The Mabinogion (Oxford World's Classics)

by Sioned Davies

  He was unable to circuit the land: a reference to the custom whereby a lord and his retinue would circuit the land, accepting the hospitality of his people; compare the reference in the Third Branch (p. 36).

  Gilfaethwy son of Dôn and Gwydion son of Dôn: Dôn shares her name with the Celtic mother-goddess Danu, whose name is preserved today in the name of the river Donau (Danube), for example, or the river Don in Scotland. In Irish her name is commemorated in the tales of the Tuatha Dé Danann (‘The People of the Goddess Danu’), a race of gods who populated Ireland before the Celts. In the Fourth Branch we meet her brother Math, three sons—Gwydion, Gilfaethwy, and Gofannon—and a daughter Aranrhod. Gwydion is presented as a shape-shifting magician; indeed, surviving poetry seems to suggest that there was once a large body of literature surrounding him, unlike his brother Gilfaethwy, who may well have been created solely as a catalyst for the events of the Fourth Branch. Gofannon appears again in ‘How Culhwch Won Olwen’, together with another son, Amaethon (p. 195).

  Math son of Mathonwy’s special attribute: compare the Coraniaid in the tale of ‘Lludd and Llefelys’ (see note to p. 112).

  Hobeu … they were sent to him from Annwfn by Arawn king of Annwfn: Hobeu means ‘pigs’ and moch means ‘swine’. In the First Branch, Pwyll (Pryderi’s father) and Arawn, king of the Otherworld, send each other ‘horses and hunting-dogs and hawks’ as a token of their friendship (p. 8). However, no pigs are mentioned. Pryderi is associated with the animals elsewhere: in the triads he is named as one of the Three Powerful Swineherds (TYP 26), when he ‘guarded the swine of Pendaran Dyfed in Glyn Cuch in Emlyn’. Glyn Cuch is where his father Pwyll first encountered Arawn in the First Branch (p. 3), while Pendaran Dyfed seems to have been Pryderi’s foster-father (p. 21). A variant triad adds that ‘these swine were the seven animals which Pwyll Lord of Annwfn brought, and gave them to Pendaran Dyfed his foster-father’. It is clear that there existed a number of accounts regarding the introduction of pigs to Wales. The animals are often associated with the supernatural in the Mabinogion, and played a significant role in the mythology of the Celts (see notes to pp. 39 and 198).

  They entered, disguised as poets: the reference shows that it was not unusual for poets to travel the country, and that they were most welcome at any court. According to the Welsh laws, the pencerdd (‘chief poet’) is one of the additional court officers—‘it is right for him to start the song, first of God, and secondly of the Lord to whom the court belongs, or of another’ (LHDd 38–9). See also Introduction, pp. xiii–xiv.

  That night they travelled … in the town which is still called Mochdref: an attempt to explain four place-names, three examples of Mochdref (‘Swine-town’) and one of Mochnant (‘Swine-brook’). The author interprets the moch- element in all four as ‘swine’, reflecting the pigs’ journey from South to North Wales. It is difficult to locate these places with any degree of certainty. The Mochdref in the uplands of Ceredigion may refer to a location to the north-east of Aberystwyth, in the vicinity of today’s Nant-y-moch reservoir. Elenid is in southern Powys, and refers to the mountainous land known as Pumlumon (Plynlimon) today. Ceri and Arwystli (see note to p. 214) were a commot and cantref respectively, in the area around Newtown and Llanidloes; indeed, about 3 miles south-west of Newtown is the parish of Mochdref. The commot of Mochnant was partly in Denbighshire and partly in Montgomeryshire, while the Mochdref in the cantref of Rhos is located between Colwyn Bay and Llandudno.

  Arllechwedd … Creuwrion: an onomastic explanation associated with creu, the Welsh name for ‘pen’, possibly Cororion, situated between Bangor and Bethesda. The commote of Arllechwedd lay between Bangor and the Conwy river in the north, extending south to Dolwyddelan and Penmachno.

