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The Mabinogion

Anonymous,

Thomas Jones (Translator),

Gwyn Jones (Translator),

John Updike (Preface)

3.95 · Rating details · 6,490 ratings · 386 reviews

(Book Jacket Status: Not Jacketed)

Preface by John Updike

The 11 stories of The Mabinogion, first assembled on paper in the fourteenth century, reach far back into the earlier oral traditions of Welsh poetry.

Closely linked to the Arthurian legends--King Arthur himself is a character--they summon up a world of mystery and magic that is still evoked by the Welsh landscape the ...more

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Hardcover, Everyman's Library), 259 pages

Published February 13th 2001 by Everyman's Library (first published 1410)

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Oct 25, 2010 Mary Jones rated it liked it · review of another edition

I'm splitting the difference between my love of the medieval collection (i.e. Y Mabinogi and other Welsh tales) and Lady Charlotte Guest's sometimes-bowdlerized, romanticized, nineteenth-century (and I mean that in the worst possible way) translation (which would garner at best two stars, because I'm feeling generous). The real advantage of this book is if you're interested in the history of how the Mabinogion has been treated in the English language; otherwise, you should decide if you want

a.) ...more

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Jun 15, 2011 Jan-Maat added it · review of another edition

Shelves: novel, celtic-fringe, fantasy

The Mabinogion is a collection of Welsh stories preserved in manuscripts from the fourteenth century, but it's assumed that the stories are older than that, they have been translated into English since the eighteenth century and this collection is in that tradition.

The odd thing about collections like this is the need to drop any idea of an original version of the stories. Stories are told and changed, always in flux until they are caught between the pages of a book. Then a version is set in ink ...more

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Sep 09, 2018 7jane rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: read part of Welsh history, connection to King Arthur stories

"On the bank of the river he saw a tall tree: from roots to crown one half was aflame and the other green with leaves."

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 "On the bank of the river he saw a tall tree: from roots to crown one half was aflame and the other green with leaves."

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)

People with interest in Arthurian legends will find some familiar stories here, especially towards the end. I didn't find it quite clear if they were influenced by the French collection of stories of Arthur, or the other way around. Most of the stories have some patchwork in making each a story, but really they are easy to follow, though some inconsistencies exist. In my own reading experience, only "Peredur Son Of Evrawg" was clangingly clearly taped-together, and its ending wasn't quite smooth.
The stories have had newer stuff (and values) multilayered over the original, French appearing over Celtic, but some common themes still shine through. Some characters, who appear briefly or in minor character might have had bigger roles and their own stories in the past. Some historical people appear, sometimes under Welsh-name versions.

The stories vary in length. There are some bizarre-amusing etc. elements that stand out, like a Loki-like character, other dimensions of the same place just with no people, vanishing fortresses, people taking mice-forms, guarding virginity by keeping your feet in the maiden's lap, two men as an animal couple (and not just one kind of animal!), a dragon in Oxford, people like a person who
"were he buried seven fathoms in the earth he would hear an ant stirring from its bed in the morning fifty miles away"
donkeys from Greece, having a lion as a friend, a woman described in a way Snow White is usually described - but in this case the cheeks have the red, not the lips - and guaranteed luck in winning against other knights, and plenty of saving maids ::)

Sometimes the repetition in the story was a little boring, but I've read worse. The one story with a pages-long list of companions accompanying one person was bizarre, but sometimes having amusing comments like that ant-quote above.

A strange experience, reading this book. Requiring some patience, but the introduction was well done, and smoothed the experience, improving it and explaning pretty well. A good reading experience with some through-provoking, funny details. ...more

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Mar 27, 2008 Beth rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I'm reading the Mabinogion after a childhood spent reading books that were based on these Welsh myths: The Chronicles of Prydain, The Dark is Rising, The Owl Service... I recall that those retellings/recyclings were a bit more user-friendly, but what I love about mythology is the concentrated nature of it. These are oral traditions boiled down to their essence--the versions finally set to paper are meant to communicate what was really important to someone nearly 1000 years ago, from stories that ...more

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Mar 17, 2019 Nathanimal rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: myth-legend, medieval

I like mythological and I like medieval but this book is much more than that. There’s a dreaminess to these tales I find so surprising, seductive, and mysterious. They intoxicate me with dream and weird my imagination in wonderful ways.

