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Luned, a MythSource painting
Celtic

Luned

01Identity

Luned in Celtic tradition

Luned serves the Countess of the Fountain. When Owain is trapped between the gates of the castle, Luned gives him a ring that conceals him from the people searching for him and helps him escape. She later finds the Countess grieving after Owain has killed her husband. Luned urges her to look beyond mourning and defend her lands, which cannot be held without a knight to protect the fountain. She tells the Countess she will seek a defender at Arthur’s court, but returns instead to the chamber where Owain is hiding. After giving him time to prepare, Luned presents him to the Countess, who marries him and places her dominions under his protection. When Owain returns to Arthur’s court and fails to come back, two pages call him a deceiver. Luned defends him, and they imprison her in a stone vault, threatening to put her to death unless Owain returns. He finds her as she is about to be burned, defeats the two youths with the lion’s help, and takes her back to the Countess.

SourceThe Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877): The Lady of the Fountain, printed pp. 3–29

Top questions

The quick answers

02The myths

The myths of Luned

1 myth, with sources recorded for each.

Luned and the Lady of the Fountain

When Owain is trapped in the castle and faces death, Luned gives him a ring whose stone can conceal him while he holds it. She guides him to a chamber, feeds and tends him, then finds the Countess grieving after Owain has killed her husband, the fountain’s defender. Luned tells the Countess that grief will not protect her earldom. The Countess threatens to banish Luned, then asks what can be done. Luned says the fountain and its dominions need a knight able to defend them. She gives the impression that she will seek one at Arthur’s court, but returns to Owain instead. After he prepares, she brings him before the Countess. The Countess agrees to marry Owain, and her subjects accept his protection.

Owain later leaves for Arthur’s court and stays away for years. When two pages call him a deceiver, Luned defends him. They imprison her in a stone vault and threaten to burn her unless Owain returns. As they lead her towards the fire, Owain arrives and offers to fight the youths in the absent knight’s place. His lion joins the struggle, and together they defeat them. Luned is freed from the threat of burning and returns with Owain to the Countess. In time, Owain takes the Countess with him to Arthur’s court.

Luned and the Lady of the Fountain, a MythSource painting of the scene

46 sources· checked 2026-10-01

  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
  6. 6The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  7. 7The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  8. 8The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  9. 9The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  10. 10The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  11. 11The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  12. 12The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  13. 13The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  14. 14The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  15. 15The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  16. 16The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  17. 17The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  18. 18The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  19. 19The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
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  22. 22The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  23. 23The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  24. 24The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  25. 25The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  26. 26The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  27. 27The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  28. 28The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  29. 29The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  30. 30The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  31. 31The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  32. 32The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  33. 33The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  34. 34The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  35. 35The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  36. 36The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  37. 37The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  38. 38The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  39. 39The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  40. 40The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  41. 41The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  42. 42The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  43. 43The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  44. 44The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  45. 45The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1
  46. 46The Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest translation, 1877)T1

Also mentioned in

Stories elsewhere on MythSource that mention Luned, each on that figure’s page.