Creiddylad

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Creiddylad is a daughter of Lludd Llaw Eraint in Welsh mythology. Originally betrothed to Gwythr ap Greidawl, she is abducted by Gwyn ap Nudd, causing the two rivals to go to war over her. In the early Arthurian tale Culhwch and Olwen, King Arthur settles the fued by arranging for the two to battle every May Day until Doomsday. Interestingly, the names of Creiddylad's and Gwyn's fathers are cognates of the same figure. Creiddylad's story is somewhat similar to Persephone's in Greek mythology, and the English version of her name is Cordelia, suggesting she may be related to the later character Queen Cordelia in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae and William Shakespeare's King Lear.

Etymology

This theonym appears to be derived from Proto-Celtic *Kridio-lāt-ā meaning "heart's lust" (cf. [link] [link] [link]). Following accepted sound laws elucidating systematic diachronic phonological sound change in Celtic proto-linguistics (cf. [link] [link] [link] [link]), the Romano-British form of this Proto-Celtic theonym is likely to have been *Cridilāta.

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