March Malaen

March Malaen is a name from Wales pronounced in Welsh . According to the Dictionnaire des symboles (Dictionary of symbols), Malaen appears to derive from the Latin malignus. Several 19th-century authors, including Anatole Le Braz, believe that March Malaen translates as "Malaen's horse", but James Hastings assumes that March meant an evil king, and Malaen something demonic. There is also the older form March Malen, which translates as "the stallion of Malen". The Indo-European root Mar seems to designate liquid expanses such as the sea and marshes, and to have given rise to marah among Celto-Germanic peoples, ''marc'h'' (hence King Marc'h), and the words mark and marca in Celtic languages, then marko and marka in Gaulish. All these words are related to the horse. Alexander Haggerty Krappe has also studied the etymology of the word "nightmare", noting that this word, literally translated as "mare of the night", can be related to those mentioned above. == Mentions ==

There are two versions of this creature. The first refers to the March Malen as the "Devil's horse" in folklore. The second refers to the March Malaen in a version of the Triads of Welsh mythology mentioned by Iolo Morganwg. The Devil's horse as a creature of folklore The earliest known source on the March Malen dates back to 1733; it tells of a man who tried to harness the evil (March Malen) for his own benefit, but the beast broke free to trample him. It then became associated with the goddess Minerva (Athena) and Pegasus, before returning to Wales and giving rise to popular Welsh expressions. In later publications, in 1753 and after, this animal was linked to the Devil, to witchcraft, to the Gallic goddess Andarta, and to the popular Welsh expression: A gasgler as farch Malen dan er dor yd a, literally translated as "What is collected on Mallen horseback will find its way under its belly", and more commonly as "What is got on the devil's back will be spent under his belly". which in Wales around 1820 referred to what had been thrown away or wasted. In a posthumous work published in 1891, Robert Owen says that the Welsh saw the figure of a woman riding this mount in the sky in the company of witches as a demonstration of the Devil's power, under the influence of canon law. It's hard to say when the English first gave the Devil the form of a horse, but the Welsh seem to have been familiar with the figure for a long time. John Rhys likens a story in the Grail Quest, in which Peredurus attempts to ride a demonic stallion, to the figure of the diabolical horse. He also cites the black stallion of Moro, ridden by Gwynn ap Nudd during the hunt for Twrch Trwyth, and the horse-eared King Marc'h. that "three oppressions came to this island [the Isle of Brittany] and disappeared". The second oppression is that of the "dragon of Pryden" (dragon of Great Britain), and the third that of the magician, the half-apparent man. Both sources also state that the first oppression [the March-Malaen] came from across the sea. where the first scourge fought by Lludd Llaw Eraint is that of the Corannyeit. A 1989 bulletin of the Société de mythologie française attributes Celtic mythology to the March Malaen. == Comments ==

The origin of March Malaen is "shrouded in mystery", As for its origin, William Rees suggests an event that took place in England during the mythological ages, and John Rhys thinks it may be linked to King Marc'h, In 1901, Ferdinand Lot speculated that "the March Malaen of the Welsh" might also be the Questing Beast of Arthurian legend. Several authors point to the similarity between the March Malaen and More or Margg, a legendary Irish king who married the daughter of the king of Fir Morca and, like King Marc'h, possessed horse ears. He levied a tribute on corn and milk in Ireland. This last point seems to fit in with the May 1st date and the fact that March Malaen came "from across the sea" The demonic horse of Malgis and the March Malaen may also have something in common. According to an 1820 publication, one of the three recognized demons of the Isle of Britain, Melen, or Malen, mentioned in another triad, is also the March Malen and may correspond to the Bellona of ancient mythology, whose name seems to have some affinity with "Prydain". == Symbolism and survival ==

The March Malaen is cited in the Dictionnaire des symboles as a horse of death and nightmare. and the French cauchemar. Anatole Le Braz relates a Breton tale of a drunkard named Alanic, who invoked the Devil and saw a "devil's horse with a red mane hanging down to the ground" appear. He drew a parallel with the March Malaen quoted in Loth's translation. == See also ==