Ugnach: the Cymric god (He of the Remote Relam)

Synonyms:
Cym: He of the Remote Relam

Ugnach is a figure chiefly known from a single poem found in the Medieval Cymric collection known as the Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin (Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin. The poem itself is the Ymddiddan Ugnach a Taliessin (which can be found in English translation as The Discourse of Ugnach and Taliessin. The poem itself is couched as a discourse between the great poetic figure Taliesin and the rather shadowy figure of Ugnach.

In the poem Taliessin is journeying from the holy land to the Fortress of Lleu and Gwydion which can be taken as the Milky way, or a poetic way of couching 'Heaven'. Thus Taliesin is a figure in the service of Christ whilst Ugnach represents the temptations of the pagan past which Taliesin ultimately refutes and refuses.

Yet Ugnach, because of his pagan association in the poem remains a fascinating figure and much may actually be gleaned of his nature in the allusions made to him. He appears as a rider going to an unnamed city, accompanied by white dogs. These white hunting hounds remind us strongly of the white-pelted red-eared hounds of Annwfn used by Arawn in his hunt in the tale of Pwyll Pendefig Dyfed. In the same stanza we are told of Ugnach's 'great horns'. In most cases (in middle Welsh at least) this would be a reference to hunting horns, as a huntsman leading a pack of hounds might be expected to carry. However, these horns are referred to in the plural. Are they therefore horns bourne upon Ugnach's head — as is seen in many depictions of the 'Hornéd God of the North'.

In the exchange between them Ugnach invites Taliessin to the city to which he is journeying where Taliessin may receive 'mead from Hellas' and 'gold upon his sheield'. The use of Hellas, the ancient word for ancient Greek suggests the pagan Hellenic Greek world rather than the contemporary Orthodox Greek world. A further indication of Ugnach's pagan nature. Also in the final verse of the poem Taliesin says 'may you receive grace in the Upper Realm'. This would indicate that the 'Upper Realm' (ie the world of man) is not Ugnach's native domain and strongly indicates that he comes from an 'otherworld'. Taken together with the white hounds and Ugnach's horns it is fairly certain that Ugnach himself is a Lord of Annwfn.

An analogy can be made between the Cyfoesi of Ugnach and Taliesin with the other similar 'Cyfoesi' that we know of: That between Gwyddno Garnahir and Gwyn fab Nudd in the Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin and also that between Pwyll and Arawn in the Mabinogi of Pwyll Pendefig Dyfed. We know that both Arawn and Gwyn are lords of Annwfn and by analogy Ugnach can be taken as a further aspect of a Lord of Annwfn. There is also the matter of Ugnach's name. This has proven almost impossible to interpret from old or middle Welsh and even the ending '-ach' is a rare one in Welsh. Indeed, this ending brings with it a sense of 'otherness' and echoes the name of another otherworldly figure, that of Afallach. A further correspondence is seen in the tale of Culhwch ac Olwen where warriors originating from the realm of Uffern are named: Duach a Brathach a Nerthach, meibon Gwawrdur Kyruach — o vrthdir Uffern'. Names ending in -wch/-ach are often also of Irish origin and it's possible that the name Ugnach may be of Irish origin and could be related to the word: uaignech which represents a barren, lonely and remote place. This would certainly be in keeping with the nature of Ugnach's otherworldly realm. Thus the name can be interpreted as 'He of the Remote Relam'.

Thus Ugnach fits into the artchetype of the 'Netherworld Hunter' and is an equivalent figure to Arawn and Gwyn fab Nudd and is a mythological descendant of the 'Horned Gods of the North'.

Navigation