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Arrdu?
Mar 5, 2018 12:25:42 GMT -1
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Post by wolfgrin on Mar 5, 2018 12:25:42 GMT -1
I was reading a Morgan Daimler blog and came across the locations of Llyn Du Yr Arddu, Clogwyn Du Yr Arrdu, and Maen Du Yr Arddu in Snowdonia. Maen Du Ur Arddu is a stone "where it was said if two people slept on the eponymous stone one would go mad and the other become a poet." My mind went to Orrdu of Culhwch and Olwen, especially since that tale takes place in the North, so I can't help but wonder if perhaps they're related somehow? Or if it's purely a linguistic connection via "black"? (Here's the blog for reference: www.patheos.com/blogs/agora/2018/03/dead-mad-or-a-poet/)
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Arrdu?
Mar 11, 2018 8:37:35 GMT -1
Post by lorna81 on Mar 11, 2018 8:37:35 GMT -1
Yes, I've heard of the stone. As far as I know the A as opposed O gives a linked but different meaning. Orddu is 'Very Black' and Arddu possibly means 'Black Bear' (from Arth ' Bear'). Arddu is one of the main deities in the Feri Tradition. I *think* (but don't quote me on this as it's not my area) that Arddu and the Welsh myths were introduced into Feri by Gwydion Pendderwen. There are a few different traditions within Feri and they view Arddu in different ways. He's generally seen as a god of darkness, death, and winter, and as a psychopomp. This is the view of one group - feritradition.org/grimoire/deities/arddu.htmlFeri priest Sean Donahue speaks about him as a death god and gatekeeper in his essay 'The Rattling at the Gates'. His writing is beautiful - here's a fragment - I'd suggest following the link below to read the whole piece. 'And, so, I stand at the gates of death beside one of my gods, who comes to me in the form of a bear, though many others associate him more with the stag. (His name suggests the Old Welsh word for bear which is also contained in the name of a sacred king.) Bears are beings that inhabit two worlds. They spend most of the year walking among the living. But they spend the dark months in the underworld, where they can hear the songs of the sleeping, the gestating, and the dead. The god I am standing with is known by most as a death god, but he tells me that he is more than that, he is the one who stands between worlds. He is the opener and closer of gates. And, while we are used to thinking of the dead moving through those gates in only one direction, that is not the only possibility.' godsandradicals.org/2015/04/03/the-rattling-at-the-gate
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Arrdu?
Mar 13, 2018 2:40:12 GMT -1
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Post by wolfgrin on Mar 13, 2018 2:40:12 GMT -1
I found that same page when I went digging. Interesting stuff!
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Arrdu?
Mar 14, 2018 15:45:01 GMT -1
Post by Heron on Mar 14, 2018 15:45:01 GMT -1
Arddu is usually interpreted either as ‘ar’ + ‘du’ = ‘on black’ where ‘ar’ is an intensifier so ‘utter blackness’, referring to the black appearance of the crag, or, I think more likely, ‘ardd’ (‘open high ground’) + ‘du’, again referring to the dark aspect of the place.
That the story should apply both here and a little further south on Cader Idris is not surprising as I have heard of it applying to other significant places too, including sidh mounds in Ireland. The Cader Idris story appears in the 16th century treatise on giants by Sion Dafydd Rhys where it is said if anyone sleeps on the bed of Idris the giant he wiil become a poet or go completely mad. There is a similar Icelandic story about sleeping on famous poet’s barrow. The story about Gorsedd Arberth may also be relevant here: that anyone who sits on it will either receive a wound or see a marvel.
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Arrdu?
Mar 14, 2018 22:04:42 GMT -1
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Post by wolfgrin on Mar 14, 2018 22:04:42 GMT -1
Thanks, Heron! "Ardd"-"du" makes sense to me as well.
I didn't even think about Goresedd Arberth when I read this.
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