Rhiannon riding in Arberth. From The Mabinogion, translated by Lady Charlotte Guest, 1877
Rhiannon (/ˈriːænən/) is a major figure in Welsh mythology, appearing in the First Branch of the Mabinogi, and again in the Third Branch. Ronald Hutton called her "one of the great female personalities in World literature", adding that "there is in fact, nobody quite like her in previous human literature".[1] In the Mabinogi, Rhiannon is a strong-minded Otherworld woman, who chooses Pwyll, prince of Dyfed (west Wales), as her consort, in preference to another man to whom she has already been betrothed. She is intelligent, politically strategic, beautiful, and famed for her wealth and generosity. With Pwyll she has a son, the hero Pryderi, who later inherits the lordship of Dyfed. She endures tragedy when her newborn child is abducted, and she is accused of infanticide. As a widow she marries Manawydan of the British royal family, and has further adventures involving enchantments.
Like some other figures of British/Welsh literary tradition, Rhiannon may be a reflection of an earlier Celtic deity. Her name appears to derive from the reconstructed Brittonic form *Rīgantonā, a derivative of *rīgan- "queen" (cf. Welsh rhiain ‘maiden’, Old Irish rígain ‘queen’). In the First Branch of the Mabinogi, Rhiannon is strongly associated with horses, and so is her son Pryderi. She is often considered to be related to the Gaulish horse goddess Epona.[2][3] She and her son are often depicted as mare and foal. Like Epona, she sometimes sits on her horse in a calm, stoic way.[4] This connection with Epona is generally accepted among scholars of the Mabinogi and Celtic studies, but Ronald Hutton, a historian of paganism, is skeptical.[5]
^Hutton, Ronald. "Finding Lost Gods in Wales". YouTube. Gresham College. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
^Ford, Patrick K. (12 February 2008). The Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520253964 – via Google Books.
^e.g. Sioned Davies (trans.), The Mabinogion, Oxford 2007, p. 231.
^Gruffydd, W. J. Rhiannon: An Inquiry into the Origins of the First and Third Branches of the Mabinogi
^Hutton, Ronald (2014). Pagan Britain. Yale University Press. p. 366. ISBN 978-0300197716.
Rhiannon (/ˈriːænən/) is a major figure in Welsh mythology, appearing in the First Branch of the Mabinogi, and again in the Third Branch. Ronald Hutton...
Rhiannon Giddens (born February 21, 1977) is an American musician known for her eclectic folk music. She is a founding member of the country, blues, and...
Rhiannon Fish (born 14 March 1991) is a Canadian-born Australian actress. Her first screen acting role was Lisa Jeffries in the television soap opera Neighbours...
Rhiannon Grace Clements (born 1 December 1994) is an English actress. While studying at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, Clements began starring...
Rhiannon Dixon (born 16 April 1995) is an English professional boxer. A qualified pharmacist with a degree from Manchester University, Dixon took up boxing...
earliest prose stories in Britain in the Mabinogi, the Adar Rhiannon; "birds of Rhiannon", are specifically three magical birds, whose song can "wake...
Rhiannon Wryn (formerly credited as Rhiannon Leigh Wryn) is an American actress. She had lead roles in the 2007 film The Last Mimzy and the 2010 film Monster...
Lee Rhiannon (formerly O'Gorman, née Brown; born 30 May 1951) is a former Australian politician who was a Senator for New South Wales between July 2011...
Scholia has a profile for Rhiannon Braund (Q91720529). Rhiannon Braund is a New Zealand academic and registered pharmacist. She is a professor in the...
Rhiannon Beth "Razza" Roberts (born 30 August 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Spanish Liga F club Real Betis. Born in...
Rhiannon Sarah Dick (born 21 September 1990) is a former Australian cricketer. She is an all-rounder who bats left-handed and bowls slow left-arm orthodox...
Rhiannon Clarke (born 23 July 2002) is an Australian para-athletics competitor who specialises in sprint events. She won two bronze medals at the 2019...
he and Rhiannon agree to help Violet with hand-to-hand combat if Violet tutors them in history. He becomes a good friend with Violet, Rhiannon, and Ridoc...
The Sword of Rhiannon is a science fantasy novel by American writer Leigh Brackett, set in her usual venue of Mars. A 1942 Brackett story, "The Sorcerer...
Rhiannon Henry (born 20 May 1987) is a Welsh swimmer, paracyclist and paratriathlete who has competed in the Paralympic Games on three occasions winning...
Rhiannon Hoyle is a member of the Alberta New Democratic Party representing the riding of Edmonton-South, succeeding outgoing MLA Thomas Dang. She is the...
Symphyotrichum rhiannon is a species of flowering plant endemic to a serpentine barren in western North Carolina. It has been given the vernacular Rhiannon's aster...
Rhiannon Adam (born 1985) is an Irish photographic artist and writer, living in London. Her books include Dreamlands, Wastelands (2014) and Big Fence /...
Claire Rhiannon Holt (born 11 June 1988) is an Australian actress. She has portrayed Emma Gilbert in H2O: Just Add Water, Rebekah Mikaelson in The Vampire...
The Song of Rhiannon is a fantasy novel by American writer Evangeline Walton, the third in a series of four based on the Welsh Mabinogion. It was first...
Dame Nia Rhiannon Griffith DBE (born 4 December 1956) is a Welsh politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Llanelli since 2005. A member...
Olive lies to her best friend, Rhiannon Abernathy, about going on a date in order to get out of a camping trip with Rhiannon's hippie parents, instead hanging...
They're Calling Me Home with Rhiannon Giddens won the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album category. "Private Passions with Rhiannon Giddons". BBC. September...
Global Information