Saturday 15 January 2011

Who is Blodeuedd? What is Mur-y-Castell? I finally tell it all! + mini review

I have been asked, and asked, but why have I never posted? Uh, beats me. Anyway, no, I am not Welsh, I have never been to Wales (would love to go though), and no my name is not Blodeuedd either. And yes I do know how to spell castle, there is nothing wrong with the name of the blog.

The truth will finally come out. It's from a tale in the Welsh epos The Mabinogi.



There once was a prince named Lleu, and his mother said he could not marry a mortal woman. Poor Lleu, but in comes Gwydion and Math, and create a woman for him from oak, broom, and meadowsweet, and they call her Blodeuedd, meaning flowers. She was the fairest of them all. But Blodeuedd fell in love with someone else and together they tried to kill her husband. Which is not easy, because he could not be killed by usual means, but they did it. Gwydion and Math manage to save Lleu and then they come after Blodeuedd:

"You will not dare to show your face ever again in the light of day ever again, and that will be because of enmity between you and all other birds. It will be in their nature to harass you and despise you wherever they find you. And you will not lose your name - that will always be "Bloddeuwedd (Flower-face/owl)."

So they changed her name and she became an owl.

Middle Welsh composite name from blodeu 'flowers, blossoms' + gwedd 'face, aspect, appearance': "flower face".

There are some variations on how to spell her name, and when she is called what and so on, but this is one version.

I forgot, thanks Pattepoiliou (oh I can't spell your name so you are not alone :) and Bermudaonion!

blod-EH-yeth

That is how you say it, I found different variations of that one too ... 

And why I picked it. I used it in a story I was writing. Then like 9 years ago I needed a name for this Lord of the rings forum, all the LOTR ones were taken so I used Blodeuedd. Then I used it on another forum, and then on another. After that it was just easy to keep using the name.

Then on to Mur-y-Castell:
Llet Llaw Gyffes held court at Mur-y-Castell according to the Mabinogion. It was the palace of the rules of Arduwy.










The place is now called Tomen-y-Mur and there used to be a Roman fortress there.

Castell should mean castle, mur wall, something established. Y...some small word, ahem, yes I do not know ;)



And now time for a short review:

The unmentionables 1

Genre: Chick-lit paranormal humor
Pages: 320
Published: 2010

Seven Stones of Power. No one knows when they were created or by whom, each said to represent one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

For centuries, treasure hunters have been eager to possess the stones, undeterred by their corrupting nature. The list is long -- Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Napoleon, to name a few. Now the Stones have found their way to Salem, Massachusetts, and so has Gerwulf Grimoire, adding himself to this rogues' gallery of power seekers. He's an uncommonly dangerous man, with a hunger for the forbidden, and a set of abilities that are way beyond ordinary. Abilities that he feels entitle him to possess anything he might desire.

That would include Elizabeth Tucker, the woman he needs to find the Stones. She's freshly transplanted from New York City to Boston's North Shore. With a new job as pastry chef at Dazzle's bakery and an old house inherited from her Aunt Ophelia, her life is pretty much on track …until it's suddenly derailed by a guy named Diesel, a rude monkey, and a ninja cat.

Lizzy can handle the monkey and the cat. She's not sure about Diesel. He's offering up his own set of unusual talents, promising to protect her from Grimoire. The kind of protection that Lizzy suspects might involve guarding her body day and night.

The Seven Deadly Sins are pride, greed, lust, envy wrath, sloth and gluttony. That pretty much covers everything that is wicked. Diesel thinks it also pretty much covers everything that's fun. And Lizzy thinks Diesel and the Seven Deadly Sins cover everything her mother warned her about.


I think it's good there was a long blurb cos I was not happy. I read about 50-100 pages, got scared that I had to DNF, so I skimmed the rest. Why? Well I will tell you.

I never liked Diesel in the in between Plum novels. I had read plenty of Plum novels and suddenly there was a paranormal twist in the in-between numbers novels. I did not like it, why was there suddenly magic and stuff?! I read them, didn't really care for them and thought of them as her being high on doughnuts.

Which lead to this book. I could have liked it, I even giggle once, but the thing is that is was still the Plum world, and I do not want magic there. It felt like she did it just to sell more cos it was big. If this book had been a new world I might just have enjoyed this tale. Now, no!

