Mallt-y-Nos
Mallt-y-Nos (Matilda of the Night), also known as the Night Mallt,[1] is a crone in Welsh mythology who rides with Arawn and the hounds (Cŵn Annwn) of the Wild Hunt, chasing sorrowful, lost souls to Annwn. The Mallt-y-Nos drives the hounds onward with shrieks and wails, which some say are evil and malicious in nature.[2]
Others say that she was once a beautiful but impious noblewoman who loved hunting so much that she said, "If there is no hunting in heaven, I would rather not go!" She is said to have regretted making this wish, and now cries out in misery rather than joy as she hunts forever in the night sky. She is most commonly seen in the night skies in late advent and at Christmas.[2]
In the story of her being a noblewoman she is cast as the ghost of the mistress of Robert Fitzhamon, First Duke of Gloucester. He was the Norman lord who led the invasion of the ancient Welsh kingdom of Morganwg (modern day Glamorgan and Gwent). He was so hated by the Welsh that he cropped up in folklore for centuries after the invasion and his death as he was such a tangible "baddy". There is every likelihood that the stories of Mallt-y-nos not only predate the Norman invasion, but are likely to also pre-date Christianity in Wales.
The story of Mallt-y-nos shares a lot of similarities with the Norse tradition of the god Odin, riding through the skies on the night of the Winter solstice in a great deer hunt, slaughtering any souls who may cross their path.
In popular culture
Mallt-y-Nos features in Tom Siddell's Gunnerkrigg Court as one of the many spirit guides that assist the dead with their transition.
References
- ^ Brooke, Stopford Augustus (1892). The history of early English literature: being the history of English poetry from its beginnings to the accession of King Ælfred. Macmillan and Co. p. 84. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
Mallt-y-Nos.
- ^ a b Trevelyan, Marie (1973). Folk-lore and folk-stories of Wales. Kessinger Publishing. p. 49. ISBN 9780854099382. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
External links
- Williams, Taliesin (1837). The doom of Colyn Dolphyn: a poem, with notes illustrative of various traditions of Glamorganshire. Longman, Rees, Orme and co. pp. 71–73. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
Mallt-y-Nos.
- {{cite book |title=Legends and Floklore of Bridgend and the Vale|last=Loveluck-Edwards |first=Graham |year=2020 |publisher=Candy Jar Books (Cardiff) LTD |pages=[1]