Gwyn Ap Nudd Quotes

I think you cannot root out love entirely. I think where there has been love, there will always be embers, as the remains of bonfire outlast the flame. - Gwyn Ap Nudd

He remembered an old tale which his father was fond of telling him—the story of Eos Amherawdur (the Emperor Nightingale). Very long ago, the story began, the greatest and the finest court in all the realms of faery was the court of the Emperor Eos, who was above all the kings of the Tylwydd Têg, as the Emperor of Rome is head over all the kings of the earth. So that even Gwyn ap Nudd, whom they now call lord over all the fair folk of the Isle of Britain, was but the man of Eos, and no splendour such as his was ever seen in all the regions of enchantment and faery. Eos had his court in a vast forest, called Wentwood, in the deepest depths of the green-wood between Caerwent and Caermaen, which is also called the City of the Legions; though some men say that we should rather name it the city of the Waterfloods. Here, then, was the Palace of Eos, built of the finest stones after the Roman manner, and within it were the most glorious chambers that eye has ever seen, and there was no end to the number of them, for they could not be counted. For the stones of the palace being immortal, they were at the pleasure of the Emperor. If he had willed, all the hosts of the world could stand in his greatest hall, and, if he had willed, not so much as an ant could enter into it, since it could not be discerned. But on common days they spread the Emperor's banquet in nine great halls, each nine times larger than any that are in the lands of the men of Normandi. And Sir Caw was the seneschal who marshalled the feast; and if you would count those under his command—go, count the drops of water that are in the Uske River. But if you would learn the splendour of this castle it is an easy matter, for Eos hung the walls of it with Dawn and Sunset. He lit it with the sun and moon. There was a well in it called Ocean. And nine churches of twisted boughs were set apart in which Eos might hear Mass; and when his clerks sang before him all the jewels rose shining out of the earth, and all the stars bent shining down from heaven, so enchanting was the melody. Then was great bliss in all the regions of the fair folk. But Eos was grieved because mortal ears could not hear nor comprehend the enchantment of their song. What, then, did he do? Nothing less than this. He divested himself of all his glories and of his kingdom, and transformed himself into the shape of a little brown bird, and went flying about the woods, desirous of teaching men the sweetness of the faery melody. And all the other birds said: "This is a contemptible stranger." The eagle found him not even worthy to be a prey; the raven and the magpie called him simpleton; the pheasant asked where he had got that ugly livery; the lark wondered why he hid himself in the darkness of the wood; the peacock would not suffer his name to be uttered. In short never was anyone so despised as was Eos by all the chorus of the birds. But wise men heard that song from the faery regions and listened all night beneath the bough, and these were the first who were bards in the Isle of Britain.

Whatever this force is, it has many names and avatars: The Devil, Old Scratch, Master Leonard, The Black Man, The Dark Rider, The Old One, The Master, Fear Dorcha, Lord of the Witches’ Sabbath, The Fear Dubh, Gwyn ap Nudd, Lucifer, The Lord of the Crossroads, The Meikle Black Man, and The Father of Witches.

The White Spring is a calcium-rich spring that leaves white deposits and is dedicated to the goddess Brighid and the faery king Gwyn ap Nudd. The Chalice Well, which is rich in iron deposits, is home to the Lady of Avalon, who appears as a white lady or faery to those in need of healing or relief. This figure is variously identified as Morgan la Fae, St. Aeswitha, Melusine, or other faery queens. The Black Well is an obscure and little-known well that survives in the crypt of the Lady Chapel in Glastonbury Abbey. It is called St. Joseph's Well, although it is, no doubt, a remnant of goddess worship. The well may once have been dedicated to St. Aeswitha, a local woman with many faery attributes, whose depiction in the small chapel nearby gives clues to her origin. In the painting, she is shown holding a rose and a Celtic cross, suggesting that perhaps her powers of healing are considered to be sub rosa—hidden under the rose.

Greetings, Gwyn ap Nudd, escort of the grave, father of the slain." He bowed very slightly. "Magnus Bane," said Gwyn. "It has been a long time." Alec kicked Magnus in the ankle - probably, Mark suspected, to keep Magnus from saying something about how it hadn't been long enough.

The Buchedd Collin, a Welsh life of St Collen dating from 1536, shows the extent to which Annwn was synonymous with fairyland and Gwyn ap Nudd with the king of the fairies in late medieval Wales. Although this particular story was recorded on the eve of the Reformation, it may well draw on earlier tales: As [St Collen] was in his cell one day, he heard two men talking about Gwyn ap Nudd, and saying that he was the King of Annwn (the Under-World) and the Fairies. Collen put his head out, and told them to hold their peace, and those were only demons. They told him to hold his peace, and, besides, he would have to meet Gwyn face to face. By-and-by Collen heard a knocking at his door, and in answer got the reply, ‘It is I, the messenger of Gwyn ap Nudd, King of Annwn, bidding you to come to speak with him on the top of the hill by mid-day’. The saint persistently refused to go day after day, until at last he was threatened with the words, ‘If you don’t come, Collen, it will be the worse for you’. This disconcerted him, and, taking some holy water with him, he went. On reaching the place, Collen beheld there the most beautiful castle that he had ever seen, with the best-appointed troops; a great number of musicians with all manner of instruments; horses with young men riding them; handsome, sprightly maidens, and everything that became the court of a sumptuous king. When Collen entered, he found the king sitting in a chair of gold. Collen was welcomed by him, and asked to seat himself at the table to eat, adding that beside what he saw thereon, he should have the rarest of all dainties, and plenty of every kind of drink. Collen said, ‘I will not eat the tree-leaves’. ‘Hast thou ever’. asked the king, ‘seen men better dressed than these in red and blue?’ Collen said, ‘Their dress is good enough, for such kind as it is’. ‘What kind is that?’ asked the king. Collen said that the red on the one side meant burning, and the other, cold. Then he sprinkled holy water over them, and they all vanished, leaving behind them nothing but green tumps.