The Mabinogion

by Unknown, Charlotte Guest (Translator)

This important collection of tales draws upon pre-Christian Celtic mythology, historical accounts and international folk tale motifs - the product of a highly-developed mediaeval Welsh narrative tradition, both oral and written.

Genres: Classics, Mythology, Fiction, Fantasy, Medieval, Arthurian, Folklore

504 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1400

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Unknown" when the author or editor (as applicable) is not known and cannot be discovered. If at all possible, list at least one actual author or editor for a book instead of using "Unknown".

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Reviews

[Mary Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm splitting the difference between my love of the medieval collection (i.e. Y Mabinogi and other Welsh tales) and Lady Charlotte Guest's sometimes-bowdlerized, romanticized, nineteenth-century (and I mean that in the worst possible way) translation (which would garner at best two stars, because I'm feeling generous). The real advantage of this book is if you're interested in the history of how the Mabinogion has been treated in the English language; otherwise, you should decide if you want

a.) a literal translation: in that case, go with the Jones and Jones translation of the 1950s (IIRC), offered by Everyman

b.) a readable translation that also tries to give the flavor of the medieval original: in that case, go with Sioned Davies' translation from 2006.

c.) a translation that focuses on the pre-Christian mythology of the non-Romance tales: in that case, go with the Patrick Ford translation from the 1970s. The advantage of Ford's translation is its inclusion of the earliest version of "The Story of Taliesin"; the disadvantage is it doesn't include the Three Romances ("Peredur", "Owain", and "Gereint").

d.) a translation that focuses on the environment of Wales: the Bollard translation is great for this.

[Jan-Maat]

The Mabinogion is a collection of Welsh stories preserved in manuscripts from the fourteenth century, but it's assumed that the stories are older than that, they have been translated into English since the eighteenth century and this collection is in that tradition.

The odd thing about collections like this is the need to drop any idea of an original version of the stories. Stories are told and changed, always in flux until they are caught between the pages of a book. Then a version is set in ink, the way that maybe one person told them in one place and at one time. For instance some of the stories have digressions giving spurious reasons for the names of places. It is easy to imagine a storyteller changing those as they went from place to place to set their heroes in the immediate local landscape.

Some of the stories in this collection lead into, or are on the other fringes of, the Arthurian tradition, others have pagan echoes even while God and his mother are frequently evoked. Evocative and frequently strange.

[7jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

"On the bank of the river he saw a tall tree: from roots to crown one half was aflame and the other green with leaves."

Here is 11 Welsh stories with myth, folklore and history shining through. In a way, they are escapist stories, but real history grounds them. They were mostly written down from oral stories (from storytelling bards) around 13th century, and happen in the forest and valleys of Wales, and the shadowy otherworld connected to it. Each story has its own introduction; there is also a writing on the pronunciation of certain words, plus a map of Wales. The title of the book was established only around 1849, but is actually quite suitable (and short)

People with interest in Arthurian legends will find some familiar stories here, especially towards the end. I didn't find it quite clear if they were influenced by the French collection of stories of Arthur, or the other way around. Most of the stories have some patchwork in making each a story, but really they are easy to follow, though some inconsistencies exist. In my own reading experience, only "Peredur Son Of Evrawg" was clangingly clearly taped-together, and its ending wasn't quite smooth.
The stories have had newer stuff (and values) multilayered over the original, French appearing over Celtic, but some common themes still shine through. Some characters, who appear briefly or in minor character might have had bigger roles and their own stories in the past. Some historical people appear, sometimes under Welsh-name versions.

The stories vary in length. There are some bizarre-amusing etc. elements that stand out, like a Loki-like character, other dimensions of the same place just with no people, vanishing fortresses, people taking mice-forms, guarding virginity by keeping your feet in the maiden's lap, two men as an animal couple (and not just one kind of animal!), a dragon in Oxford, people like a person who
"were he buried seven fathoms in the earth he would hear an ant stirring from its bed in the morning fifty miles away"
donkeys from Greece, having a lion as a friend, a woman described in a way Snow White is usually described - but in this case the cheeks have the red, not the lips - and guaranteed luck in winning against other knights, and plenty of saving maids ::)

Sometimes the repetition in the story was a little boring, but I've read worse. The one story with a pages-long list of companions accompanying one person was bizarre, but sometimes having amusing comments like that ant-quote above.

A strange experience, reading this book. Requiring some patience, but the introduction was well done, and smoothed the experience, improving it and explaning pretty well. A good reading experience with some through-provoking, funny details.

[Nathanimal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like mythological and I like medieval but this book is much more than that. There’s a dreaminess to these tales I find so surprising, seductive, and mysterious. They intoxicate me with dream and weird my imagination in wonderful ways.

