Efnysien

Efnisien fab Euroswydd (also spelled Efnissien or Efnysien) is a sadistic anti-hero in Welsh mythology, appearing prominently in the tale of Branwen ferch Llŷr, the second branch of the Mabinogi. Described by Will Parker as "a study in the psychopathic personality" and an "embodiment of the forces of anti-social disruption," he is the catalyst of the tale's ultimate tragedy, and is largely responsible for the destruction of both Ireland and the Island of the Mighty.^[1] He is the son of Euroswydd and Penarddun, twin brother to Nisien, and half-brother to Brân the Blessed, Manawydan, and Branwen. The Welsh Triads call Llŷr one of the Three Exalted Prisoners of Britain for his captivity at Euroswydd's hands; this is likely to a lost tradition of the birth of Penarddun's younger sons.^[2]

Efnisien's self-sacrifice (image by T. Prytherch)

^ Parker, Will.The Four Branches of the Mabinogi: Celtic Myth and Medieval Reality. Bardic Press, 2005.
^ Triad 52. In Bromwich, Rachel (Ed.) (2006), Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain, pp. 146–147. Cardiff: University of Wales. ISBN 0-7083-1386-8.

[1] Parker, Will.The Four Branches of the Mabinogi: Celtic Myth and Medieval Reality. Bardic Press, 2005.

[2] Triad 52. In Bromwich, Rachel (Ed.) (2006), Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain, pp. 146–147. Cardiff: University of Wales. ISBN 0-7083-1386-8.

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