The main tale of the medieval Welsh mythological cycle.
There are three manuscripts which feature the Mabinogi in whole or in part; the complete version is found in the White Book of Rhydderch (ca. 1340) and the Red Book of Hergest (1375-1425?). Earlier than these is the fragmentary Peniarth MS 6 (13th C.), where portions of Branwen and Manawyddan survive
The Mabinogi contains four branches--"pedeir ceinc"--of interconnected stories regarding the kingdoms of Dyfed and Gwynedd:
- Pwyll pendeuc Dyfed: Pwyll, lord of Dyfed, offends Arawn, lord of Annwfn, and is forced to battle Hafgan in Arawn's place. He succeeds, and returns to Dyfed. Pwyll sees Rhiannon, an otherworld woman, and succeeds in wooing her. His wedding is interrupted by Rhiannon's former suitor, Clwyd, who Pwyll and Rhiannon outsmart. Rhiannon marries Pwyll, but is unable to concieve. Upon finally concieving, her son is stolen, and she is blamed for killing and eating the missing child. The boy is found in another part of the country in a stable, and is raised away from Pwyll and his identitiy is unknown. The foster father goes to Pwyll for another matter, then realizes the mysterious boy is the lost son of Pwyll and Rhiannon. The boy is reunited with his family, and his name is changed from Gwri to Pryderi.
- Branwen uerch Lyr: Bran is king of Britain, ruling from Harlech. His brothers are Manawyddan, Efniessin and Niessin, and his sister is Branwen. The king of Ireland asks for his sister Branwen in marriage, and the two kingdoms exchange gifts, Ireland giving Britain horses in exchange for Branwen. Efniessin, angry that he wasn't consulted, maimes the horses. The Irish, angry at the insult, attempt to leave. Bran attempts to heal the situation by giving the Irish a magic cauldron of rebirth. The Irish leave with Branwen, who gives birth to a child named Gwern. The Irish hold a grudge, and the king abuses Branwen in anger. She writes to her brother, sending a message with a bird. Bran and his men invade Britain, where they attempt to save her. Upon invading, the Irish attempt to make peace, but secretly hide soldiers in bags of flour. Efniessin crushes the bag, suspecting a plot. Meanwhile, Gwern is made heir to Ireland (and it is implied of Britain). Efniessin takes the child and throws him in a fire, killing him. A battle ensues, killing all but seven Britons and five pregnant Irish women. Bran's head is cut off, and an otherworld feast ensues for eighty years for the seven survivors, which includes Manawyddan, Pryderi, and Taliesin.
- Manawydan fab Lyr: Manawyddan and Pryderi return to Britain, only to find Caswallawn has usurped Manawyddan's right to kingship. Pryderi offers him Dyfed, and his mother Rhiannon as wife. They do homage to Caswallawn, and enjoy their kingdom, until Pryderi climbs up Gorsedd Arberth, and causes a mist to descend on the land. All the people and grain disappear. For seven years, Pryderi, Manawyddan, Rhiannon, and Pryderi's wife Cigfa wander Britain, taking menial jobs, such as being shoemakers. In each place they settle, the locals become jealous of their skills, and they must move. At one point, Pryderi finds an enchanted castle, and inside a bowl. He grips the bowl, and becomes stuck. Rhiannon finds him, and also becomes stuck. They disappear, leaving Manawyddan and Cigfa to wander alone in the deserted Dyfed. Manawyddan attempts to sow grain, but each night mice come and eat it. He catches one pregnant mouse, and attempts to hang her from a tiny scaffold, but is interrupted by a scholar and a bishop, the bishop being Llwyd, husband of the mouse (who is really a woman) in disguise. Llwyd was a friend to Clwyd, and was extracting revenge on Pryderi and Rhiannon. Manawyddan exchanges the mouse-woman for his family, and Dyfed is returned to normal.
- Math fab Mathonwy: Math is lord of Gwynedd. His newphews Gwydion and Gilfaethwy invent a war with Pryderi in order to
They are successful, with Gwydion tricking Pryderi out of his swine, and then killing Pryderi in a duel. Math learns of the deception, and turns Gwydion and Gilfaethwy into animals, forcing them to copulate with each other. Math then needs a new footholder, and Gwydion suggests his sister Aranrhod. Math tests her virginity, and she spontaneously gives birth to Dylan and a premature baby. Gwydion has the premature baby raised far away, while Aranrhod vows to keep the child without a name, without arms, and without a wife. Gwydion is able to trick her into giving him a name--Llew--and arms. He and Math create a bride for Llew out of flowers; she, however, falls in love with a local lord, and they conspire to kill Llew. He is only wounded, however, and turns into an eagle. Gwydion finds him, and turns him back into a human. They gain revenge by turning the wife into an owl, and kill the lord. Llew then reigns as lord of Gwynedd.
- a.) steal Pryder's swine, a magic animal from Annwfn
- b.) allow Gilfaethwy to rape Goewin, footholder of Math.
Date of Composition
A word whose meaning is often the subject of debate.
When Owen Pughe decided to translate tales from the Red Book of Hergest, he saw that what are traditionally the first four stories--"Pwyll pendeuc Dyfed," "Branwen uerch Llyr," "Manawyddan fab Llyr," and "Math fab Mathonwy," all end "And here ends this branch of the mabinogi--except for "Pwyll," which ends "branch of the mabinogion." This was a scribal error found in both the Red Book fo Hergest and the White Book of Rhydderch, both coming from a common source.
There is no word mabinogion in Welsh. Pughe assumed that mabinogion is plural for mabinogi," (-ion is a common pluralizing suffix). However, it's obvious that he didn't understand the meaning of the word mabinogi, and assumed that, rooted in the word mab, meaning "son", it must refer to stories for children--fairy tales.
Years later, Lady Charlotte Guest book named her book The Mabinogion after Pughe's definition, and also believed they were stories for children.
But what is a mabinogi, if this is the wrong definition?
Guest assumed that a "mabinogi" was a story for children, as mab means "boy." However, these were not stories for children; they were recorded in several manuscripts for adults. However, the name stuck, and so we have always called this collection of tales--usually the eleven in the Red Book--The Mabinogion.
There is the Welsh god Mabon ap Modron, who appears in one of the tales--"Culhwch ac Olwen." He seems to be a divine youth who must be released from prision; the figure is based on the god Apollo Maponos, a god popular in northern Britain and parts of Gaul. However, "Culhwch ac Olwen" is not part of the Four Branches, and Mabon is not mentioned in the Four Branches.
The Four Branches seem to revolve around the Children of Llyr and the Children of Don; more specifically, they revolve around Pryderi, the son of Pwyll, nephew of Branwen, step-son of Manawyddan, and rival of Math's nephew Gwydion, who eventually kills him. If one examines what is known of Mabon ap Modron and his Irish counterpart Oengus mac ind Og, and compares it to the life of Pryderi, it becomes evident that Pryderi may be another form of Mabon, as W. Gruffydd discussed in Math vab Mathonwy.
Hamp argues that Pryderi is the father of Mabon, but I have not seen the paper for this yet. At any rate, all of this has led scholars to conclude that "The Four Branches of the Mabinogi" refer to the Four Stories about Mabon and his Family.
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Mary Jones © 2003