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41-581: This tale is one of a group found in The Mabinogion , one of the earliest known efforts to form a collection of traditional Welsh tales. Such tales, which date back to circa 1325 A.D., were originally passed from person to person and generation to generation orally. The Celtic oral tradition lasted for several centuries and is a possible reason for the abundance of errors and discrepancies found in The Mabinogion as well as other Welsh literature dating back to

82-706: A pack of hounds feeding on a slain stag. Pwyll drives the hounds away and sets his own hounds to feast, earning the anger of Arawn , lord of the otherworldly kingdom of Annwn . In recompense, Pwyll agrees to taking on Arawn's appearance and trade places with him for a year and a day, and takes his place at Arawn's court. At the end of the year, Pwyll engages in single combat against Hafgan , Arawn's rival, and mortally wounds him with one blow, earning Arawn overlordship of all of Annwn. After Hafgan's death, Pwyll and Arawn meet once again, revert to their old appearance and return to their respective courts. They become lasting friends because Pwyll slept chastely with Arawn's wife for

123-595: A Celtic army and assumed the title of Roman Emperor in 383. He was defeated in battle in 385 and beheaded at the direction of the Eastern Roman emperor . The story of Taliesin is a later survival, not present in the Red or White Books, and is omitted from many of the more recent translations. The tales called the Three Welsh Romances ( Y Tair Rhamant ) are Welsh-language versions of Arthurian tales that also appear in

164-635: A book, the level of detail being too much for the memory to handle. The comment suggests it was not popular with storytellers, though this was more likely due to its position as a literary tale rather than a traditional one. The tale The Dream of Macsen Wledig is a romanticised story about the Roman emperor Magnus Maximus , called Macsen Wledig in Welsh. Born in Hispania , he became a legionary commander in Britain, assembled

205-400: A boy. On the night of his birth, the boy was lost while under the care of six of Rhiannon's ladies-in-waiting. Scared of the punishment, the ladies smear dog's blood onto a sleeping Rhiannon, claiming that she had committed infanticide and cannibalism through eating and "destroying" her child. Word traveled throughout the land and the nobles requested Pwyll to divorce his wife. But since it

246-450: A date prior to 1100, based on linguistic and historical arguments, while later Saunders Lewis set forth a number of arguments for a date between 1170 and 1190; Thomas Charles-Edwards , in a paper published in 1970, discussed the strengths and weaknesses of both viewpoints, and while critical of the arguments of both scholars, noted that the language of the stories best fits the 11th century, (specifically 1050–1120), although much more work

287-419: A few earlier fragments. The title covers a collection of eleven prose stories of widely different types, offering drama, philosophy, romance, tragedy, fantasy and humour, and created by various narrators over time. There is a classic hero quest, " Culhwch and Olwen "; a historic legend in " Lludd and Llefelys ", complete with glimpses of a far off age; and other tales portray a very different King Arthur from

328-496: A publication now in the public domain :  Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). " Mabinogion ". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company. The Guest translation can be found with all original notes and illustrations at: The original Welsh texts can be found at: Versions without the notes, presumably mostly from the Project Gutenberg edition, can be found on numerous sites, including: A discussion of

369-594: Is a compact version by Sioned Davies. John Bollard has published a series of volumes with his own translation, with copious photography of the sites in the stories. The tales continue to inspire new fiction, dramatic retellings, visual artwork, and research. The name first appears in 1795 in William Owen Pughe 's translation of Pwyll in the journal Cambrian Register under the title "The Mabinogion, or Juvenile Amusements, being Ancient Welsh Romances". The name appears to have been current among Welsh scholars of

410-416: Is critically compared to the illustrious Arthurian age. However, Arthur's time is portrayed as illogical and silly, leading to suggestions that this is a satire on both contemporary times and the myth of a heroic age. Rhonabwy is the most literary of the medieval Welsh prose tales. It may have also been the last written. A colophon at the end declares that no one is able to recite the work in full without