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 t I like mythological and I like medieval but this book is much more than that. There’s a dreaminess to these tales I find so surprising, seductive, and mysterious. They intoxicate me with dream and weird my imagination in wonderful ways.

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?

Anyway. Here’s a list of some of my favorite dream imagery from the book, mostly from the four branches:

- You’re hunting alone in the forest and encounter a stag being chased by brilliant white hounds with blood-red ears. Seeing no one around, you chase the hounds off and let your own dogs feed on the kill. But out of the forest appears the king of the Otherworld who says the stag was his and claims offense. The only way make amends, he says, will be to trade places with him for a year—he will become you and you will become him.

- On the mounting block at the entrance of the castle you meet a woman with beautiful long hair. As you tie up your horse she tells you that to fulfill her punishment she must confess to you all her sins as she carries you up to the royal court on her back.

- There emerges from the lake a giant, hideous-looking man with a cauldron humped on his back. After him emerges his wife who is twice as big and twice as hideous-looking. Someone once tried to kill them in a fire but failed.

- The cauldron has a special power. Leave your dead in it overnight and in the morning they will have returned to life but with one defect: they will have lost the ability to speak.

- The king is enormous. Sometimes he’s too big to fit in his hall, at other times he’s so big he can wade right across the Irish Sea with his navy in his wake. When mortally injured in battle, he tells his men to cut his head from his body and carry it back home. This turns into a long, difficult quest where the men are seduced into magic castles and waste many years at a time in hypnotic trances. But the whole time the head of their king remains alive and the best of company.

- The only way the hero can be killed, he says, is if he’s standing with one foot on the edge of the bath with his other foot on the back of a goat and someone chucks a spear at him. When such a billygoat bathtub* is eventually contrived and the spear strikes him, he dies by transforming into a decaying eagle and flying up into a tree. Every time the eagle ruffles its feathers, rotting eagle meat falls to the ground.

- To punish the two criminals for raping the virgin who cradled the king’s feet in court, the king transformed them into deer, male and female, who were forced by their animal natures to mate with each other. And so after a year they had a fawn, which the king made human and baptized. And then the two were transformed into wild pigs, male and female, and they had a piglet who the king made human and baptized. And the year after that they were transformed into wolves, m & f, and had a cub, who the king made human and baptized. And after three years of that the king transformed them back into their human selves and commanded them to go have a bath.

- Often there are deafening noises that come roaring out of nowhere and seem to cue some intrusion from the Otherworld. It’s not uncommon after such a noise to find the landscape completely devoid of people or to suddenly find oneself standing in front of a vast army of horses and men with banners whipping in the wind.

* Because of this story my spouse and I have begun calling any precarious, death-inducing contraption a “billygoat bathtub.” We invite you to begin using this expression. ...more

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May 23, 2009 Mark Adderley rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: medieval-literature

This is an excellent translation of the Mabinogion. Unlike Gantz, Davies uses familiar spellings of names, which I like; unlike Jones and Jones, she divides dialogue up into paragraphs--a conversation can be pretty confusing when it's printed as a single paragraph. Above all, though, Davies translates for oral performance--they're wonderful stories to read aloud. Occasionally, when the action is getting intense, Davies will switch to the present tense, as the Welsh originals do. It makes the nar ...more

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Feb 08, 2013 Nicky rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: medieval-literature, classics, welsh-writing, dissertation

Supervisor wanted me to use a different translation to my old one (the Everyman 1993 edition). So I had to get this one. It's supposed to be more accurate -- I don't know about that, but it does seem a bit more immediate and colourful than the old Everyman edition. The little I know suggests it is a good translation, and it's certainly readable, and has a full complement of explanatory notes, introduction, etc, which is more than I can say for the Everyman edition. Slightly odd order of tales, n ...more

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Jan 03, 2021 Julian Worker rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Where does the title 'Mabinogion' come from? Its use for this collection of tales dates from the 19th Century when Lady Charlotte Guest's version of these 11 myths appeared in book form. However, Mabinogion is not even a Welsh word. Mabinogi is a Welsh word, but in these texts only appears in the first four of these stories. The real title should be 'The Mabinogi and Other Early Welsh Tales'.

