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Lleu Llaw Gyffes, a MythSource painting
Welsh

Lleu Llaw Gyffes

01Identity

Lleu Llaw Gyffes in Welsh tradition

At the river Cynvael in Ardudwy, a pierced stone bears the name Llech Gronw. In Lady Charlotte Guest's 1877 English Mabinogion, it marks the end of Lleu's struggle with Gronw. Before that encounter, Math and Gwydion make Blodeuwedd from blossoms, and she later helps Gronw prepare an attack. A poisoned dart wounds Lleu, who flees in eagle form. Gwydion searches until he finds the bird at an oak and brings him back to human shape. Lleu is weak, receives care from physicians in Gwynedd, and recovers within the year. Later, he meets Gronw beside the river. Gronw raises a stone for protection, but Lleu's dart pierces it and kills him.

SourceThe Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877): Math, the Son of Mathonwy, pp. 425–426· The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877): Math, the Son of Mathonwy, p. 427· The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877): Math, the Son of Mathonwy, p. 431· The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877): Math, the Son of Mathonwy, pp. 432–433· The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877): Math, the Son of Mathonwy, p. 429

Top questions

The quick answers

02Family

Lleu Llaw Gyffes’s family, at a glance

Lleu Llaw Gyffes

with Blodeuwedd

03The myths

The myths of Lleu Llaw Gyffes

1 myth, with sources recorded for each.

Lleu in the Math branch: wounding and restoration

In Lady Charlotte Guest's 1877 Mabinogion, Math and Gwydion make a woman from oak, broom and meadowsweet blossoms for Lleu, then give her the name Blodeuwedd. Later, Blodeuwedd and Gronw plan how to kill Lleu. She asks him to demonstrate the circumstances in which he could be struck. Lleu steps from the bath beside a buck, while Gronw waits on a hill with a poisoned dart. The dart hits Lleu's side. He rises as an eagle, cries out and disappears.

At an oak, Gwydion draws the bird down with a song and strikes him with a magic wand, restoring his human shape. Lleu has grown weak, so Gwydion takes him to physicians in Gwynedd. By the end of the year, Lleu has healed. Later, the two men face each other beside the river. Gronw puts a stone between himself and Lleu's dart, but the throw pierces it and kills him. The stone remains on the bank of the Cynvael in Ardudwy and is called Llech Gronw.

Lleu in the Math branch: wounding and restoration, a MythSource painting of the scene

5 sources· checked 2026-09-28

  1. 1The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  2. 2The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  3. 3The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  4. 4The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  5. 5The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1