Editing Creiddylad (section)

== Role in Welsh tradition ==
Creiddylad, daughter of Lludd Silver Hand, is a lady living at the [[Celliwig|court of King Arthur]]. Considered to be the most beautiful girl in the [[British Isles]], she is loved by two of Arthur's warriors: [[Gwythyr ap Greidawl|Gwythyr]] and [[Gwyn ap Nudd|Gwyn]].<ref name="Bruce">[http://gorddcymru.org/twilight/camelot/bruce_dictionary/index_c.htm Christopher Bruce's Arthurian Name Dictionary: Creiddylad]</ref> Her rival suitors are thrust into conflict when Gwythyr [[Bride kidnapping|abducts her]] from her father's house, to which Gwyn retaliates by kidnapping her from Gwythyr.<ref>Rachel Bromwich & D. Simon Davies (eds.), ''Culhwch ac Olwen'' (University of Wales Press, 1988).</ref> Due to Arthur's intervention in the ensuing feud, the lady Creiddylad is returned to her father and an arrangement (a ''dihenydd'', or "[[fate]]")<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20081119094047/http://www.celtnet.org.uk/gods_c/creiddylad.html Celtnet's Nemeton: Creiddylad]}}</ref> is made that forces the adversaries to engage in single combat for the object of their love every [[Calan Mai|May Day]]—while she is destined to remain with her father, unmarried—until a final battle on [[Last Judgment|Judgement Day]], which will determine who keeps her forever.

Creiddylad has been compared to the [[Greek mythology|Greek]] springtime goddess [[Persephone]], who is similarly [[Rape of Persephone|abducted]] by an admirer (the [[Greek underworld|underworld]] god Hades), rescued by an intervening character (Zeus), and reunited with her family (her mother Demeter), then cursed to repeat the experience every year. Here, the warrior duo's ritual battle for possession of Creiddylad may be understood as a version of the "[[Holly King (archetype)|Holly King]]" myth, possibly personifying the dynamic power struggle between summer and winter.<ref>''The White Goddess: A Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth''. [[Robert Graves]]. Octagon Books. 1978. {{ISBN|0374932395}}, 9780374932398</ref>

It is also observed that the name of Creiddylad's father (Lludd) and that of Gwyn's father (Nudd) are likely [[cognate]], which suggests that the characters are different incarnations of the pan-Celtic deity [[Nodons]]. Hence, Gwyn is often described as Creiddylad's brother.

Additionally, she is sometimes confused with the goddess [[Creirwy]], who is also referred to as the most beautiful girl in the world.<ref>[http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/edward-davies/the-mythology-and-rites-of-the-british-druids-ascertained-by-national-documents-hci/page-14-the-mythology-and-rites-of-the-british-druids-ascertained-by-national-documents-hci.shtml ''The Mythology and Rites of the British Druids...'', Edward Davies]</ref>