Mallt-y-Nos
Mallt - y-Nos ( " Matilda of the Night " [ maɬt ə ː no s] ) is an ugly and vicious old woman from Celtic mythology of Wales.
Behavior and appearance
The Mallt - y-Nos rides in the " Wild Hunt " together with Arawn and the CWN Annwn, the dogs of the otherworld. It drives with their suit shouting and screaming at the dogs then chase the lost souls by Annwn. It is also told that she had once been a beautiful but wicked Norman noblewoman who loved hunting above all else. My translation: "If there is no hunting in heaven, then I will never get there " was fulfilled, so they cry now so miserably as you ride through the night.
Etymology
The Welsh term mallt goes back to the Welsh noun malltod, which means " curse, blight, decay, decomposition, or gust of wind ." Nos is the noun for " night ". Thus Mallt - y-Nos can be translated as "Pirates of the Night".
Mallt - y-Nos aka Matilda
Marie Trevelyan reports two stories. The first deals with the earthly Matilda, a Norman noble woman who came with Fitzhamon of Gloucester, to subdue South Wales. Matilda loved hunting. She was from hunting so obsessed that they cried out again: "If there is no hunting in heaven, then I will never get there. " When she died, appeared the Welsh god of the Otherworld, Arawn, and took care of her soul. During her lifetime she was a very beautiful woman, but after her death she was transformed into a terrible and ugly witch. Matilda was condemned by Arawn to hunt for all eternity.
The second story says that a young Welsh woman loved to hunt, but her fiance did not believe anyone. At her wedding he promised never to hunt again and she also agreed. However, they missed the hunting greatly. For over a year she longed, but her husband forbade her. When he was absent for a while once she seized the opportunity. For a whole day they rode with a hunting party and forced everyone to be silent about it. Unfortunately, she was thrown on the way back from his horse and broke his leg. When her husband returned, he knew immediately what had happened and that she had her promise not to hunt broken. He stormed out of the house and asked a dyn hysbys ( " wise man, sorcerer "). The two men returned to the castle and uttered imprecations, which could rise from the ground into the air, the young woman and she threw into the wind. As a whirlwind she sucked up, she was rescued by Arawn, who sat in a car to lead Annwns hunting.
Related figures
The shape of the Mallt - y-Nos has similarities with:
- The Korrigan, (Brittany )
- Black Annis, ( Leicestershire )
- Banshee and Cliodhna, (Ireland )
- Gwrach y Rhibyn, (Wales )
- Cailleach, ( Ireland and Scotland, Isle of Man)
- The Erzgebirge Winselmutter.
Related Topics
- List of Celtic gods and legendary figures