Esyllt: a Cymric Heroine (She who is Gazed Upon)

Synonyms: Iseult, Adsullata
Cym: She who is Gazed Upon

Esyllt is the eponymous heroine of the mediaeval tale of Tristan and Iseult. In Cymric mythos she is known from the Trioedd Ynys Prydain and the surviving fragment of the Ystoria Trystan (The story of Drystan and of course the Continental romances which were probably based on a (for the most part lost) Cymric original (see Drystan for an analysis).

In the Ystoria Tristan Drystan manages to spirit Esyllt away from Arthur's court to the depths of Celyddon Woods. But March mab Meirchion Esyllt's true husband entreaties Arthur to return Esyllt to him. For March is Arthur's cousin and Drystan is only a cousin's son. Thus the eloping lovers are fetched back and Arthur attempts to settle the matter by forcing March and Drystan to share Esyllt. They are to chose whether to have her when the leaves are on the trees or when their leaves have fallen. March choses when the leaves have fallen from the trees, but Esyllt exclaims that by virtue of the holly the ivy and the yew which hold their leaves all year round she should be with Drystan for the entire year.

References to Esyllt are made in several of the triads in the Trioedd Ynys Prydain; namely triads 26, 71 and 80. The first of these, tirad 26, suggests a lost Arthurian tale where Drystan is watching March's swine whilst the true swineherd runs to fetch Esyllt for a tryst. At this point Arthur turns up and attempts to steal one of the sows but Drystan stops him. Triad 71 mentions Drystan as one of the three great lovers of the Island of Britain for his love of Esyllt, wife of his uncle, March. Triad 80 describes Esyllt as one of the three faithless wives of Britain, for being Drystan's mistress. It is here that we see her epithet Esyllt Fyngwen (Fair-hair). Here Esyllt's father is given as Kulfanwyd Prydyn (Slender Awl of Pictland).

The main component of Esyllt's name seems congnate with the Cymric word syllu (to gaze) and her name may mean "She who is gazed upon" which would be entirely compatible with her legendary beauty. It has also been proposed that Esyllt may be derived from the name of the goddess Adsullata which also contains the same word 'gaze' within it. It is possible therefore that Esyllt's renowned prowess at healing may have be a surviving aspect of this original goddess.

Teutates horrensque feris altaribus Esus
 et Taranis Scythicae non mitior ara Dianae. 
uos quoque, qui fortes animas belloque peremptas

Savage Teutates, Esus’ bloody shrines
and Taranis’ altar, cruel as those
loved by Diana, whom the Scythians serve;
All these destroyed in war�

According to the Berne Scholia commentary on Lucan Esus' victims were sacrificed by being tied to a tree and then stabbed; the direction in which the blood flowed being used in augury. Though Esus has been equated with the Greco-Roman deities Jupiter, Mercury and Apollo, a strict classical parallel is difficult. Instead, French folklorist Jean Markale identifies Esus instead with a type of god--the "horrible" sky god of magic, like Odin (whose victims were also tied to a tree and flailed), Math ap Mathonwy/Gwydion (lords of magic), and Uranus. To this list I would also add Lleu Llaw Gyffes who was sacrified to the world-oak.

Esus' name probably represents a Romanization of an original form that was probably something like *Aisus, derived from the proto-Celtic *wesu- (excellent, noble) thus Esus' name contains the connotations of 'respect' (which masy make his name equivalent to that of the Germainc Woden/Odin — "The Respected One"). The deity Esunertus/*Aisunertos is also probably a variation on Esus with the termination nerto- (strength, power) appended. Thus the name becomes "strong Esus" or, in full, "The Strong Respected One". This form of the name is known from Pfalsbourg in Germany [CIL XIII 11644] where the god is conflated with Roman Mercury by Interpretato Romana.

The link between the Tarvostrigaranus and the tree that Esus is chopping is supplied by their ecological relationship for the birds (which are actually egrets and not 'cranes') will perch on the backs of cattle to divest them of ticks and lice and they also nest in willow trees, which has been identified as the tree that Esus is chopping down. In Celtic mythology the 'crane' form is one exclusively taken by female deities; deities, moreover, who are generally associated with the other-world. Which would suggest that Esus is an archetype deity probably associated with a triple otherworld goddess. Now whether this was in martial aspect, corresponding to Mars or in healing aspect corresponding to Mercury can not be known. Though these two principles are not entirely incompatible. There is also the questin of why Esus is chopping or pruning the tree unless this is something to do with the death/rebirth of the tree itself, echoing the death and rebirth of the victims sacrificed to it. It should also be noted that the willow is a significant tree in that it stands at the intersitces betweeen realms ie it grows in marshland standing between land and water.

The similarity between the name of Esuvius and that of the Esuvii tribe of northwestern Gaul (modern Calvados) has led to the speculation that he might be the tutelary deity of this tribe.

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