The Sutton Companion to the Folklore, Myths and Customs of Britain by Marc Alexander

Author:Marc Alexander
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780750954273
Publisher: The History Press
Published: 2013-03-04T16:00:00+00:00

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MABINOGION, THE Based on a fourteenth-century manuscript known as The Red Book of Hergest, The Mabinogion was the work of Lady Charlotte Guest, published in 1840. It consisted of her translations of eleven Welsh tales ranging from Celtic mythology to the adventures of ARTHUR and his knights. These stories have an ancient lineage, as they were told by Welsh bards and passed down the generations by word of mouth long before they were ever written down. The name ‘Mabinogion’ was coined by Lady Guest as the plural of ‘mabinogi’, a word which is only to be found in the exit line of the first four tales. This line reads ‘thus ends this branch of the mabinogi’, the word already being a plural and meaning children or descendants. ‘Mabinogion’ is therefore not a real word but it has continued to be used as the title for subsequent editions and translations.

The four ‘mabinogi’ tales are the oldest and are thought to have been recorded by a single writer in the eleventh century. The first, entitled Pwyll, relates how a Prince of Dyfed named Pwyll takes the place of Arawn, King of the Underworld, for a year. He succeeds in killing Arawn’s enemy Hafgan and weds Rhiannon, whose tragic destiny is to be wrongly accused of murdering their son. The next story, Branwen, tells of another star-crossed queen whose unjust treatment ignites a war in Ireland in which most of the population perish. In Manawydan, Branwen’s brother of that name overcomes Llwyd, an enchanter, and rescues his sister and her son. Math, the last of the quartet, describes how Math, Lord of Gwynedd, transforms his two licentious nephews into beasts.

Of the remaining stories Culhwch and Olwen is the longest, with Arthur’s court as its setting. As it was originally written down before Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote his Historia Regum Britanniae it is of particular interest to Arthurian enthusiasts. It drew on Welsh myths concerning Arthur and included a list of his knights. In the story Culhwch wishes to marry Olwen, the daughter of a giant named Ysbaddaden, who agrees to the match provided the hero can perform a number of seemingly impossible feats. With a band of stout-hearted comrades with magical powers to aid him in his quest Culhwch succeeds in fulfilling the giant’s conditions.

The Dream of Rhonabwy is also set in Arthur’s court and as well as portraying Arthur and his knights it involves fairy heroes and Celtic warriors. The other three Arthurian stories are The Lady of the Fountain, Geraint the Son of Erbin and Peredur the Son of Evrawc. While they contain some Celtic themes they were largely influenced by French writers who introduced chivalry and romance into the Arthurian narrative. The stories are more in the style of today’s view of Arthur and are mainly concerned with the adventures and quests of his knights. Arthur himself is no longer centre stage as a formidable war lord but is rather the formal pivot around which the tales of his court are woven.

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