The Lady of Llyn y Fan Fach
A young farmer married a woman who rose from a mountain lake. She would stay, she said, until he struck her three times without cause.
What was reported
Llyn y Fan Fach is a lake below the cliffs of the Black Mountain in Wales. The legend says a young farmer saw a beautiful woman sitting on its surface and won her hand. She came out of the lake with a herd of fairy cattle, on one condition: if he struck her three times without reason, she would leave him forever.
They lived happily for years and had three sons. But over time, he gave her three light, careless taps, once at a christening, once at a wedding, once at a funeral. At the third, she called her cattle and walked back into the lake. She returned only to teach her sons the secrets of healing plants.
Explanations offered
The legend was linked to the Physicians of Myddfai, a real line of healers from the nearby village, whose medical texts survive from the 1300s. Folklorists see it as one of many tales of fairy brides who must be treated with respect, and some suggest it preserves memories of older peoples and beliefs.
- When
- Told since the Middle Ages
- Where
- Llyn y Fan Fach, Carmarthenshire, Wales, UK
- Witnesses
- Welsh folklore
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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