  Y Traeth Mawr: meaning ‘the great stretch of sand’, located at the estuary of the Glaslyn and Dwyryd rivers at Porthmadog.

  and he was buried in Maentwrog, above Y Felenrhyd, and his grave is there: the location is further attested in an early englyn in ‘The Stanzas of the Graves’, a series which catalogues the resting-places of renowned Welsh heroes, both historical and legendary. Y Felenrhyd is a few miles to the east of Y Traeth Mawr, on the south side of the Dwyryd river.

  look for another virgin … in your very bed: the author here highlights the difference between the two distinct terms—morwyn (‘virgin’) and gwraig (‘a sexually experienced woman’). The fact that the rape took place in Math’s own chamber, indeed in his own bed, only adds to the shame. The sanctity of the marital bed is emphasized time and again in the Welsh laws—expulsion from the marriage bed, for example, is regarded as one of the three shames of a wife. For further details, see Jenkins and Owen (eds.), The Welsh Law of Women.

  good day to you: Math does not reply with the usual formula (‘may God prosper you’) because of his anger.

  Bleiddwn, Hyddwn, Hychddwn Hir: these are the three sons conceived by the brothers Gwydion and Gilfaethwy in their animal transformations, the punishment fitting the sexual crime which they committed. The three offspring are a reminder of their life as wild beasts, their names consisting of the elements blaidd (‘wolf’), hydd (‘stag’), and hwch (‘swine’); Hir means ‘Tall’. See note to p. 31 for the metrical form.

  friendship: in a legal sense, that is, a reconciliation between the two parties, Math and his nephews. Compare the First Branch, where Pwyll, having insulted Arawn, enquires as to how he may win his ‘friendship’ (p. 4).

  Aranrhod daughter of Dôn: In the triads (TYP 35), she is the daughter of Beli son of Mynogan (see note to p. 22). Her name sometimes occurs as Arianrhod. Caer Aranrhod (‘the Fort of Aranrhod’) is the name given to a rock formation visible at low tide, less than a mile from Dinas Dinlleu on the Caernarfonshire coast.

  That is my belief: the implication here is that Aranrhod is hiding the truth, in other words she is a twyllforwyn, a ‘false virgin’, a term attested in the legal tracts. According to the Welsh legal system, a girl was of little or no value if her prospective husband found her not to be a virgin. See Jenkins and Owen (eds.), The Welsh Law of Women. The context here is slightly different, since Math’s life depends on her virginity.

  Step over this … I shall know: clearly a virginity test. Other virginity- or chastity-testing objects are found in medieval Welsh literature, such as the Mantle of Tegau Eurfron (‘Tegau Gold-Breast’), one of the Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain: ‘for whoever was faithful to her husband it [the mantle] would reach the ground, and for whoever had violated her marriage it only reached her lap’ (see TYP, App. 3).

  Dylan Eil Ton … Three Unfortunate Blows: the triad itself has not survived. There are references to Dylan son of Wave in several medieval Welsh poems, including an elegy which implies a link between Dylan’s death and a smith, although he is not named. However, Gofannon has been associated with Irish Goibniu, who was the smith of the Tuatha DéDanann. He is also one of the characters whose help Culhwch must secure if he is to marry Olwen, the daughter of Ysbaddaden (p. 195).

  dulse and wrack: types of seaweed (Rhodymenia palmata and Laminaria digitata).

  it is with a skilful hand … Lleu Llaw Gyffes: an onomastic explanation. The boy’s name means ‘the fair-haired one with the skilful hand’. Llew, a variant on Lleu (‘the fair-haired one’), also occurs, meaning ‘lion, the strong one’, although this would seem to be a secondary development. Lleu is cognate with the Irish god Lugh, Gaulish Lugus, a form preserved in names of cities such as Lyons, Laon, and Leiden, and has been identified with the Roman god Mercury. Lleu is mentioned briefly in two triads: The Three Red Ravagers (TYP 20) and The Three Bestowed Horses (TYP 38). A further two triads, namely The Three Disloyal War-Bands (TYP 30) and The Three Golden Shoemakers (TYP 67), bear witness to events in the Fourth Branch, and are discussed below.

  one of the Three Golden Shoemakers: in a surviving triad the other two shoemakers are named as Caswallon son of Beli, and Manawydan son of Llŷr (TYP 67). See note to p. 38.

  Dinas Dinlleu: the author
clearly associates this place-name with the character Lleu, although he does not point this out as such. Both dinas and din mean ‘fortification’. Dinas Dinlle(u) is a hill-fort on the coast, a mile west of Llandwrog in Gwynedd, and about 5 miles south-west of Caernarfon.

