Well, my favorite book is The Mysteries of Udolpho, a Gothic classic. Unfortunately, the names are very boring: the heroine is [name_f]Emily[/name_f], her maid is [name_f]Annette[/name_f], there’s a servant [name_f]Theresa[/name_f], and the nun-with-a-secret is [name_f]Agnes[/name_f]. Some of the less known names include [name_f]Blanche[/name_f], [name_f]Laurentina[/name_f] (or Laurentini, depending on which edition you read), and Madelaina (at least, I think that was her name. She was a minor character.)
[name_f]Angharad[/name_f], sometimes known as [name_f]Angharad[/name_f] [name_u]Golden[/name_u]-Hand, is lover of [name_m]Peredur[/name_m] in the Welsh mythic cycle, The Mabinogion. The story begins with [name_m]Peredur[/name_m] at the court of [name_m]Arthur[/name_m], where he meets and immediately falls in love with the heroine [name_f]Angharad[/name_f]. But, she initially rejects the hero’s love, causing him to make the pledge “that he ‘will never utter a word to any [name_m]Christian[/name_m]” until she confesses that she loves him the best. This begins a strange adventure in which [name_m]Peredur[/name_m] descends into the Circular [name_f]Valley[/name_f] (a pagan domain which bears something of a topographical resemblance to [name_m]Dante[/name_m]’s inferno). On the way down, he fights a lion chained to a rock. At the bottom of the valley he finds a court inhabited by an ogreish couple and their gargantuan children. His host plots to kill him, but this plot is quickly foiled, thanks in part to the intervention of one of the daughters of the house, who warns him in advance and brings him his horse and armour. [name_m]Peredur[/name_m] overcomes the chief giant and forces him to go to [name_m]Arthur[/name_m]'s court and be baptized into the [name_m]Christian[/name_m] religion. Not long after, a strange knight arrives at the edges of [name_m]Arthur[/name_m]'s domain, challenging and defeating the king’s men. [name_m]Arthur[/name_m] demands to take on the challenger himself, but was wisely prevented by [name_m]Peredur[/name_m]. Wearing the armour of the king, he defeats the knight. He is feted at court for his bravery, but speaks to nobody and is thus known as the Mute [name_m]Knight[/name_m]. Eventually, [name_f]Angharad[/name_f] herself professes her love for [name_m]Peredur[/name_m], and he is released from his vow.
[name_f]Angharad[/name_f] is noted for her evocative nature and her raven hair. She is sometimes called by her first name [name_f]Angharad[/name_f] Llaw Ereint.
Other namesakes:
[name_f]Angharad[/name_f] ferch [name_m]Meurig[/name_m], 9th century Welsh noblewoman. She was the wife of [name_m]Rhodri[/name_m] the Great of [name_u]Gwynedd[/name_u], and mother of Anarawd, [name_m]Cadell[/name_m], and [name_m]Merfyn[/name_m].
[name_f]Angharad[/name_f] ferch [name_m]Llywelyn[/name_m], daughter of [name_m]Llywelyn[/name_m] ab Iorwerth, [name_m]Prince[/name_m] of [name_m]Wales[/name_m]. She is recorded as the wife of Maelgwn Fychan of Deheubarth. They had four children: [name_u]Rhys[/name_u], Gwenllian, Marered, Eleaonor. She is ancestress to the House of [name_m]Tudor[/name_m].
In more recent times, a considerable name would be [name_f]Angharad[/name_f] [name_u]James[/name_u]. She was a late seventeenth century and early eighteenth century poet, harpist, and farmer. Her works include an elegy to her son who died when 16 and another to her husband in a form of an imaginary dialogue. There’s also [name_f]Angharad[/name_f] [name_u]Rees[/name_u], who was a Welsh actress of the 20th century, best known for her television roles such as [name_f]Demelza[/name_f] in the 1970s BBC TV series Poldark.
Sources: Peredur
Peredur the Son of Evrawc | Robbins Library Digital Projects
nearly two years later iam still looking for ideas and decide to revamp this thread. Anyone with some fresh ideas for me? 