He names her as the very well-connected Gwenllian. Born in 1097, she was the daughter of Gruffudd ap Cynan Eligium gold, king of Gwynedd and wife of Gruffudd ap Rhys, prince of Dyfed.

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But now academic Andrew Breeze has published a controversial new book arguing the most important parts of the tome were written by a woman.

But Dr Breeze&8217;s theories have ruffled feathers in academia.

Oxbridge educated Dr Breeze, English lecturer at the University of Navarre, in Pamplona, believes the style of writing in The Mabinogion&8217;s first four stories indicates they were the work of a female and that Gwenllian was perfectly positioned in history to be the scribe.

He added: &8220;What he has written is valuable in that it draws attention to the feminine element but I don&8217;t think it follows that the author was therefore a woman.&8221;

The author of The Origins of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi said: &8220;What we camabinogion in welshn say about these stories is that they are very good at describing children, babies, breast feeding, motherhood, and even though ware occurs the writer is not interested in swords and daggers and axes.

But Dr Breeze dismissed his critics as &8220;flatearthers&8221;.

THE Mabinogion &8211; regarded as the most important text in Welsh literature &8211; has helped spawn everything from King mabinogion in welsh Experts clash over theory of female author of MabiArthur to Lord of the Rings.

Dr Sioned Davies, the head of the school of Welsh at Cardiff University, was more forthright in her criticism.

He said: &8220;All I can tell is that the academic community does not warm to his theories.&8221;

&8220;Personally I think it is by a Dominican [monk]. If the author were a Dominican he might well have been experienced in treating women&8217;s spiritual needs and that might have been reflected in The Mabinogi.&8221;

And the medieval masterpiece, which was first translated by Lady Charlotte Guest, is widely thought to have been written by a man, perhaps a monk.

&8220;And the level (of argument) is not what I would expect of a someone of his calibre.&8221;

&8220;Then we get these small characters like Rhiannon and Branwen and in some cases they get the better of their men.&8221;

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Iestyn Daniel,May 2012. of the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, said: &8220;I don&8217;t think he is correct in deducing it is the work of a woman.

Dr Maredudd ap Huw, manuscripts librarian at the National Library of Wales, declined to express a view on Dr Breeze&8217;s opinions.

&8220;People are unwilling to change their minds. In a tiny way I feel like Galileo,&8221; he said.

She said: &8220;I know Andrew Breeze well and he is a good academic. But he has a bee in his bonnet about the conceit that a woman wrote it.

&8220;Nothing would give me more pleasure than discovering this, but scholars have shown quite clearly that his arguments are unfounded. We cannot even date the Four Branches of the Mabinogi so he has a rather circular argument.

She could also have had the kind of geographical knowledge shown in The Four Branches.

During this time there is no ual contact between the characters. A male writer would have been unlikely to display such sensitivity, Dr Breeze argued.

He said: &8220;In the first story there is an incident where the character Pwll meets Arawn, king of the other world. He goes to the other world and changes shape (into Arawn). He sleeps with Arawn&8217;s wife for a year and a day.&8221;

Dr Breeze insisted he was &8220;quite certain&8221; the Four Branches were the work of a woman.

There is one argument in vour of the high antiquity in Wales of many of the Mabinogion, which deserves to be mentioned here. This argument is founded on the topography of the country. It is found that Saxon names of places are very frequently definitions of the nature of the locality to which they are attached, as Clifton, Deepden, Bridge-ford, Thorpe, Ham, Wick, and the like; whereas those of Wales are more frequently commemorative of some event, real or supposed, said to have happened on or near the spot, or bearing allusion to some person renowned in the story of the country or district. Such are &8220;Llyn y Morwynion,&8221;the Lake of the Maidens; &8220;Rhyd y Bedd,&8221; the Ford of the Grave; &8220;Bryn Cyfergyr,&8221; the Hill of Assault; and so on. But as these names could not have preceded the events to which they refer, the events themselves must be not unfrequently as old as the early settlement in the country. And as some of these events and fictions are the subjects of, and are explained by, existing Welsh legends, it follows that the legends must be, in some shape or other, of very remote antiquity. It will be observed that this argument supportsremoteantiquity only for such legends as are connected with the greater topographical features, as mountains, lakes, rivers, seas, which must have been named at an early period in the inhabitation of the country by man. But there exist, also, legends connected with the lesser features, as pools, hills, detached rocks, caves, fords, and the like, places not necessarily named by the earlier settlers, but the names of which are, nevertheless, probably very old, since the words of which they are composed are in many cases not retained in the colloquial tongue, in which they must once have been included, and are in some instances lost from the language altogether, so much so as to be only partially explicable even by scholars. The argument applies likewise, in their degree, to camps, barrows, and other artificial earth-works.

Such being the case, it is remarkable that when the chief romances are examined, the name of many of the heroes and their scenes of action are found to be Celtic, and those of persons and places mous in the traditions of Wales and Brittany. Of this the romances of Ywaine and Gawaine, Sir Perceval de Galles, Eric and Enide, Mort d’Arthur, Sir Lancelot, Sir Tristan, the Graal, &c., may be cited as examples. In some cases a tendency to triads, and other matters of internal evidence, point in the same direction.

In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries there arose into general notoriety in Europe, a body of &8220;Romance,&8221; which in various forms retained its popularity till the Reformation. In it the plot, the incidents, the characters, were almost wholly those of Chivalry, that bond which united the warriors of France, Spain, and Italy, with those of pure Teutonic descent, and embraced more or less firmly all the nations of Europe, excepting only the Slavonic races, not yet risen to power, and the Celts, who had llen from it. It is not difficult to account for this latter omission. The Celts, driven from the plains into the mountains and islands, preserved their liberty, and hated their oppressors with fierce, and not causeless, hatred. A proud and free people, isolated both in country and language, were not likely to adopt customs which implied brotherhood with their foes.

Before commencing these labours, I was aware, generally, that there existed a connexion between the Welsh Mabinogion and the Romance of the Continent; but as I advanced, I became better acquainted with the closeness and extent of that connexion, its history, and the proofs by which it is supported.