  Then they took the flowers of the oak … Blodeuedd: the flowers listed may well be significant. The yellow broom is often used as metaphor when describing a maiden’s hair; compare Olwen, whose hair was ‘yellower than the flowers of the broom’ (p. 192). The flowers of the oak and the meadowsweet are both white, a colour not only associated with ideal female beauty but also with purity. For the reference to ‘baptism’, see note to p. 18. Here again we have an onomastic tale—the maiden is created out of ‘flowers’ (blodeuedd).

  Mur Castell: known today as Castell Tomen y Mur, the site of a Roman hill-fort overlooking Trawsfynydd lake.

  Gronw Pebr, the man who is lord of Penllyn: Penllyn lies to the east of Ardudwy, Lleu’s realm. Gronw’s epithet may be interpreted as the adjective pybyr (‘strong’) or perhaps pefyr (‘radiant’).

  he asked permission to depart: this convention is seen in many of the Mabinogion tales, for example pp. 24 and 72.

  I cannot be killed indoors … would bring about my death: unique vulnerability is often a characteristic of heroes (for example Achilles and Macbeth), while the secret of that vulnerability disclosed by the hero’s wife has one of its most well-known examples in the biblical tale of Samson and Delilah (Judges 16). The paradoxical tasks may be associated with the international motif of the riddles which must be solved for the heroine or hero to succeed—here, however, Blodeuedd does not need to rise to the challenge since she persuades her husband to disclose the answers.

  Bryn Cyfergyr: meaning ‘Hill of the Blow’—the author has omitted to draw attention to the onomastic explanation.

  which is now called Nantlleu: an onomastic explanation meaning the ‘Valley of Lleu’. The Nantlle(u) Valley is located along the Llyfni river, to the east of Pen-y-groes and Tal-y-sarn.

  englyn: see note to p. 31. In the first stanza, ‘Lleu’s Flowers’ is a reference to his wife Blodeuedd. The second stanza presents several difficulties, and many interpretations have been offered. The second line suggests that the oak tree in which Lleu is perched has supernatural qualities—neither the rain nor heat affects it. In the third line, the one who possesses ‘nine-score attributes’ is, presumably, Lleu himself; compare the magical attributes of characters such as Math (p. 47) and Cai (p. 189).

  until they fell into the lake and were drowned: there is a lake in the area known as Llyn y Morynion (‘the Lake of the Maidens/Virgins’), about 3 miles north-east of Mur Castell. However, the author has omitted to draw attention to the onomastic explanation in the text.

  but shall always be called Blodeuwedd: once she is transformed into a bird, her name changes from Blodeuedd (‘flowers’) to Blodeuwedd (‘flower-face’), to reflect the image of the owl.

  insult: see note to p. 27.

  one of the Three Disloyal Retinues: the story is corroborated in a triad (TYP 30). The other disloyal retinues or war-bands were that of Gwrgi and Peredur, and that of Alan Fyrgan who allowed him to go to the battle of Camlan alone, where he was killed (see note on p. 264).

  Llech Gronw: an onomastic explanation meaning ‘Gronw’s Stone’. It is claimed that a stone with a hole pierced through its centre was found in the bed of the Cynfal river in 1934, while another was found in 1990, not far from a place locally known as Bedd Gronw (‘Gronw’s Grave’). There are certainly very strong associations between this branch and local topography, perhaps more so than any other tale in the corpus.

  And so ends this branch of the Mabinogi: note that there is no suggestion that the Four Branches as a composite whole are at an end; indeed, there may well have been further ‘branches’.

  PEREDUR SON OF EFROG

  Earl Efrog held an earldom in the North: Efrog is a place-name (‘York’). Here, it is the name of Peredur’s father who, in Geoffrey’s History of the Kings of Britain, is the eponymous founder of York. The ‘North’ here refers to the North of Britain rather than to North Wales.

  Peredur: the opening lines of the tale suggest that Peredur son of Efrog, Chrétien’s Perceval, seems to have been associated with the North of Britain; indeed, he may well have been a local ruler. In the Gododdin poem whose subject-matter is a battle fought c.AD 600, his name occurs as Peredur arfau dur (‘Peredur of steel weapons’). Indeed, it has been suggested that his name derives from par (‘spear’) and dur (‘hard, steel’)—in the earliest version of the tale (Peniarth 7), the form Paredur is found, as well as Peredur—which may well be the reason for his epithet Paladr Hir (‘Long Spear’). He is also mentioned in ‘Geraint son of Erbin’ (p. 155) and ‘Rhonabwy’s Dream’ (p. 225). See Glenys Goetinck, Peredur: A Study of Welsh Traditions in the Grail Legends (Cardiff, 1975), and TYP 477–80.