I thought I'd clear that up as I've always wondered where the title came from.

These stories were not writ ...more

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Aug 03, 2009 Cynthia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-in-2010

This is a group of 12 Welsh legends that feature King Arthur along with other kings. They are stories passed down orally and have mnemonic devices imbedded in them to aide in the telling so they sometimes sound odd to our modern ears. There is so much here that appears in current day literature. There are magical creatures and wells and rocks and carpets, shape shifting, giants, fierce warriors, fair maidens, unbelievably delicious food, and chesslike games, etc. everything that appears in moder ...more

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Feb 13, 2009 Eddie Watkins rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: froggy princes

Recommended to Eddie by: John Cowper Powys

Shelves: myth

A wonderfully curious collection of old Welsh tales. Not exactly literature, not exactly folktales, not exactly mythology. Like folk tales and mythology it’s the expression of a collective mindset, yet it’s also the product of individual (now anonymous) authors elaborating upon or distilling long existent oral tales, more than likely preserved across centuries by highly skilled bards. The introduction refers to them as Wondertales, actually an official subset of Folktales. Sounds wonderful to me A wonderfully curious collection of old Welsh tales. Not exactly literature, not exactly folktales, not exactly mythology. Like folk tales and mythology it’s the expression of a collective mindset, yet it’s also the product of individual (now anonymous) authors elaborating upon or distilling long existent oral tales, more than likely preserved across centuries by highly skilled bards. The introduction refers to them as Wondertales, actually an official subset of Folktales. Sounds wonderful to me.

This collection dates in manuscript from the 14th century, but speculation takes their origins back another 400 years or more. Suffice it to say that these are old stories, with beginnings shrouded in obscurity. They also happen to contain some of the very earliest elaborations of the Arthurian legends.

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.

There is much debate and speculation about who “owns the rights” to the Arthurian legends. Much of what we know today about them, and HOW we know them, are due to Chretien de Troyes who was writing in the 12th century. From him we got the more courtly and refined Arthurian images expressed in a very literate way, orderly and well-constructed. But (according to many scholars) The Mabinogion predates his works and (according to me and many scholars) presents a set of stories much more robust and rustic, somewhat sketchy and rough-hewn, yet still somehow sophisticated, like a Wildman bedecked with emeralds, much more Grimm than H. C. Andersen.

...more

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Apr 28, 2019 Armani rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The contents of this book are:
The Mabinogion “proper” (its four branches, Pwyll, Branwen, Manawydan, and Math), The Dream of Macsen Wledig, Lludd and Llefelys, Culhwch and Olwen, The Dream of Rhonabwy, The Lady of the Fountain, Peredur, and Gereint, Son of Ervin.

I used this collection of Welsh tales to gain key insight into connections with the English language by comparing the names of characters and locations to their English counterparts.
Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed is the first tale collected h ...more

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Aug 01, 2008 Jeffrey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

How does a person even presume to review a book that has survived 700 years, containing stories that survived close to their current form without anyone writing them down for a further 300 years?

I originally picked up the book because Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain is based on Welsh myth, Mabinogion is _the_ collection of Welsh myth, and is even acknowledged by the author as one of his sources. Who would want to read some of the proto-stories that gave us the Black Cauldron, and Arwan ...more

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Jun 05, 2008 Nicky rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, welsh-writing, myth-legend-saga-etc, arthurian

(Sixth book/seventh text in the readathon.)

It's been a long time since I read this in its entirety, if I ever did. I picked it up since I seemed to be on a role with Arthurian stuff, and was surprised to find how many of the stories do have some Arthurian aspect. I was under the impression it was only one or two.

I like the Joneses translation, although the 'thou'ing gets a little irritating and hard to read at times -- perhaps mostly once it's 8am and you haven't slept that night.

