The Song of Taliesin: Tales from King Arthur's Bard

by John Matthews, Stuart Littlejohn (Illustrator)

Everyone knows of Arthur--the "once and future" legendary warrior who held off the invading Anglo-Saxons and preserved the Celtic identity of sixth-century England for forty years. But few know of Taliesin, who may have been poet to Arthur, and like Merlin, was said to have shamanic powers. Behind Taliesin's story lies a vast legacy of initiatic wisdom, much of it now lost. But enough remains to convey much of the ancient Celts' passionate spirit and religious practice. To create these tales, John Matthews has brilliantly mined medieval and premedieval sources, embellishing them where fragmentary with the rich heritage of Celtic folklore. Part legend, part fiction, part mythology, they are alive with the power of one of the most compelling mystical/literary traditions. "It is my hope," says Matthews, "that they provide a key to the secret lore of Britain, where once the Grail and the Cauldron were sought, and where the Sleeping Lord still awaits the One Who Is to Come, who will blow the Horn three times in the Cave of the Sleepers." Reading these lyrical, mysterious stories, we thrill that it is so.

Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Arthurian

234 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1992

About the author

John Matthews is an historian, folklorist and author. He has been a full time writer since 1980 and has produced over ninety books on the Arthurian Legends and Grail Studies, as well as short stories and a volume of poetry. He has devoted much of the past thirty years to the study of Arthurian Traditions and myth in general. His best known and most widely read works are ‘Pirates’ (Carlton/Atheneum), No 1 children’s book on the New York Times Review best-seller list for 22 weeks in 2006, ‘The Grail, Quest for Eternal Life’ (Thames & Hudson, 1981) ‘The Encyclopaedia of Celtic Wisdom’ (Element, 1994) and ‘The Winter Solstice’ (Quest Books, 1999) which won the Benjamin Franklin Award for that year. His book ‘Celtic Warrior Chiefs’ was a New York Public Library recommended title for young people.

Reviews

[Fishface · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wild ride through the age of King Arthur, as dictated to a runaway monk who crossed paths Taliesin, Arthur's bard. Full of magic and mystery.

[East Bay J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taliesin was King Arthur's bard, among other things. He's a part of the rich wealth of Welsh history and, being part Welsh, I'm interested in such things. Also just because it's interesting. Susan Cooper's Dark Is Rising series is packed with Welsh mythology. I'm a big fan of Lloyd Alexander's Prydain series, which also drew much from Welsh mythology. Prydain, in fact, is Alexander's alternate spelling of Prydein, which I found from reading The Song Of Taliesin to be an ancient version of the word, "Britain."

John Matthews has collected twenty stories attributed to Taliesin and they make for a good read. They are presented as being told to a monk and written down by him in an effort to preserve the wisdom these tales impart. In ancient times, bards were essentially shamans and they dwelt in this world and traversed the supernatural shadow worlds, gaining and imparting knowledge along the way. I found it interesting to note that much of Christianity had made its way into these myths and legends (Arthur's quest for the Holy Grail, for example) and wondered whether and how much these stories changed with the coming of Christianity to the British Isles.

Taliesin himself seems to have truly existed though, as Matthews states, "there is considerable blurring between the historical figure, who lived during the sixth century and was thus roughly contemporary to Arthur and a more primitive, semi-mythical personality, whose name became attached to a vast body of floating lore, much of which was transmitted orally and thus had no specific author." In fact, it is believed that only a handful of the poems attributed to Taliesin could have been written by him.

So, these are more than stories and are meant to teach the people who heard them about the world around them and their place in it. To me, this makes them more fascinating and hint at a time when a story had power that went beyond simple entertainment. However, to take in the wisdom between the lines of these stories, one had to have a kind of deeper, almost mystical knowledge, much of which has been lost. It may sound strange, but at times it felt like I was reading a technical manual about something I didn't understand.

All the same, these tales are interesting and entertaining and left me wanting to know more about their origins and context. Matthews' introduction is a good place to start. There's even a very handy and much needed pronunciation guide because, y'know, the Welsh language is insane. Fans of Welsh mythology and Arthurian legend will definitely want to check this out.

[Cicely · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author's theory about Taliesin are so inspiring!

[Hannah Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful stories. This was my first John Matthews book and it still remains a favorite. The stories in here have a magic unlike any other. This is a book for generations.