A Wife Made of Flowers

This is a story from the Mabinogi or Pedair Cainc Y Mabinogi  (‘four branches of Mabinogi’ in Middle Welsh), stories from ancient Wales but written sometime during the eleventh century. The name Blodeuwedd translates to ‘flower face’. Before you proceed, remember this: Appearances can be very deceptive!

Lleu Llaw Gyffes was the son of the Welsh goddess Arianthod and was cursed by his mother that he would never be able to have a human wife. Poor Lleu Llaw had only his uncles to blame for his misfortune for it was their mischief that had angered his mother in the first place. (We shall not get into that now.)

His grand-uncles Math and Gwydion, who were his mother’s brothers, knew enough magic to sort out this problem. They collected nine kinds of wild flowers—meadowsweet, cockle, broom, oak, primrose, bean, nettle, hawthorn and chestnut. Piling the blossoms one upon the other, they created a beautiful maiden, the perfect bride for their nephew. They called her, quite fittingly, Blodeuwedd.

Lleu Llaw was soon married to Blodeuwedd and the young couple lived happily in a castle of their own. After a while, Lleu Llaw set off on a long journey to visit his grand-uncle Math, leaving his beautiful wife at home. One day, when Blodeuwedd was strolling across the castle grounds, she saw some hunters pass by. She particularly noticed their leader and was quite impressed by him.

‘Who is that man?’ She was most curious about the handsome stranger.

‘It’s Gronw Pebyr, the lord of Penllyn, Your Ladyship,’ whispered one of her ladies-in-waiting in her ear. Gronw had seen her watch him and sent one of his messengers to her with a greeting.

That evening, just when dusk fell, Gronw Pebyr showed up at the castle gates. When Blodeuwedd realized who the visitor was, she went out herself to receive him. Blodeuwedd was not quite used to the company of young men other than her husband and was charmed by his manner.

Gronw, of course, was smitten by Blodeuwedd’s exquisite beauty, which was why he was paying her a visit in the first place. Quite spontaneously, she invited him to dine with her in the castle. Gronw, on his part, found her innocence and warmth even more appealing.

Over dinner, Blodeuwedd explained to him how she was created and came to be Lleu Llaw’s bride. But none of that could stop the two of them from falling in love with each other. With Lleu Llaw away, the two spent many happy hours in each other’s company. But Blodeuwedd knew that such happiness would not last.

‘Come away with me,’ said Gronw, for he was preparing to leave for Penllyn.

‘No, I can’t, for I’m Lleu Llaw’s bride! As long as he is alive I cannot think of going anywhere with you,’ she cried.

But Gronw was not one to give up so easily. ‘This problem is easily solved.’ He smiled wickedly. ‘I can just kill him!’

‘No, you could never do that!’ cried Blodeuwedd. Gronw watched her face carefully. Does she still love that husband of hers, he wondered. But her next words came as relief to him. ‘He’s a god! No one can kill him.’

‘There must be some way out, I’m sure of it.’ Gronw’s voice fell to a whisper as many evil thoughts came to his head. He was silent for a while. Then he smiled again.

‘What? You have thought of something?’ asked Blodeuwedd, as she noted the changed expression on his face.

‘Smart girl!’ said Gronw, patting her head fondly. ‘Think of it, there must be some way that even a god can be killed. We only need to know how. We need to come up with a plan.’

‘Do you have one?’ asked Blodeuwedd. She had no qualms about doing away with her poor husband. To be fair to him, it must be noted that young Lleu Llaw was a kind and gentle husband, and handsome too.

‘You, my dear Blodeuwedd, are going to find out how exactly we can kill him,’ said Gronw, almost in a whisper for who knew if anyone was listening? ‘When your husband comes home, you must somehow talk to him about how you fear for his life and that you spent all these days sick with worry that something had happened to him. Then, he will try to reassure you and tell you that he is protected. You must ask exactly how.’

‘You mean I have to get him tell me why it is impossible for him to die?’ Blodeuwedd knew what he was getting at now.

‘There’s your plan!’ laughed Gronw. ‘It’s all in your hands now.’