IV. Crossing into Wales we find, in the Mabinogion, the evident counterpart of the Celtic portion of the continental romance, mixed up, indeed, with various reflex additions from beyond the border, but still containing ample internal evidence of a Welsh original.

1

It may seem difficult to account for this. Although the ancient dominion of the Celts over Europe is not without enduring evidence in the names of the mountains and streams, the great features of a country, yet the loss of their prior language by the great mass of the Celtic nations in Southern Europe (if indeed their successors in territory be at all of their blood), prevents us from clearly seeing, and makes us wonder, how stories, originally embodied in the Celtic dialects of Great Britain and France, could so influence the literature of nations to whom the Celtic languages were utterly unknown. Whence then came these internal marks, and these proper names of persons and places, the features of a story usually of earliest date and least likely to change?

It was with a general belief in some of these conclusions, that I commenced my labours, and I end them with my impressions strongly confirmed. The subject is one not unworthy of the talents of a Llwyd or a Prichard. It might, I think, be shown, by pursuing the inquiry, that the Cymric nation is not only, as Dr. Prichard has proved it to be, an early offshoot of the Indo-European mily, and a people of unmixed descent, but that when driven out of their conquests by the later nations, the names and exploits of their heroes, and the compositions of their bards, spread r and wide among the invaders, and affected intimately their tastes and literature for many centuries, and that it has strong claims to be considered the cradle of European Romance.

II. Names of lesser features, as &8220;Bryn y Saeth,&8221; Hill of the Dart; &8220;Llyn Llyngclys,&8221; Lake of the Engulphed Court; &8220;Ceven y Bedd,&8221; the Ridge of the Grave; &8220;Rhyd y Saeson,&8221; the Saxons’ Ford.

The more strictly Romantic Literature of Wales has been less fortunate, though not less deserving of critical attention. Small portions only of it have hitherto appeared in print, the remainder being still hidden in the obscurity of ancient Manuscripts: of these the chief is supposed to be the Red Book of Hergest, now in the Library of Jesus College, Oxford, and of the fourteenth century. This contains, besides poems, the prose romances known as Mabinogion. The Black Book of Caermarthen, preserved at Hengwrt, and considered not to be of later date than the twelfth century, is saiThe Lady of the Fountain mabinogion in welshd to contain poems only.

C. E. G.

I. That we have throughout Europe, at an early period, a great body of literature, known as Mediæval Romance, which, amidst much that is wholly of Teutonic origin and character, includes certain well-marked traces of an older Celtic nucleus.

These romances were found in England, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and even Iceland, as mabinogion in welshearly as the beginning of the thirteenth and end of the twelfth century. The Germans, who propagated them through the nations of the North, derived them certainly from France. Robert Wace published his Anglo-Norman Romance of the Brut d’Angleterre about 1-. Sir Tristan was written in French prose in 1170; and The Chevalier au Lion, Chevalier de l’Epée, and Sir Lancelot du Lac, in metrical French, by Chrestien de Troyes, before 1200.

Cadair Idris and Cadair Arthur both involve more than a mere name. Idris and Arthur must have been invested with heroic qualifications to have been placed in such &8220;seats.&8221;

I. Names of the great features, involving proper names and actions.

III. Names of mixed natural and artificial objects, as &8220;Coeten Arthur,&8221; Arthur’s Coit; &8220;Cerrig y Drudion,&8221; the Crag of the Heroes; which involve actions. And such as embody proper names only, as &8220;Cerrig Howell,&8221; the Crag of Howell; &8220;Caer Arianrod,&8221; the Camp of Arianrod; &8220;Bron Goronwy,&8221;the Breast (of the Hill) of Goronwy; &8220;Castell mab Wynion,&8221; the Castle of the son of Wynion; &8220;Nant Gwrtheyrn,&8221; the Rill of Vortigern.

It appears to me, then, looking back upon what has been advanced:-

Besides these, indeed, there are a few tales, as Amlyn and Amic, Sir Bevis of Hamtoun, the Seven Wise Masters, and the story of Charlemagne, so obviously of foreign extraction, and of late introduction into Wales, not presenting even a Welsh name, or allusion, and of such very slender intrinsic merit, that although comprised in the Llyvr Coch, they have not a shadow of claim to form part of the Canon of Welsh Romance. Therefore, although I have translated and examined them, I have given them no place in these volumes.

1 It is also stated, that there is in the Hengwrt Library, a MS. containing the Graal in Welsh, as early as the time of Henry I. I had hoped to have added this to the present collection; but the death of Col. Vaughan, to whom I applied, and other subsequent circumstances, have prevented me from obtaining access to it.

III. We find that Geoffrey of Monmouth, Layamon, and other early British and Anglo-Saxon historians, and minstrels, on the one hand, transmitted to Europe the rudiments of its after romance, much of which, on the other hand, they drew from Wales.

II. Proceeding backwards in time, we find these romances, their ornaments lling away at each step, existing towards the twelfth century, of r structure, and with less encumbered Celtic features, in the works of Wace, and other Bards of the Langue d’Oil.

From these cts it is to be argued that the further back these romances are traced, the more clearly does it appear that they spread over the Continent from the North-west of France. The older versions, it may be remarked, are r more than the later corruptions.In them there is less allusion to the habits and usages of Chivalry, and the Welsh names and elements stand out in stronger relief. It is a great step to be able to trace the stocks of these romances back to Wace, or to his country and age. For Wace’s work was not original. He himself, a native of Jersey,Habbo credit. appears to have derived much of it from the &8220;Historia Britonum&8221; of Gruffydd ab Arthur, commonly known as &8220;Geoffrey of Monmouth,&8221; born 1128, who himself professes to have translated from a British original. It is, however, very possible that Wace may have had access, like Geoffrey, to independent sources of information.

Here then are various known channels, by which portions of Welsh and Armoric fiction crossed the Celtic border, and gave rise to the more ornate, and widely-spread romance of the Age of Chivalry. It is not improbable that there may have existed many others. It appears then that a large portion of the stocks of Mediæval Romance proceeded from Wales. We have next to see in what condition they are still found in that country.