  Gwalchmai son of Gwyar … the apples in Arthur’s court: there were clearly many traditions about Gwalchmai, as attested by the early poetry and the triads, including a reference to him as one of the Three Men of the Island of Britain who were Most Courteous to Guests and Strangers (TYP 75), a virtue that becomes apparent in the Welsh ‘romances’. Indeed, in all three tales he is the one who reconciles the hero with Arthur’s men. His name, which contains the element gwalch (‘hawk’), a common epithet for medieval lords and patrons, corresponds to the Gauvains of French romances, the English Gawain, and the Latin Gualguanus. According to ‘How Culhwch Won Olwen’, Gwalchmai is Arthur’s nephew. For a detailed discussion, see TYP, pp. 367–71. There is ample evidence to suggest that Owain son of Urien was a historical character. Genealogies attest to his existence, as do poems by the sixth-century Taliesin, who refers to both Owain and his father Urien, ruler of Rheged, a kingdom which comprised the whole of modern Cumbria, extending over the Pennines to Catterick. By the twelfth century, however, Owain had developed into a legendary character and become part of the Arthurian cycle: he is the hero of ‘The Lady of the Well’, corresponding to Chrétien’s character Yvains fiz au roi Urien. He also figures in ‘Rhonabwy’s Dream’, together with his retinue known as the ‘Flight of Ravens’: see notes to pp. 138 and 221. For further details on Owain son of Urien, see TYP 467–72. There are no references elsewhere to the sharing of the apples in Arthur’s court. For a general discussions of Arthur in medieval Welsh tradition, see AOW, and O. J. Padel, Arthur in Medieval Welsh Literature (Cardiff, 2000). ‘Emperor’ is his title in all three ‘romances’ and ‘Rhonabwy’s Dream’. In ‘How Culhwch Won Olwen’, on the other hand, he is ‘chief of the kings of this island’ (p. 183).

  a chamberlain: one of the twenty-four officers of the king’s court, according to the laws. His duties included making the king’s bed, running errands between the hall and the chamber, and pouring drink for the king. See LHDd 19–20.

  and gave Gwenhwyfar a great clout on the ear: the Guenièvre of the French romances. The first element of her name, gwen, means ‘fair, beautiful’; the second element is cognate with Irish siabair (‘phantom, spirit, fairy’).

  Her name therefore corresponds to Findabair, daughter of King Ailill and Queen Medb in the Irish epic Táin Bó Cúailnge. Indeed, some have argued that Gwenhwyfar was a Celtic sovereignty figure, as was Medb in Ireland, although this is doubtful since there is no reliable evidence concerning her before Geoffrey of Monmouth. In this particular scene she is insulted, a version perhaps of the abduction of Gwenhwyfar, to which there are several references in connection with Melwas (whose place is taken by Medrawd/Modred in Geoffrey’s account). The many allusions to her in the triads include the Three Violent Ravagings of the Island of Britain, when Medrawd came to Arthur’s court at Celli Wig and ‘dragged Gwenhwyfar from her royal chair, and then he struck a blow upon her’ (TYP 54). According to the laws, a queen was insulted legally if she were struck a blow, or if someone snatched something from her hand (LHDd 6). See TYP, pp. 376–80.

  on a bony, dapple
-grey nag with its untidy, slovenly trappings: this is a parody of the hero’s arrival at court; compare Culhwch’s arrival at Arthur’s court on pp. 180–1.

  Cai: in the earliest Welsh sources Cai (the Kay of later Arthurian traditions) appears as a heroic figure, one of Arthur’s leading warriors. However, in the three ‘romances’ he is portrayed as a discourteous and contentious character, a side to him that is also apparent in ‘How Culhwch Won Olwen’, as he sulks and disappears from the story when Arthur sings a satirical englyn about him. Arthur chooses Cai to go on the quest for Olwen because he has magical attributes—he can survive for nights without sleep, and his body has great natural heat (p. 189). The epithets gwyn (‘fair’ or ‘beloved’) and hir (‘tall’) are constantly attached to his name. In ‘The Lady of the Well’ and Geoffrey’s History he takes on the role of Arthur’s steward at court. For more details, see TYP, pp. 308–12.