Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon, my Darlings.   For this week’s Femme Fatale Friday blog post, I will be discussing Dahut (sometimes also called Dahud, or Dahud-Ahes), the legendary Princess of Ys!   Dahut is the daughter of the King of the Drowned City of Ys, Gradlon.   Although Dahut’s mother is often not discussed, in some versions, Dahut’s mother is described as being a Valkyrie named Malgven.   

Dahut is an important figure in the legend of the Drowned City of Ys.   In fact, it is Dahut who is blamed for the drowning of Ys in the most popular versions of the legend.   The City of Ys was located in Brittany, France, and Dahut is often considered a Breton Goddess in Breton and Celtic folklore.

There are versions of the legend that state that Gradlon had built Ys for Dahut, as she was his favorite daughter.   However, it should be noted, although she is blamed for the building and destruction of Ys in many versions of the legend, she actually does not appear in the earliest version of the legend.   This is not uncommon, as legends evolve over time, making it so that often the most well-known versions of legends are later variants of the tale.   

Now, the story is that the City of Ys was built on the water, with only a Gated Dike to protect the city from the Sea.   The Gate was locked with a key that was only possessed by Gradlon himself.   King Gradlon is often interpreted as a pious figure with a wayward daughter who is described as a Sorceress.   It is said in some versions of the legend that Dahut is so rebellious that she stole the key to the Gate that protected Ys from her father while he slept!   

The stealing of the key is often described as Dahut taking the key in order to sneak one of her many lovers into the city.   In some cases, she is said to cause the flooding of Ys by drunkenly unlocking the Gate instead of the door to the palace.   In other cases, she is described as totally evil, where she not only has many lovers but takes a new lover every night, killing them at sunrise and dumping their bodies into the Sea!   Her wicked actions, in the versions of the legend when she is evil, went on to catch the attention of the Devil himself, who came to Ys to seduce Dahut in the form of a Red Knight.   In that version, it is Dahut being seduced by Satan that had her give him the keys to the city of Ys, which led to the drowning of Ys!

No matter what telling of the story of Ys where Dahut appears, she always has a tragic end.   Her father is given a decree (often from a Saint) that Dahut must be sacrificed due to her causing the flood, drowning the city.   Although Gradlon had originally meant to save them both by escaping the city, he is told by this voice that he must sacrifice Dahut to save himself and his city, and he does so!   He lives, but the city still sinks, with Dahut ending up either dead or having turned into a Mermaid.   More specifically, Dahut is often described as having been turned into a Mari-Morgen, which is a Breton Mermaid.   As a sidenote, many mistakenly think Mari-Morgens are Welsh, and I have even been guilty of stating that in the past, but Mari-Morgens are directly tied to Breton folklore, with the Welsh word for Mermaid actually being Morforwyn.   It is the later myths and legends that conflate the two, so that now the older folklore is often obscured, but I wanted to clarify this point.   In any case, in the Mermaid versions, Dahut haunts the Seas trying to lure people to her!

It is her nature of being turned into a Mermaid that has led to how many people who work with her base their views of her as a Goddess.   Dahut is seen as a Goddess of Water, Abundance, Fertility, Passion, and Courage.   The Sea and Sea Animals are said to be Sacred to Dahut.   Some say that she was honored with ceremonies at the end of Summer, which makes this the perfect time of year to work with her energy.   Dahut is deeply tied to Pleasure and Sexuality, with her story featuring her many lovers being a prime example of why we see her tied to Pleasure!   This is why those who disliked the Goddess Dahut called her a Goddess of Debauchery.   Even with her detractors, those who feel the call of this Goddess view her as a Mother Goddess figure who is viewed as cradling those who want to return to the Old Ways.   Additionally, some people have linked Dahut with Arianrhod and Morgan le Fay, as her legends align with some of their associations.   The Morgan le Fay links make sense to me, given the connection between Morgan le Fay and Mari-Morgens!

I hope you have enjoyed this look at Dahut, Princess of Ys.   What is your favorite part of her story?   Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is an artwork of Dahut by Aurélie Martin.   I found the artwork on https://aureliemartinart.artstation.com/projects/5XEGPO.     

LINK TO AVALONIAN ROSE FAERY MYSTERIES PATREON: patreon.com/AvalonianRoseFaeryMysteries 

Further Reading

• https://www.historicmysteries.com/myths-legends/lost-city-ys/39011/
• https://journeyingtothegoddess.wordpress.com/2012/08/21/dahut-ahes/
• https://mermaid.fandom.com/wiki/Dahut