That said, it’s a very uneven book. The first four “branches” are really where the sauce is. The tales that follow, mostly chivalric Arthurian adventures, can be dry (though interesting for predating any round tables or swanky grails). I’ll make an exception for the tale of Cuhlwch whose mad crush on Olwen leads uncle Arthur into an epically misguided hunt for a divine boar, which, for some reason, has a comb and a razor and a pair of sheers all caught in the tuft of hair between its ears. The hunt is such an ordeal it kills off nearly every last Briton (which is a shame since the author went to such great lengths to name all of them [phew!]). But Cuhlwch gets the girl in the end, so . . . alls well that ends well?

Anyway. Here’s a list of some of my favorite dream imagery from the book, mostly from the four branches:

- You’re hunting alone in the forest and encounter a stag being chased by brilliant white hounds with blood-red ears. Seeing no one around, you chase the hounds off and let your own dogs feed on the kill. But out of the forest appears the king of the Otherworld who says the stag was his and claims offense. The only way make amends, he says, will be to trade places with him for a year—he will become you and you will become him.

- On the mounting block at the entrance of the castle you meet a woman with beautiful long hair. As you tie up your horse she tells you that to fulfill her punishment she must confess to you all her sins as she carries you up to the royal court on her back.

- There emerges from the lake a giant, hideous-looking man with a cauldron humped on his back. After him emerges his wife who is twice as big and twice as hideous-looking. Someone once tried to kill them in a fire but failed.

- The cauldron has a special power. Leave your dead in it overnight and in the morning they will have returned to life but with one defect: they will have lost the ability to speak.

- The king is enormous. Sometimes he’s too big to fit in his hall, at other times he’s so big he can wade right across the Irish Sea with his navy in his wake. When mortally injured in battle, he tells his men to cut his head from his body and carry it back home. This turns into a long, difficult quest where the men are seduced into magic castles and waste many years at a time in hypnotic trances. But the whole time the head of their king remains alive and the best of company.

- The only way the hero can be killed, he says, is if he’s standing with one foot on the edge of the bath with his other foot on the back of a goat and someone chucks a spear at him. When such a billygoat bathtub* is eventually contrived and the spear strikes him, he dies by transforming into a decaying eagle and flying up into a tree. Every time the eagle ruffles its feathers, rotting eagle meat falls to the ground.

- To punish the two criminals for raping the virgin who cradled the king’s feet in court, the king transformed them into deer, male and female, who were forced by their animal natures to mate with each other. And so after a year they had a fawn, which the king made human and baptized. And then the two were transformed into wild pigs, male and female, and they had a piglet who the king made human and baptized. And the year after that they were transformed into wolves, m & f, and had a cub, who the king made human and baptized. And after three years of that the king transformed them back into their human selves and commanded them to go have a bath.

- Often there are deafening noises that come roaring out of nowhere and seem to cue some intrusion from the Otherworld. It’s not uncommon after such a noise to find the landscape completely devoid of people or to suddenly find oneself standing in front of a vast army of horses and men with banners whipping in the wind.

* Because of this story my spouse and I have begun calling any precarious, death-inducing contraption a “billygoat bathtub.” We invite you to begin using this expression.

[nastya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not being a Brit, I stumbled upon this collection quite randomly. Never heard of it before, but, they turned out to be the earliest prose stories of Britain. Collection itself felt arbitrary, not very cohesive, maybe because Lady Charlotte Guest just decided it is, the writing itself has little in common, only that the stories are quite old and written in Welsh, that's all.

So it's no wonder my enjoyment varied quite a lot. My least favorite were definitely Arthurian stories and romances. They are just so boring repetitive, every story is about a knight on a quest finding a castle, a beautiful maiden he falls in love with, a knight, often in black, he needs to fight to the death, then moving to another location and repeating everything again.

My favorite stories were The Four Branches of the Mabinogi, especially the fourth one, maybe because of my love for Ovid's The Metamorphoses.

In it people are transformed into eagles, owls, maidens are created from flowers, but my favorite one must be when Math punished brothers Gwydion son of Dôn and Gilfaethwy son of Dôn for raping the virgin Goewin by transforming them first into hind and stag for the year, then into wild boar and a wild sow, and finally into a wolf and she-wolf and making them procreate with each other. To be fair, Math fostered all resulting children.