It is always valuable to find a place or work called after an individual, because it may help to support some tradition of his existence or his actions. But it is requisite that care be taken not to push the etymological dissection too r. Thus, &8220;Caer Arianrod&8221; should be taken simply as the &8220;Camp of Arianrod,&8221; and not rendered the &8220;Camp of the silver circle,&8221; because the latter, though it might possibly have something to do with the reason for which the name was borne by Arianrod herself, had clearly no reference to its application to her camp.

At the same time, indeed, I became aware, and still strongly feel, that it is one thing to collect cts, and quite another to classify and draw from them their legitimate conclusions; and though I am loth that what has been collected with some pains, should be entirely thrown away, it is unwillingly, and with diffidence, that I trespass beyond the acknowledged province of a translator.

In addition to these, is to be mentioned the English version of Sir Tristrem, which Sir Walter Scott considered to be derived from a distinct Celtic source, and not, like the later Amadis, Palmerin, and Lord Berners’s Canon of Romance, imported into English literature by translation from the French. For the Auntours of Arthur, recently published by the Camden Society, their Editor, Mr. Robson, seems to hint at a similar claim.

To the claims set up on behalf of Wace and Geoffrey, to be regarded as the channels by which the Cymric tales passed into the Continental Romance, may be added those of a third almost contemporary author. Layamon, a Saxon priest, dwelling, about 1200, upon the banks of the upper Severn, acknowledges for the source of his British history, theEnglishBede, theLatinAlbin, and theFrenchWace. The last-named however is by very much his chief, and, for Welsh matters, his only avowed authority. His book, nevertheless, contains a number of names and stories relating to Wales, of which no traces appear in Wace, or indeed in Geoffrey, but which he was certainly in a very vourable position to obtain for himself. Layamon, therefore, not only confirms Geoffrey in some points, but it is clear, that, professing to follow Wace, he had independent access to the great body of Welsh literature then current. Sir F. Madden has put this matter very clearly, in his recent edition of Layamon. The Abbé de la Rue, also, was of opinion that Gaimar, an Anglo-Norman, in the reign of Stephen, usually regarded as a translator of Geoffrey of Monmouth, had access to a Welsh independent authority.

DOWLAIS, August 29th, 1848.

The Mabinogion, however, though thus early recorded in the Welsh tongue, are in their existing form by no means wholly Welsh. They are of two tolerably distinct classes. Of these, the older contains few allusions to Norman customs, manners, arts, arms, and luxuries.The other, and less ancient, are full of such allusions, and of ecclesiastical terms. Both classes, no doubt, are equally of Welsh root, but the former are not more overlaid or corrupted, than might have been expected, from the communication that so early took place between the Normans and the Welsh; whereas the latter probably migrated from Wales, and were brought back and re-translated after an absence of centuries, with a load of Norman additions. Kilhwch and Olwen, and the dream of Rhonabwy, may be cited as examples of the older and purer class; the Lady of the Fountain, Peredur, and Geraint ab Erbin, of the later, or decorated.

The selection of names would demand much care and discretion. The translations should be indisputable, and, where known, the connexion of a name with a legend should be noted. Such a name as &8220;Mochdrev,&8221; Swine-town, would be valueless unless accompanied by a legend.

Whilst engaged on the Translations contained in these volumes, and on the Notes appended to the various Tales, I have found myself led unavoidably into a much more extensive course of reading than I had originally contemplated, and one which in great measure bears directly upon the earlier Mediæval Romance.

That Wales possessed an ancient literature, containing various lyric compositions, and certain triads, in which are arranged historical cts or moral aphorisms, has been shown by Sharon Turner, who has established the high antiquity of many of these compositions.

Conclusions thus drawn, when established, rest upon a very firm basis. They depend upon the number and appositeness of the cts, and it would be very interesting to pursue this branch of evidence in detail. In following up this idea, the names to be sought for might thus be classed:&8212;

V. Looking at the connexion between divers of the more ancient Mabinogion, and the topographical nomenclature of part of the country, we find evidence of the great, though indefinite, antiquity of these tales, and of an origin, which, if not indigenous, is certainly derived from no European nation.

Govannon was the Welsh counterpart of the Danann smith god ofGoibhniu. Govannon was the master smith and god of skills.

Ceridwen in rage, set out to kill Gwyon. Gwyon and Ceridwen went through several metamorphoses of different animals. Gwyon as a hare, Ceridwen as a greyhound; he as a salmon, she as an otter; he as a bird, while Ceridwen had transformed into a hawk. When Gwyon turned himself into a grain of seed, Ceridwen as a hen, swallowed Gwyon, and became pregnant.

The horse goddess. Rhiannon was the Welsh equivalent of theEpona(Gallic) and Macha (Irish). Rhiannon was also associated with a Romano-Celtic goddess Rigantona (“Great Goddess”).

Welsh god of the sea. Llyr was Welsh equivalent ofLir, old Irish god of the sea. Llyr was also the god of magic and healing.

Math Son of Mathonwy(Mabinogion).

Gwynn and Gwythyr not only took part in the hunt for Twrch Trwyth, they also advised Arthur to send someone else to fight against the Black Hag in the land of Valley of Distressed. The Black Hag easily defeated warriors that Arthur sent, so in the end the king fought and killed her.

Govannon was the uncle ofLleuandDylan. He was responsible for the death of Dylan, possibly out of envy that his nephews ability to swim like a fish.

SeeManawyddan son of Llyr, in theMabinogion.

Pierced Thighs.

Genealogy:House of Don and House of Llyr.

Amathaon was the Welsh god of agriculture. Amathaon was the son of Beli andDon, and the brother ofGwydyon.

However the brew would take a whole to make, so he had two servants to keep the fire lit and continuously stirred the cauldron. One of the servants was named Gwyon Bach (Gwion Bach). Her plan was in ruined when three drops scalded Gwyon Bachs thumb, Gwyon put his finger in his mouth. Gwyon instantly gained the knowledge and skill of the bard, instead of her son Agddu.

Aranrhod gave birth toDylanandLleu, when she stepped over the magic wand of uncleMath, to prove that she was a virgin. Her brotherGwydyonadopted her son Lleu as his own, while some would say that Gwydyon was actually the ther of Dylan and Lleu.

Brân, Bran.

Aeron was the Welsh god of battle and slaughter. His name was derived from the early British goddess of slaughter,Agroná.

See alsoLugh.