Interesting tha ...more

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Jun 28, 2014 Emily rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, folklore

The Mabinogion is a collection of ancient Welsh folk stories, and Lady Charlotte Guest did a brilliant job bringing them into English. She not only made them read like stories and not dry translations, but she added a ton of her own notes and research, like about places in Wales that were still connected with these traditional stories into the nineteenth century when she did her work. (I read this in hard copy, not on Kindle, but I couldn't find the edition I read.) ...more

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Aug 20, 2020 Barnaby Thieme rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: literature, religion-mythology, celtic

I cannot say why I resonate with some cultures and times more than others - why, for example, I love the literature of Sumer but not Egypt. I can say that I am grateful that we have the Mabinogion to puzzle over, to study, and to treasure as an invaluable source of information about the literature and history of the Welsh, even if I do not deeply respond to it on an artistic level to the same degree as, say, The Book of Invasions, with which it was approximately contemporaneous.

Tales of uneven ...more

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Feb 21, 2020 Morgan rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: translation, fantasy, softcover, own, fiction, poetry

I guess this was a good book to read for awhile while sick.

While I like the stories, this edition is the reason I'm giving this three stars. NO GLOSSARY? They had a brief how translate the words in the beginning, but I think it was needed at the end with all the characters mentioned. Got confusing and the Welsh names don't help.

What I liked best was this version's of Arthur. Not the best Arthurian book, but it was interesting he was already a hero and just a king at this point. He's not the main ...more

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Oct 26, 2009 Fox rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Krissy

Shelves: fiction, folklore, reference, 2015, own

The Mabinogion is a collection of medieval Welsh tales that makes up a rich mythological tradition. The tales themselves are only tangentially related - only one character, Pryderi, appears in all four branches. Nevertheless the tales are fascinating, rich and varied in their interpretation. This translation, Sioned Davies, was recommended to me as a good starting point so I happily took it. I'll likely try out other translations as the year goes on.

Not being too thoroughly versed in Welsh cultu ...more

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Mar 21, 2015 Suzannah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, fantasy, arthurian

I've always been extremely fond of the Mabinogion, and it was delightful to reread these stories (in Gwyn Jones's translation). Manawydan the son of Llyr and The Lady of the Fountain are two favourites, and I love the distinctive Welshness of these stories. ...more

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May 04, 2020 Daniel Summerstay rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

This was, quite possibly, the most enjoyable medieval book I've read (although, admittedly, it's also the latest). One thing I appreciated was all the references to knowledge the storytellers assumed the reader had. Those are what really made reading this book feel like a complete departure to an earlier time, moreso than The Canterbury Tales which is also a collection of stories from the 14th century. The characters, especially in the four branches, were also more realistic and 3-dimensional th This was, quite possibly, the most enjoyable medieval book I've read (although, admittedly, it's also the latest). One thing I appreciated was all the references to knowledge the storytellers assumed the reader had. Those are what really made reading this book feel like a complete departure to an earlier time, moreso than The Canterbury Tales which is also a collection of stories from the 14th century. The characters, especially in the four branches, were also more realistic and 3-dimensional than in The Canterbury Tales. I also appreciated how casually the stories accepted the magic as a part of the world; magical things were always mentioned in passing, often gratuitously like the black and white sheep flocks in Peredur, Son of Efrawg. Details like the sheep fields that only add colour to the world without contributing to the main plot arcs in any way made the book fascinating for its setting.
There is an odd theme in the book where seeming problems can only be overcome by asking politely, such as in Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed when no one can catch Rhiannon's magic horse until Pwyll simply asks her to stop and she says 'it had been better for the horse had you asked this long since.' and again when the Britons conquer Rome in front of Macsen.
My favourite story was the third branch of the Mabinogi, Manawydan, Son of Llyr. There were a lot of elements of this particular story that I thought were distinctly modern plot construction tactics, such as the way the authour built up suspense with all the characters' sojourns in Lloegyr, or the way the reader was left guessing what Manawydan was up to with the mouse up until the end when it's revealed Manawydan actually knew exactly what he was doing.
There was some amusing self service by the storytellers in The Dream of Macsen Wledig where Macsen has a dream where he sees 'an island, the fairest in the whole world' and 'a great castle, the fairest that mortal had ever seen' and he finds that he had seen Britain in his dream. The latter half of The Dream of Macsen Wledig is similar to an episode in History of the Kings of Britain which inclines me to believe that Monmouth didn't just make up that whole book like I previously suspected.
Culhwch and Olwen was the epitome of the parts being greater than the whole. This story is much richer in description and drama than the four branches, although more poorly constructed. I mentioned earlier how I liked the random tidbits of magic mentioned to add colour; this is essentially all that Culhwch and Olwen is from beginning to end. I especially liked when they were searching for something which no man had seen so they went and talked to all of the oldest animals they could find whose languages they had an interpreter for just as though they were human languages. Ysbaddaden states almost forty quests of which Arthur and his crew complete less than half, including three Ysbaddaden didn't make.
The Dream of Rhonabwy was so absurd it seemed like some sort of medieval joke, like it was making fun of its own genre of stories. I found out that there is some scholarly support for this hypothesis.
The three later romances were enjoyable to read primarily because they were so gentle and familiar. No problem lasts more than a few pages before the knight solves it. Even Owein, who forgot about his wife for more than a year, gained forgiveness in the end. They were also far less specific than the other stories, taking place invariably in the mysterious bounds of the world. They struck me as being the equivalent of medieval dime novels and thus were intriguing to read for the glimpse they gave of the medieval culture. ...more

