Blodeuwedds

Blodeuwedds refers to Blodeuwedd, a figure from Welsh mythology who appears in the Mabinogion. The name is usually rendered as flower-faced or flower-woman, reflecting her origin as a woman formed from flowers. In the Fourth Branch, Blodeuwedd is created by the magicians Gwydion and Math fab Mathonwy at the command of Math to be the wife of Lleu Llaw Gyffes, who cannot have a ordinary wife due to a magical constraint placed on his lineage.

The creation of Blodeuwedd is described as weaving a living woman from flowers from the surrounding meadows, using the shaping power of magic and the scattered blossoms of the season. She becomes Lleu’s wife, and for a time their marriage is presented as successful within the tale. The episode illustrates themes of artificial creation, nature, and the fragility of trust within palace and court.

Blodeuwedd’s story takes a dramatic turn when she falls in love with Gronw Pebr and they plot to kill Lleu. Gronw Pebr throws a specially prepared spear at Lleu, and the murder plot is carried out by deception rather than open force. Lleu is mortally wounded, but the exact outcome varies among versions of the tale; in some tellings he is restored to life or his fate is otherwise reversed through magical intervention. As punishment for her treachery, Blodeuwedd is transformed into an owl and banished from human society, a fate that has made her a enduring symbol of treachery in Welsh literary tradition.

In later centuries, the Blodeuwedd episode has influenced Welsh poetry and modern retellings, where she is discussed as a complex symbol of creation, femininity, and the tensions between nature and artifice.