Mathonwy: a Cymric God/Goddess (Bear of the Ash Grove)

Synonyms:
Cym: Bear of the Ash Grove

Mathonwy is a figure known only from the patronymic/matronymic of Math fab Mathonwy the central figur of the Mabinogi of Math fab Mathonwy.

In the tale Math is the master mage and there are things Math can do which even his nephew the arch-mage Gwydion is incapable of. The tale also tells us that Math is the uncle of Gwydion,Gilfaethwy and Arianrhod which makes him the brother of the goddess Dôn. This would therefore make Mathonwy the parent of Dôn as well as Math. To determine which parent is implie we need to examine a peculiarity of the Gwynedd line, as represented in the Mabinogi of Math fab Mathonwy in that all the main characters: Gwydion, Gilfaethwy and Arianrhod are known by their matronymics. Even Dylan and Lleu are born fatherless and Dylan at least is known by the name of his grandmother as Dylain eil Dôn (though there is a hint that Gwydion is their father) as is Blodeuwedd, for she is created from flowers. Even Math himself may be referred to in terms of the matronymic for Mathonwy may be a female name, as in the girl's name Gwenonwy though other names ending in -onwy are male (cf Daronwy). It is also possible, as Rachel Bromwich has discussed in the Trioedd Ynys Prydein that Mathonwy simply represents a duplicative echo of Math, a phenomenon seen in a number of the 'spurious' patronymics of Arthur's knights in the Mabinogion of Culhwch ac Olwen. What is not in doubt is that the house Gwynedd followed a system of matrilinear descent and if Mathonwy represents a treu deity then this would make her the female originator of the entire house, being the mother of Math and Dôn, both. Even Math's cynneddf of having a virgin foot-holder who in some respects represents the spirit of his realm.

Etymologically, the name Math (and its Irish cognates), and by extension the name of Mathonwy are related to Gaulish names such as Matunus and are derived from the reconstructed proto-Celtic lexical element Matu- (bear). Thus Math is the mage-Bear and his name hints at the role of the bear as the avatar of the seer. The ending of the name -onwy is uncertain, but it may be related to the reconstructed proto-Celtic elements *onno- (ash tree) and the Middle Cymric wy (his/hers) or it could be related to the Cymric onwydd (ash tree). Thus the name means something like 'Bear of the Ash Tree' or, perhaps, 'Bear of the Ash Grove'.

As well as the Mabinogi, Mathonwy is given as the matronymic of Math in several other Cymric sources such as the first of these is Triad 28 of the Trioedd Ynys Prydain which names Math as one of the 'Three Great Enchanters of the Island of Britain' and goes on to say that he taught these enchantments to Gwydion. Math is also mentioned in the Llyfr Taliesin poem, the Cad Goddeu (Battle of the Trees) where the narrator of the poem speaks of beng engendered by Math and of the creation of a second Math. The poem Prif Gyfarch Taliesin in the Llyfr Taliesin also names Math and Gwydion as great enchanters. In the same volume, Math vab Mathonwy is named in the poem Marwnad Aedon: Math ac euuyd. hutwyt geluyd... (Math and Efydd fashioned by magic a skilled poet). Another epithet of Math, found in the work of the gogynfeirdd and the Llyfr Taliesin poems is Math Hen (Math the Old), possibly relating to the antiquity of the character.

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