what can you tell me about Rhiannon and Herne(Cernnunos)???

Question

Thanks!!!

Yes Luci she is very Cute, but you know that wasn't the Rhiannon i was talking about :)

Answer 1

I can't tell you much about Rhiannon other than the common association with Epona drives everyone I know who works with her up the wall. She is associated with birds, while Epona is associated with horses. (Rhiannon shows up in a story on a horse, but it seems to me to be a stretch to associate her with horses for that reason) She appears only in Welsh mythology, in the Mabinogion, which is arguably a tale of heroes, not gods.

The first mention of Herne the Hunter is a 16th century ghost story from the area of Windsor England (first put to pen by Shakespeare). There is no story that describes him as an ancient god, nor have I seen anything academic that even suggests that "Herne" is a form of "Cerne" or "Cernunnos." The concept of him being a pagan god was popularized by the BBC series Robin of Sherwood in the 80s. His only tie to Cernunnos is that he wore horns on his head.

Cernunnos's name appears in only one spot: a statue in Gaul. We have no stories about him and thus can only make guesses as to what he represented. There are a variety of images of men with antlers across the Celtic world, but they are accompanied by a varety of different symbols and may be bearded or clean-shaven, suggesting the possibility that all of these images do not refer to the same person.

Answer 2

Cernunnos a Celtic horned god, "Lord of the Animals". Historically mainly from Gaul. Shares many attributes with, so maybe even dates back to, the Indian Pashupati. Often used as the named God in pagan rites.

Herne, who's from Southern England, often treated as a variant on Cernunnos.

Rhiannon, Welsh Goddess. Likely that Epona was her equivalent in Gaul. Certain pagan groups work with her as the named Goddess in their rites.

(Even "established" myths change and morph, just look at the way the Arthurian myths have changed over the years. Read widely!)

Answer 3

Who is Rhiannon...

In the Mabinogion of Welsh mythology Rhiannon is the horse goddess, reminiscent of Epona from Gaulish religion. Rhiannon was a daughter of Hefeydd the Old. She was married to Pwyll, and later, Manawydan.

Pwyll first met Rhiannon when she appeared as a beautiful woman dressed in gold and riding a white horse. Pwyll sent his horsemen after her, but she was too fast. After three days, he finally chased her himself. When he spoke, asking her to stop, Rhiannon told him she would rather marry him than the man she was being forced upon, Gwawl. She made a tryst with Pwyll and after a year from that day, he won her from Gwawl by tricking him to climb into a magic bag that Rhiannon had given to Pwyll-striking an agreement to free him in exchange for Rhiannon.

Rhiannon gave birth to a son after three years of their rule; however, on the night of the birth, the child disappeared while in the care of six of Rhiannon's ladies-in-waiting. They feared that they would be put to death, and to avoid any blame, smeared blood from a puppy on the sleeping Rhiannon, and lay its bones around her bed. Pwyll imposed a penance on Rhiannon for her crime, to remain in the court of Arberth for seven years, and to sit every day near a horse-block outside the gate telling her story to all that passed. In addition, she was to carry any willing guest to the court on her back.

The child appeared outside a stable of King Teyrnon, whose mares had just given birth but the foals had disappeared. Teyrnon had been watching his stables when he saw a mysterious beast coming to take the foal; Teyrnon stopped the beast by cutting off its arm at the elbow, and found the child outside the stable. He and his wife adopted him. The child grew to adulthood in only seven years and was given the foal which had led Teyrnon to the stable. Teyrnon realized who the child was and returned him to Pwyll and Rhiannon, who named him Pryderi (care).

Pryderi married Cigva and became King of Dyfed after his father died. He then invited Manawydan (his stepfather) to live with him in Dyfed. Soon, Dyfed turned into a barren wasteland and only Rhiannon, Pryderi, Cigva and Manawydan lived. Manawydan and Pryderi, while out hunting, saw a white boar which they followed. Pryderi and his mother, Rhiannon, touched a golden bowl that the boar led them to and became enchanted. Manawydan and Cigva were unable to help them until they captured a mouse which was actually the wife of Llwyd, Rhiannon's enemy (seeking revenge for her treatment of Gwawl), and the spell was lifted.

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Who is Cernnunos...

Cernunnos is a Celtic god whose representations were widespread in the ancient Celtic world. As a horned god, Cernunnos is associated with horned male animals, especially stags and the ram-headed snake; this and other attributes associate him with produce and fertility.

Traces of the god survived well into Christian times. The literary traditions of both Wales (he is clearly mentioned in the Mabinogion in the tale of the Lady of the Fountain) and Ireland contain allusions to him, while in Brittany the legendary saint Korneli (or Cornély) at Carnac has attributes of Cernunnos. It has also been suggested that the English legend of Herne the Hunter is an allusion to Cernunnos, though this seems doubtful as Herne is thought to be a survival of Saxon, rather than Celtic, beliefs and is first mentioned in 1597 in Shakespeare's play The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act 4, Scene 4. It is, however, possible that Herne is a much-diluted incarnation of Cernunnos that was absorbed into the collective Saxon psyche.

The Giant of Cerne Abbas in Dorset, England is reputed to be a representation of Cernunnos. This is uncertain, as the image has also been attributed to Hercules and the Dagda. Most obviously, the giant lacks horns.

Answer 4

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=5836967

My hearts delight! ; )

I also know that your smart enough to use wikkipedia, and maybe not completely trust it! ; )