451-477: Is needed. In 1991, Patrick Sims-Williams argued for a plausible range of about 1060 to 1200, which seems to be the current scholarly consensus (fitting all the previously suggested date ranges). The collection represents the vast majority of prose found in medieval Welsh manuscripts which is not translated from other languages. Notable exceptions are the Areithiau Pros . None of the titles are contemporary with

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492-455: Is tricked when Pwyll forces Gwawl inside the bag and he and his men begin to beat him brutally. Gwawl finally gives in so long as Pwyll will spare his life. Pwyll agrees, having managed to win back Rhiannon through the deceiving and dishonoring of Gwawl. The men of the land were worried that there would not be an heir to follow Pwyll and advised him to take a second wife. He set a date where this would happen, but before long Rhiannon gave birth to

533-559: The Matter of Britain , Culhwch and Olwen , as a knight of King Arthur . The name Teyrnon is widely acknowledged as deriving from the Common Brittonic *tigernonos , "great lord". A son is born in Arberth to Pwyll , Lord of Dyfed , and Rhiannon , daughter of Hyfaidd Hen. On the night of his birth, the child disappears while in the care of six of Rhiannon's ladies-in-waiting. To avoid

574-483: The 1970s, an understanding of the integrity of the tales has developed, with investigation of their plot structures, characterisation, and language styles. They are now seen as a sophisticated narrative tradition, both oral and written, with ancestral construction from oral storytelling, and overlay from Anglo-French influences. The first modern publications were English translations by William Owen Pughe of several tales in journals in 1795, 1821, and 1829. However it

615-537: The Four Branches, which is a tightly organised quartet very likely by one author, where the other seven are so very diverse (see below). Each of these four tales ends with the colophon "thus ends this branch of the Mabinogi" (in various spellings), hence the name. Lady Charlotte Guest's work was helped by the earlier research and translation work of William Owen Pughe. The first part of Charlotte Guest's translation of

656-566: The London-Welsh Societies and the regional eisteddfodau in Wales. It was inherited as the title by the first publisher of the complete collection, Lady Charlotte Guest . The form mabynnogyon occurs once at the end of the first of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi in one manuscript. It is now generally agreed that this one instance was a mediaeval scribal error which assumed 'mabinogion'

697-557: The Mabinogion appeared in 1838, and it was completed in seven parts in 1845. A three-volume edition followed in 1846, and a revised edition in 1877. Her version of the Mabinogion was the most frequently used English version until the 1948 translation by Gwyn Jones and Thomas Jones, which has been widely praised for its combination of literal accuracy and elegant literary style. Several more, listed below, have since appeared. Dates for

738-462: The arm and kept the colt but heard a roar outside and found a baby boy. He and his wife claimed the boy as their own and named him Gwri Wallt Euryn (English: Gwri of the Golden hair ), for "all the hair on his head was as yellow as gold". The child grew to adulthood at a superhuman pace and, as he matured, his likeness to Pwyll grew more obvious and, eventually, Teyrnon realised Gwri's true identity. The boy

779-400: The boy as their own and name him Gwri Wallt Euryn (English: Gwri of the Golden hair ), for "all the hair was as yellow as gold." The child grows to adulthood at a superhuman pace and, as he matures, his likeness to Pwyll grows more obvious and, eventually, Teyrnon realises Gwri's true identity. The boy is eventually reconciled with Pwyll and Rhiannon and is renamed Pryderi . From then on, he

820-528: The characters described events that happened long before medieval times. After the departure of the Roman Legions, the later half of the 5th century was a difficult time in Britain. King Arthur's twelve battles and defeat of invaders and raiders are said to have culminated in the Battle of Badon . There is no consensus about the ultimate meaning of The Dream of Rhonabwy . On one hand it derides Madoc 's time, which

861-411: The court extremely distraught and sues for a favor of the king. Gwawl plays to the nobility and generosity of Pwyll, as well as his rashness and passion, and Pwyll tells Gwawl that whatever it is that he should ask him, that he (Pwyll) would give it to him. Gwawl of course asks for his fiancée, Rhiannon, which Pwyll, due to his naive promise, could not refuse. It is decided that they should all come back to