Lizzy, well first I thought oh she saw magic and did not freak, but then I got that she just didn't believe, and then I just thought she was stupid. If there is plenty of magic around you do not go around and think how did that happen. It was so obvious. So she was an idiot.

And the monkey was funny once, but giving them the finger on every page gets boring.

I have totally dissed this book, but if you read this one, and do not know about the Plum world, then I am sure you will like it. Even Plum lovers will love it...I just can't handle it.

Will I read more...yes cos I can't give up on her, not even with these books.




52 comments:

  1. Ohhhhh this is very interesting! I had NO idea. I have to admit that I really don't know how to pronounce the name of your blog. And I often forget a letter in your screen name. *hides* Now knowing all that I'm sure I'll remember more easily *g*
    =)

    lol at least your name is based about something 'serious', my name just means 'hairy paw' lol

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  2. Finally, I know what you are after all this time! LOL

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  3. I've been wondering what Blodeuedd meant. I've also wondered how to pronounce it.

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  4. Thanks for finally sharing the story behind your screen name and your blog title!

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  5. Patte
    Hairy Paw, lol, now that is funny :)
    I forgot the important thing!
    blod-EH-yeth There you go ;)

    KT
    Lol, the mystery is all gone ;)

    Bermuda
    blod-EH-yeth
    Can't believe I forgot that

    Linda
    I thought it was about time, lol

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  6. I've wondered about that...thanks for the explanation and the Welsh fairy tale.

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  7. Heh... I knew Blodeuedd ment flowers but didn't know how or why it was chosen. Loved that short story of yours. :)

    As for the book... hmm... doesn't look like that one would be for me. I do appreciate the great and honest review.

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  8. Thanks for sharing the story! I've read the Mabinogen, but years ago... never made any connection!

    Ugh about the book. She needs to finish off the Plum series and let it all go... Although I suppose if she's still making money off new books, she won't.

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  9. Lovely story behind your nick and your blog's name - thanks for sharing! I seem to remember reading about Leu and his strange wife but I didn't make the connection. Definitely a nice idea for a nick!

    The book...well, I haven't read the Plum series yet so I am sitting on the fence.

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  10. Great post! Never heard of the story before and wondered where you got the names.

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  11. Well done on finally sharing your story. I was vaguely familiar with some of it but glad that you did it!

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  12. Simcha
    You're welcome :) No you do not need to wonder why I have such a weird name any more

    Melissa
    I had a lot *coughs* of issues with the book, it was a total skimming party because I did not want to dnf it :(

    Chris
    I agree, I want the Plum books to finish. They have totally stagnated. I love them but come one, nothing happens any more.

    And now she has this new series and I got all upset, oh sigh

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  13. Ana
    I do recommend the Plum books because I adore them! Up to book 12 or something, and the thing is, no paranormal stuff in those. Just the freaky ones she writes on the side

    Elysium
    Glad you liked it :D

    Alaine
    It was fun to do it, cos even those that knew some of it, well I never did explain why I chose it, lol

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  14. Thanks for the explanation!

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  15. Oh, and I totally agree with you on Wicked Appetite. The monkey got very boring very quickly, and the storyline was just plain silly, and yet I will still probably put my name down at the library to read the next one. Can't help myself.

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  16. Thanks for the explanation! I did not know how to pronounce Blodeuedd either!

    My daughter read the book first and said, "Mom, don't waste your time." I took her advice and yours is the second review that has let me know I made the right decision.

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  17. Thanks for finally sharing that! =) I also have problems with spelling ur screen name, but recently I have been on a role and been doing it right every time LOL

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  18. Can I just call you flower face <3 lol

    Lovely story =) I'm glad to know the background.

    And about Evanovich's new book...I'm still in the wee beginnings of the Plum novels so I'm interested in seeing where that random paranormal thing starts. I enjoy her writing so I'll probably try this one when I get there =)

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  19. Very interesting where you got your name! Thanks for sharing that story! :)

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  20. Thanks for explaining it. I always wondered about your name and blog name so now I know.

