Enchanted Wales: Myth and Magic in Welsh Storytelling

by Miranda Aldhouse-Green

Delve into the ancient roots of Welsh mythology, exploring sculptures, carvings, and artifacts that were made at least a thousand years before evidence of them was written down.

The magical world of Welsh mythology deserves to be better known outside its homeland. With its cast of heroes and tricksters, animals that can talk and change shape, and magicians and witches who can bring disaster or triumph to the people in their paths, Enchanted Wales brings the vibrant worlds of Welsh mythology to a wider audience and explores both their physical and ethereal origins. Voyage through the key stories of Welsh literature, exploring not just their medieval texts but also their ancient roots, which can be glimpsed in sculptures, carvings, and other artifacts from at least a thousand years earlier. A skillful storyteller, Miranda Aldhouse-Green, guides readers through this weird, wonderful, and Narnia-like world of dreams. Tales of witches, magicians, heroes, and villains are more than just epic entertainment, as they challenge readers to explore the human questions of life and death, war and peace, and good and evil.

Genres: Nonfiction, Mythology, History, Folklore

168 pages, Hardcover

First published October 5, 2023

About the author

Miranda Green was born in London and educated at Greycoat Hospital, Westminster. She took an Honours degree at University College, Cardiff and an M. Litt. at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. She gained a research scholarship at the Open University and was awarded a doctorate in 1981 for her thesis on Romano-Celtic sun-symbolism. She has received research awards from the Society of Antiquities of London and from the British Academy, and was awarded the Leverhulme Research Fellowship at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. After holding posts at Worthing and Peterborough Museums, she took up posts as Tutor in Roman Studies and full-time administrator at the Open University in Wales.

Until recently professor of archaeology at Newport University, Miranda's teaching experience ranges from leading undergraduate courses on Roman Britain and Iron Age Europe to managing and contributing to Newport's MA in Celto-Roman Studies. She has supervised more than twenty PhD and MPhil students to successful completion.

Miranda Aldhouse-Green is Tutor for the MA Archaeology programme, and is module leader for three of the MA skills modules (Research Methods, Writing Archaeology/Writing the Past and Speaking Archaeology). She lectures on Early Celtic Studies and contributes to the third-year undergraduate Theory course.

External responsibilities include membership of the Ancient Monuments Advisory Board for Wales, presidency of the Prehistoric Society (2004-6) and membership of the management board of the University of Wales Press.

Reviews

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this on the train back from Swansea. It was quite disappointing. The book focused almost entirely on The Four Branches of the Mabinogi. Rather than any Welsh folklore. All the examples were taken from within those stories. There seemed to be some confusion between legends and mythology. There was no examination of the time or place or how those legends came to be. There was a really strange diversion where she seemed to think that because people were cursed and transformed into animals, this meant there was a shamanistic religion at play. Which is not what shamanism is about at all. It is ok if you are looking for central themes in the Mabinogion, but if you are wanting anything deeper then not so much.

[Abigail Grace-O'Driscoll · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book much too repetitive and held too narrow a scope considering the chapter and word count. It only really covers the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, which is a shame as there is so much more to explore in our Welsh mythos. As I progressed through each chapter it became a drag as they all followed the same structure of working their way through the Four Branches under a slightly different lens, which didn't add much to what had already been said. It was like 5 different essays were written and they couldn't decide which to submit, so they bundled them all together.

This led to the same points and story beats being reiterated throughout the book, and I believe it would have benefited from a different structure. Perhaps one chapter per Branch which would then delve into each theme and reference back to what had been previously discussed to compare and contrast.

I feel like the book could have been written more clearly and concisely. I admit I could have a more robust vocabulary, however I was increasingly referring to my ereader dictionary as the book progressed. There were several times I encountered words I was either unfamiliar with or felt the context was entirely wrong. And instead of feeling like this was an opportunity for learning, it instead felt like a poor cover for the repetitive nature of the analysis. As if the author was aware of how much they were retreading the same ground, so turned to the thesaurus to pluck the most academic, uncommon word to shake things up. I'm sorry, but who uses 'sinistrality' and 'calumniate' anymore?

[Jazzy Lemon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't a book of Welsh tales but rather a descriptive one with examples not just from Wales, but also from Tolkien and Irish folklore. 3.5 stars.

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is far narrower in scope than the title suggests, concentrating only on the four branches and some of the other stories of the Mabinogion. While this does provide the reader with a good overview of the stories in the Mab, it also results in lots of repetition across the book. I'm not convinced the decision to break it down into thematic chapters was for the best, as it contributes to the repetition and rehashing of statements.

