Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings.   For this week’s Femme Fatale Friday post, I have decided to examine where Guinevere appears in the famed Welsh Celtic Triads.   I have accessed the text of these two triads at https://faculty.arts.ubc.ca/sechard/344guen.htm.   For those that do not know, the Welsh Celtic Triads were mnemonic devices used by Medieval Bards to memorize important knowledge, and as Guinevere appears in them, I think it is important for those of us who work with the Faery Queens to examine them!  Without further ado, let’s look at Triad 56 and Triad 80.

“TRIAD 56

Arthur’s Three Great Queens:

Gwennhwyfar daughter of Cywryd Gwent,

and Gwenhwyfar daughter of Gwythyr son of Greidiawl, 

and Gwenhwyfar daughter of Gogfran the Giant.

TRIAD 80
Three Faithless Wives of the Island of Britain.

Three daughters of Culfanawyd of Britain: Essyllt Fair-Hair (Trystan’s mistress),
and Penarwan (wife of Owain son of Urien),
and Bun, wife of Fflamddwyn.

And one was more faithless than those three: Gwenhwyfar, Arthur’s wife since she shamed a better man than any (of the others).”

~So now let’s delve into each of these triads and see what we can learn about Guinevere that was thought so important that it should be memorized!   

~So Triad 56 tells the names of Arthur’s three great Queens.   Each of these three wives of Arthur is named Guinevere, spelled in her traditional Welsh spelling, Gwennhwyfar.   The only difference between the three Guineveres is the name of her father, but interestingly, none of them are named Leodengrance, which is the name given to Guinevere’s father most often in the later Arthurian legends.   So, we see the evolution of the legends of Guinevere quite clearly there.   Another interesting thing we see in Triad 56 is that there are three distinct Guineveres, meaning that she can be viewed as a triple Goddess!   To me, that is the most important facet of Triad 56, as it shows Guinevere as a truly Great Goddess since triple Goddesses are often seen to be some of the most powerful.

~Now, Triad 80 tells the names of the Three Faithless Wives of the Kings of Britain.   Iseult is the most noted name of the three, but Guinevere is listed below the triad as the one who was more faithless than all of the three.   It is stated that she is more faithless because she shamed a better man than any other.   Triad 80 shows the depth of importance of Arthur in the pantheon of British folklore and legend.    Guinevere is stated as the most faithless because Arthur is held in esteem above all other men and Kings!   It is truly fascinating to examine the way Arthur is portrayed, as we know that in much of the lore when we read it in depth, he does not pay Guinevere enough attention.   It is his lack of respect and esteem for his wife that led to her falling in love with another man, one of his own Knights.   Arthur had lost the Sovereignty of the Land by losing the love of his wife, and that is what led to the downfall of Camelot.   However, we can clearly see that by the time the Welsh Celtic Triads were being memorized by Bards, Guinevere was already seen as the root of the downfall of Camelot!

~I hope you have enjoyed reading my thoughts about the two Welsh Celtic Triads where Guinevere appears.   What is your favorite triad?   Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!     

Note: If you want further Faery Queen Goodness, I have a new post available on my Patreon that is all about the Faery Queen Goddess Branwen and how she connects to the very special Full Moon occurring on Sunday!   As a bonus, if you join my Patreon by Monday, you can get in on this month’s Tarot Readings for the Owl and Raven tiers, as I perform them for the Full Moon (so this month that is Saturday, Sunday, and Monday)!

Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is a lovely painting of Guinevere.  I found the painting on https://generalspiritualityjm.fandom.com/wiki/Goddess_Guinevere. 

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