Notes on Branwen Daughter of Llyr
	Bran the raven In the tale, Bran is usually referred to as Bendigeid Vran, meaning ‘Bran the Blessed’. One of the later Welsh triads (which cannot be traced back before the 18^th Century) represents Bran as being the first to bring the Christian faith to Britain. The name ‘Bran’ means crow or raven. His sister’s name, Branwen, means ‘white raven’. Branwen’s marriage Aberffraw, where Branwen married Matholwch, is located on the south coast of Anglesey. See Aberffraw place entry Gwern and the alder The name Gwern means ‘alder’. An account of the Battle of the Trees confirms Bran’s connection with the alder tree: “And Gwydion ap Don guessed the name of the man, and sang the two Englyns following: ‘Sure-hoofed is my steed impelled by the spur; The high sprigs of alder are on thy shield; Bran art thou called, of the glittering branches. Sure-hoofed is my steed in the day of battle: The high sprigs of alder are in thy hand: Bran thou art, by the branch thou bearest- Amathaon the Good has prevailed.’	Contents Bran the raven Branwen’s marriage Gwern and the alder River Linon Pierced Thick Thigh Branwen’s grave Gwales Burial of the head
	River Linon The river Llinon, where Bran made himself a bridge, has been identified with either the Shannon or the Liffey (the latter because Dublin – where it runs – means ‘the ford of the hurdles’)
	Pierced Thick Thigh There is a passage in an old poem in the book of Taliesin which refers to the fatal wounding of Bran: Bum y gan vran yn iwerdon Gweleis pan ladwyt ymordwyt tyllon Mac Cana translates this passage as follows: I was with Bran in Ireland I saw when the pierced (thick) thigh was slain (wounded). The words in parentheses are alternative translations. Mac Cana believes that “pierced (thick) thigh” was a descriptive title of Bran. R S Loomis, the Arthurian scholar, believes that this is supporting evidence that Bran is the prototype of the Fisher King in the grail legends, and that the older tradition was that Bran was smitten in the thigh, just like the Fisher King. It is possible that Mac Cana’s translation may also throw light on one of the mysterious throw-away lines in the tale of Bran, which Lady Guest translates as: Then said Morddwydtyllyon, “The gadflies of Morddwydtyllyon’s Cow!”
	Branwen’s grave See Bedd Branwen place entry. “An account of the discovery, in 1813, or an urn, in which, there is every reason to suppose, the ashes of Bronwen the daughter of Llyr, and aunt to the great Caractacus, were deposited. A farmer, living on the banks of the Alaw, a river in the Isle of Anglesea, having occasion for stones, to make some addition to his farm buildings, and having observed a stone or two peeping through the turf of a circular elevation on a flat not far from the river, was induced to examine it, where, after paring off the turf, he came to a considerable heap of stones, or carnedd, covered with earth, which he removed with some degree of caution, and got to a cist formed of coarse flags canted and covered over. On removing the lid, he found it contained an urn placed with its mouth downwards, full of ashes and half-calcined fragments of bone. The report of this discovery soon went abroad, and came to the ears of the parson of the parish, and another neighbouring clergyman, both fond of, and conversant in, Welsh antiquities, who were immediately reminded of a passage in one of the early Welsh romances, called the Mabinogion: “A square grave was made for Bronwen, the daughter of Llyr, on the banks of the Alaw, and there she was buried.” Happening to be in Anglesea soon after this discovery, I could not resist the temptation of paying a visit to so memorable a spot, though separated from it by a distance of eighteen miles. I found it, in all local respects, exactly as described to me by the clergyman above mentioned, and as characterised by the cited passage from the romance. The tumulus, raised over the venerable deposit, was of considerable circuit, elegantly rounded, but low, about a dozen paces from the river Alaw. The spot is still called Ynys Bronwen (the Islet of Bronwen) which is a remarkable confirmation of this discovery. The urn was preserved entire, with an exception of a small bit out of its lip, was ill-baked, very ruse and simple, having no other ornament than little pricked dots, in height from about a foot to fourteen inches. “When I saw the urn, the ashes and half-calcined bones were in it.”
	Gwales The island of Gwales is usually identified with the island of Grassholm, off the Pembroke peninsula. See Gwales place entry.
	Burial of the head One of the Welsh triads refers to the interment of Bran’s head: “The three goodly concealments and ill-fated disclosures: First the head of Bendigeid Vran ab Llyr [Bran], which Owain the son of Maxen Wledig buried under the White Tower in London, and while it was so placed no invasion could be made upon this Island; The second was the bones of Gwrthevyr the Blessed [Vortimer], which were buried in the chief harbour of the Island, and while they remained there hidden all invasions were ineffectual. The third was the dragons buried by Lludd ab Beli, in the city of Pharaon, in the rocks of Snowdon. And the three closures were made under the blessing of God and his attributes, and evil befell from the time of their disclosure. Gwrtheyrn Gwrtheneu [Vortigern], disclosed the dragons to revenge the displeasure of the Cymry against him, and he invited the Saxons in the guise of men of defence to fight against the Gwyddyl Ffychti; and after this he disclosed the bones of Gwrthevyr the Blessed, through love of Ronwen [Rowena], the daughter of the Saxon Hengist. And Arthur disclosed the head of Bendigeid Vran ab Llyr, because he chose not to hold the Island except by his own strength. And after the three disclosures came the chief invasions upon the race of the Cymry.”