Editing Gwyn ap Nudd (section)

==Legends==
===The abduction of Creiddylad===
Gwyn plays a prominent role in the early [[Arthurian]] tale ''Culhwch and Olwen'' in which he abducts his sister Creiddylad from her betrothed, [[Gwythyr ap Greidawl]]. In retaliation, Gwythyr raised a great host against Gwyn, leading to a vicious battle between the two. Gwyn was victorious and, following the conflict, captured a number of Gwythyr's noblemen including Nwython and his son [[Cyledr Wyllt|Cyledr]]. Gwyn would later murder Nwython, and force Cyledr to eat his father's heart. As a result of his torture at Gwyn's hands, Cyledr went mad,<ref>Davies, Sioned, The Mabinogion. 2007, p. 207</ref> earning the epithet ''Wyllt''.

After the intervention of [[King Arthur|Arthur]], Gwyn and Gwythr agreed to fight for Creiddylad every [[May Day]] until Judgement Day. The warrior who was victorious on this final day would at last take the maiden. According to ''Culhwch and Olwen'', Gwyn was "placed over the brood of devils in [[Annwn]], lest they should destroy the present race".<ref name="Culhwch ac Olwen">[http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/culhwch.html Culhwch ac Olwen], translated by Lady Charlotte Guest and sub-edited by Mary Jones.</ref>

===As part of Arthur's retinue===
{{Main|Culhwch and Olwen}}

Before he can win [[Olwen|Olwen's]] hand, [[Culhwch|Culhwch ap Cilydd]] must complete a number of seemingly impossible tasks given to him by Olwen's father, the giant [[Ysbaddaden]]. One of these tasks is to retrieve the comb and scissors from the head of the vicious boar, [[Twrch Trwyth]]. As it is impossible to hunt the boar without Gwyn's aid, he is called upon to join [[King Arthur|Arthur]] and his retinue against Twrch Trwyth. During the hunt, he is mounted on Du y Moroedd, the only horse that can carry him. Both Gwyn and Gwythyr set out with Arthur to retrieve the blood of [[Orddu, Orwen and Orgoch|Orddu]], witch of the uplands of hell.<ref name="Culhwch ac Olwen"/>

===Other exploits===
Gwyn appears prominently in the medieval poem ''The Dialogue of Gwyn ap Nudd and Gwyddno Garanhir'', found in the [[Black Book of Carmarthen]]. In this narrative—Gwyn, returning from battle, chances upon [[Gwyddno Garanhir]], king of [[Cantre'r Gwaelod]], and grants him his protection. Gwyn then relates his exploits on the battlefield and his role as a [[psychopomp]], a mysterious figure who gathers the souls of fallen British warriors, such as [[Bran the Blessed]], Meurig ap Carreian, [[Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio|Gwendoleu ap Ceidaw]] and [[King Arthur's family#Welsh literature|Llacheu ab Arthur]]. His skill in combat is extolled in this poem; he is described as "the hope of armies" and "hero of hosts" and, when asked from which region he comes, he simply replies: "I come from battle and conflict."<ref name="maryjones.us">[http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/bbc33.html Dialogue of Gwyn ap Nudd and Gwyddno Garanhir]</ref> The poem ends with Gwyn's proclamation:

{{quote|<poem>I have been where the soldiers of Britain were slain.
From the east to the north
I am the escort of the grave.

I have been where the soldiers of Britain were slain.
From the east to the south
I am alive, they in death!<ref name="maryjones.us"/></poem>}}

His role as a psychopomp is paralleled in his later tradition as leader of the Wild Hunt, in which he leads a pack of supernatural hounds known as the ''[[Cŵn Annwn]]'' to harvest human souls. In Welsh folklore, to hear the baying of Gwyn's hounds was a portent of imminent death in the family. In ''The Dialogue'', Gwyn is also accompanied by a hound, namely as Dormarth of the ruddy nose.

