Gofannon (Welsh pronunciation: [ɡɔˈvanɔn]) is a Middle Welsh reflex of Gobannus, one of the deities worshipped by the ancient Celts.[1] He features in Middle Welsh literature as a great metal worker and as the son of Dôn.[1] His name can be compared with the Old Irish gobae (gen. gobann) ‘smith’, Middle Welsh / Cornish / Breton gof (pl. gofein) ‘smith’, Gaulish gobedbi ‘with the smiths’, all of which are cognate with Lithuanian gabija ‘sacred home fire’, gabus ‘gifted, clever’.[2] His apparent counterpart in Irish mythology, Goibniu, in addition to his duties as a smith, also takes on the role of a divine hero who brewed an ale of immortality, in addition to being an architect and builder.[1]
InWelsh mythology, Gofannon killed his nephew, Dylan Ail Don, not knowing who he was.[3] One of the tasks given to Culhwch if he were to win the hand of Olwen was to get Gofannon to sharpen his brother Amaethon's plough.[4]
