Elffin ap Gwyddno

Elffin is presented in the Taliesin cycle as a son of Gwyddno Garanhir. In the prose tale Ystorya/Hanes Taliesin he is sent by his father to fish at a salmon weir and instead finds a baby, whom he names Taliesin. Elffin raises and fosters the child, bringing him before courts (notably that of Maelgwn Gwynedd). Narrative episodes record that Maelgwn demanded praise which Elffin refused, that Maelgwn's son Rhun attempted an assault involving Elffin's wife (including cutting off a finger in the tale), and that Taliesin's prophetic/poetic songs later vindicated and protected Elffin in the ensuing contests and trials.

The sources supply no physical description of Elffin beyond his social identity as a son of Gwyddno and a member of a noble household; descriptions focus on his role and actions rather than bodily features.

No supernatural abilities are ascribed to Elffin in the tradition; he is a mortal patron and foster-father. The miraculous events in his narrative—Taliesin speaking as a child, producing winds that shake a castle, causing chains to detach, and manipulating horses in a race—are attributed to Taliesin's powers as a bard and seer rather than to Elffin himself. Elffin's agency consists in fostering Taliesin, presenting him at courts, and suffering the social and physical trials that set the scene for Taliesin's interventions.