In the middle of Lake Tegid, the nobleman Tegid Voel lived with his wife Cerridwen and their two children. The daughter, Creirwy, was the most beautiful girl in the world. The son, Afagddu, was the ugliest boy in the world.

Cerridwen decided to make it so that Afagddu's intelligence rivaled his ugliness. To that end, she searched for a recipe in the books of the great magician Vergil of Toledo so that she might boil up a cauldron of inspiration and knowledge.

Now this recipe called for a year and a day's worth of simmering, and was very specific about which herbs must be picked at what time, and when they must be added. So, for those times when Cerridwen could not stir the cauldron herself, she enlisted the aid of the young boy Gwion, son of Gwreang.

When the recipe was nearly finished, three drops splattered upon Gwion's finger, which he stuck in his mouth.

The potion granted him knowledge of all things past, present and future. But the inner workings of the universe served only as a backdrop to one fact now made clear: Cerridwen intended to kill her helper when his task was over.

Gwion fled on his two short legs, and Cerridwen pursued him. He knew he could not hope to escape her in his natural shape, so he used the knowledge he had gained from the cauldron and turned himself into a hare.

As soon as he had done so, Cerridwen transformed herself into a greyhound. Gwion jumped into a river, changing into a fish as he did so; Cerridwen took the shape of an otter. Next, Gwion tried to escape by air in a bird's form, but his pursuer followed him in the guise of a hawk.

Gwion flew into a barn. Despairing of escaping as an animal, he transformed himself into a grain of winnowed wheat, hoping to be lost among all the other grains on the floor. But Cerridwen turned into a black hen, and scratched the floor until she found Gwion, and ate him.

When Cerridwen returned to her own shape, she discovered that she was pregnant, and realized that it was Gwion who grew within her. But when she gave birth to him, he was such a beautiful baby that she could not bear the thought of killing him. So instead she tied him up in a leather bag and threw him into the sea two days before May Day.

The waves carried him to the weir of Gwyddno Garanhair in Cardigan Bay, where he was found by Prince Elphin, the son of Gwyddno and nephew of King Maelgwyn of Gwynedd.

Elphin caught no fish that day, but considered his efforts well-spent all the same. He named the child Taliesin, which may mean "fine value" or "beautiful brow", little guessing how important and wise that child would be in the future.

About the Author.

Back to the top of this page.