Gwyn apparently witnessed a "conflict" before Caer Vandwy, an otherworldly fortress mentioned in [[Preiddeu Annwfn]].<ref name="maryjones.us"/>

===Later traditions===
[[File:Dafydd ap Gwilym at Cardiff City Hall.jpg|thumb|right|Sculpture of Dafydd ap Gwilym by W Wheatley Wagstaff at [[City Hall, Cardiff]].]]

Over time, Gwyn's role would diminish and, in later folklore, he was regarded as the king of the ''[[Tylwyth Teg]]'', the fairies of Welsh lore. He appears as a simpler figure in ''Buchedd Collen'' (''The Life of [[Saint Collen]]''), in which he and his retinue are vanquished from [[Glastonbury Tor]] with the use of [[holy water]]. According to the ''[[Speculum Christiani]]'', a fourteenth century manuscript against divination, Welsh soothsayers would invoke Gwyn's name before entering woodlands, proclaiming: "to the king of Spirits, and to his queen—
Gwyn ap Nudd, 
you who are yonder in the forest, 
for love of your mate, 
permit us to enter your dwelling."<ref>Medieval folklore: an encyclopedia of myths, legends, tales, beliefs, and customs ed. Carl Lindahl, John McNamara, John Lindow. Oxford University Press, 2002. p. 190</ref>

The celebrated fourteenth-century [[bard]] [[Dafydd ap Gwilym]] refers to Gwyn in a number of texts, suggesting that the character was widely known in Wales during the medieval period. In ''Y Dylluan'', he describes the eponymous [[owl]] as the "fowl of Gwyn ap Nudd".  ''Y Pwll Mawn'', in which the bard tells an unfortunate autobiographical account in which he and his horse were almost drowned in a lake, described as the "fish lake of Gwyn ap Nudd" and "the palace of the elves and their children."

Gwyn is often associated with the Wild Hunt, in a role akin to [[Woden]] or [[Herne the Hunter]]. Some traditions name Gwyn's chief huntsman as Iolo ap Huw, who, every [[Calan Gaeaf|Halloween]], "may be found cheering [[Cŵn Annwn]] over [[Cader Idris]]".<ref>Rhys, John. ''Celtic folklore: Welsh and Manx.'' p. 180-181</ref> In the [[Black Book of Carmarthen]] Gwyn states that his finest hound is [[Dormarch]].<ref>Evans, John Gwenogvryn (1906). The Black Book of Carmarthen. Pwllheli. p. XI</ref>

According to a 14th century Latin manuscript against witchcraft, Welsh "[[Cunning folk in Britain|dynion hysbys]]" (soothsayers) would repeat the following:<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Lindahl |editor-first1=Carl |editor-last2=Mcnamara |editor-first2=John |editor-last3=Lindow |editor-first3=John |title=Medieval Folklore: A Guide to Myths, Legends, Tales, Beliefs, and Customs |date=2002 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=120 |language=en}}</ref>

{{Verse translation|{{lang|la|Ad regem Eumenidium,
et reginam eius:
Gwynn ap Nwdd
qui es ultra in silvis
pro amore concubine
tue permitte nos venire domum.}}|To the King of the Faeries,
and to his Queen:
Gwyn ap Nudd
thou who art far in the forest
for the love of your consort
permit us to enter thy dwelling.}}

The Latin term ''Eumenidium'' is used, which can be translated as ''"the Benevolent Ones"''<ref>{{cite book |last=Rüdiger |first=Angelika H |date=2012 |title=Gramarye: The Journal of the Sussex Centre for Folklore, Fairy Tales and Fantasy: Issue 2 |location= |publisher=University of Chichester |isbn= |chapter=Gwyn ap Nudd: Transfigurations of a character on the way from medieval literature to neo-pagan beliefs |page=38}}</ref> and act as an euphemism to mean ''y tylwyth teg'' or ''faeries'', and the king of the faeries is Gwyn ap Nudd; with logic, it could be argued that Gwyn ap Nudd is "Eumenidium."