P.S. I read the recent translation by Sioned Davies and it was very readable and engrossing.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm reading the Mabinogion after a childhood spent reading books that were based on these Welsh myths: The Chronicles of Prydain, The Dark is Rising, The Owl Service... I recall that those retellings/recyclings were a bit more user-friendly, but what I love about mythology is the concentrated nature of it. These are oral traditions boiled down to their essence--the versions finally set to paper are meant to communicate what was really important to someone nearly 1000 years ago, from stories that are much, much older. I don't know what amazes me more: that the stories seem as old as the hills, or that a good translator can easily make them comprehensible today, with some touches of the original wit and charm left intact.

[Julian Worker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where does the title 'Mabinogion' come from? Its use for this collection of tales dates from the 19th Century when Lady Charlotte Guest's version of these 11 myths appeared in book form.

However, Mabinogion is not even a Welsh word. Mabinogi is a Welsh word, but in these texts only appears in the first four of these stories. The real title should be 'The Mabinogi and Other Early Welsh Tales'.

I thought I'd clear that up as I've always wondered where the title came from.

These stories were not written or even created by a single author. They evolved over centuries passed down from storyteller to storyteller through the ages and so were altered, distorted, and expanded.

The stories drew on folklore, myths, and some history from Wales and other parts of Britain of the time just after the Romans left. Add in magic, dreams, and other worldliness and you have a heady mix of romance, violence, and manners.

The three stories that end the collection are similar to Arthurian legends that people may be familiar with. Heroic knights seeing off those who oppose them in huge numbers whilst being admired for their exploits.

These stories are easy to read, but must have been difficult to pass down accurately in oral form from generation to generation. I marvel at how any storyteller reciting these stories to their listeners could remember all the names in some of the stories, especially in "How Culhwch Won Olwen" when Culhwch invokes Olwen to most of the knights in Arthur's company.

[Diana Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

This work was rather different from Norse Mythology or German Mythology that I've recently read. This is attributed to Wales or Celtic mythology and features 11 tales taking place during the Medieval era. It features plenty of knights and of course Arthur is mentioned in the tales. This book was mentioned in the book by Day, The Encyclopedia of Tolkien's Middle Earth and since I am reading Tolkien and the different works that mention him or in some way relates to him I added it to my list of items to read. I thought it was interesting, it is dated and sometimes I might laugh when to someone reading it in their era it might not be funny but read more as a horror story.

[Leo]

Dnfed it at 20% not going to count it at my monthly or yearly reads. I might come back to this at one point but I'm not in the right headspace for the way the text is. Struggled getting anything out of it.

[Theo Logos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange and otherworldly, the Four Branches of the Mabinogi are unquestionably the jewels of this collection of medieval Welsh mythology and folklore. In volume they make up only a little over a third of the book, but trust me — this is what you are here for.

In the Mabinogi, the veil between the world of men and the otherworlds of the gods is thin. Even the distinction between heroes and gods is not always easy to distinguish. They live in close proximity, crossing the veil between worlds almost as readily as any other boundary line. In the First Branch, the hero Pwyll, prince of Dyfed easily crosses that boundary, encountering Arawn, Lord of Annwn (the Otherworld) and switches places with him for a year and a day to render him a service. In the Second Branch, Brân the Blessed, King of Britain, is so large he cannot fit in a house or onto a ship, and wades across the sea when he goes to war with the King of Ireland. Magical cauldrons bring dead warriors back to life to fight again, metamorphosis of all kinds abound, severed head continue to converse with their comrades over years long feast, beautiful maidens are constructed from flowers — all these strange and wondrous magics and more weave through the Mabinogi. Here, the mundane is magical and visa versa.

After the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, most of the rest of the tales are part of the Arthur cycle, some of the earliest contributions to The Matter of Britain. These stories aren’t bad as such, but become tediously repetitive after a while — another damsel rescued, another monster or arrogant knight defeated, another nearly invulnerable hero. They have a certain charm, but lack the mystical, otherworldly vitality of the Mabinogi.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read several versions of The Mabinogion, but would love to track down this edition. Illustrations by Alan Lee: what could be better? He names certain of his influences as Arthur Rackham, Edward Dulac, and the Pre-Raphaelites, on his 'author' page here.

[Mark Adderley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent translation of the Mabinogion. Unlike Gantz, Davies uses familiar spellings of names, which I like; unlike Jones and Jones, she divides dialogue up into paragraphs--a conversation can be pretty confusing when it's printed as a single paragraph. Above all, though, Davies translates for oral performance--they're wonderful stories to read aloud. Occasionally, when the action is getting intense, Davies will switch to the present tense, as the Welsh originals do. It makes the narrative more direct.

The tales themselves are wonderful. It's a blend of Welsh legend, mythology, and Arthurian romance.

Welsh names can be hard to pronounce, but Davies provides an excellent pronunciation guide.

