Efnisien fab Euroswydd (also spelled Efnissien or Efnysien) is a sadistic anti-hero in Welsh mythology, appearing prominently in the tale of Branwen ferch Llŷr, the second branch of the Mabinogi. Described by Will Parker as "a study in the psychopathic personality" and an "embodiment of the forces of anti-social disruption," he is the catalyst of the tale's ultimate tragedy, and is largely responsible for the destruction of both Ireland and the Island of the Mighty.[1] He is the son of Euroswydd and Penarddun, twin brother to Nisien, and half-brother to Brân the Blessed, Manawydan, and Branwen. The Welsh Triads call Llŷr one of the Three Exalted Prisoners of Britain for his captivity at Euroswydd's hands; this is likely to a lost tradition of the birth of Penarddun's younger sons.[2]
Efnisien's self-sacrifice (image by T. Prytherch)
^Parker, Will.The Four Branches of the Mabinogi: Celtic Myth and Medieval Reality. Bardic Press, 2005.
^Triad 52. In Bromwich, Rachel (Ed.) (2006), Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain, pp. 146–147. Cardiff: University of Wales. ISBN 0-7083-1386-8.
Efnisien fab Euroswydd (also spelled Efnissien or Efnysien) is a sadistic anti-hero in Welsh mythology, appearing prominently in the tale of Branwen ferch...
Euroswydd is a figure in Welsh mythology, the father of Nisien and Efnysien by Penarddun, daughter of Beli Mawr. In the Second Branch of the Mabinogi Penarddun...
this, and a feast is held to celebrate the betrothal. During the feast, Efnysien, a half-brother of Branwen and Brân, arrives at the stables and asks of...
they hang a hundred bags, telling Efnysien they contain flour, when in fact they conceal armed warriors. Efnysien kills the warriors by squeezing the...
Welsh mythology, the son of Penarddun and Euroswydd and twin brother of Efnysien. He appears in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi, which names Brân the...
Beli Mawr Bladud Bendigeidfran (Brân the Blessed) Culhwch Dylan ail Don Efnysien Euroswydd Gilfaethwy Gofannon (Govannon) - a smith god Gwern Gwydion Gwyddno...
abuses her due to insult by her half brother, Efnysien. A tragically genocidal war develops fomented by Efnysien, in which a Cauldron which resurrects the...
daughter of Llŷr, in which his murder at the hands of his sadistic uncle Efnysien sparks a mutually destructive battle between Britain and Ireland. Matholwch...
ascribes to her two additional sons by Euroswydd: Nisien, a good man, and Efnysien, a conniving troublemaker. The Welsh Triads call Llŷr one of the Three...
cauldron of Cerridwen in the tale of Taliesin. Pair Dadeni was destroyed by Efnysien in a battle with the Irish. Seeing that the Irish were using the cauldron...
features as the site of Branwen and Matholwch's wedding festival, where Efnysien maimed Matholwch's horses. In the early Middle Ages Aberffraw was settled...
Once in Matholwch's kingdom, Branwen gives birth to a son, Gwern, but Efnysien's insult continues to rankle among the Irish and, eventually, Branwen is...
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