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The Four Branches of the Mabinogi
English
Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
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107 people want to read
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* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author
Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.
See also: Anonymous
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 20, 2022
Four medieval native tales from Wales, known collectively as the Mabinogi, have rather remarkably survived for a millennium in two codices compiled somewhat later. Each tale in the quartet is known as a bough or branch ('keinc', in Modern Welsh 'cainc') suggesting they derive from a common narrative tradition.
Sioned Davies, who was later to provide a readable English translation of The Mabinogion, long established as the extended collection of medieval Welsh tales, offered us here a translation and adaptation of her 1989 Welsh essay on the Four Branches; it proves, for those whose familiarity with Welsh — such as myself — is as best very rusty, an extremely useful companion.
What are the tales about? Why should they still be read? And who wrote them? These and a few more exercise the minds of many, whether or not they are Welsh speakers, scholars, or merely lovers of story. Having long studied medieval narrative Dr Davies is in a good position to offer some solutions, but as any academic knows we can never give definitive answers, not while there is more research to do.
Davies’s extended essay is divided into chapters detailing the background to the Four Branches, their structure and narrative techniques, and goes on to discuss themes and characterisation. But first it’s worth knowing that this first appeared in 1989 as an award-winning study in Welsh, designed to introduce a medieval classic to a wider audience, and this englished version was intended to cast the net even further.
Davies emphasises that she applies the term mabinogi to these four branches only, reserving Mabinogion for collections that include other native tales from the Middle Ages. She then discusses the changing terminology used to distinguish poetry from storytelling before going into detail about how these tales (which will have first appeared in written form around the late 11th or early 12th century) owed much to but differed from oral storytelling.
That oral legacy is revealed in several ways, as Davies shows. Structurally the tales exhibit symmetry, just as a cyfarwydd or storyteller would give shape to their narrative to aid their memory and help their audience. Episodes also show tripartite arrangements and motifs — an aspect familiar from fairytales — and are presented in a chronological sequence.
The longest chapter is given over to narrative techniques, especially what Davies regards as linguistic and variable formula which she sees as literary adaptations of oral storytelling, along with the doublet — “a combination of two words which are to all intents synonymous and very often bound together by alliteration.” Then there’s the treatment in the mabinogi of dialogue or ymddiddan, conversation, as a way to establish characterisation, indicate relationships, recount anecdotes and introduce drama.
I’ve so far said little about the actual branches themselves but Davies has much to say about them and the characters — Pwyll, Branwen, Manawydan and Math — whose names are associated with the titles we now know them by. Though us moderns may read this skein of tales for particular reasons — as a guide to insular pagan mythology, for example, or as source material for new fiction, say — there’s no doubt that other aspects will have appealed to the medieval audience. Davies focuses on them as interrelated wonder tales dealing with the Otherworld and the supernatural, but also as pieces reflecting contemporary moral standards and codes of conduct, such as how to deal or not deal with the various forms of insult meted out that may impinge on personal and familial standing and honour.
I want to end with the question of who or what the original author of the Mabinogi may have been. As Davies points out, “writing in the Middle Ages was mainly restricted to a few scholars with a clerical education,” and apparently several groups of literati were in a position to compose the Four Branches, including court priests or scribes, and lawyers, or even a cyfarwydd or poet educated at a church school. Though not considered here, there’s another possibility, that the author may have been an educated woman: in 2009 Andrew Breeze, in The Origins of the ‘Four Branches of the Mabinogi’, suggested the Pedeir Keinc may have been composed by Gwenllian, daughter of a North Walian king and wife of a prince from South Wales, though this isn’t a concept that Davies had considered in 1993.
