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 - Yes, date unknown
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| Name |
Don ferch Mathonwy |
| Gender |
Female |
| Death |
Yes, date unknown |
| Notes |
- http://www.rpi.edu/~holmes/Hobbies/Genealogy/ps19/ps19_229.htm
Don, Goddess of Fertility
Don, Danu or Anu was a Mother-Goddess and the wife of Beli Mawr. Don is represented in the night's sky as Llys Don, better known as Casseopeia. Like Beli Mawr, Don is honored by several hills; in County Kerry's 'Breast of Anu' and in Leicestershire's 'Black Annis.' Don was the patroness of springs and fountains. In the Arthurian legend Don appears as Annowre, a sorceress who imprisoned Arthur in the Perilous Forest.
«b»http://www.britannia.com/celtic/gods/don.html
«/b»Anu
«i»alias Don«/i»
«i»Celtic Goddess of Fertility«/i»
Anu was known, in the Celtic World, by several similar names: Danu or Don being the most popular alternatives. She was a Mother-Goddess, the wife of the Sun God, «u»Belenos <http://www.britannia.com/celtic/gods/beli.html>«/u», and considered to be the ancestor of all the Gods, the «i»Tuatha dé Danann«/i», who found themselves obliged to reside in the Otherworld when Miled brought the Celts to the British Isles. She still looks down on us from the night's sky where she appears as «i»Llys Don«/i», better known as the constellation of «i»Casseopeia«/i». Anu was especially popular in Munster, though her most lasting memorial is a mountain in County Kerry called the «i»Dá Chích Anann«/i» or "Breast of Anu". The Dane Hills in Leicestershire are also named after her and this area, perhaps a major centre for her cult, is where her memory lives on as «i»Black Annis«/i». This hideous old crone's habit of eating young children was, no doubt, invented by incoming Christians to blacken the name of the Celtic Goddess. In Christendom, the lady usually took on the guise of St. Anne, however, in order to smooth the path of conversion. This saint's popularity in Brittany probably stems from the previous worship of the Celtic Goddess there. Anu was also the patroness of springs and fountains, hence the numerous St. Anne's Wells throughout Britain today. Early medieval historians confused Anu with Anna, the daughter of «u»St. Joseph of Arimathea <http://www.britannia.com/history/biographies/joseph.html>«/u». In «u»Arthurian legend <http://www.britannia.com/history/arthur>«/u» she probably appears as Annowre, a sorceress who imprisoned «u»Arthur <http://www.britannia.com/history/arthur/kaking.html>«/u» in the Perilous Forest.
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| Person ID |
I60925 |
Glenn Cook Family |
| Last Modified |
19 Jun 2013 |
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