[Jason Koivu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might be my favorite mythology, book of folklore, pantheon, etc. The Welsh are crazy in the best way possible! These stories are mad and I love them!

[J.C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Penguin Classic translated by Jeffrey Gantz (not the same illustration as pictured here) is the third translation of The Mabinogion I have read, and it’s by far the best. The title is misleading, stemming from Lady Charlotte Guest’s use of it in her nineteenth century translation, but it’s now ”established and convenient”. In his introduction Gantz explains the misuse in detail.

The collection comprises eleven medieval Welsh folk tales, or, as I think of them, fragments, transcribed orally down the centuries and with consequent distortion. It must be that the significance of many of the details has been lost, details, and repetition of detail, that would have been expected and eagerly listened for as the tales were recited. Those clearest to understand are the three final tales, which are Arthurian, and are different versions of the tales in Chrétien de Troyes, Yvain, Perceval, and Erec and Enide, the last of which I have reviewed separately on GR. The Welsh equivalents of the heroes' names are Owein, Peredur and Geraint. “Peredur” is likened by Jeffrey Gantz to “Pryderi” in an earlier Welsh tale in the same volume, forming part of the first ‘branch’ of the tales. There are four branches, from South Wales, North Wales, tales from broader sources, and Arthurian. There are connections to and counterparts with early Irish tales, and even, in The Dream of Maxen, with Rome. The geography of the tales is fluid, which again reflects the borrowed or common elements.

Of course, there is magic and mystery, and later, with the Arthurian tales, chivalry. Jeffrey Gantz regrets that “as a repository of myth and history The Mabinogion is highly corrupt” but celebrates that “the tales preserve, albeit in garbled form, much of the primitive, fantastic, fascinating world of Celtic myth, and they exemplify the heroic, romantic, idealistic world of Celtic literature. If the beginnings of The Mabinogion remain a mystery, its continued appeal does not.”

This is what Gantz chooses, from Peredur, to tempt us with as he opens his introduction:

“On the bank of the river he saw a tall tree: from roots to crown one half was aflame and the other green with leaves”. . . .

“the green leaves symbolizing the rich and concrete beauty of the mortal world, the flames symbolizing the flickering shadowy uncertainty of the otherworld, and the whole emblematic of the tension and mystery which characterise all forms of Celtic art.”

It is not only this introduction, but Gantz’s brief explanations prefacing each story, that bring to life the tales and illuminate the actions of the characters, which are far from being plot-driven. In Math, Son of Mathonwy, Lleu is given for wife Blodeuedd, a girl conjured up from flowers. Her betrayal of her husband, whom she has been forced to marry, brings this comment from Gantz:

“The love of Blodeuedd (from blodeu, ‘flowers’) blooms and fades and has not the constancy of mortal feeling”.

You’re probably picking up that Jeffrey Gantz’s notes interested me more than the tales themselves, which I had already read, of course, but without much understanding. For me they were important because they are all we have of early Welsh literature. But coming to such a broad view of the interconnection of Irish, Welsh, Cornish, Breton and French medieval tales was something of a revelation for me as they reflect a society where the travelling story-tellers enabled a common foundation of belief and values, as well as facilitating the spread of trade, commerce and the arts, all of which flourished despite successive invasions of foreign peoples. Thus it is that the Celtic languages and culture have survived into the twenty-first century despite the dominance of English (I know, the language in which I am writing this review!). England does feature in The Mabinogion – Peredur, for instance, is a son of Earl Evrawg (York, from the Latin Eboracum) - and, in Branwen Daughter of Llŷr, even London comes into the story. Scotland would have come under “Northern Britain”, which it did until recent times. (My father had a brass whisky tumbler he had picked up in London, which had “Ben Nevis, Northern Britain” inscribed on it). But, to quote again from the introduction,

“Set largely within the British Isles, the tales (nonetheless) create a dream-like atmosphere by telescoping Saxon- and Norman-dominated present into the misty Celtic past of has been and never was.”

But still real to Celts, dream or not? Is not a dream real, in so far as it creates a myth that partakes of reality, that becomes reality? Is this not the true nature of the Celt, and thus the fascination of these mabinogi?

[Werner]

This isn't really a review, just a short note as why I quit reading this book without finishing it. It was selected as a group read in a classics group I belong to here on Goodreads, and I was actually the person who nominated it. At that time, I was under the mistaken impression that it was an original source for the content of pre-Christian Celtic mythology, which I'm interested in reading up on as background for a read, someday, of Lloyd Alexander's The Prydain Chronicles. I quickly learned that that's not the case; the stories it collects, though they use older mythology and folklore as a grab-bag for plot elements, is essentially a medieval version of imaginative literary fantasy fiction in pseudo-historical garb (it's more like Malory's Morte d'Arthur than, say, The Prose Edda).

