Creiddylad
|
|
In Welsh mythology, Creiddylad was a goddess, daughter of Llyr. She was the object of a battle between Gwyn ap Nudd and Gwythr ap Greidawl. In William Shakespeare's King Lear, Cordelia was based on this goddess.
Etymology of the Name
Entries in the University of Wales' reconstructed Proto-Celtic lexicon (http://www.wales.ac.uk/documents/external/cawcs/pcl-moe.pdf ) suggest that the name is likely to be ultimately derived from the Proto-Celtic *Kridio-latoā, a phrase with the Proto-Celtic semantic connotations of ‘Female Heart-Felt Lust’ which aspect of nature She may well personify. If so, this would make her comparable to the Nordic Freja, Roman Venus, Greek Aphrodite, Canaanite Astarte, Assyrian Ishtar and Egyptian Hathor.