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902-455: The development of Arthurian legend, with links to Nennius and early Welsh poetry. By contrast, The Dream of Rhonabwy is set in the reign of the historical Madog ap Maredudd (1130–60), and must therefore either be contemporary with or postdate his reign, being perhaps early 13th C. Much debate has been focused on the dating of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi . Ifor Williams offered

943-1043: The duration of the year. As a result of Pwyll's successful ruling of Annwn, he earns the title Pwyll Pen Annwfn ; 'Pwyll, head of Annwn'. Some time later, Pwyll and his noblemen ascend the mound of Gorsedd Arberth and witness the arrival of Rhiannon , appearing to them as a beautiful woman dressed in gold silk brocade and riding a shining white horse . Pwyll sends his best horsemen after her, but she always remains ahead of them, though her horse never does more than amble. After three days, Pwyll, himself, rides out to meet her and when he cannot catch her, he calls out to her in desperation. Only then does Rhiannon stop. She tells him her name and that she has come seeking him because she would rather marry him than her fiancé, Gwawl ap Clud . She tells him to come to her kingdom one year from that day, with his soldiers, and they will marry. A year after their meeting, Pwyll arrives as promised but accidentally and foolishly promises his beloved Rhiannon to Gwawl (her previous fiancé). This occurs when Gwawl enters

984-612: The earliest extant versions of the stories, but are on the whole modern ascriptions. The eleven tales are not adjacent in either of the main early manuscript sources, the White Book of Rhydderch ( c.  1375 ) and the Red Book of Hergest ( c.  1400 ), and indeed Breuddwyd Rhonabwy is absent from the White Book. The Four Branches of the Mabinogi ( Pedair Cainc y Mabinogi ) are

1025-601: The fourteenth century or earlier. Professor Sioned Davies of Cardiff University explains the importance of the Celtic oral tradition, in appreciating Welsh literature, this way; "The Mabinogion were tales to be read aloud to a listening audience--the parchment was "interactive" and vocality was of its essence. Indeed, many passages can only be truly captured by the speaking voice." While hunting in Glyn Cuch , Pwyll, prince of Dyfed becomes separated from his companions and stumbles across

1066-432: The king's wrath, they smear dog's blood onto a sleeping Rhiannon, claiming that she had committed infanticide and cannibalism through eating her child. Teyrnon, meanwhile, owns a mare who gives birth each year but whose foals have all disappeared. He guards his stables and sees a mysterious clawed beast coming to take the foal; Teyrnon cuts off the beast's arm and finds the child outside the stable. He and his wife claim

1107-400: The kingdom in one year's time for yet another wedding. (Pwyll and Rhiannon were not yet married the first time, the festivities had simply begun but no marriage ceremony had occurred.) Rhiannon devises a plan by which Pwyll might win her back from Gwawl. Pwyll enters the festivities of Gwawl and Rhiannon's wedding dressed as a beggar and asks Gwawl for a bag full of food. Gwawl nobly consents but

1148-482: The later popular versions. The highly sophisticated complexity of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi defies categorisation. The stories are so diverse that it has been argued that they are not even a true collection. Scholars from the 18th century to the 1970s predominantly viewed the tales as fragmentary pre-Christian Celtic mythology , or in terms of international folklore . There are certainly components of pre-Christian Celtic mythology and folklore; however, since

1189-454: The most clearly mythological stories contained in the Mabinogion collection. Pryderi appears in all four, though not always as the central character. Also included in Guest's compilation are five stories from Welsh tradition and legend: The tales Culhwch and Olwen and The Dream of Rhonabwy have interested scholars because they preserve older traditions of King Arthur. The subject matter and

1230-550: The participants make similar arrangements; repeated chains of events in which the supernatural figures prominently." The Mabinogion The Mabinogion ( Welsh pronunciation: [mabɪˈnɔɡjɔn] ) are the earliest Welsh prose stories, and belong to the Matter of Britain . The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts , created c.  1350 –1410, as well as

1271-513: The promiscuous Welsh literary tradition. Shadows of Pwyll's story-lines can be seen in the early Irish tale Fled Bricrend , which in turn greatly influenced the Gawain poet. Shared themes include: "ritualized competitions between two noblemen to win the hand of a lady; ritualized missions or 'errands,' always involving some request; battles in which the combatants are pledged to return to the same place in exactly one year's time; elaborate tricks in which