Even after discovering this, I persisted in the read for some 44 pages. But besides not being what I expected, it's not even, in my estimation, very good reading. The stories are far-fetched to the point of being surreal (and generally speaking, I dislike surrealism!), with deus ex machina magic operating as a literary loose cannon with no rhyme or reason. It's impossible to identify with or care very much about the characters, because they're undeveloped stick figures with usually unpronounceable names who have no motivations for their often bizarre and incomprehensible actions (which are sometimes abhorrent, like child murder and animal mutilations). We have plots, in a sense, in that sequences of weird events happen, and come to some sort of resolution; but (at least as far as I read), there are no dynamic character arcs and no story arcs that provide any events of meaningful significance that the reader might have any cause to care about. The heaping up of pointless far-out elements just bored me rather than excited me, and I soon realized that I wasn't looking forward to my reading sessions AT ALL; so it was definitely time to bail!

[Велислав Върбанов · Rating 4 out of 5]

Много хубав сборник с интересни и вълнуващи легенди!

[Nicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Supervisor wanted me to use a different translation to my old one (the Everyman 1993 edition). So I had to get this one. It's supposed to be more accurate -- I don't know about that, but it does seem a bit more immediate and colourful than the old Everyman edition. The little I know suggests it is a good translation, and it's certainly readable, and has a full complement of explanatory notes, introduction, etc, which is more than I can say for the Everyman edition. Slightly odd order of tales, not sure what she's organising them by -- certainly not date, as Culhwch and Olwen is almost the last.

As for the tales, they are always a thing of unchanging delight, for me. Especially nice to reread them after reading Seren's New Stories from the Mabinogion series.

[Clif Hostetler · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Mabinogion is a collection of medieval Welsh tales, thought to have been compiled between the 12th and 13th centuries. These stories are among the oldest prose literature of Britain and contain a blend of Celtic mythology, folklore, and Arthurian legend. Composed originally in Middle Welsh, The Mabinogion encompasses eleven tales that fall into four main branches and other stories, each unique but often linked through themes of heroism, magic, and transformation.

The "Four Branches of the Mabinogi" – Pwyll, Branwen, Manawydan, and Math – are the core tales, exploring the lives, trials, and mystical adventures of Welsh princes and gods. These stories include figures from Welsh mythology including Pwyll, Lord of Dyfed, and the magical hero Pryderi facing challenges that bridge the worlds of the living and the supernatural.

In addition to the core branches, The Mabinogion includes stories like The Dream of Macsen Wledig, Culhwch and Olwen, and The Lady of the Fountain, which incorporate otherworldly quests, romance, and heroic deeds. Notably, several tales contain early references to King Arthur and his knights. It's my understanding that the version of King Arthur presented in The Mabinogion probably predates the version by Geoffrey of Monmouth.

I respect this collection of stories for its antiquity, but I did not particularly enjoy listening to the audio of the text. Therefore I gave it two stars.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a group of 12 Welsh legends that feature King Arthur along with other kings. They are stories passed down orally and have mnemonic devices imbedded in them to aide in the telling so they sometimes sound odd to our modern ears. There is so much here that appears in current day literature. There are magical creatures and wells and rocks and carpets, shape shifting, giants, fierce warriors, fair maidens, unbelievably delicious food, and chesslike games, etc. everything that appears in modern day fairy stories and science fiction. The knights are always handsome, unless they're the bad knights and then of course they're hideous, the women are each more beautiful than the next. Decisions made quickly often have far reaching implications. There is a sense of immediacy. Anyone could die at any time or make a life long alliance. Magic, War, Love, that's what these stories are made of.

I alternated between this new translation of Davies and Charlotte Guest's Victorian one and enjoyed both however Davies gives a wealth of background information that I found very helpful.

[Eddie Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully curious collection of old Welsh tales. Not exactly literature, not exactly folktales, not exactly mythology. Like folk tales and mythology it’s the expression of a collective mindset, yet it’s also the product of individual (now anonymous) authors elaborating upon or distilling long existent oral tales, more than likely preserved across centuries by highly skilled bards. The introduction refers to them as Wondertales, actually an official subset of Folktales. Sounds wonderful to me.

This collection dates in manuscript from the 14th century, but speculation takes their origins back another 400 years or more. Suffice it to say that these are old stories, with beginnings shrouded in obscurity. They also happen to contain some of the very earliest elaborations of the Arthurian legends.

