Not being too thoroughly versed in Welsh culture, I found it fascinating. Small clutches of mythical symbolism and characters can be seen. Glimpses of British, of Irish, of Gaul - small swaths of Orkadian creatures and belief. There's King Arthur there, there's the cult of a head, there's a cauldron of plenty. The myths are rich and strange. Here are the original versions of some characters that later got bastardized into something else. Arawn comes to mind for that one... 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. No attempt at characterizing these stories together or individually would do them justice. There is a marvelous, epic atmosphere to each of them, a feel of adventure and magic and peculiarity. They often span a huge geography, taking place not only all across Wales, but in England, Cornwall, Ireland, Rome, and the Otherworld. 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. Yet, they are sufficiently grounded in a world of folklore, history, and shared traditions and culture that they also exhibit unexpected emotional realism, behavioral depth, and personal insight. None of the book can be summarized in a way that does it justice, or can be explained easily.

Gruffydd, W. J. Rhiannon: An Inquiry into the Origins of the First and Third Branches of the Mabinogi 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.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) THE MABINOGION embraces much of ancient and early British culture, combining the numinous world of Celtic mythology, Arthurian legend and feudal Europe's Age of Chivalry. Indeed, scholars have identified that it was out of THE MABINOGION that the Arthurian legends were born. For his 1978 book with Brian Froud, Faeries, Lee was runner-up for the fantasy Locus Award, year's best art or illustrated book. [13] Manawydan now becomes the lead character in the Third Branch, and it is commonly named after him. With Rhiannon, Pryderi and Cigfa, he sits on the Gorsedd Arberth as Pwyll had once done. But this time disaster ensues. Thunder and magical mist descend on the land leaving it empty of all domesticated animals and all humans apart from the four protagonists.

bw): Richard Day, George James Hopkins / (c): Cedric Gibbons, E. Preston Ames, Edwin B. Willis, F. Keogh Gleason Rhiannon characteristically rebukes him for not considering this course before, then explains she has sought him out to marry him, in preference to her current betrothed, Gwawl ap Clud. Pwyll gladly agrees, but at their wedding feast at her father's court, an unknown man requests Pwyll grant a request; which he does without asking what it is. The man is Gwawl, and he requests Rhiannon. What we call the Mabinogion today is a collection of eleven stories from the Red Book of Hergest, one of the Four Ancient Books of Wales, and the White Book of Rhydderch, another medieval Welsh manuscript. Cosette Kies, "Walton, Evangeline" in St. James Guide To Fantasy Writers, edited by David Pringle. St. James Press, 1996, ISBN 9781558622050 (pp. 586-7) . Now, Easton Press presents Alan Lee's illustrated edition of this classic work of Celtic myth: THE MABINOGION, a leather-bound Collector Edition personally autographed by revered illustrator and Academy Award-winning designer, Alan Lee.Guillermo del Toro Chats with TORN About The Hobbit Films!". TheOneRing.net. 25 April 2008 . Retrieved 26 April 2008. 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? I enjoy spending time studying Lee's paintings, discovering new details that I hadn't noticed before and observing his watercolor techniques in general. 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.”