The Horror of the Hounds of Annwn

The Wild Hunt-featuring the Cŵn Annwn (Definitely not dogs you want to pet.)

In Welsh folklore, Annwn is the other world, it’s ruler is Arawn. In its earliest form it was a place of wonder, providing an afterlife of eternal youth with plenty of food and wine thrown in for good measure. But in the medieval period it started to feature in Arthurian legends, and its ruler was changed to Gwyn ap Nudd. He was a hunter and a Psychopomp-a Psycopomp is an entity that escorts or drives spirits to the afterlife.

And this is where things took a darker turn.

The first written mention of Arawn and Annwn is in The Mabinogion-an early book about Welsh mythology-in this he is portrayed in a positive way, befriending the Welsh hero Pwyll. Later with the arrival Christianity, Arawn became Nudd and took on a darker role, and Annwn, far from being a land of plenty, became Hell…

Christian tradition has Nudd being banished to Glastonbury Tor by Saint Collen, for various misdeeds. It is now that he he becomes The Wild Hunter, leading the Cŵn Annwn, hounds of Annwn-singular Ci Annwn. Christians dubbed these creatures the Hounds of Hell, believing they were owned by Satan.

The Cŵn Annwn, are said to be most active in the autumn and winter-time, the sound of their mournful baying on the cold wind was said to be an omen of death. They favourite prey was believed to be wrong doers, who they would chase down remorselessly. According to myth, the louder their growling the further away they are said to be, when they are close at hand their barking is faint, so it is then you really have to worry.

Being a hunting hound a Ci Annwn was a fairly decent sized pup. They are often portrayed as being a spectral white colour, with distinct red ears, the Celts associated the colour red with death. Some have suggested that the sound of migrating geese may have inspired legends of the Cwm Annwn. Others think that Nudd may be a Welsh personification of winter.

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