Aranrhod,Lleu,Math,Gwydyon,Govannon.

See alsoDanu.

Genealogy:House of Don and House of Llyr.

Math brought upDylanwhile Gwydyon raised Lleu. Math took pity uponLleuand created a woman from the flowers namedBlodeuedd, since Aranrhod had her own son. Math gave Lleu the land or cantrev of Dinoding to live in.

However when Manawyddan returned to Wales, he found that his cousin Casswallawn had taken over power in Britain. Casswallawn had caused the death of Caradawg, the son of Bran. Manawyddan with six other survivors stayed in Gwales, possibly in Cornwall. He kept his brothers head for eighty years in Gwales that the court became known as the Assembly of Wondrous Head. They forgot all about the sorrow and losses in the disastrous war as long as they stayed in this hall.

Elphin (Elffin) rescued the child from the weir, and he named the innt (Gwyon Bach), Taliesin.

Lleu Transformed Into An Eagle

Aranrhod refused to recognise Lleu as her own son. Aranrhod gave three curses to her son instead of three blessings. Aranrhod refused to give Lleu a name, weapons and armour when he reached manhood, and cursed her son that she could not marry a woman of any race of people. Her brother Gwydyon tricked Aranrhod into Lleu: his name and later the weapons.

The iry queen and sister of King Arthur,Morgan le Fay, was most likely derived from Modron, because they both had the same husband and the same son (Owain).

Arawn was the Lord of Annwfn (Otherworld) in the First Branch of the Mabinogi &8211;Pwyll Lord of Dyved(Mabinogion). Arawn befriendedPwyllwhen they encountered one another in the woods. Arawn offered Pwyll to take his place as Lord of Annwfn for one year and a day. Pwyll would be transformed to look like Arawn, so that Pwyll could fight Havgtan (Hafgan) in his place. Havgtan was also a Lord of Annwfn and Arawns archenemy. Havgtan could only be killed in one blow, for the second blow would magically heal Havgtan. So Pwyll mortally wounded Havgtan and refused to strike another blow, so Arawns enemy died.

Related pages:

The story of Llyrs children can be found in the second and third Branches of the Mabinogi, calledBranwen Daughter of LlyrandManawyddan Son of Llyr.

Once the door of the hall was opened, their memories of their sorrow and losses would return. After this, they went to White Hill and buried Brans head on the mound.

Manawyddan appeared in the Welsh tale from the Mabinogion, calledBranwen Daughter of Llyr, as one of the survivors in the war against Ireland.

Aranrhods third curse was the most difficult to overcome. Gwydyon called upon his uncle King Math to aid him in finding a bride for Lleu. With their combined magic, they created a woman out of flowers. This flower-woman was namedBlodeuedd, and she was the most beautiful woman in the world, but she turned out to be an unithful wife to Lleu, which had almost cost him his life.

Llyr married to Penarddun, daughtet of Beli son of Mynogan, who was ruler of Britain. Llyr was the ther ofBran,Manawyddan, and a daughter named Branwen. Llyr was the ther of tribal deities known as the Children of Darkness, as opposed to the goddess Don and her Children of Light.

Gwydyon served as the chief adviser of his uncle Math, king of Gwynedd, in northern Wales. He killedPryderiin single combat over some pigs.

From the cauldron of inspiration, known as Amen, Ceridwen was determined to make her son, the wisest and most inspirational bard from three drops of her brew.

Manawyddan reappeared as the hero in another Branch of the Mabinogion, calledManawyddan Son of Llyr, where he marriedRhiannon, mother of Pryderi.

According to the story of Llud and Llevelys, Beli was also said to be ther of Lludd, Llevelys, Nynmyaw and Caswallon (Casswallawn). The Welsh Triad mentioned that his daughter was Aranrot. According, to this Triad (32), Caswallon left Britain with a host (Third Host to Leave Britain), with his nephews, Gwenwynwyn and Gwanar, sons of Lliaws and Aranrot. They were from Arllechwedd and went to Gascony.

Genealogy:Family of Ceridwen and Taliesin.

Gwydyon found Lleu and transformed Lleu back to human form. Gwydyon transformed Blodeuedd into an owl, who was then called Blodeuwedd. As for Goronwy, Lleu killed him with the same spear he had used on Lleu.

Pryderi was the son ofPwyll, the lord of Dyved, and ofRhiannon. Pryderi was the only characters to appear in thefour tales of the Mabinogi.

Ceridwen

Arawn had a beautiful wife, who was unnamed. While Pwyll was pretending to be her lord and husband, Pwyll did not take advantage of it, love to Arawns wife. Arawn was surprised that Pwyll would protect his wifes chastity, that they became friends and allies. Arawn richly rewarded Pwyll for both deeds. It is believed that Arawn had sentRhiannonto become Pwylls wife.

Illustration, 1984

The virgin goddess. Aranrhod (Arianrhod) was the daughter of goddessDonand Beli. Aranrhod was the sister of Amathon, Gilvaethwy,Govannon,GwydyonandNudd. Aranrhod was the goddess of the sky and fertility.

Dylan also became known as the son of Ton, because a wave never broke beneath him. Dylan was sort of Welsh god of the sea or the waves. Dylan took the nature of the waves, and could move in the water, better than a fish.

Bendigeid Vran or Bendigeidfran &8211; “Bran the Blessed”.

One Nudd was described as being the son of Senyllt; and according to the Welsh Triads, one of the most generous man in Britain:

There are likely several (or many) people with the name &8211; Nudd. Lludd was probably another form for the name Nudd. This being the case, I would cover the different Nudd here.

Genealogy:House of Don and House of Llyr

Pwyll,Rhiannon,Manawyddan,Bran.

Nudd, Lludd (Welsh).

Later, Lleu ruled Gwynedd after Math.

Pwyll Lord of Dyved,Branwen Daughter of Llyr,Manawyddan Son of Llyr,Math Son of Mathonwy(Mabinogion).

Pwyll Lord of Dyved,Manawyddan Son of Llyr(Mabinogion).

Modron was the Welsh goddess of fertility or the mother goddess. Modron was the daughter of the god, Avallach. Modron was the mother ofMabon, according to the tale ofCulhwch and Olwen.

