Dôn (ˈdoːn) was a Welsh

Welsh mythology

Welsh mythology, the remnants of the mythology of the pre-Christian Britons, has come down to us in much altered form in medieval Welsh manuscripts such as the Red Book of Hergest, the White Book of Rhydderch, the Book of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin....

 mother goddess

Goddess

A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....

. She does not play a direct part in the action of the Mabinogi

Four Branches of the Mabinogi

The Four Branches of the Mabinogi are the best known tales from the collection of medieval Welsh prose known as the Mabinogion. The word "Mabinogi" originally designated only these four tales, which are really parts or "branches" of a single work, rather than the whole collection...

, though many characters in that cycle are related to her. She is the mother of Arianrhod

Arianrhod

Arianrhod is a figure in Welsh mythology who plays her most important role in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi. She is the daughter of Dôn and the sister of Gwydion and Gilfaethwy; the Welsh Triads give her father as Beli Mawr...

, Gwydion

Gwydion

Gwydion fab Dôn is a magician, hero and trickster of Welsh mythology, appearing most prominently in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, which focuses largely on his relationship with his young nephew, Lleu Llaw Gyffes...

, Gilfaethwy

Gilfaethwy

In Welsh mythology, Gilfaethwy was a son of the goddess Dôn and brother of Gwydion and Arianrhod in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi.His uncle Math ap Mathonwy, king of Gwynedd, must keep his feet in the lap of a young virgin at all times unless he is going to war...

, Gofannon, Eufydd

Eufydd fab Dôn

Eufydd fab Dôn is a minor figure in Welsh mythology, the son of the mother goddess Dôn and brother to the better-known figures of Gwydion, Amaethon, Gofannon and Arianrhod...

, Elestron and Amaethon

Amaethon

In Welsh mythology, Amaethon was the god of agriculture, and the son of the goddess Dôn. His name means "labourer" or "ploughman", and he is cited as being responsible for the Cad Goddeu, or "Battle of Trees", between the lord of the otherworld, Arawn, and the Children of Dôn .-Sources:The...

. Patrick K. Ford asserts that she is the equivalent of the Irish

Irish mythology

The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...

 Danu

Danu (Irish goddess)

In Irish mythology, Danu is the mother goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann . Though primarily seen as an ancestral figure, some Victorian sources also associate her with the land.-Name:...

 and of the Gaul

Gaul

Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...

ish goddess "whose name is preserved in the river name Danube

Danube

The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....

 (Donau)".

This theonym appears to be derived from Proto-Celtic

Celtic languages

The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...

 *Dānu meaning "fluvial water

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

".

The House of Dôn

In astronomy

Llys Dôn (literally "The Court of Dôn") is the traditional Welsh

Welsh language

Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...

 name for the constellation Cassiopeia

Cassiopeia (constellation)

Cassiopeia is a constellation in the northern sky, named after the vain queen Cassiopeia in Greek mythology, who boasted about her unrivalled beauty. Cassiopea was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century Greek astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today...

. At least two of Dôn's children also have astronomical associations: Caer Gwydion ("The fortress of Gwydion

Gwydion

Gwydion fab Dôn is a magician, hero and trickster of Welsh mythology, appearing most prominently in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, which focuses largely on his relationship with his young nephew, Lleu Llaw Gyffes...

") is the traditional Welsh name for the Milky Way

Milky Way

The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...

, and Caer Arianrhod ("The Fortress of Arianrhod

Arianrhod

Arianrhod is a figure in Welsh mythology who plays her most important role in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi. She is the daughter of Dôn and the sister of Gwydion and Gilfaethwy; the Welsh Triads give her father as Beli Mawr...

") being the constellation of Corona Borealis

Corona Borealis

Corona Borealis is a small constellation in the northern sky. Its name is Latin for "northern crown", a name inspired by its shape; its main stars form a semicircular arc. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy and remains one of the 88 modern...

.

External links

• Associations between the Welsh Don and the Irish Dana
• The New Companion to the Literature of Wales, Meic Stephens.