Gawain. [W] See Gauvain.

Gawlga, Horn of. [W] Culhwch has to obtain it for Yspaddaden the Giant.

Gebann. [I] Father of Cliodhna, Irish goddess of beauty.

Geis. [I] See Taboo.

Geneir. [W] One of Arthur's warriors.

Geoffrey of Monmouth. (ca. A.D. 1100-1155). A Welsh cleric of Breton origin. His family appears to have followed William ofNormandy into England but then established themselves in southern Wales. He was a cleric at Oxford and later became Bishop of St.Asaph in 1151. Among other texts, he wrote the Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain), which is regarded as a founding text for medieval Arthurian saga.

Geraint. [W] He features in the rather sentimental love story as the lover who doubts the loyalty of Enid. It is thought he is based on the Dumnonian king who rode with the Gododdin to recapture Catraeth (Catterick) from the Anglo-Saxons, but he is not to be confused with the Dumnonian king (6. A.D. 710) to whom Adhelm, bishop of Sherborne, wrote his criticism of the Celtic Church.

Giants. Giants occur in the myths and sagas quite frequently, and, indeed, some of the Celtic heroes and deities are referred to in the form of giants. Giant seems to be a Celtic metaphor for distinguishing a personage above the ordinaty. In later legends Fionn Mac Cumhail is termed a "giant," while Olwen is the daughter of Yspaddaden the Giant.

Gildas. "The Wise." British Celtic saint (ca. A.D. 500-570). While he studied under St. Illytd in southern Wales, he is thought to have been born either in the British Strath-Clota (Strathclyde) kingdom or in Cumbria. He is accredited with writing Epistola Gildae, an open letter to rebuke the secular and ecclesiastical British Celts, and with De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae. However, some scholars contest his authorship of De Excidio, claiming that a contemporary cleric, whose name is unknown, wrote it. Gildas is thought to have visited Ireland and then gone to Brittany, where he founded a monastery at Rhuys. In the twelfth century, the abbot at St.Gildas-de-Rhuys was Abelard. The tragic story of Abelard and Heloise is almost part of Celtic mythology itself. It has curious parallels to the Irish tale of Liadin and Cuirithir, surviving from a ninth century text. Gildas' work is a fascinating support to some Arthurian contentions. See De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae.

Gilfaethwy. [W] Son of Don. He fell ill for the love of Goewin, daughter of Pebin, who was the current virginal foot holder to Math, son of Mathonwy. Gilfaethwy confided his feeling to hi brother Gwydion. Gwydion promised to help him and went to Math and asked leave to go to Pryderi of Dyfed to ask for a gift of a herd of swine, which had been bestowed on him by Arawn, king ,of Annwn. Math, eager to own these magical beasts, agreed. Gwydion and Gilfaethwy went to Dyfed with ten companions. They came to Pryderi's court in the guise of bards, and Gwydion, after being feasted, offered to tell a tale. It was so good that Pryderi offered him anything in payment. He asked for the swine. Pryderi explained he was under a compact with Arawn not to sell or give )i them away until they had produced double their number in the land. Gwydion, using magic, presented an illusion of tWelve magnificent horses and tWelve hounds. Gwydion and Gilfaethwy make off with the swine. On the following day the illusion ceases and Pryderi, in rage, sets out to recover his properry. Math, thinking Pryderi is invading his land, sets out to meet him. Only in times of war are the maidens allowed to abandon their task of holding his feet.
While Math departs with his army, Gilfaethwy seizes the opportunity to make an unwilling Goewin his wife. The dispute ends with a single combat between Gwydion and Pryderi and "by the magic and charms of Gwydion, Pryderi was slain." When Math returns he finds Gilfaethwy and Gwydion gone into exile. But they return. Math turns them into deer for a year, then swine, then wolves. Each year they return with a young one of the species, who is changed into human shape. At the end of this time they are deemed to have fulfilled their penance.

Gilla Stagshank. [W] The chief leaper of Ireland, who can leap across any distance. He is asked to help Culhwch in his quest.

Gilvarthwy. [W] See Gilfaethwy.

Giolla Greine. [I] The daughter of a human father and a sunbeam. When told of her origins she jumped into Loch Greine {lake of the sun), floated to Daire Greine {oak grove of the sun), and died at Tuam Greine {tomb of the sun).

Giona Mac Lugha. [I] Son of the warrior-daughter of Fionn MacCumhail, he became a leader of the Fianna. But he was not a good leader, vain and selfish and lazy. His men laid down their weapons (and refused to fight under him. Fionn eventually taught him how to become a good leader, and he did indeed become one of the Fianna's greatest champions.

Glas Ghaibhnenn. [I] The magic cow stolen by the Fomorii Balor of the Evil Eye and taken to Tory Island. Cian pursued and rescued it

Glass Castle. [I] Conan's Tower. A tower of glass or crystal built by the Fomorii on Tory Island. The Nemedians stormed it and slew Conan Mac Febar, the Fomorii king. Balor of the Evil Eye is said to have imprisoned his daughter there. Glass towers tend to be often one of the sights encountered in the Irish voyage myths. In Welsh mythology Caer Wydyr, a glass castle, seems a synonym for the Otherworld.

Glewlwyd. [W] "Of the Mighry Grasp." A doorkeeper at Arthur's fortress.

Gluneu. [W] Son of Taran. One of the seven survivors of the ill-fated battle between Bran and Matholwch. Is Taran cognate with the Gaulish god Taranis and is there a similarity between him and "Etirun," which is recorded in Irish sources as a pagan god of the Britons?

Glyn Cuch. [W] The place where Pwyll encountered Arawn, king of Annwn (the Otherwotld).

Glyn Rhosyn. [W] The spot where St. David lit the sacred fire after a ritualistic encounter with the druids, which bears a strong similarity to St. Patrick's encounter with druids and the lighting of a sacred fire at Tara.

Goddau. An unlocated kingdom in northern Britain durixig the sixth century.

Godeu. [W] A synonym for the "otherworld."

Gododdin,Y. The name of a poem ascribed to Aneurin in the sixth century. It contains the first literary mention of Arthur. It describes how the Gododdin tribe (obviously the Votadini of the Roman occupation), under their king Mynyddawg Mwynfawr, send 300 picked warriors south to retake Catraeth (Catterick) from the Anglo-Saxons. They all meet defeat and death. The capital of the tribe was at Dineiddyn (Edinburgh).

Gods. There is considerable confusion about the gods of the ancient Celts because of the fact that the myths were first set down by Christian monks who often altered things to fit their religious sensibilities. The Tuatha De Danaan are clearly the "immortals" of the world of Irish myths. In Celtic perception, the gods and goddesses are not creators of the people, they are the ancestors of the people.. Caesar noted that the Celts regarded themselves as having descended from one central universal father. The gods, in fact, were ancient heroes, ancestors of the people, rather than their creators. In the lives of these "immortals" the lives of the ordinary people and the essence of their religious beliefs were mirrored. The gods and goddesses were subject to all the natural virtues and vices and were, therefore, totally human. There are no hard-and-fast rules berween gods and mortals can wound gods, and gods can die.