In this detailed study Davies not only demonstrates a deep knowledge of the Four Branches but I think also reveals her essential love of the text. There are copious quotes from the tales to illustrate her points but, never fear, there are English translations (from the 1949 version by Gwyn Jones and Thomas Jones) for those, like me, whose Welsh is rudimentary or even non-existent; but a little familiarity with the language at least helps draw out the musicality and sonority of the Old Welsh. This adaptation also includes, we’re informed, a scholarly apparatus not present in the Welsh language edition, which here principally consists of references to other translations and related academic studies. It is a fascinating and informative adjunct to Davies’s own translation of The Mabinogion which was to finally appear in 2007.
Sioned Davies, who was later to provide a readable English translation of The Mabinogion, long established as the extended collection of medieval Welsh tales, offered us here a translation and adaptation of her 1989 Welsh essay on the Four Branches; it proves, for those whose familiarity with Welsh — such as myself — is as best very rusty, an extremely useful companion.
What are the tales about? Why should they still be read? And who wrote them? These and a few more exercise the minds of many, whether or not they are Welsh speakers, scholars, or merely lovers of story. Having long studied medieval narrative Dr Davies is in a good position to offer some solutions, but as any academic knows we can never give definitive answers, not while there is more research to do.
Davies’s extended essay is divided into chapters detailing the background to the Four Branches, their structure and narrative techniques, and goes on to discuss themes and characterisation. But first it’s worth knowing that this first appeared in 1989 as an award-winning study in Welsh, designed to introduce a medieval classic to a wider audience, and this englished version was intended to cast the net even further.
Davies emphasises that she applies the term mabinogi to these four branches only, reserving Mabinogion for collections that include other native tales from the Middle Ages. She then discusses the changing terminology used to distinguish poetry from storytelling before going into detail about how these tales (which will have first appeared in written form around the late 11th or early 12th century) owed much to but differed from oral storytelling.
That oral legacy is revealed in several ways, as Davies shows. Structurally the tales exhibit symmetry, just as a cyfarwydd or storyteller would give shape to their narrative to aid their memory and help their audience. Episodes also show tripartite arrangements and motifs — an aspect familiar from fairytales — and are presented in a chronological sequence.
The longest chapter is given over to narrative techniques, especially what Davies regards as linguistic and variable formula which she sees as literary adaptations of oral storytelling, along with the doublet — “a combination of two words which are to all intents synonymous and very often bound together by alliteration.” Then there’s the treatment in the mabinogi of dialogue or ymddiddan, conversation, as a way to establish characterisation, indicate relationships, recount anecdotes and introduce drama.
I’ve so far said little about the actual branches themselves but Davies has much to say about them and the characters — Pwyll, Branwen, Manawydan and Math — whose names are associated with the titles we now know them by. Though us moderns may read this skein of tales for particular reasons — as a guide to insular pagan mythology, for example, or as source material for new fiction, say — there’s no doubt that other aspects will have appealed to the medieval audience. Davies focuses on them as interrelated wonder tales dealing with the Otherworld and the supernatural, but also as pieces reflecting contemporary moral standards and codes of conduct, such as how to deal or not deal with the various forms of insult meted out that may impinge on personal and familial standing and honour.
I want to end with the question of who or what the original author of the Mabinogi may have been. As Davies points out, “writing in the Middle Ages was mainly restricted to a few scholars with a clerical education,” and apparently several groups of literati were in a position to compose the Four Branches, including court priests or scribes, and lawyers, or even a cyfarwydd or poet educated at a church school. Though not considered here, there’s another possibility, that the author may have been an educated woman: in 2009 Andrew Breeze, in The Origins of the ‘Four Branches of the Mabinogi’, suggested the Pedeir Keinc may have been composed by Gwenllian, daughter of a North Walian king and wife of a prince from South Wales, though this isn’t a concept that Davies had considered in 1993.
