The Fearsome Hunt of Mallt-y-Nos
Mallt-y-Nos is generally translated as 'Matilda of the Night'. However, it is worth noting that 'mallt' is part of the words 'mallter' and 'malltod'. These mean 'curse, blight, rotten, putrefaction or blast'. Therefore, the modern Cymricisation of Matilda into Mallt might mask an older meaning and legend; or it might be a play on words. (As an aside 'mallt' is a borrow word meaning 'malt' in the whisky sense, but that could probably be discounted here!) Another name for this entity is Nos Mallt, which makes more sense as Night Curse, than Night Matilda. The folklorist Wirt Sikes certainly thought so, as he translated her name as 'night-fiend'. Sir John Rhys gave an alternative of 'the night evil'. Mallt-y-Nos: The Horror of the Hunt She stands in a chariot, led by huge, black horses, each with eyes that burned red. She rides at night, using the legendary Cwn Annwn as her pack of hounds; and she would go hunting. Her prey? Those about to die, who would hear them coming - the barking howls of the dogs and the eerie cry of the crone behind them. As the individual died, their spirit might encounter the pack and the chase would be on. If she caught them they would be coralled into Annwn. If they escaped, then there was still a chance of Heaven. Some stories state that Mallt-y-Nos didn't even wait until death to catch her prey. She was quite capable of setting the Cwn Annwn on a living person, watching her victim tore limb from limb, before capturing their soul as it left their body. Malit-y-Nos: Who was Matilda? Marie Trevelyan recorded two stories. The first was that the Earthly Matilda had been a Norman noblewoman, who had arrived with Fitzhamon from Gloucester to subdue South Wales. Matilda loved to hunt. In fact, she was so passionate about the chase that she stated, "If I cannot hunt in Heaven, I would rather not go there." Upon her death, the Welsh God of the Otherworld, Arawn, appeared and took her soul. In life, she had been noted for her beauty; in death, she was
transformed into a terrifying hag. Matilda was doomed to go hunting for all eternity. The second is that a young Welsh woman loved hunting, but her betrothed did not approve of such pursuits for ladies. Upon their marriage, he made her promise never to hunt again and she agreed. However, she missed it. For over a year, she yearned to get back into the chase, but her husband forbade it. Then he went away from home for a while and she seized her opportunity. For a whole day, she happily rode with the hunt meet, swearing everyone else to secrecy. Unfortunately for her, the return journey saw her thrown from her horse. She had a broken leg, when her husband returned home. It didn't take him long to put two and two together and deduce that she had reneged on her promise. He stormed out of the house to consult a dyn hysbys (trans: wise man, wizard or cunning man). The two men returned to cast incantations, which raised the young woman from the ground and 'threw her to the winds'. As a whirlwind took her up, she was evidently rescued by Arawn and placed in the chariot to lead Annwn's hunt. Notable Sightings of Mallt-y-Nos Mallt-y-Nos was particularly well known around St Donat's Castle, in Glamorgan, where she was said to be hunting for the soul of the pirate, Colyn Dolphyn. This was the subject of a 1837 poem by Taliesin Williams, The Doom of Colyn Dolphyn: ... Her evil eye Was never rais'd to greet the sky She never sought the mirthful plain; Nor moved in joyous Hymen's train; But mutter'd oft, in voice morose; And peasants call'd her - Mallt-y-Nos. Sources: Sir J Rhys, Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as Illustrated by Celtic Heathendom, p 609. (Williams and Northgate, 1892) M Trevelyan, Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales, p 49-50. (Kessinger Publishing, 1973) T Williams, The Doom of Colyn Dolphyn, p 72. (Longman, Rees, Orme and Co, 1837) W Sikes, British Goblins: Welsh Folk Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions, p 216. (Kessinger Publishing, 1880) You might also like... Taliesin's Battle Of The Trees I have set Taliesin's Battle Of The Trees within two other pieces, firstly Tacitus' rep...
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