The next day, Gronw left at dawn, promising to return once the time was right. It was indeed their good luck that Llew Llaw returned from his travels that very afternoon.

That evening saw a great deal of feasting and merrymaking in the castle. Blodeuwedd laughed and talked endlessly, her eyes shining with excitement but Lleu Llaw, being a sharp man, found something unusual about her manner. Something didn’t seem quite right.

‘Blodeuwedd, my dear, is something on your mind?’ he asked as he watched her face carefully.

Blodeuwedd was taken aback because Lleu Llaw had noticed her discomfort and tried to laugh it off. ‘Oh, it’s nothing! I was so worried about your safety. You know all these days you were away, I was sick with worry about what harm would befall you! After all, you were travelling through strange lands all alone. What if someone tried to kill you? These frightening thoughts were my constant companions while you were away. I suppose I’m still getting used to the fact that you’re back safe.’

Lleu Llaw laughed and held his wife in a close embrace. ‘No man can kill me, my dear, at least they would never succeed even if they tried,’ he told her.

‘How can you be so sure?’ Blodeuwedd asked with her most wide-eyed, innocent look. ‘Well . . .’ Lleu Llaw said, ‘there are certain conditions. If I were to be killed by any one, it cannot be during the night or day, neither inside the house nor out of it, clothed or naked, and not if I’m astride a horse or upon foot. A wound might kill me certainly, but only if it were made by a spear that was forged on the days of rest (Sundays). Such a spear would take at least a year to be made. So there you have it, Blodeuwedd!’ he laughed.

Blodeuwedd memorized the riddle in her heart carefully. The very next day, she sent a secret message to Gronw asking him to start making a spear, working only on the first day of the week. It would take a whole year and she waited patiently.

A year passed and Gronw sent word that he was ready. Blodeuwedd approached her husband once again, bringing up the riddle he had assured her with a year ago. ‘I still wonder about what you said then. Neither day nor night, inside or outside, not on a horse or on foot . . . forgive me if I sound stupid but it really puzzles me.’ She looked at her husband imploringly. It was certainly her lucky day for Lleu Llaw decided to indulge her.

‘All right, let me show you the possibilities,’ said he and ordered his men to set up a canopy near the banks of a river. ‘Now that’s neither inside nor outside. Let’s wait for twilight which is again neither day nor night,’ he said. Gronw, meanwhile, had arrived with the spear he had forged over the year. He followed them and hid behind a tree.

A cauldron for a bath was placed under the canopy and Lleu Llaw climbed in, clad in a net. He then called for a buck goat to be placed beside the cauldron. Now balancing one foot on the rim of the bath tub and one on the back of the goat, he turned to his wife, not suspecting her treachery. ‘See, this is how.’

At that very moment, Gronw threw his spear, which pierced Lleu Llaw on the thigh. But it didn’t kill him. Lleu Llaw turned into an eagle and flew away.

On hearing the news, Lleu Llaw’s uncles, Math and Gwydion, searched for their unfortunate nephew and found him almost dying of his wounds in a forest. It took them a year to nurse him back to health. As he recovered, an angry and bitter Lleu Llaw swore revenge.

Gronw was now living happily with Blodeuwedd in the castle that had belonged to Lleu Llaw. As Lleu Llaw rode up to his castle, Blodeuwedd was alerted by the guards about his return. Upon hearing this, Blodeuwedd fled through the back door with her ladies-in-waiting.

Gronw, however, was caught unawares and was chased to the banks of the same river where he had wounded Lleu Llaw and killed him.

Meanwhile, Blodeuwedd had managed to cross the river while her ladies-in-waiting all drowned in the waters. But Gwydion, Lleu Llaw’s uncle, who had created her in the first place, caught up with her there.

‘You must pay for your treachery, Blodeuwedd!’ he cried. ‘We made you a bride for a god and look what you did.’ With his magic, he turned her into an owl. ‘From now on, you shall show your face only in the night. Feared and shunned by all, you shall live in solitude all your miserable life!’

And thus the beautiful flower bride became a creature of the night.