However the marriage did not last long, because Blodeuedd fell in love with Goronwy the Staunch, lord of Penllyn, when Lleu was absence one day. Together they plotted to kill Lleu. Though they could not kill him, Lleu was transformed into an eagle.

SeeTaliesinin the Mabinogion.

Nodons, Nodens (Romano-British).

When Math need another maidens laps to rest his feet upon, Gwydyon suggested his sisterAranrhod, daughter of Don. Math tested Aranrhod by her stepping over his magic wand. Though a virgin, two innt sons dropped out of her. One was named Dylan and the other was called Lleu.

There was in Rhyd y Gyrth or the “Ford of Barking”, where hounds to come to this place to bark, and people were frightened to go there to investigate why. One day,Urien Rhegedcame to this ford and found a woman washing clothing. Urien found this washing woman very attractive, and she was very pleased that he had come here, breaking some sort of curse or spell that was placed upon her. Apparently, she was ted to wash in this ford until she had a son by a Christian. It was at this point that the sounds of barking have stopped, when he slept with her. She told Urien that she was a daughter of the king of Annwfn.

Don,Gwydyon,Aranrhod,Lleu.

Genealogy:House of Don and House of Llyr.

When Ceridwen gave birth to a son, she knew her child was really reincarnation of Gwyon Bach, who retained memory of his previous life, as well as his skill as a bard. Ceridwen had intended to kill the innt, but could not bring herself to perform such murder, because of the babys beauty. So Ceridwen put the baby in a leather bag and threw him into the sea.

See alsoEpona;Macha.

Ceridwen was the wife of Tegid Foel. Ceridwen was the mother of a daughter named Creirwy, and had two sons, Morvran ab Tegid and Morfran (Y Fagddu or Agddu). Creirwy was the irest maiden in the world, while Morvran was ugly but a strong warrior. However her youngest son, called Agddu or Avagddu (“utter darkness”), was extremely ugly (and perhaps deformed) that no one would accept him in the noble society, unless he was gifted in wisdom and poetry.

Genealogy:House of Don and House of Llyr.

–>

Welsh Triad 2

Arawn was also said to possess the magic cauldron, whichArthurtried to steal in the obscure poem in theBook of Taliesin, calledSpoils of Annwfn(Preiddiau Annwfn).

Then there is the case of the story ofLludd and Llevelys, another story from the Mabinogion, where Llud (Nudd) was a son ofBeli, and brother of Caswallon (Casswallan), Nynnyaw and Llevelys.

See alsoLir.

Not much is known about Ceridwen beyond the story of Taliesin, though her name and her cauldron appeared frequently in allusions of medieval Welsh literature.

Pryderi &8211; “relief from her anxiety”.

Arawn had also given pigs toPryderi, Pwylls son, when Pryderi became Lord of Dyved. These pigs were stolen byGwydyon (Gwydion), in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi &8211;Math Son of Mathonwy. This led to a war between Dyved and Gwynedd, where Pryderi was killed in single combat against Gwydyon, the nephew of KingMathof Gwynedd.

Below are list of Welsh names who appeared with the Welsh Arthur in five tales of the Mabinogion. You will not find the following characters in Celtic Mythology. Since these characters appeared in the legend of Arthur, I have provided links to the relevant characters in theArthurian Legends.

Don,Gwydyon,Dylan,Lleu,Math,Nudd.

Pwyll,Pryderi,Manawyddan,Bran.

With the involvement of the Cauldron of Rebirth and his nickname as Pierced Thighs, some scholars believed that this tale was forerunner of the Grail legend, where there are similarity to his name to theBron, the brother-in-law ofJoseph of Arimathea, and as the Rich Fisher, he was the Keeper of the Grail.

Math Son of Mathonwy(Mabinogion).

Math Son of Mathonwy(Mabinogion).

Nudd, ther of Gwynn, was the son of Don and Beli. This mean Nudd was also the brother of Amathon, Gilvaethwy,Govannon,Gwydyon, and brother of two sisters namedAranrhodand Penarddun. Nudd also has a son named Edern.

Alan Lee

Illustration, 1984

British Deities

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Gwynn was best known in the tale ofCulhwch and Olwen, where he was a rival of Gwythyr b Greidawl, for the love of Creiddylad. Apparently, Creiddylad was married (or betrothed) to Gwythyr, but Gwynn abducted Creiddylad. Gwythyr pursued, and the two armies fought. Apparently, Gwynn was gaining the upper hand in the war, killing several of Gwythyrs kinsmen and allies.

Dylan and his brotherLleuwere the sons of the virgin goddessAranrhod. She gave birth to them immediately after she stepped over the magic wand of her uncle, Math.

The warrior god. Gwydyon was the god of magic, poetry and music.

SeeMath Son of Mathonwyabout Dylans birth.

Rhiannon

Bran was more of a king than a god in the Welsh myths. Bran seemed to rule from London. Bran was a giant that no buildings were larger enough to shelter him. An elaborate, giant tent or pavilion was erected to shelter Bran. Bran was taller than the tallest tree, and could wade through the sea, like the Greek hunter Orion, with only his head above the water suce.

In thetale of Manawyddan, Pryderi had more active role than all the other tales. Pryderi returned to Wales, and made his mother marryManawyddan(brother of Bran). Pryderi was married to Kigva (Cig). However, his subjects mysteriously vanished. To survive, Manawyddan and Pryderi took various trades in different towns, such as boot-, shield , etc. Manawyddan and Pryderi proved to exceptional or gifted tradesmen, which caused jealousy and hostility from other tradesmen. When he returned home with his mily, Pryderi and Rhiannon had also vanished when they had touched a golden cauldron. In the end, Manawyddan had restored them, when he lifted the curse or enchantment of Pryderis kingdom, by catching the sorcerers wife. The sorcerers wife was sister of Pywlls old enemy.

Tuatha Dé Danann

Brân (Bran) was the king of Britain or Wales. Bran was the son ofLlyr, and Penarddun, daughtet of Beli son of Mynogan, was ruler of Britain. Bran had a sister named Branwen (Bronwen); a brother namedManawyddanand two half-brothers – Nissyen and Evnissyen.

