Ceridwen

Ceridwen (pronounced [kɛrˈɪdwɛn] Cer-id-wen ) was an enchantress in Welsh medieval legend. She was the mother of a hideous son, Morfran, and a beautiful daughter, Creirwy. Her husband was Tegid Foel, and they lived near Bala Lake (Llyn Tegid) in north Wales. Medieval Welsh poetry refers to her as possessing the cauldron of poetic inspiration (Awen) and the Tale of Taliesin recounts her swallowing her servant Gwion Bach who is then reborn through her as the poet Taliesin. Ceridwen is regarded by many modern Pagans as the Celtic goddess of rebirth, transformation, and inspiration.

Etymology

The earliest documented spelling of the name Kerdwin is Cyrridven, which occurs in the Black Book of Carmarthen.Sir Ifor Williams translates this name as "crooked woman", although the precise meaning of the stems cyrrid and cwrr (sometimes translated as "crooked" or "bent") is uncertain.Ben/ven means "woman" or "female". If wen is not a corruption of either of these, then it may derive from the adjective gwyn (fem. gwen), meaning "fair", "beloved", "blessed", or "sacred". Wen is sometimes suffixed to the names of female saints (e.g. Dwynwen). In 19th century literature and etymology the name Ket, Ked and variants were assumed to relate to the goddess Ceridwen.

Ceridwen (disambiguation)

Ceridwen or Cerridwen is a legendary Celtic female figure.

The name may also refer to: