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Afallach is man's name found in several medieval Welsh genealogies, where is made the son of Beli Mawr
. According to a medieval Welsh triad, Afallach was the father of the goddess Modron
. The Welsh redactions of Geoffrey of Monmouth
's Historia Regum Britanniae
, Brut y Brenhinedd, associate him with Ynys Afallach, which is substituted as the Welsh name for Geoffrey's Insula Avalonsis (Island of Avalon
), but this is fanciful medieval etymology and it is more likely his name derives from the Welsh word afall "apple tree" (modern Welsh afal "apple", afalllen "apple tree" cf. Proto-Celtic
*aballo- "apple"); from which, granted, the name of Avalon is also often thought to derive, so that the meaning of "Afallach" is associated but not necessarily directly.
Beli Mawr
Beli Mawr was an ancestor figure in medieval Welsh literature and genealogies. He is the father of Caswallawn, Arianrhod, Lludd Llaw Eraint, Llefelys, and Afallach. In certain medieval genealogies he is listed as the husband of Anna, cousin of the Virgin Mary...
. According to a medieval Welsh triad, Afallach was the father of the goddess Modron
Modron
In Welsh mythology, Modron was a daughter of Afallach, derived from the Gaulish goddess Matrona. She may have been the prototype of Morgan le Fay from Arthurian legend...
. The Welsh redactions of Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth was a cleric and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur...
's Historia Regum Britanniae
Historia Regum Britanniae
The Historia Regum Britanniae is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written c. 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the kings of the Britons in a chronological narrative spanning a time of two thousand years, beginning with the Trojans founding the British nation...
, Brut y Brenhinedd, associate him with Ynys Afallach, which is substituted as the Welsh name for Geoffrey's Insula Avalonsis (Island of Avalon
Avalon
Avalon is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 pseudohistorical account Historia Regum Britanniae as the place where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was forged and later where Arthur was...
), but this is fanciful medieval etymology and it is more likely his name derives from the Welsh word afall "apple tree" (modern Welsh afal "apple", afalllen "apple tree" cf. Proto-Celtic
Proto-Celtic language
The Proto-Celtic language, also called Common Celtic, is the reconstructed ancestor language of all the known Celtic languages. Its lexis can be confidently reconstructed on the basis of the comparative method of historical linguistics...
*aballo- "apple"); from which, granted, the name of Avalon is also often thought to derive, so that the meaning of "Afallach" is associated but not necessarily directly.