised as minstrels, in order that the boy might be given his weapons, and despite Aranrhod's refusal once more to cooperate, he is given them by her when a phantom enemy fleet is conjured by Gwydion.
The boy grows to be Lleu Skilful Hand, the Celtic god Lug.