Malgven

Different versions of the legend of Ys give different accounts of who Malgven was, and how she met Gradlon.

Malgven was either a sorceress or a druidess. One account said that she belonged to a group of deities or fairies, which were known in the Irish myth as the Tuatha Dé Danann. While other legends said that she was a witch and a queen in the north, possibly of the Picts in Albany. (Scotland).

One version said that she was already married, to an old king. Taking Gradlon as her lover, she urged Gradlon to murder her husband in his sleep. Gradlon drove the sword into his chest. Then they fled from the kingdom. They were drifting on the sea for a whole year before their daughter was born. She was said to have fallen sick at sea, and died not long after giving birth.

According to some traditions, Malgven was said to possess her daughter, which led to her daughter's death and the destruction of the city of Ys.

See the City of Ys in the Armorican Connections.