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From: ellen@reed.UUCP (Ellen Eades)
Newsgroups: net.nlang.celts
Subject: Re: Re: other topics
Message-ID: <842@reed.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 24-Jan-85 15:24:59 EST
Article-I.D.: reed.842
Posted: Thu Jan 24 15:24:59 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 27-Jan-85 05:56:30 EST
References: <208@usl.UUCP>, <1954@sun.uucp> <2560@pur-ee.UUCP>
Organization: Reed College, Portland, Oregon
Lines: 30

> About the mention of "Rhiannon", could someone please fill me in on this?
> This is the title of a Fleetwood Mac song, one whose title had eluded me.
> Is anyone familiar with both the Celtic character and the song lyrics?
> Is there a relation?
> 
> 					Bob Cromwell

Rhiannon is the name of the Mother aspect of the Welsh
Goddess-Triad.  She appears in the Mabinogion as a beautiful
and desirable woman with red-gold hair, fair skin and blue
eyes, and she has three birds from Faerie which accompany
her appearances.  Stevie Nicks says "Rhiannon" is about a
Welsh witch;  actually she is the Mother Goddess.  The other
two aspects of the Goddess in Welsh are Arianrhod, who is
the Maiden, and Ceridwen, who is the Crone.  I believe Stevie
takes a lot of liberty with the lyrics, but Rhiannon is a
love-goddess, so "wouldn't you love to love Her" is
appropriate.
In the Mabinogion, Rhiannon appears to a mortal man riding
on a white horse with her birds about her.  The young man
saddles up and chases after her.  No matter how fast he rides,
he is unable to catch up with her horse, who is walking
slowly.  At the end of the day, when his own horse is near
foundering, he calls out to her to halt.  She replies that she
is glad to, since he has asked her kindly, and points out that
it would have been better for his horse had he humbled himself
sooner.  A nice touch!
Hope this helps.

			--ellen