CELTIC MYTH & SYMBOL
JEN DELYTh
Page 6
WELSH MYTH - PENTRE IVAN
And in the wood: by the grey stone on the hill
where the heron waits,
Can she not whisper the
white secrecies which words discolor?
Can she not say, when we would forget, forget,
When we would remember, remember …
—Fiona MacLeod,
By Sundown Shores, 1901
SPIRIT IN STONE
Welsh Folklore and legends have deep roots in prehistory. South Wales, which has a similar language and coastal environment to Brittany, was once a fertile home for the Paleolithic and Neolithic peoples.
The coast and inland estuaries are rich in shellfish, and the climate, warmed by the ocean, is mild. There are many sheltering caves along its rugged coast, which continued to support the later Celtic people who arrived from the south and the east.
Their culture is intertwined with that of the ancient Britons who lived before them.
The land speaks, or so it seems to the many peoples who have chosen to live in the wild rocky places, the mountains and windswept moors of Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall and Brittany.
Today, we are drawn not only to the stones and their ancient history, but to the mysterious beauty and fertile power of the places in which they stand.
PENTRE IVAN
Dating back to about 3500 BC, Pentre Ifan – which means Evan’s Village – was once partially covered by a great cairn used as a communal burial chamber.
It was also known as Arthur’s Quoit, after the legendary King Arthur whose numinous presence is everywhere in Wales.
In the midst of lovely Welsh farmlands this enigmatic dolmen overlooks the Nevern Valley, commanding extensive views. Carn Ingli, the mountain from which the Stonehenge bluestones allegedly originate, overlooks Pentre Ifan. The entire landscape is saturated in myth.
There are still a great number of megalithic monuments in Wales, but many have disappeared, partly due to the attempts of the Church to quash the vestiges of the Old Religion – the folk superstitions and faerie lore connected to the ancient sites. It is a testament to the enduring nature of the old ways and the deep connection that many local people have had to them over many years that respect for the stones persists. Stories and myths about them have been preserved within folk memory for us to enjoy today.
MYTHS AROUND THE STONES
“Our Pembrokeshire witness is a maiden Welshwoman, sixty years old. She was born and has lived all her life within sight of the famous Pentre Evan Cromlech, in the home of her ancestors. She told me
“My mother used to tell about seeing the ‘fair-folk’ dancing in the fields near Cardigan; and other people have seen them round the cromlech up there on the hill (the Pentre Evan Cromlech).”
Faerie Faith in Celtic Countries, W. Y. Evans-Wentz 1911
Text & Illustrations from Jen Delyth’s Full Color Hardbound Coffee Table Book
Celtic Folk Soul – Art, Myth and Symbol
Signed Copies Available Here
Design - Publishing - Licensing
Oakland California
Ninth Wave Publishing LLC
JEN DELYTH
ARTIST, AUTHOR, DESIGNER
Since 1987, artist Jen Delyth has illustrated and designed a wide range of books, textile products, stationary.
Celtic Art Studio is HOME STUDIO SITE of Jen Delyth – and Celtic Mythic Line
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The Horse was loved and worshipped by the Celtic people. Horses decorate bronze, gold and silver objects as creatures of grace, intelligence and beauty. Horses also serve as solar symbols, embodying the sun’s divine qualities of strength and fertility – and golden Celtic Coins were often minted with images of the Horse, and solar symbols such as the wheel..