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  21. Thanks for explaining! I knew about Blodeuedd, but was pretty clueless about Mur-y-Castell. Now I know.:)

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  22. Marg
    I will just keep going back too, but perhaps that time I will not feel the need to read it the minute the library get the book

    Nise
    Glad to have helped :)
    I do agree with your daughter, so this one can just be skipped

    Larissa
    I did try to use one of the easier ways to spell it, took me some time to get it right too ;)

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  23. Mishel
    Lol, yes you can call me that :D
    I am not sure when the in between number novels start, they can be read a bit here and there I guess. And I am not fond of them, They are not as funny either

    Julie
    I am glad to have shared it with you all :)

    Jenny
    Perhaps good I saved it until now, then new peeps could see it too :)

    Irena
    And here it is :) And it sure is one reason why people sometimes thinks I am Welsh, lol

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  24. Thanks for the pronounciation help. I can see I had that all wrong in my head.

    "high on doughnuts" - LOL!! Or cheetos what she od's on. you're right about the repetition though. I'll pass on this one. Probably still will read the Plum series just to see what Grandma Mazur is up to - she's my fave. Stephanie is such a big loser!

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  25. You are so creative B, thanks so much for sharing the origins of your blog & name!

    They both suit you.

    Awesome post!!

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  26. Kaye
    Grandma is a hoot, I love her :D But as for the rest, something need to happen to shake things up.

    Thanks Lea :)
    I am glad you all enjoyed the post.

    Thanks Lis ;)

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  27. Great post! I like when bloggers put that much thought into their blog names, I wish I had! lol

    I read the first two Plum books and enjoyed them.
    But I do wonder why she would write paranormals in between.
    http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/

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  28. Well, I guess I'm the odd ball here. I never really wondered on the names. I figured your handle was a character name you stuck with, as you mentioned (start in one place and it just sticks everywhere). And the name Mur-y-Castell I thought was very creative! I really like it. :) But glad to know all the details now. :)

    And great mini review too!

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  29. Naida
    I think..well she wrote a couple of Plum books, then she saw oh paranormals are huge so she write these in between books where Steph is and there is magic and I didn't like that

    Melissa
    Lol, I am sure others never wondered too :) But here it still is, Blodeuedd who just kept on following me around. I used to be Aviendha too, but that was taken when I came on English boards, and Blodeuedd was born

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  30. Loved all that background information!!!! I don't read her other books just the Stephanie Plum numbered ones.

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  31. Staci
    :D
    I should have stuck with those two, but since this is still Plum universe, oh sigh

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  32. I loved learning about both names and have often wondered about their source and meaning. I was excited to see that I have been very close to accurate in my pronunciation of "Blodeuedd."

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  33. Fascinating! And good to know how to pronounce it....(blod-EH-yeth) sounds so pretty...

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  34. Ooh, I'm so glad to know!! I have always wondered. I actually thought it was a Welsh name, but now it makes complete sense that it is Welsh.

    Also, I have a copy of the Mabinogion and now I want to read it...

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  35. Blodeuedd! I love the story! I wanted to drop by and wish you a great week! Hugs and kisses!

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  36. Alyce
    You have been close? Good work :) It sure is not an easy name to say, and think I almost forgot to put that in the post

    Alisha
    I would love to hear someone from Wales say it and then I really would know how it sounds too :)

    Aarti
    Shame on me for never have read the M, but I sure would love to.
    Good of you to guess it was Welsh too :)

    Cecile
    *hugs and kisses back*
    Glad you liked it, and I wish you a wonderful week!

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  37. I'm so glad you revealed these secrets about your blog name because they are fascinating!

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  38. I am glad you liked my little post Amused :)

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  39. Wow. How cool. What a great informative post. Thanks for sharing.

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  40. Very interesting! I love hearing the stories behind blog names.

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  41. that's a cool! i like your origin story. when i type out your name i usually enuciate it as blode - u - edd. interesting to note the ending is really yeth. cool.

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  42. Velvet
    Well *blush* I do say it like that too, even though I know I should not, lol

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  43. Oh finally! Love it.

    I am going back to blocking my posts too... from looking at your blog it just makes it so much cleaner looking.

    Anyway my dear I hope you are having a wonderful new year!

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  44. Shellie
    It does look great. I first now realise that it was a bit hard to see things before

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  45. I knew there was a story behind your blog name but never would have thought it was that! Such history, legend and lore. I totally see why you chose it. Love it B aka Linda. Thanks for dropping some knowledge on me ;)

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  46. Jenny
    I am glad to have given you a little mythology education :) When I had the name Blodeuedd, I just had to have the name Mur-y-Castell, even it it is utterly weird ;)

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  47. yes but it totally goes together, like a first and last name.

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  48. Thanks for the explanation :) but I still cannot pronounce it correctly ;)

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