The Origins Of The Four Branches Of The Mabinogi

The Origins of the 'Four Branches of the Mabinogi' is one of the most revolutionary books ever published on the literatures of Britain. Its subject is four stories in the collection of Welsh prose tales known as The Mabinogion. These Four Branches of the Mabinogi are the legends of Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed; Branwen, Daughter of Llŷr; Manawydan, Son of Llŷr; and Math, Son of Mathonwy, which have long enjoyed popularity as Wales's most significant contribution to world literature. The Four Branches are tales of love, adventure and magic, but also of rape, adultery, betrayal and attempted murder. Although most scholars agree that the four stories are the work of a single author, there has been no agreement on where and when they were composed. To these questions The Origins of the 'Four Branches of the Mabinogi' offers a startling answer. It has always been assumed that the tales are the work of a male author. However, Andrew Breeze convincingly shows not only that the Four Branches were composed by a female writer, but that she can be identified as Gwenllian, daughter of Gruffudd ap Cynan (d. 1137), king of Gwynedd, and wife of Gruffydd ap Rhys (d. 1137), prince of Dyfed. Gwenllian was born at the close of the eleventh century, married Gruffydd when she was in her teens, and for most of her life lived quietly with him near Caio in the hills of Carmarthenshire. Her end was dramatic. In early 1136 she led an attack on the Normans of Kidwelly, was defeated in battle and executed outside the town. Despite this catastrophe, her son Rhys (d.1197) survived to lead resistance to English rule and to maintain Dyfed's independence. Amongst his descendants were Henry VII of England and James VI and I of Scotland and England, so that the line of Princess Gwenllian can be traced down to the modern British royal family. Gwenllian's position within the dynasties of Gwynedd and Dyfed explains why the political and territorial aggrandizement of both territories is, uniquely, a theme of these tales. It also explains the uncommon tact with which conflict between them is described. It means too that the stories give a representation of royal government and decision-making in twelfth-century Wales by one who knew them from inside. Andrew Breeze's sensational analysis of this classic text is published in full in this volume for the first time.

"Written in the late twelfth century Wales, the four branches of the Mabinogi tells the story of the births, deaths and marriages among the warrior aristocracy, on the horizon of historical memory in the last generations of the pre-Roman foretime. The quarrels, affairs and fateful interactions of these flamboyant ancestral beings were recollected not merely as history and narrative entertainment, but also as a prophetic commentary on the medieval present, holding up a mirror to the troubled and violent world of their twelfth century descendants. In this study medievalist Will Parker offers a new translation of this work along with an extensive review of the roots of this tradition in pre-Christian myth and tribal history. But of equal importance is the dynastic machinations of the native Welsh princes, whose fascinating Celtic-speaking culture represents an overlooked aspect of our island's story. By exploring the cultural context of Welsh dynastic politics and native bardic learning, we are able to decode the distinctive view of life, death and human nature, articulated in elegant prose by our anonymous twelfth-century author, whose vision owes as much to the sacred histories of his pagan ancestors as to the Latinate Christianity of his own age." --from back cover.

The four stories that make up the Mabinogi, along with three additional tales from the same tradition, form this collection and compose the core of the ancient Welsh mythological cycle. Included are only those stories that have remained unadulterated by the influence of the French Arthurian romances, providing a rare, authentic selection of the finest works in medieval Celtic literature. This landmark edition translated by Patrick K. Ford is a literary achievement of the highest order.

This book is a comprehensive single-volume history of literature in the two major languages of Wales from post-Roman to post-devolution Britain.