EMAIN ABLACH AND ARBERTH, WALES

When it comes to localizing the Irish Emain Ablach, the tradition that identifies this particular Otherworld with the Isle of Man may be correct.  Manannan, due solely to his name, would naturally have been associated with the island.  I have shown in my Arthurian battle researches that the Welsh Manawydan was in or on the border of Manau Gododdin when he fought at the Tribruit (North Queensferry trajectus on the Firth of Forth). Manau Gododdin has left some local place-names - Slamanann, 'the mountain of Manau', Clackmanann, 'the stone of Manau' and, possibly, Dalmeny.

However, we have no independent place-name evidence that the Isle of Man was ever called Emain Ablach.

Manawydan, the Welsh counterpart of Irish Manannan, is placed at the court of Arberth (modern Narberth) in Dyfed with the horse goddess Rhiannon (Epona Regina). Arberth is the place 'at/near/beside the perth.'  Perth has an interesting etymology.  

Narberth Castle, Dyfed, Wales

Here is the listing from the GPC:

perth

[yr e. lleoedd Crn. (Pen)berth, (Pen)perth, e. tref Perth (Gael. Peart) yn yr Alban, Gwydd. C. ceirt (< *queirt) ‘pren (afalau)’: ?< Clt. *ku̯erku̯-t- (?< IE. *perku̯u- ‘derwen’, cf. Llad. quercus ‘derwen’, Sans. parkatī- ‘pren ffigys sanctaidd’, H. S. furh (> S. Diw. fir)) neu ?cf. pren, prysg]

eb. (bach. perthen, ll. perthenni) ll. perthi, perthydd, perthau.

Gwrych, clawdd, sietin; llwyn, prysglwyn, dryslwyn, draenllwyn; tir prysglwyn, cefn gwlad; jyngl; hefyd yn dros. ac yn ffig.:

hedge; (thorn-)bush, brake, thicket, copse, coppice; (the) bush, countryside; jungle; also transf. and fig. 

It will be noticed that the cognate to perth in Irish is ceirt.  And here is the eDIL listing for ceirt:

1 ceirt

Cite this: eDIL s.v. 1 ceirt or dil.ie/8502

n apple-tree ; the letter q in Ogham (see Vendryes, RC xliv 313 ff. ): c.¤ .i. abhall, O'Cl. tri foilcheasta inn oghaim .i. c.¤ ┐ gedal ┐ straiph. In baile i mbi c ria n-u is queirt is scribhtha and, ut est cuileand ┐rl., Auraic. 440 . queirt dano, is o chrand rohainmnighead .i. abhull ut dicitur. clithar boaiscille .i. elit gelt cuert .i. aball, 1184 . ? Cf. bille .i. c.¤ , Corm. Y 186 .

So, in other words, from the Irish perspective, a Manawydan, i.e. Manannan, at Arberth would be the sea god at the apple thicket.'

We should recall, of course, that there was a 7th century Arthur of Dyfed. He belonged to a dynasty that had been founded by the Irish Deisi. 

Should Arberth, then, be considered an Avalon?

A PAGAN GRAIL NEAR ARBERTH?

The cauldron of Diwrnach is taken to Dyfed, where it is left at the house of Llwydeu son of Cil Coed. Llwydeu or Llwyd has been linked to Ludchurch, Welsh Eglwys Llwyd, hard by the stream of Cil Coed in Pembroke. The Otherworld castle of Llwyd of Cil Coed is probably the ancient fort that stands atop the hill overlooking Ludchurch.


The notion that Llwyd may be a Welsh version of the Irish hero Liath son of Celtchair, whose name is preserved in the famous fairy hill in County Longford called Bri Liath, is certainly significant. Bri Leith was for a time the home of the goddess Etain Echraide, that is, Etain ‘Horse-rider’. Midir (*Medio-rix, ‘King of the Middle’, i.e. of Midhe), the god who owned Bri Liath, possessed a magical cauldron, which was stolen from him by Cu Roi. The fortified hill at Ludchurch may well have been thought of as the Welsh counterpart of Bri Liath in Ireland and, hence, became the respository of the horse goddess’s patera. This is especially true since the Dark Age ruling dynasty of Dyfed, as mentioned already above, was of Irish Dessi origin.