In this detailed study Davies not only demonstrates a deep knowledge of the Four Branches but I think also reveals her essential love of the text. There are copious quotes from the tales to illustrate her points but, never fear, there are English translations (from the 1949 version by Gwyn Jones and Thomas Jones) for those, like me, whose Welsh is rudimentary or even non-existent; but a little familiarity with the language at least helps draw out the musicality and sonority of the Old Welsh. This adaptation also includes, we’re informed, a scholarly apparatus not present in the Welsh language edition, which here principally consists of references to other translations and related academic studies. It is a fascinating and informative adjunct to Davies’s own translation of The Mabinogion which was to finally appear in 2007.
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June 20, 2025love that i just get to read wild shit like this for my degree
#celticstudies4ever
#celticstudies4ever
April 16, 2015
A careful and modernized translation, aimed at providing a taste of how these tales would have sounded when read to an audience. The French romances can be a bit repetitive and...well...boring, and the Welsh King Arthur has a tendency to fall asleep at the feasting table with his beard in the soup, disappointing if you're looking for more Malory. The four branches, however, are dreamy masterpieces of early European lit, filled with adventure, romance, magic, and quite a bit of humor. Davies's notes are detailed and informative.
September 4, 2023
oof, pre-medieval stories of oral traditions written down by medieval monks and translated into modern day english without adjusting to modern day storytelling conventions. I'm glad this book exists, and I'm glad to have read it to learn a few things about welsh history and welsh culture, but dang was this hard.
There is at one point a story that is not only exciting that it is the first King Arthur story that we know of today, but also boring at the same time, because a lot of that story is just people listing names, abilities and quests. The biggest list is more than 200 names, and it's not the only list in this story.
so to reiterate, love that I have read it, but it will be a reference book from now on.
There is at one point a story that is not only exciting that it is the first King Arthur story that we know of today, but also boring at the same time, because a lot of that story is just people listing names, abilities and quests. The biggest list is more than 200 names, and it's not the only list in this story.
so to reiterate, love that I have read it, but it will be a reference book from now on.
May 18, 2017
Scholarship-wise, this translation is indispensable. But while I appreciate the detailed footnotes, I admit that I preferred the linguistic peculiarities of the old Lady Charlotte Guest.
June 15, 2014
Davies does an excellent job with the source material: the notes are exhaustive, informative, fascinating, and help to flesh out a picture of early Medieval Welsh culture.
That said, The Mabinogion is just odd. The tales are disjointed, dream-like in their logic, proceeding and stopping randomly, with little apparent moral, plot, or point. If you've picked up The Mabinogion expecting to indulge in the source material of classic Arthurian legend, expect the strange or be prepared to be disappointed.
An audiobook version may have helped: one stumbles over the Welsh names, and as these are clearly tales from an oral tradition, hearing them sounded out would add considerably to the richness.
That said, The Mabinogion is just odd. The tales are disjointed, dream-like in their logic, proceeding and stopping randomly, with little apparent moral, plot, or point. If you've picked up The Mabinogion expecting to indulge in the source material of classic Arthurian legend, expect the strange or be prepared to be disappointed.
An audiobook version may have helped: one stumbles over the Welsh names, and as these are clearly tales from an oral tradition, hearing them sounded out would add considerably to the richness.
September 17, 2015
Sioned Davies does a great job here. There is a certain bias to her translation, as she is a proponent of the tales' oral storytelling nature, but it's a bias I agree with. I particularly like her decision not to name the branches of the Mabinogi and not to include English translations of names in the main text, but rather as end notes. And of course all the tales are great fun! Also, I believe this is the most up to date translation and it was recommended to me as one of the best.
July 29, 2013
Sioned Davies' new English translation of what is popularly knows as The Mabinogion, is a classic collection of Welsh myths and legends originally found in medieval manuscripts. This collection consists of eleven stories featuring Kings, knights, magic, shape-shifting, giants, talking animals, gods and goddesses.
September 14, 2015
For me a very tough read, but I liked it so why not three stars? Well I really liked it from the standpoint of when it was told/written. You don't find many stories like this one. Not recommended for the casual reader.
January 18, 2014
I enjoyed this version of the Mabinogion and its informative introduction.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews