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Date Posted: 16:09:04 07/17/01 Tue
Author: Zzoo
Subject: I hope this doesn't duplicate. I said that your points are well taken, but that your irritation would be lessened by realizing that Guinivere (guin=white) is a paternalistic corruption of Blodewedd. See reply.
In reply to: Nell 's message, "I watched both parts and while I thought it was well done and pretty faithful to the book (r)" on 13:02:44 07/17/01 Tue

Blodeuwedd, pronounced blod-oo-eeth, (aka Blodwin, Blancheflor ("White Flower") is the Welsh maiden form of the Triple Goddess. Blodeuwedd was created by Math & Gwydion from nine kinds of wildflowers, among them meadowsweet, oak, broom, primrose, and cockle to be a wife for Lleu. The magicians piled blossom upon blossom to create her. Blodeuwedd may be translated as either "flower face" or in the more ancient dialects, "owl." Also known as the ninefold goddess of the Western Isles of Paradise.

The Mabinogian concluded with Gwydion pursuing the faithless Blodeuwedd through the night sky, a path of white flowers springing up in the wake of her passing which we today know as the Milky Way. When caught, Blodeuwedd was transformed into an owl, to haunt the night in loneliness and sorrow, shunned by all other birds, a fitting symbol of autumn, just as her earlier association with flowers equated her with spring. Her supposed treachery created the very conditions to enable Llew to experience the ritual death and rebirth commonly required of the Druidic priesthood, thus ensuring his kingship. Blodeuwedd is seen as a part of his hard and difficult destiny. Thus Blodeuwedd represents both spring and fall, as patron goddess of flowers and owls, respectively. She can be viewed as a May Queen, bound in sacred marriage to sacrificial king who must eventually be sacrificed to her and through her to his people.

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Replies:

[> [> [> And I'm sure poor SusanW is really sorry she ever brought this up, LOL -- Zzoo, 16:11:02 07/17/01 Tue


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[> [> [> [> ...not at all, Zzoo. I thought it might spark a good discussion. -- sw, 21:10:51 07/18/01 Wed


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