The style of storytelling is very different from our common present day style. While the language and sentence construction is fairly basic, the narrative threads themselves are very compressed, with less emphasis on the slow rise and fall of dramatic tensions and more simply abrupt happenings and endings. In this regard I found similarities between it and many of the Old Testament tales. It’s as if much more was left up to the reader (or listener), more room given for the play of the receivers’ imaginations, less pre-digested if you will. It took just a little while for me to get accustomed to this, and once I did I was gripped and transported to another time, another mindset; a mindset shrouded in obscurity but definitely still vibrantly alive; a mindset where journeys to and from the Otherworld, talking owls, and ferocious giants come as naturally as meat and drink and a maiden's pale thigh.

There is much debate and speculation about who “owns the rights” to the Arthurian legends. Much of what we know today about them, and HOW we know them, are due to Chretien de Troyes who was writing in the 12th century. From him we got the more courtly and refined Arthurian images expressed in a very literate way, orderly and well-constructed. But (according to many scholars) The Mabinogion predates his works and (according to me and many scholars) presents a set of stories much more robust and rustic, somewhat sketchy and rough-hewn, yet still somehow sophisticated, like a Wildman bedecked with emeralds, much more Grimm than H. C. Andersen.

[Judith Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sioned Davies translated this version of The Mabinogion, published in hardback by the Oxford University Press, and wrote its introduction. She is Chair of Welsh at Cardiff University.

I have a clipping from the Guardian from February 2007 tucked into my copy - a review by the estimable Kevin Cr0ssley-Holland, who 'welcomes an illuminating and relaxed translation of the Mabinogion that revives the zest and drama of the original spoken tales'. He concludes:

"The Mabinogion are the cornerstone of medieval Welsh literature, They are gloriously inventive, highly dramatic, sometimes ferocious, sometimes lyrical, often witty, and ultimately profound in their understanding and revelation of human nature. In my estimate, Sioned Davies has done them and her modern readers proud. Hers is not the last word -but that is the lot of all translators, even the most vaunted ones."

As a Welsh learner, I'd love to read the tales in their original Welsh one day!

[Elentarri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely collection of medieval Welsh and Arthurian tales translated by Sioned Davis. The tales are a mix of legend, mythology, magic, folktale, fairytale, romance, Welsh tradition and a sprinkling of history. As with most collection, some tales appealed to me more than others.

The Mabinogion is the collective label now given to eleven medieval Welsh tales found mainly in two manuscripts: the White Book of Rhydderch (Llyfyr Gwyn Rhydderch) dated 1350s; and the Red Book of Hergest (Llyfyr Coch o Hergest), dated between 1382 and c. 1410. Most scholars believe that all but the three "romances" are based on much early mythology. These tales were all originally independent stories, written by different (unknown) people, and were only collated into an autonomous group in the 19th century by Lady Charlotte Guest, who translated the Welsh texts into English.

The Four Branches of the Mabinogi have a more mythological flavour and may once have chronicled the life of the hero Pryderi ap Pwyll, since he is present in all four currently known branches, but is only a dominant character in the first and third branches. The first branch tells the story of how a Prince of Dyfed takes the place of the King of the Underworld; the second tells how the unjust treatment of a queen starts a war in Ireland; the third branch involves the story of overcoming an enchanter and the rescue of a mother and child; while the fourth branch tells the story of Math the Lord of Gwynedd who ends up turning his nephews into beasts. Some of the events described in the four branches are amusing.

Two stories deal with early British history and a similar to the episodes from Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain. These stories provide an interesting (and in parts an amusing) interpretation of British history with a bit of folktale flavour.

The titular protagonist in 'The Dream of Emperor Maxum' refers to the Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus, who was proclaimed emperor in Britannia and Gaul, invaded Italy (and according to the tale taking all the soldiers in Britannia with him), and was defeated by Theodosius I. To many scholars his death marked the end of direct imperial presence in Northern Gaul and Britannia. This is something of a romance story merged with local pseudo-history.

According to tradition, the Lludd in the tale of 'Lludd and Llefelys' was king of Britain shortly before the invasion of Julius Caesar. Lludd overcomes three plagues that threaten the land with the help of his brother Llefelys, the king of France. The three plagues described in the tale are mythological in nature (the Coraniaid, a demonic people who can hear everything; a terrible scream that is heard every May Eve that terrifies the people; and the continual disappearance of the provisions of the king's court) but scholars have viewed these story plagues as references to the historical invaders who threatened the Island of Britain (i.e. the Romans, Picts and Saxons). The tale of 'Lludd and Llefelys' has some basic similarities to the Irish story Cath Magh Turedh, suggesting that both the Irish and Welsh tales descend from an older, common story. This tale is fairly short but also rather entertaining. (Helpful advice: if you want to get rid of the pesky demon interfering with your conversation horn, wash the horn our with wine).