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May 10, 2018 Terese rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Such a fun read (though the names were a challenge - ”Gwlwlwyd”!?) with some great stories. I thought the Four branches were the best part of it, the Arthurian adventures were ok (especially ”Owein/The countess of the fountain”) but they also show a shift in tone with knightly valor (and more solo adventures) and courtly love. As I find heroes like Peredur a real snore these stories were less interesting to me and harder to get through.

There are a lot of recurring themes and formulaic patterns ...more

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Feb 08, 2020 Lady Mayfair rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: wales, reflections, mediæval, five-stars, arthuriana

From my notes:

1. Mabinogi is a scribal error, derived from the Welsh word mab meaning ‘boy, son’. As a result, mabinogi are tales for the young, stories for youth.
2. Llyma dechreu mabinogi - this is the beginning of a mabinogi.
3. He who is leader, let him be a bridge - Welsh proverb, here taken quite literally.
4. Englyn - is one of the oldest Welsh strict-metre forms, here an early three-lined type (four lined is the norm today), written in a complex system involving the repetition on conson ...more

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Oct 21, 2009 russell barnes rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: medieval-classics, wales

I'd heard of the Mabinogion, but just assumed it was just a Welsh version of Chaucer, and at £2 in a second hand bookshop it seemed a decent gamble.

Having read it, I now seem to have accidentally read three quarters of the key medieval texts about King Arthur. This isn't necessarily a terrible thing as all three have been quite enjoyable, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my new-found knowledge about corrupt folios, Red Books, White Books and the movement of the legends from Wales and ...more

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Mar 26, 2011 Basicallyrun rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: asnc-y

I love the stripped-down style of the original tales (well. Apart from the, what, five pages of all the knights that were at Arthur's court that day in one of the tales. I imagine that sounded lovely and lyrical when it was being performed aloud, but in written form it does drag a little) and I think Jeffrey Gantz has done a brilliant job in capturing a slightly archaic, but still perfectly readable cadence here. I also like the way names are left untranslated in the text, but are usually footno ...more

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Feb 16, 2014 Katrin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: cymru-wales-celtic

this book is a classic that I finally had to read. many stories or parts of them were already known to me. now I read the whole mabinogion. of course some parts are pretty much ridiculous from our point of view. but the stories are rich with mystery, history, magic, mythology and most of all love for wales. this is what made me read and enjoy it very much. many places are known to me. what a great collection, for me this ranges in the same league with other sagas I have read, like the edda, kale ...more

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Oct 04, 2016 Christine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mythology-folklore-legends

I have read several versions of The Mabinogion, but would love to track down this edition. Illustrations by Alan Lee: what could be better? He names certain of his influences as Arthur Rackham, Edward Dulac, and the Pre-Raphaelites, on his 'author' page here. ...more

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Dec 04, 2017 Alys rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Okay I read it again! And it's still amazing! ...more

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Nov 25, 2017 Lilaia Moreli rated it liked it · review of another edition

Fascinated with all things related to the Celtic tradition, I sought for any written sources associated with mythology and literature that would shed light on the wisdom and worldview of this culture. It wasn’t long before I stumbled upon the Mabinogion in an online research.

