The Mabinogion

by Sioned Davies

Then they took the flowers of the oak, and the flowers of the broom, and the flowers of the meadowsweet, and from those they conjured up the fairest and most beautiful maiden that anyone had ever seen. Celtic mythology, Arthurian romance, and an intriguing interpretation of British history--these are just some of the themes embraced by the anonymous authors of the eleven tales that make up the Welsh medieval masterpiece known as The Mabinogion. They tell of Gwydion the shape-shifter, who can create a woman out of flowers; of Math the magician whose feet must lie in the lap of a virgin; of hanging a pregnant mouse and hunting a magical boar. Dragons, witches, and giants live alongside kings and heroes, and quests of honor, revenge, and love are set against the backdrop of a country struggling to retain its independence. Sioned Davies's lively translation re-creates the storytelling world of medieval Wales and reinvests the tales with the power of performance.

Genres: Mythology, Historical, Fantasy, Audiobook, Fiction, Classics

Audio CD

Published July 31, 2018

About the author

Sioned Davies is Chair of Welsh at Cardiff University. Her special interest is the interplay between orality and literacy, together with the performance aspects of medieval Welsh narrative. Her publications include Crefft y Cyfarwydd (Cardiff, 1995), which is a study of narrative techniques in the Mabinogion, The Four Branches of the Mabinogi (Llandysul, 1993), and a co-edited volume, The Horse in Celtic Culture: Medieval Welsh Perspectives (Cardiff, 1997).

Reviews

[Wee Lassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I’ve learned anything from reading this book it is that King Arthur needs to keep a better handle on his knights. They keep wandering off and causing all kinds of mischief. Killing people, then marrying their widows, then abandoning those widows to feast for three years. If Arthur would just shut his gates then all this nonsense could have been prevented 🤣

[amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

much more fun to listen to the audiobook and hear the correct pronunciations for all the names

｡･:*:･ﾟ★ fun new game: take a shot every time someone is wearing brocaded silk, says something is between them and god, or talks about the person they love most. ｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

[Bradley Sloanes]

A fascinating compilation of stories from Wales, preserved and translated in their medieval form. The stories, undoubtedly, date back much further than the antecedent books that formed the Mabinogion (The White Book of Rhydderch and The Red Book of Hergest.) A compilation of stories that were meant to be heard, but not read. The repetitive nature of this text makes for difficult reading at times. Yet, their creative value and influence on storytelling even today is inherent. They draw on the rich oral tradition of Wales, which sadly has been difficult to preserve. However, reflecting the themes from Welsh Celtic mythology and translated from the original Welsh we are able to once again read and listen to the stories of our ancestors.

For me the real beauty of the Mabinogion, and indeed the oral tradition, is in its ability to be changed and shaped to create new stories. Stories that can be loved and inherited by those of us here today.

[Cameron]

From what I’ve deduced and learned in class, the Odyssey is to Greek Mythology is what the Mabinogi is to the Celtic Mythology. Great read, so much of it influences the fantasy of modern day

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent educational edition; lots of explanatory footnotes. The perfect choice for those of us who are more interested in medieval literature than we perhaps have any reason to be.

[beef · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cymru am byth🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[- The Polybrary - · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Mabinogion is a collection of very, very old Welsh tales. As such they sound and feel very odd and stilted to the modern ear, but give very interesting insights into the mindset and culture prevalent for their time(s). I have loved the story of Blodeuwedd for many years (a woman created and groomed to be one thing for one man who chose to rebel and forge her own way, come on now) and for almost as long have intended to read the Mabinogion to hopefully obtain a better grasp on the culture and world of that particular story. The tales included in the book are not all related - a few are, but there appeared to be two very distinct groups. One that included Blodeuwedd and those characters, and one centering around King Arthur and his knights. The translation included much repetition, as one would expect of tales that were originally meant presented in an oral fashion with audience inclusion. I am not a historical scholar but it seemed to be quite an accurate and true to the original sound and content translation. I also really appreciated the explanatory section at the very beginning, that filled in some of the context I was missing and made listening to them much more enjoyable.
A beautiful depiction of Blodeuwedd (the flower goddess, the owl goddess, among other names) by Selina Fenech.

Audio Notes : Listened at 1.1 speed. I enjoyed the narration for this, and I doubt I would have had much success in reading it in book form, as I had tried that a few years back and did not finish. Due to the very old styling and content that seemed to need more background than I had (I never was able to keep most of the Welsh names straight, mostly because I could NOT understand them and even if I could, they certainly don’t look, on paper, how they are pronounced), and my modern preferences in reading, I found it hard to get through that way. This narrator kept things moving and changed voice slightly when necessary but that was rarely needed just due to the way the tales are written.

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[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's cool seeing the connections between this book and my family. The love of the number 7 most of all but also the old stories. I feel I've heard some of these stories before like the cup you cannot let go of. Loved the stories of the giants in the Mabinogion, shows a folkloric connection to Burnley and the Devil's Apronful.

[Jerry Owens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. Sort of a technical read for research. In my opinion the Sioned Davies translation is the best of them.

[Claire Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant notes

[Ange · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love welsh tales and lore.

[Matthew Parody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good stories.
Hard names.
Good history.
Storytelling in this style and especially with the names can be tough to follow.

[Suzanne Thackston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, it's been a lot of years since I read the Mab cover to cover, but I've dipped into it countless times to find a myth or adventure. I looked forward to revisiting it in its entirety in this format.
Didn't work for me. I'm sure the translation is excellent, they're so highly regarded. But I've had Robert Fagles and Seamus Heaney, and now I'm all agog for faithful reproductions of the storylines but jazzed up to create excitement in modern audiences.
This really dragged.
Bu—it's still the Mabinogion, and done well. It's just that the archaic form doesn't blow my skirts up.

[Charlotte Bernhard · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-3.75 stars. Easy to read and understand. I liked reading the audiobook for pronunciation. Stories themselves can be repetitive and a bit anticlimactic, but it’s really interesting to see the types of stories that used to be told and the styles/themes used - insightful. Nice history and overview in the introduction. I feel like I probably missed a lot and maybe rereading after a bit more study would be worth it. Fun to see where the vague-aries are and what might be satirical, and what that reflects about the time/culture. between me and god

[Randy Brachman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think translating to preserve the way the original work would have sounded orally is an interesting goal that makes for boring reading. Also I wish the notes focused less on geography and more on what the heck was happening

[Cina Noel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some stories were more engaging than others, but overall an interesting and informative read about Welsh story tradition, and it's fun to read the book that inspired Tolkien's Red Book of Westmarch.

[Alec Kemp · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can tell this was written hundreds of years ago