The remaining tales all involve King Arthur, of legendary fame, in some manner. The Lady of the Well; Peredur son of Efrog/York; and Geraint son of Erbin are called the Three Welsh Romances (Y Tair Rhamant) as they appear to be Welsh-language versions of Arthurian tales that also appear in the work of Chrétien de Troyes (Yvain, Perceval and Eric et Enid). The Welsh stories are not direct translations and include material not found in Chrétien's work. It has been assumed by scholars that both versions have been derive from a shared original. The Arthurian tales tend to be fairly similar with knights fighting each other and rescuing damsels in distress. I am, however, surprised Peredur's sword-arm didn't fall off from exhaustion, he fights so very many knights; or that belligerent Sir Cai has managed to survive this long: his default setting seems to be to insult and assault everyone he comes across.

'How Culhweh Won Olwen' is the longest of the surviving Welsh prose tales, and doesn't seem to have any Arthurian parallels in continental literature. This tale reminded me of Tolkien's tale of Beren and Lúthien, not to mention various fairy- and folk-tales that involve bridal quests, just with the added bonus of King Arthur and his knights. Ysbaddaden Bencawr, the Giant, is a very demanding prospective father in law! There are 40 tasks Culhweh has to accomplish before he gets the maiden. One of which involves King Arthur chasing an enchanted boar to retrieve the comb, pair of scissors, and razor carried between the boar's ears. Talk about being obsessed with hair styling!

'Rhonabwy's Dream' is set during the reign of Madog ap Maredudd, prince of Powys (died 1160). The titular character is a retainer of Madog. This tale describes the dream vision experienced by Rhonabwy, in which he visits the time of King Arthur. I wonder if this is the first recorded time travel story? This is a very strange story - Arthur seems to be more interested in the board game of gwyddbwyll, than the Saxons assembled at Mount Badon to fight him.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE: http://mabinogion.info/index.html

[Zala · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of four mabinogi branches and other tales.

The First Branch of the Mabinogi - The magical elements and the switcheroo with Pwyll and Arawn were quite fun. Rhiannon had some iconic lines, and it also included the birth and younger years of her son, Pryderi.

The Second Branch of the Mabinogi - A bit confusing, but a fun time overall. This one is about Bendigeidfran and the King of Ireland, or alternately, about Branwen and her brothers avenging her (by going to Ireland to mess ish up, and only seven people escape alive on both sides at the end).

The Third Branch of the Mabinogi - Probably my favorite branch. This one starts with Pryderi giving his widowed mom to his pal Manawydan, as you do. Then there's a curse laid on Dyfed that leads to some funny shenanigans, such as our heroes getting so good at a job that everyone in that trade wants to kill them, and Manawydan deciding to hang a mouse.

The Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi - This one's pretty fun after you get past the very disturbing start with Goewin, Gwydion, and Gilfaethwy. The rest is the story of Lleu Llaw Gyffes and his flower wife.

Peredur Son of Efrog - The first of the "three romances." Fun but a bit long. I thought it would end with him marrying the Empress, but it kept going for a bit.

The Dream of the Emperor Maxen - A sort of origin of Britain, and how the Emperor of Rome conquered it after falling for a lady he saw in his dreams.

Lludd and Llefelys - A short and fun one. Of the three plagues, the King of Britain, and the King of France.

The Lady of the Well - Cynon tells a story of his adventures as an overconfident youngster, and then Owain goes on to do the same but succeed. He gets married, but Arthur wants him back after three years. Some more shenanigans ensue. Very goofy.

Geraint son of Erbin - Gwenhwyfar and Geraint sleep in for King Arthur's hunt and have to go behind. They meet a rude dwarf and a knight. Trouble ensues, and eventually Geraint gets a maiden. It's all good until people start to question his manliness, so he goes on an adventure with his maiden and is just incredibly rude to her the whole time for no reason.

How Culhwch Won Olwen - Culhwch is such a nepo baby. This one is just an endless list of names and the most repetitive one so far.

Rhonabwy's Dream - Just this one bwy's dream about Arthur and Owain playing chess, and their men deciding to (quite literally) fight over who's better.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

The contents of this book are:
The Mabinogion “proper” (its four branches, Pwyll, Branwen, Manawydan, and Math), The Dream of Macsen Wledig, Lludd and Llefelys, Culhwch and Olwen, The Dream of Rhonabwy, The Lady of the Fountain, Peredur, and Gereint, Son of Ervin.

