awen (idea)

Though it literally means "inspiration," the Welsh concept of awen has a mystical edge to it in certain medieval texts, usually with the meaning that this inspiration is drawn from a supernatural force. This view of awen is especially prominent in the literature surrounding the bard Taliesin, both in The Book of Taliesin, and in the Hanes Taliesin, a legendary history of the bard, which only survives in sixteeth century manuscripts (though the poems of the Book make mention of many of the same elements, and dates to the late-12th, early-13th centuries). Here, the inspiration is drawn from the cauldron of Cerridwen.