Llyr

ORIGIN:

Celtic; Welsh

Llyr is the Welsh counterpart of the Irish Lir, King of the Sea. Like Lir, he is now most famous as the father of prestigious, powerful children including Bran, Branwen and Manawydan. Both Welsh and Irish mythology were originally exclusively oral traditions. Both were eventually documented on paper by later Christian commentators who loved the tales but who were, at best, ambivalent towards the inherent Pagan aspects. (It’s impossible to entirely eliminate Pagan elements. Presumably myths that were truly objectionable were just not documented.)

The Irish monks who recorded Irish myth acknowledged that the characters they described were deities; their Welsh counterparts did not. Thus tales about what are clearly supernatural beings appear to be about heroes or just unusual people. Llyr’s identity as Lord of the Sea has been eliminated but he and his son, Manawydan are identifiably the same spirits as Lir and Manannan about whom so much more information survives. Vestiges of Llyr’s myths may survive in William Shakespeare’s tragedy, King Lear.

SEE ALSO:

Bran; Branwen; Lir; Manannan Mac Lir; Manawydan

SOURCE:

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses– Written by :Judika Illes Copyright © 2009 by Judika Illes.