The Mabinogion are the earliest prose stories of the literature of Britain, namely Wales. The book is a collection comprised of twelve stories compiled in Middle Welsh during the 12th and 13th centuries from earlier oral tra ...more

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May 28, 2020 Glenda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I read this with my Classics Book Club. Although I found it interesting, my mental state due to other parts of my life found me just “reading” and not really “comprehending” and therefore it colored my rating.

In some ways I find this more interesting to read and follow than Mallory’s LeMorte D’Arthur. Many of the tales were easy to imagine being read aloud to children.

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Feb 14, 2020 G. Lawrence rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A fascinating collection of Welsh folk tales, if a little meandering at times.

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Jan 20, 2013 Helen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: train-read, uk-ir, medieval

Not really a review, but I was asked for an opinion, so:

I'm nowhere near a qualified scholar of anything Welsh; therefore, I probably missed a lot of intricacies. On the top of that, I read the translation that is generally viewed as inferior. But needs (student's ever-empty pockets) must, so free ebook on smartphone during the commute it was.

Things I noticed:
-Invisibility and magic cauldrons play a great part, even in latter, Christian-influenced works. There are some elaborate illusions as wel Not really a review, but I was asked for an opinion, so:

I'm nowhere near a qualified scholar of anything Welsh; therefore, I probably missed a lot of intricacies. On the top of that, I read the translation that is generally viewed as inferior. But needs (student's ever-empty pockets) must, so free ebook on smartphone during the commute it was.

Things I noticed:
-Invisibility and magic cauldrons play a great part, even in latter, Christian-influenced works. There are some elaborate illusions as well.
-The order is baffling: we start with Arthuriana (three romances plus two of "native tales"), then jump to paganic Four Branches (and shift in the style is very apparent), then turn back to "native tales". Why wasn't the order chronological? Or if you wanted to put more appealing stories in the front, why not shift mythology to the end? It's not just nitpick, shift in style twice over feels quite awkward.
-First, there were sudden lists of The Silmarillion. Then I read some of actual sagas (great source of inspiration) and saw that I got off lightly back then. And then I read Culhwch and Olwen
-Lady Guest mentions possible influences of early medieval Welsh literature on latter medieval romances in the introduction, but I was more stunned by the influence on Fairy Tales. Above-mentioned Culhwch and Olwen alone contains a lot of motives, though there is more to be found in others. I even noticed potential influences to a few folktales from my own region; northernmost parts were inhibited by Celts during the period of their greatest expansion.
-Is it bestiality if they are both shape-shifted and possibly under compulsion to act like animals? Presuming compulsion, is it incest? Presuming one of two is temporarily shape-shifted into a female animal, is it homosexual? (Since it's likely they are aware - it wouldn't be a punishment otherwise.)
-Will no one think of the children? (No, seriously. A lot of people decry treatment of female characters in olden works, but here there is just as much if not more child abuse. And horse abuse, for that matter.)

In the end, this just expanded TBR list instead of shortening it. ...more

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About Anonymous

Anonymous

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Books can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:

* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author

Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown. ...more

Books by Anonymous

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ

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A Debut Novelist's 2020 Reading that Mirrors Our Timeline

Mateo Askaripour is a Brooklyn-based writer whose debut novel, Black Buck—which Colson Whitehead calls a “mesmerizing novel, executing a high...

Trivia About The Mabinogion

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Quotes from The Mabinogion

“Since thou wilt not remain here, chieftain, thou shalt receive the boon whatsoever thy tongue may name, as far as the wind dries, and the rain moistens, and the sun revolves, and the sea encircles, and the earth extends; save only my ship; and my mantle; and Caledvwlch, my sword; and Rhongomyant, my lance; and Wynebgwrthucher, my shield; and Carnwenhau, my dagger; and Gwenhwyvar, my wife” — 3 likes

“So they took the blossoms of the oak, and the blossoms of the broom, and the blossoms of the meadow-sweet, and produced from them a maiden, the fairest and most graceful that man ever saw. And they baptized her, and gave her the name of Blodeuwedd.” — 2 likes

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Preview — The Mabinogion by Anonymous

The Mabinogion

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About Anonymous

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Trivia About The Mabinogion

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