Welsh folklore, Wirt Sikes
Gwragedd Annwn
The Gwragedd Annwn dwell beneath lakes and rivers, especially lonely mountain lakes. Sikes distinguishes them from fish-tailed sea mermaids: their watery dwelling does not make their appearance fish-like. The lakes serve as avenues between the human world and Annwn. The women may visit the upper world, bringing that submerged realm into marriages, gifts and the stories of extraordinary cattle.
Also known as Lake fairies · Gwraig Annwn
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In the sources
Principal account
TraditionalThe Gwragedd Annwn dwell beneath lakes and rivers, especially lonely mountain lakes. Sikes distinguishes them from fish-tailed sea mermaids: their watery dwelling does not make their appearance fish-like.
Further detail
TraditionalThe lakes serve as avenues between the human world and Annwn. The women may visit the upper world, bringing that submerged realm into marriages, gifts and the stories of extraordinary cattle.
Context & interpretation
This entry follows the lake-women section of British Goblins. Sikes’s translation of Annwn into Christian terms is part of his presentation; the account does not assume all Welsh uses of Annwn mean Christian Hell.
Original passages
Source 1
British Goblins
the elfin dames who dwell under the waterOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Wirt Sikes, British Goblins (1880), active reader leaf 49
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-P0049
- Original scan leaf
- 50
- Recorded leaf number
- 50
- Current Reader position
- 48
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
British Goblins
avenues of communication between this world and the lower one of annwnOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Wirt Sikes, British Goblins (1880), active reader leaf 49
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-P0049
- Original scan leaf
- 50
- Recorded leaf number
- 50
- Current Reader position
- 48
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Illustrations
Continue exploring
Annwn
A shadow realm reached through fairy lakes and ruled in different tales by named kings.
Same subject and traditionBwbach
A household goblin who helps with work but can torment an unwelcome guest.
Same subject and traditionCoblynau
Mine fairies whose knocking is said to reveal rich veins of ore.
Same subject and traditionEllylldan
The luring elf-fire that draws a wanderer into marshy ground.