Dahut

Breton princess. Dahut was the daughter of Gradlon and the sorceress Malgven. Dahut was sometimes considered to also be a sorceress. She was also called Dahut and Ahes (Ahés or Ahé).

Gradlon built the beautiful city of Ys for his daughter, because Dahut loved the sea. But it was the sea that would bring her and her beloved city into ruin.

The earliest version of the legend only said that Dahut and her lover were drunk when she stole her father's key, and opened the dike that flooded Ys. A more elaborate second version had heavy Christian overtones.

Dahut was a follower of the pagan religion. Because her mother was Malgven, Dahut was also a sorceress and druidess. Dahut was wicked, because she led her people to nightly drunken revelry and debauchery. Dahut ignored the warning from Guénolé that her excessive revelry would bring the destruction of Ys. While Gradlon slept, Dahut stole the key to the dikes which hung from the chain around her father's neck. When she opened the floodgates, the sea covered the low-lying city with water. Most of the people of Ys drowned.

Gradlon and Guénolé were among the survivors. Gradlon would have saved his daughter, but their horse Morvarc'h had trouble carrying them to safety. Guénolé knew who was responsible for the city's destruction, and urged the king to throw Dahut into the water. Gradlon was left with no other choice, so he flung his daughter into the water. The water immediately receded, but the entire city was submerged, and it became part of the Bay of Dourarnenez.

The legend says that Dahut did not die, but rather she was transformed into a mermaid. Dahut was like the Sirens, who lured sailors to crash their ships into the rocks.

Some scholars linked Dahut with Morgan le Fay, though I am dubious about this association.

See the City of Ys in the Armorican Connections.