Nwyfre is a Cymric (Welsh) god known from the patronymics of Gwenwynwyn and Gwnar in the Welsh Triads and the Mabinogion of Culhwch ac Olwen. He was one of the progenitor gods of the Brythonic pantheon and represents one of the ‘lost’ sky gods.
Nwyfre is known as the patronymic of two characters in the Mabinogion of Culhwch ac Olwen and from a single triad, Triad 35 in the Trioedd Ynys Prydein. Most of the information we have on Nwyfre comes from Triad 35 which mentions Gwenwynwyn and his brother Gwnar as the sons of Lliaws the son of Nwyfre. This would make Nwyfre the grandfather of Gwenwynwyn and Gwnar and the father of Arianrhod’s husband Naf.
In the Mabinogion of Culhwch ac Olwen, Nwyfre is given as the father of Gwyn and of Fflam who are named amongst the heroes of Arthur‘s court.
In this respect Nwyfre would seem to be considered an ancestral deity and if the lineage given above is correct then Nwyfre can be considered one of the progenitor gods on a par with Llŷr, Beli Mawr and Dôn. Though he is brought into the purview of the Plant Dôn because of his son’s marriage to Arianrhod.
Nwyfre’s name literally means ‘firmament’ and may indicate the survival of a Brythonic sky deity who would complement the solar, lunar and star deities of the Plant Dôn.