In Welsh mythology and folklore, Cŵn Annwn were the spectral hounds of Annwn, the otherworld of Welsh myth. They were associated with a form of the Wild Hunt, presided over by either Arawn, king of Annwn in the First Branch of the Mabinogi and alluded to in the Fourth, or by Gwyn ap Nudd as the underworldking and king of the fair folk is named in later medieval lore. In Wales, they were associated with migratinggeese, supposedly because their honking in the night is reminiscent of barking dogs. Hunting grounds for the Cŵn Annwn are said to include the mountain of Cadair Idris, where it is believed "the howling of these huge dogs foretold death to anyone who heard them". According to Welsh folklore, their growling is loudest when they are at a distance, and as they draw nearer, it grows softer and softer. Their coming is generally seen as a death portent.
Owner
, king of Ännwn, is believed to set the Cŵn Annwn loose to hunt mundane creatures. When Pwyll saw the Cŵn Annwn take down a stag, he set his own pack of dogs to scare them away. Arawn then came to him and said that as repentance for driving away the Cŵn Annwn, Pwyll would have to defeat Hafgan. Christians came to dub these mythical creatures as "The Hounds of Hell" or "Dogs of Hell" and theorised they were therefore owned by Satan. However, the Annwn of medieval Welsh tradition is an otherworldly place of plenty and eternal youth and not a place of punishment like the Christian concept of Hell. The hounds are sometimes accompanied by a fearsome hag called Mallt-y-Nos, "Matilda of the Night". An alternative name in Welsh folklore is Cŵn Mamau. Da Derga is also known to have a pack of nine white hounds, perhaps Cŵn Annwn. Culhwch rode to King Arthur's court with two "Otherworld" dogs accompanying him, possibly Cŵn Annwn.
The Cŵn Annwn are associated with the Wild Hunt. They are supposed to hunt on specific nights, or just in the autumn and winter. Some say Arawn only hunts from Christmas to Twelfth Night. The Cŵn Annwn also came to be regarded as the escorts of souls on their journey to the Otherworld. A Cŵn Annwn's goal in the Wild Hunt is to hunt wrongdoers into the ground until they can run no longer, just as the criminals did to their victims.
Colouring and meaning
The Cŵn Annwn is associated with death, as it has red ears. The Celts associated the colour red with death. White is associated with the supernatural, and white animals are commonly owned by gods or other inhabitants of the Otherworld. Therefore, the Cŵn Annwn is associated with death and the supernatural.
Similar creatures
In other traditions similar spectral hounds are found, e.g. Gabriel Hounds, Ratchets, Yell Hounds, related to Herne the Hunter's hounds, which form part of the Wild Hunt. Similar hounds occur in Devon - particularly on Dartmoor - and Cornwall but it is not clear whether they stem from Brythonic or Saxon origins.