The book also suffers from an inexplicable layout decision of positioning pull-out boxes of text in the middle of paragraphs, even often in the middle of sentences. This made for an incredibly frustrating reading experience, despite these boxes containing interesting facts about archeological finds.

That said, the themes the author discussed in the book are interesting and while I didn't like the layout choice, I found the info in the pull-out boxes particularly insightful. Some of the later chapters are highlights, particularly the chapter 'Goddesses, Witches and Shamed Women'. I must mention that the (thankfully brief) inclusion of Queen Elizabeth II's funeral at the end of the book felt entirely out of place and while the author attempted to link it to the chapter's theme, this felt really contrived and shoehorned in.

[Rhianwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this, although I would say the other reviewers have a point in that the subject matter is very firmly parts of the Mabinogion and not Welsh myths in general (probably more of a book title problem than a subject problem I think).

Very accessible and engagingly written, and not obscurely academical as some of these books are. A touch repetitive towards the end, but that is useful if you aren’t reading it in one go.

Read if you want to have a better understanding of some of the main tales in the Mabinogion

Don’t read if you want an overview of all Welsh myths

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written break down of the four branches of the Mabinogi. Like some of the others who’ve left a review, slightly disappointed it just covered the Mab as I’d have really like to have heard about folklore in addition to this. Overall though, I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend to anyone wanting to a comprehensive summary of the four branches of the Mab.

[Kyle Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

at first i thought this book would be a great start into the mythology of my home country but quickly realised that the scope of this book was entirely focused on the same four tales regurgitated over and over without any new insight. overall this book felt like a lecture that lacked substance and was fighting to reach a word count.

[A.M. Swink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable and readable, if a bit repetitive at times, with excellent analysis of the myths from several unique angles and supplemental discussion of archaeological evidence that aligns with the Welsh mythology. This book also includes a phonetic pronunciation guide, which I very much appreciated!

[reqbat · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the layout of this book to be one of the main downfalls—also way too much disconnection (but also repetition??) for my brain. Too many stories *not* about Welsh lore but wedged in to compare and contrast in weird ways? Idk, this just wasn’t for me at all.

[Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enchanted Wales is an exploration of Welsh mythology, focusing on the Mabinogion. Looking at other reviews, I can understand the frustration with the narrow scope, but I think having attended a talk by the author about this book, I was prepared going in with an understanding of the book’s focus. A wider scope would have been interesting, but I think that’s more a marketing/title problem than an issue with the book or author.

I’ll also admit that when I recently read the Mabinogion, I feel like I tackled it on ‘hard mode’. It was not the first time I’ve attempted to read it, but rather than going for a more modern translation, I listened to the audio version of a translation by Lady Charlotte Guest. Where I found Enchanted Wales to be particularly useful was the way it works almost as a companion to the branches of the Mabinogion. You don’t have to have read it to get into Enchanted Wales, but it does a great job of putting these stories into context.

Enchanted Wales explores these stories and draws out the similar themes and links between them. In the first part, Aldhouse-Green explains the narratives the rest of the book focuses on, drawing particular attention to the elements that were likely part of the oral storytelling tradition. She then breaks down the stories by theme, examining what they can tell us about the mythical world of the Celts, and how the stories relate to the way people lived at the time. It’s intriguing, if, at times, a bit dry.

It does get repetitive, which is partly why it took me so long to read, and I think there’s a risk in Aldhouse-Green’s particular approach of reading a bit more into certain elements than there might be, and even contributing a touch to this kind of ‘fantasy’ view of Wales that has become unfortunately prevalent over the last few years. There’s mentions of ‘shamans’, especially towards the end of the book, and it felt like a word that didn’t quite fit.

However, these were really minor things I picked up while reading, and take it all with a grain of salt, as the author is much more of an expert in these things than I am. What I think is worth stressing is the way Aldhouse-Green made me feel more connected to the branches of the Mabinogion than I had after reading them. Like I said, it works almost like a companion, and it simplifies these stories while adding layers to them through the way Aldhouse-Green highlights themes and motifs within these tales to explore what it may say about the people who originally told them, or those who wrote them down. She also draws the links between Welsh and Irish mythology, while explaining the differences, and drawing attention to the why.

I think this book nicely does what it sets out to do, and unless you’re overly familiar with the Mabinogion to the point you can recite it off-heart, there’s plenty to be gained by diving into it a little deeper through Enchanted Wales.

[Julie Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and well-written account of myth and magic in Wales ancient and modern.

[sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nekako lose rasporedjen sadrzaj, previse ai bas previse ponavljanja