Rhiannon was unfortunate figure in Welsh myth. Rhiannon had many suitors, among them were Pwyll, chieftain of Dyfed, and Gwawl, the son ofmabinogion in welsh Clud. Pwyll won her hand and married her. Gwawl and his ther laid a curse upon Pwylls household. Rhiannon was barren for many years. Pwyll blamed his wife for their inability to have a child, mistreated Rhiannon.

Branwen Daughter of Llyr,Manawyddan Son of Llyr(Mabinogion).

SeeBranwen Daughter of LlyrandManawyddan Son of Llyrfor the full story about Manawyddan.

Manawyddan was often identified with the Irish god,Manannan, though the Irish and Welsh stories were different and unrelated to one another.

Mabon was now a young man, became Culhwchs companion during the hunt of the wild boar Twrch Trwyth. Culhwch needed to fetch several items attached to boars hide: razor, comb and scissors. Mabon had retrieved a razor for Culhwch, in the River Havran (Severn).

The gods and goddesses in Welsh myths were like the Irish deities, living in Wales, England and Scotland. They inhabited and ruled over the land with mortals. These Welsh deities were powerful rulers of the isle of Britain, establishing mighty dynasties, particularly in Wales and elsewhere.

Nudd Llaw Ereint or Lludd Llaw Ereint &8211; “Nudd Silver Hand”.

It was the quarrelsome Evnissyens acts towards Mallolwch, which led to mistreatment of Branwen by her husband and the disastrous war between Britain and Ireland.

Taliesin.

Rhiannon was the daughter of Hereydd the Old. She married Pwyll, a chieftain of Dyfed.

SeeMath Son of Mathonwyfor full story.

The deities found here, come mainly from the first four tales of theMabinogion. Though some of the names appeared in other tales in the Mabinogion, as well as some scattered sources of the Welsh texts.

Her children represented the tribal deities of light as opposed to the children of Llyr, who were the deities of darkness.

Math was a king, who likes to rest his feet on the lap of virgin maiden. This maiden was named Goewin, the daughter of Pebin from Dol Bebin in Arvon. Another of his nephew Gilvaethwy, however, fell in love with Goewin and raped her during Maths absence. Math punished his nephew and Gwydyon who was also involved, by transforming them in various animal forms for three years.

Govannon was the son ofBeliandDon. Govannon was also the brother of Amathon, Aranrhod, Gilvaethwy, Gwydyon andNudd.

See alsoManannán Mac Lir.

Beli was often called Beli Mawr. Beli was equivalent to the ancient Gallic god,Belenus, and to the Irish god,Bile.

In a way, the four tales of Mabinogi was aCycle of Pryderi, yet he only played a minor role in each of story. Pryderi also appeared in a Welsh tale, calledPreiddiau Annwfn(Spoils of Annwfn), where Arthur tried to steal a magic cauldron in Annwfn (Otherworld). Again, Pryderi was one of the seven survivors, along Arthur and Taliesin. (Hey! This sounds miliar to the tale aboutBranwen.)

Mabinogion

In the final tale, calledMath Son of Don, Pryderi appeared only in the first part of the tale.Gwydion, nephew ofKing Math of Gwynedd(northern kingdom) and a great sorcerer, had cheated him by stealing his pigs. These pigs was given to him, byLord Arawnof Annwfn (Otherworld), who was a close friend of his ther Pwyll. To avoid a battle, Pryderi agreed to a single combat against Gwydion, in which Pryderi lost his life.

In the fighting, Bran received a wound from a poison-smeared spear. Before he was even wounded, he was called the “Pierced Thighs”. His body was too large to be shipped back to Britain for burial, so Bran asked his brother Manawyddan to sever his head, and bury on White Hill in London. He also informed his brother that his head would keep him company in the hall of Gwales. His head would be able to talk.

SeeMath Son of Mathonwyin theMabinogion, about Aranrhod and her son Lleu.

His children with Don were known as the Children of the Light, as opposed to Llyrs Children of Darkness.

Beli was the son of Mynogen. Beli was the husband of the goddess Don, the daughter of Mathonwy. Beli was the ther of five sons:Amathon,Nudd,Govannon,Gwydyonand Gilvaethwy. Beli was also the ther of two daughters:Aranrhodand Penarddun, the wife ofLlyr.

Modron was not only the mother ofOwain(Yvain); she also had a daughter named Morvudd. TheWelsh Triads, often mentioned Owain being her son. Morvudds name was also mentioned in the tale ofCulwch and Olwen.

Don was the daughter of Mathonwy, and sister of Math. She married Beli, the god of death. Don was the mother of Amathon,Aranrhod, Gilvaethwy,Govannon,GwydyonandNudd.

Genealogy:House of Don and House of Llyr.

Govannons name appeared as one of the quests that the giant Ysbaddaden had set forCulhwch.

Alan Lee

SeePwyll, lord of Dyved, in theMabinogion.

Manawyddan,Bran.

Math Son of Mathonwy(Mabinogion).

Nudd has been associated with the British god,Nodons, during the Roman period. He has also being associated with Nuada Airgedlámh, “Nuada of the Silver Hand”, the king of Tuatha de Danann on Ireland. In Welsh myth, he was called either Nudd Llaw Ereint or Lludd Llaw Ereint, “Lludd Silver Hand”. In the story ofCulhwch and Olwen, Lludd was the ther of Creiddylad, whom Gwythyr son of Greidyawl andGwynnson of Nudd (thus Gwynn ap Nudd). Nudd ther of Gwynn and Lludd Llaw Ereint appeared to be two different people.

Gwydyon helped Lleu overcome the curses or taboos set by Lleus mother (Aranrhod), and rescued his nephew when he was transformed into an eagle.

Genealogy:House of Don and House of Llyr.

In thetale of Pwyll, Pryderi was abducted when he was only an innt. In thestory of Branwen, he was a young man who ruled his thers kingdom; however, his role in this story was minor. This tale was about the war between Ireland and Britain.Bran, the king of Britain was killed in battle. Pryderi was one of the seven survivors, who had fought against Ireland, and brought Brans head back to Britain.

SeeMath Son of Mathonwyfor full story.

In theWelsh Triads, Bran was named as one of the “Three Blessed Kings of Britain”.

Genealogy:House of Don and House of Llyr.

Gwydyon was responsible for Lleus upbringing and education. For some unknown reason, she tried to kill Lleu. She placed a series of taboos (curses) orgeison him, preventing from having a human wife. Gwydyon, with the help of his uncle (King Math) taking pity on Lleu, created a woman made out of flowers. This flower-woman was calledBlodeuedd.

Llyr,Bran,Rhiannon.

Math,Aranrhod,Gwydyon,Nudd.

So Culhwch and Arthur embarked on the quest to free Mabon and fetch Drudwyn. Gwrhyr, Arthurs interpreter, had to talk to various animals to find the location of where they held Mabon captive. The salmon finally led Culhwch to the prison in Gloucester.

Arthurneeded Gwynn to aid him in the hunt of wild boar, Twrch Trwyth, so he forced a truce between Gwynn and Gwythyr that they would not fight one another in a duel on May Day, each year,buy Vindictus gold. until the end of time (or till Judgment Day), while Creiddylad returned to her ther to await for the outcome of the duel.

Lleu and his brotherDylanwere the sons of the virgin goddessAranrhod. She gave birth to them immediately after she stepped over the magic wand of her uncle,Math. They were possibly the sons ofGwydyon, Aranrhods own brother.

The divine youth. Mabon was the god of youth. Mabon was also probably the god of love. Mabon was the son of the goddess, Modron.

Genealogy:House of Don and House of Llyr.

Not much else is known about Pryderi except in these four stories, so I suggest that you read theMabinogion, since I had told each story in full.

Lleu was associated with Irish godLugh(orLugusin Gallic), since he was known as Lleu Llaw Gyffes (“Lleu of the Dexterous Hand”). Apart from the similarity in name, the tales of Lleu and Lugh were totally different.

Manawyddan was known as one of the “Three Ungrasping Chieftains”, meaning, a lord without land.

Math was the son of Mathonwy, and brother ofDon. Math was a powerful sorcerer and the lord of Gwynedd, in northern Wales. His main seat of power seemed to be in Caer Dathal.

Even though she managed to give birth to a son named Pryderi, she was accused of killing or devouring her innt.

Gwri Gwallt-Euryn &8211; “Golden Hair”.

Dylan wasWelsh Deities mabinogion in welsh a boy with golden hair. Shortly after he was baptised he left for the sea.

Aranrhod,Dylan,Gwydyon.

Later, when Pwyll died, Rhiannon lived with her son, before she marriedManawyddan, after the death of Manawyddans brother (Bran) from the war in Ireland. Upon her son arrival back, Rhiannon and Pryderi were beset by curse from Llywd, the son of Kil Coed, and friend of Gwawl, Rhiannons former suitor. Their subjects in Dyved had vanished. Llywd had transformed Rhiannon into an ass, while her son was transformed into a gate-hammer. They were released from the curses through Manawyddans cunning and resourcefulness.

Though one of the tales in the Mabinogion had the title calledMath Son of Mathonwy, it was his nephewGwydyonwho had the most active role in the last Branch of the Mabinogi.

In the Black Book of Carmarthen, there is a short dialogue between Gwynn and Gwydneu Garanhir. Gwynn has been to Caer Vandwy, a place mentioned inThe Spoils of Annwfn. Either Gwynn or Gwydneu witnessed the death of Gwendoleu son of Ceidaw, Bran (son of Gweryd?), Llachau son of Arthur, and Meurig son of Carreian, Gwallawg, and the soldiers of Prydain.

Math Son of Mathonwy(Mabinogion).

Don was the mother-goddess, similar to theDanu, the mother of theTuatha dé Danann.

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SeeBranwen Daughter of Llyrfor the full story.

In the land of Dyved, all of Pryderi had mysteriously vanished, except for Rhiannon, Pryderi and Kigva, Pryderis wife. When Rhiannon and Pryderi vanished in the magical castle, Manawyddan went through a series of trials before he lifted the curse or enchantment upon the people of Dyved, and Rhiannon and Pryderi were set free.

Mallolwch (Matholwch), king of Ireland, came to Britain seeking a wife. Bran offered his beautiful sister Branwen to the Irish king, whom he married.

Mythical king of Annfwn. Gwynn was the son ofNudd; therefore he was called Gwynn ap Nudd. His ther was sometimes called Nudd Llaw Ereint or Nudd the Silver Hand, and identified with the Danann kingNuada Airgetlam. Gwynns brother was named Edern; he and his brother were named by Culhwch as two of Arthurs warriors.

Ceridwen was a Welsh goddess of unknown attribute. Some would call Ceridwen a witch, and she was often depicted as an old hag. She had the ability to shift-change.

Arianrhod gives weapons to Lleu

Three Generous men of the Island of Prydain. Nudd the Generous, son of Senyllt; Mordaf the Generous, son of Serwan; Rhydderch the Generous, son of Tudwal Tudglyd.

Nuada (Irish).

In the tale ofCulhwch and Olwen(Mabinogion), Culhwch andArthurhad to release Mabon from his prison, because Mabon was the only person who could control Drudwyn, the hound of Greid.

According to Welsh myths, Mabon was abducted from his mother, when he was only three nights old.

Genealogy:House of Don and House of Llyr.

Gwydyon was the son ofDonand Beli. Gwydyon was the son of Amathon,Aranrhod, Gilvaethwy,Govannon, andNudd. Gwydyon adopted the children of his sisterAranrhod:DylanandLleu.

Nothing more was said about her son, Agddu. In the story ofCulwch and Olwen Virtual Gold, it mentioned that Ceridwens other son, Morfran had also fought in the battle of Camlann, sustaining no wound, because he was so ugly that the enemies thought he was demon, would not come near him. Morfran had hair on his ce like that of a stag.

King Arthur

Not much is known about Amathaon, except that in the tale ofCulhwch and Olwen, Ysbaddaden wanted Amathaon to till his land, as one of the conditions of Culhwch marrying Olwen.

Branwen Daughter of Llyr,Manawyddan Son of Llyr(Mabinogion).

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Dylan was killed by his uncleGovannon(Goibhniu), the Welsh smith god.

Mabon was derived from the ancient British god,Maponus, who was linked with Greek/Roman godApollo.

Manawyddan was the son of Llyr and Penarddun, daughter of Beli son of Mynogan, who was ruler of Britain. Manawyddan was the brother of Bran and Branwen.

Modron appearance of washing clothes at the ford, was a form ofbanshee, known as theWasher at the Ford. In Scottish Gaelic folklore, they were known asbean nighte, where they were said to wash the bloodstained clothes of the one who were about to die. There was no sign of Modron doing this. In the Irish myth,Morriganhad also washed clothes in the river on the night she sleep with Dagda. Modron was sometimes identified with this Morrigan as well as with Morgan le Fay.

Big Issue

Gellir defnyddior adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar trwy ganiatmabinogion in welshâd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru.

Pwyll finds his inherited status hard to bear and is never sure how he is drawn into murdering his future wife’s fianc, losing his son and switching beds with the king of the underworld in a bizarrely upside down world where surfing and sailing are perfect freedom but you need a horse to get home again down the M4.

Saturday Guardian

There is enchantment and shape-shifting, conflict, peace, love, betrayal. A wife conjured out of flowers is punished for unithfulness by being turned into an owl,Arthur and his knights chase a magical wild boar and its piglets from Ireland, across south Wales to Cornwall, a prince changes places with the king of the underworld for a year…

New Stories from the Mabinogionis an exciting series of contemporary novels by leading authors, reworking ancient Celtic myth cycles.The first two stories are published in October 2009.Authors so r commissioned are Owen Sheers, Niall Griffiths, Russell Celyn Jones and Gwyneth Lewis.

Russell Celyn Jones,The Ninth Wave, reviewed alongside Owen Sheers,White Ravens

Russell Celyn Jones is the author of six novels:Ten Seconds from the Sun, Suce Tension, The Eros Hunter, An Interference of Light, Small TimesandSoldiers and Innocents. He has won the David Higham Prize, Society of Authors Award, and the Weishanhu Award (China). He is a regular reviewer for several national newss and is Professor of Creative Writing at Birkbeck College, University of London.

One of the new stories from the Mabinogion, an exciting series of contemporary stories by leading Welsh authors, reworking the ancient myths of the Mabinogion.The Ninth Waveby Russell Celyn Jones is based on the tale of Pwyll, Lord of Dyfed.

Saturday Guardian

It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment should be included: A review from with the permission of the Welsh Books Council.

“Beautifully packaged, the first in the series [New Stories from the Mabinogion] demonstrates a knack of being contemporary yet seemingly ageless, updating the original blend of Celtic mythology and Arthurian legend to create a work that’s full of life. […] Told in sparse and understated prose, it’s a tense and evocative piece of work that maintains the fine tradition of Welsh myth-.”

The Times

What with religious wars,buy Grand Fantasia gold. piracy on the high seas, global plagues and a looming oil shortage, it’s not so r-fetched to imagine a medieval world of the near future.

Each author has chosen a story to reinvent and retell for their own reasons and in their own way: creating fresh, contemporary tales which speak to us today, while tapping into a vigorous source of stories still flowing just beneath the suce of our culture.

Reviews:

Caroline Clark

The style of writing is also eclectic; sometimes poetic, sometimes flatly realistic or wildly surreal. Pwyllsmabinogion in welsh www.gwales.com isolation at the beginning is vividly conveyed: ‘An hour later he woke so dizzy with loneliness he had to fix his eyes upon the horizon to steady his spinning head. A full moon shimmered over the sea like tinfoil. Buoys winked their own personalised sequences. A pier was a sultry projection into the water. The sea breathed in the night like a lung.’

“with typical humour”

Dyma gyfrol mewn cyfres o straeon cyfoes gan awduron amlycaf Cymru, yn seiliedig ar hen chwedlaur Mabinogi. MaeThe Ninth Wavegan Russell Celyn Jones yn adleisio chwedl Pwyll Pendefig Dyfed.

The eleven stories in the Mabinogion are diverse medieval Welsh tales taken from two fourteenth-century manuscripts collating a much earlier oral tradition. They were first translated into English in the nineteenth century. They bring us Celtic mythology, a history of the Island of Britain seen through the eyes of medieval Wales, and include the first appearance in literature of King Arthur – but tell tales that stretch way beyond the boundaries of contemporary Wales.

Seren is producing a series of New Stories from the Mabinogion in which current authors choose one of the stories to tell in their own way.The Ninth Wavefollows the characters and framework of ‘Pwyll, Lord of Dyfed’ quite closely but sets them in the not-too-distant future – a post-oil-powered Wales of small kingdoms, living by a mixture of old and new technologies.

“It is hard to take on the giants of the past without being felled by them, but Celyn Jones and Sheers have done justice to the Mabinogion, and to themselves.”

Breathing life into this ancient story and retelling it in modern fictional form, Russell Celyn Jones swops the magical for the psychological, the courtly for the post-feminist and goes back to Swansea bay to complete some unfinished business.

Thus, there is a return to medieval styles of transport, trade and ware but with survivals from the present such as CCTV, recycling ctories (producing widespread pollution), casinos and Starbucks. Instead of the magical aspects of the original, there are the psychological and social problems of a modern prince, unsure of his function and modern parents torn apart by the abduction of their son and having to ce a stranger when he returns. It is sometimes a strange clash of genres (as ifMad Maxmorphed intoGone Baby Gone) but individual sections are interesting and imagined in considerable depth. The climax, when Pwyll and Pryderi surf the waves, bonds them together again in a context that is both realistic and carries strong mythical resonance.

“Seren has had the intriguing idea of asking prominent Welsh authors to ‘reinvent’ the [Mabinogion] stories […]: the assignment has drawn both authors into fresh imaginative territory, without becoming entangled in what Alison, in Garner’s The Owl Service, ruefully calls ‘the complicated bit: all magic’.”

The Pwyll story was a difficult choice but Russell Celyn Jones meets the challenge with a lot of imagination and sensitivity to human bonds and emotions which transcend period. His novel should appeal to a range of ages and tastes.

And this is exactly what Russell Celyn Jones has done in this arresting retelling of the centuries-old Welsh Mabinogion myth, Pwyll, Lord of Dyfed.