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1312-463: The tale of Culhwch ac Olwen, with its primitive warlord Arthur and his court based at Celliwig , is generally accepted to precede the Arthurian romances, which themselves show the influence of Geoffrey of Monmouth 's Historia Regum Britanniae (1134–36) and the romances of Chrétien de Troyes . Those following R. S. Loomis would date it before 1100, and see it as providing important evidence for

1353-418: The tales have been preserved in earlier 13th century and later manuscripts. Scholars agree that the tales are older than the existing manuscripts, but disagree over just how much older. It is clear that the different texts included in the Mabinogion originated at different times (though regardless their importance as records of early myth, legend, folklore, culture, and language of Wales remains immense). Thus

1394-480: The tales in the Mabinogion have been much debated, a range from 1050 to 1225 being proposed, with the consensus being that they are to be dated to the late 11th and 12th centuries. The stories of the Mabinogion appear in either or both of two medieval Welsh manuscripts, the White Book of Rhydderch or Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch , written c.  1350 , and the Red Book of Hergest or Llyfr Coch Hergest , written about 1382–1410, though texts or fragments of some of

1435-512: The words Mabinogi and Mabinogion can be found at A theory on authorship can be found at Teyrnon In Welsh tradition , Teyrnon Twryf Lliant is the lord of the Kingdom of Gwent and the foster father of the divine son, Pryderi . He appears most prominently in Pwyll Pendefig Dyfed , the first of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi , but also features briefly in the early tale on

1476-600: The work of Chrétien de Troyes . Critics have debated whether the Welsh Romances are based on Chrétien's poems or if they derive from a shared original. Though it is arguable that the surviving Romances might derive, directly or indirectly, from Chrétien, it is probable that he in turn based his tales on older, Celtic sources. The Welsh stories are not direct translations and include material not found in Chrétien's work. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from

1517-584: Was Lady Charlotte Guest in 1838–45 who first published the full collection, bilingually in Welsh and English. She is often assumed to be responsible for the name "Mabinogion", but this was already in standard use in the 18th century. Indeed, as early as 1632 the lexicographer John Davies quotes a sentence from Math fab Mathonwy with the notation "Mabin" in his Antiquae linguae Britannicae ... dictionarium duplex , article "Hob". The later Guest translation of 1877 in one volume has been widely influential and remains actively read today. The most recent translation

1558-500: Was eventually reunited with Pwyll and Rhiannon and was renamed Pryderi , meaning 'anxiety' or 'care'. The tale ends with Pwyll's death and Pryderi's ascension to the throne. The stories of Pwyll greatly influenced the literature and story-telling of England, Ireland and Wales. The oral tradition of the Celts along with the highly fluid nature of society (caused by nearly constant conquest from circa 50 B.A.D. to circa 1500 A.D.) aided in

1599-442: Was proven that Rhiannon could have children and produce an heir, he did not want to divorce her, rather have her punished for her wrongdoings by the courts. Rhiannon finally decide to accept the punishment given to her. This punishment was to sit outside the city's gates at the mounting block and tell everyone her story for seven years. She also had to offer to carry all guests up to the city on her back for payment of her crimes. This

1640-504: Was the plural of 'mabinogi', which is already a Welsh plural occurring correctly at the end of the remaining three branches. The word mabinogi itself is something of a puzzle, although clearly derived from the Welsh mab , which means "son, boy, young person". Eric P. Hamp , of the earlier school traditions in mythology, found a suggestive connection with Maponos , "the Divine Son", a Gaulish deity . Mabinogi properly applies only to

1681-421: Was to be her punishment for her accused crimes of eating her child. At the same time, Teyrnon , the lord of Gwent Is Coed, had a mare which produced a foal every year but would disappear the night it was born. To solve this problem, he brought the mare into his house and kept watch over it throughout the night. As soon as the colt was born, a great claw came through the window and grabbed the colt. Teyrnon cut off

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