What is the name of the Welsh cauldron that can resurrect the dead?

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What is the name of the Welsh cauldron that can resurrect the dead? It is the Pair Dadeni, the Welsh Cauldron of Rebirth.

The Pair Dadeni appears in Branwen ferch Llŷr, the second branch of the Mabinogi. Its supernatural power is especially useful in war: dead warriors placed inside it return to life, although they cannot speak afterward. The cauldron therefore turns battlefield losses into an apparently inexhaustible army.

During the conflict between the Welsh and the Irish, Efnysien devises a final act of sabotage. He hides among the Irish dead and is thrown into the cauldron. Once inside, he stretches or damages it from within, destroying the magical vessel while sacrificing himself.

The name is often translated as “Cauldron of Rebirth” or “Cauldron of Resurrection.” It should not be confused with the Cauldron of Ceridwen, which is associated with inspiration and the transformation of the boy Gwion Bach in the Taliesin story. The Holy Grail is a Christian relic from a different literary tradition, not the Welsh resurrection cauldron.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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