Blodeuwedd. [W] "Flower-aspect," a beautiful maiden conjured out of the flowers of oak, broom, and meadowsweet by Gwydion and Math to be the bride of LIeu LIaw Gyffes. She is unfaithful and attempts to kill LIeu in favour of her lover Gronw Pebyr, but LIeu kills him and she is turned into an owl, outcast among even the birds. There seems a similarity here to the Irish Blathnat (Little Flower). Boann. [I] The water goddess and wife of Nechtan, another water god. Her name means "she of the white cattle." Nechtan kept a sacred well, Segais' Well, which was the source of the inspiration of knowledge (see Nuts of Knowledge). Only four persons were allowed to go there. Boann refused to accept this geis, or taboo, and walked contemptuously around the well in a left-hand circle, whereupon the waters of the well rose up and drowned her. Its course formed the river named after her-the modern Boyne. In another version, however, she escaped while the waters formed the river.  In another tale, as wife of Elcmar, the Dagda wants to sleep with her and sends her husband on an errand. While he is away, the Dagda has his affair with Boann and she bears him a son. But the Dagda has caused the nine months to seem like one day to Elcmar so that he returns home, thinking a day has passed. The son of Boann and the Oagda is the love god Aonghus Og. Some Christian scribes confused matters by trying to make Boann into the wife of the Oagda in accordance with Christian morality.

Bodb Dearg, The. Bodb the Red, son of the Dagda, who succeeded him as ruler of the gods. He dwelt at Loch Dearg on the Shannon. He helped Boann identify the girl in Aonghus Og's dream as Caer. He had a daughter named Sadb who, through her affair with Fionn Mac Cumhail, became mother of Oisin.

Boramha. [I] "Cattle counting." A tribute exacted from the people of Leinster by the High King Tuathal Teachtmhair as recompense for the actions of Eochaidh, king of Leinster, who insulted Tuathal's daughters Fithir and Dairne and caused their deaths. Eochaidh was killed by Tuathal, and Leinster agreed to the tribute. It was seldom paid, however, although the title of Brian Boramha (Brian Boru) (A.D. 941-1014) would indicate that he had successfully imposed the tribute on Leinster during his reign.

Borvo. Also Bormo, Bormanus. Gaulish deity associated with thermal waters. The name seems to denote seething or turbulent waters. The name survives in several place names, such as Bournbonne-les-Bains. He is represented with a female companion, Damona,"Divine Cow." Bors, which could be a variation of this name, is represented in Arthurian legend as a king of Gaul and brother of Ban of Benoic. Professor John Rhys argues that Bors was a synonym for Myrddin (Merlin).

Bran. [I] The Bran fleetingly referred to in the Book ofLeinster as a son of Lir and brother of Manannan, and a god of the Otherworld, is doubtless cognate with Bran the son of Llyr in Welsh myth. But the more famous Bran of Irish myth is the son of Febal who set out on the famous "voyage tale," which has been dated to the eighthcentury A.D. The story, however, is essentially pre-Christian in character. Bran has a vision of a beautiful woman who causes him to set out with his three foster brothers and twenty-seven warriors on a voyage to find the country from which the woman came. After numerous adventures, in which he meets the sea god Manannan Mac Lir, and lands on numerous mystical islands, Bran eventually comes to Tir na mBan, the Land of Women. Here Bran and his men stay. The men grow restless and long to return to Ireland. But they are warned that if they set foot on Ireland they will age suddenly for they have been away many centuries. They set sail, in spite of the warnings. As they near the shore, one of the crew leaps ashore and before their eyes he ages and turns to dust. Bran writes his story on Ogham wands and throws them ashore before turning his ship back into the unknown.

Bran the Blessed. [W] Son of Llyr. Ruler of the Island of the Mighty (Britain), brother of Manawydan and of Branwen. Their story features in the second branch of the Mabinogi. They have two half brothers-Efnisien, who creates hostility, and Nisien, the peace-maker. When Bran's sister, Branwen, marries Matholwch, the Irish king, Efnisien, who has not been consulted, mutilates Matholwch's horse. In compensation, Bran gives Matholwch a magic cauldron brought from Ireland that can resuscitate slain men, although the process leaves them bereft of speech. When Bran hears that Matholwch, though forced by his people, is punishing Branwen for Efnisien's insult, he leaves seven of his chieftains to rule Britain and takes an army to invade Ireland. Matholwch offers his submission to Bran "lest the country be spoiled." However, as peace is being discussed, Efnisien insults the Irish and casts Gwern, son of Matholwch and Branwen, into a fire. In the terrible battle that follows between Matholwch and Bran, Bran is mortally wounded by a poison arrow in the foot. He tells his companions to cut off his head and take it back to Britain. And Efnisien sacrifices his own life in order to destroy the magic cauldron that keeps giving life to the slain Irish warriors. In the end, only five pregnant women are left alive to repopulate Ireland, and only seven Britons survive to return to their own land. They are Pryderi, Manawydan, Taliesin, Gluneu son of Taran, Ynawc, Grudye, son of Muryel, and Heilyn, son of Gwynn Hen. Bran's head is taken back for burial in a strange voyage that takes many years, during which the head of Bran remains alive, talking and eating, once more reinforcing the Celtic concept of the soul dwelling in the head. Meanwhile, Branwen dies of a broken heart, having returned to Anglesey, where she is buried by the banks of the Alaw. There are some affinities in this tale to the second battle of Mag Tuired in Irish myth [see Branwen, Daughter of Llyr, Proinsias Mac Cana, University of Wales Press, 1958].

Brandubh. [I] A board game played by the heroes and gods. The name signifies "black raven." It seems similar to fidchell. There have been several archaeological finds of board games in Celtic graves. Such a game was found in a grave in Welwyn Garden City, England, and a wooden board with sockets for pegs was found in Ballinderry, Co. Westmeath. There was also a person named Brandubh, a king of Leinster who coveted the wife of Mongan the son of Manannan Mac Lir, who was his good friend. Mongan had to use his magic powers to get his wife back.

Branwen. [W] Daughter of Llyr, sister of Bran and Manawydan. She marries the Irish king Matholwch and bears him a son, Gwern.However, her half brother, Efnisien, had insulted Matholwch, and Matholwch is forced by his people to make her suffer for the outrage. She is forced to do menial tasks in the kitchens for three years. She rears a starling and teaches it to speak, conveying to her brother Bran, ruler of the Island of the Mighty, news of her unhappiness. Bran invades Ireland. As Matholwch is about to make peace, Efnisien intervenes again and this time kills her son, Gwern, by casting the boy into a fire. In the ensuing battle Matholwch, Bran, and everyone except five pregnant Irish women and seven British warriors are killed. Branwen is a figure of dignity and restraint throughout the tale. Now, as she sees the devastation wreaked in her name, she dies of a broken heart. She is buried on the banks of the Alaw, which was thereafter called Y nys Branwen.

Breasal. [I] The High King of the World, who lived in the west. His country was called Hy-Breasal or Hy-Brasil, which became the legendary Atlantis, only visible to human eyes once every seven years. The name of Hy-Brasil appeared in records as a real place. A. Dalorto (ca. A.D. 1325), a Genoese cartographer, believed it to be southwest of Ireland. When explorers came to South America they thought they had found the legendary country and thus gave the name Brazil to the land they had discovered.

Bregon. [I] A son of Milesius, sometimes recorded as father of Bile and Ith. However, Bile also appears as the father of Milesius, and as the husband of the mother goddess Dana.