I used this collection of Welsh tales to gain key insight into connections with the English language by comparing the names of characters and locations to their English counterparts.
Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed is the first tale collected here. I only took one King Arthur oriented class in college, and we didn’t have to read this one there. All the other instances of Arthurian literature I read on my own time.
I don’t think many people majored in Arthurian studies or German or French to get a better grip on the story. No one has anything to say on them and mentioning one over the other is more than a game of favorites.
This is the book that has Peredur, Son of Efrawg (Efrawg is York, and also Eouerwic, from the Old English Eoforwicceastre), which is the Welsh version of Perceval, the Grail Romance. There’s also Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival, which fleshes out extra detail that the German bard added. Pwyll isn’t mentioned anywhere else in later Arthurian stories. His story is just a starting point for oral stories being written down for the beginnings of the literature tradition. There’s usually a difference between oral and written communication.
Another related book is the Black Book of Carmarthen, which contains poems by Taliesin. As revealed through this text, the types of activities we’re familiar with today were familiar to our ancestors associated with English, but that’s beside the point. There isn’t much confusion about anything these days, but there used to be some misunderstanding over the French-German-English Arthurian standing. However, it’s just that the French Orlando chivalric romances were before the English Arthur adventures.

[hawk · Rating 4 out of 5]

i found this translation one of the more accessible i've tried, which was really welcome. the explanatory notes are really useful and interesting too.
the Mabinogion itself is a classic, important and inspiring collection of Celtic/Welsh tales that encompass history, custom, landscape, language, mythology, magic and more!

[Rissa (rissasreading) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.7 - I'm always hoping and expecting really old myths/lore to be this crazy insane thing with monsters or something really crazy but it's always just knights and marriages lol. This book definitely felt like reading a Tolkien novel however, as this had many elements of the fantasy genre we know today. It definitely felt like something I could've seen Tolkien read. I found this rather slow and dull for my taste but it's fascinating to have the ability to read tales this old nonetheless and I appreciate it for that.

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

How does a person even presume to review a book that has survived 700 years, containing stories that survived close to their current form without anyone writing them down for a further 300 years?

I originally picked up the book because Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain is based on Welsh myth, Mabinogion is _the_ collection of Welsh myth, and is even acknowledged by the author as one of his sources. Who would want to read some of the proto-stories that gave us the Black Cauldron, and Arwan, and Fflewddur Fflam (how can you not love that name), and Taran.

So the question you lazy ones want answered is, "How much did he borrow?" so you don't have to read it yourself. Well, lets see here. Arwan is definitely a character in the Mabinogion (a Greek Hades equivalent with his own Persephone story (Rhiannon)). There is a story involving a cauldron that can bring people back to life (without the capability of speech) and even a vaguely similar destruction myth (living hero inside bursting the cauldron). There are stories about people from Llyr, there is a couple stories of wallets that can always contain more food. If you wanted a quick overview, it is clear that he took parts of the stories and crafted something new that in many cases would fit with the old.

I enjoyed it and will probably read it again some time. It got me wanting to read Le Morte D'Arthur (I have a copy somewhere) and to play Gwyddbwyll

Just to mention, I love love love this edition. It is pocket sized, hard bound with a bound in bookmark ribbon. The paper and font is very readable (as is the translation).

[Mesoscope · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cannot say why I resonate with some cultures and times more than others - why, for example, I love the literature of Sumer but not Egypt. I can say that I am grateful that we have the Mabinogion to puzzle over, to study, and to treasure as an invaluable source of information about the literature and history of the Welsh, even if I do not deeply respond to it on an artistic level to the same degree as, say, The Book of Invasions, with which it was approximately contemporaneous.

Tales of uneven quality fill these pages, and some are more dull than enlivening, choked with a bramble of oral tropes and devices that confound the inner ear, such as formulaic repetitions, very long lists of names, stereotyped dialog, or parades of knights who differ only by superficial attributes.

I had hoped for more signs of the imagination and spirit that were vibrantly on display at certain dazzling moments, such as the appearance of a tree, one half of which was green and growing, while the other half smoldered in flame. More often I got fairly standard warrior adventures, boasts, challenges, battles, and quests, with periodic bouts of dank misogyny.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Mabinogion is a collection of ancient Welsh folk stories, and Lady Charlotte Guest did a brilliant job bringing them into English. She not only made them read like stories and not dry translations, but she added a ton of her own notes and research, like about places in Wales that were still connected with these traditional stories into the nineteenth century when she did her work. (I read this in hard copy, not on Kindle, but I couldn't find the edition I read.)

[Suzannah Rowntree · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always been extremely fond of the Mabinogion, and it was delightful to reread these stories (in Gwyn Jones's translation). Manawydan the son of Llyr and The Lady of the Fountain are two favourites, and I love the distinctive Welshness of these stories.