Notes and Queries, Number 19, March 9, 1850 by Various
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page 23 of 95 (24%)
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reproving him, declares that he is a crowned king, lord of Annwn and
Pendaran, i.e. chief of thunder. (See _Myth. Ant. Druids_, p. 418.) This Prince of Darkness is supposed to be the spouse of Andraste, now corrupted into Andras, and equivalent with _Malt y nos_, the Diana or Hecate of the ancient Britons. These dogs sometimes appear singly, on which occasions they sit by the side of a stream, howling in so unearthly a manner, that the hapless man who finds one in his path usually loses his senses. This seems to have a connection with the "Manthe Doog" of the Isle of Man; but the tradition is not, we suspect, genuine. Seleucus. No. 2. _Cyoeraeth or Gwrach-y-rhybin._--Another instance of the grand, though gloomy superstitions of the Cymry, is that of the _Cyoeraeth_, or hag of the mist, an awful being who is supposed to reside in the mountain fog, through which her supernatural shriek is frequently heard. She is believed to be the very personification of ugliness, with torn and dishevelled hair, long black teeth, lank and withered arms and claws, and a most cadaverous appearance; to this some add, wings of a leathery and bat-like substance. The name _Cy-oer-aeth_, the last two syllables of which signify _cold-grief_, is most descriptive of the sad wail which she utters, and which will, it is said, literally freeze the veins of those who hear it; she is _rarely_ seen, but is heard at a cross-road, or beside a stream--in the latter case she splashes the water with her |
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