Welsh folklore, Wirt Sikes
Bush of Heaven
At Llwyn y Nef near Clynog, a monk longing for Heaven falls into reverie and sleep beneath a green tree beside the river. The tale stretches his sleep across thousands of years. When called awake, he finds the monastery still recognisable and receives a bed there. The next morning the brothers discover only ashes where he lay.
Also known as Llwyn y Nef
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In the sources
Principal account
TraditionalAt Llwyn y Nef near Clynog, a monk longing for Heaven falls into reverie and sleep beneath a green tree beside the river. The tale stretches his sleep across thousands of years.
Further detail
TraditionalWhen called awake, he finds the monastery still recognisable and receives a bed there. The next morning the brothers discover only ashes where he lay.
Context & interpretation
This entry follows the monk’s story that Sikes uses to compare religious and fairy versions of prolonged sleep. Its enormous duration is part of the tale, rather than a chronological claim about a historical monastery.
Original passages
Source 1
British Goblins
he slept for thousands of yearsOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Wirt Sikes, British Goblins (1880), active reader leaf 88
Exact passage checked against active scan text and its original-leaf mapping; whitespace and scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0044-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0044-E001-P0088
- Original scan leaf
- 89
- Recorded leaf number
- 89
- Current Reader position
- 87
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
British Goblins
nothing in the bed but a handful of ashesOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Wirt Sikes, British Goblins (1880), active reader leaf 88
Exact passage checked against active scan text and its original-leaf mapping; whitespace and scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0044-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0044-E001-P0088
- Original scan leaf
- 89
- Recorded leaf number
- 89
- Current Reader position
- 87
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
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