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Hafgan
Hafgan is one of the kings of Annwn, the otherworld in Welsh mythology. He appears in the First Branch of the ''Mabinogi'' as the main rival of Arawn, the other king of Annwn. The dominions of the two kings sit side by side, and Hafgan is constantly warring against Arawn. In the story ''Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed'', Pwyll Pwyll Pen Annwn () is a prominent figure in Welsh mythology and literature, the lord of Dyfed, husband of Rhiannon and father of the hero Pryderi. With a name meaning "wisdom", he is the eponymous hero of Pwyll Pendefig Dyfed, the first bra ..., in order to gain Arawn's friendship, agrees to switch places with him for one year and one day and to battle against Hafgan in order to rid Arawn of his difficulty. Before they exchange places, Arawn gives specific instructions to Pwyll to kill him with one stroke and no more. In the past when Arawn had battled and had struck Hafgan nearly to his death, Hafgan had begged him to give another stroke, and when Arawn had d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pwyll
Pwyll Pen Annwn () is a prominent figure in Welsh mythology and literature, the lord of Dyfed, husband of Rhiannon and father of the hero Pryderi. With a name meaning "wisdom", he is the eponymous hero of Pwyll Pendefig Dyfed, the first branch of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, and also appears briefly as a member of Arthur's court in the medieval tale ''Culhwch ac Olwen''. ''Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed'' also carries many similarities to the Mabinogi Branwen. Origin of ''Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed'' This tale is one of a group found in '' The Mabinogion'', one of the earliest known efforts to form a collection of traditional Welsh tales. Such tales, which date back to circa 1325 A.D., were originally passed from person to person and generation to generation orally. The Celtic oral tradition lasted for several centuries and is a possible reason for the abundance of errors and discrepancies found in ''The Mabinogion'' as well as other Welsh literature dating back to the fourteen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Annwn
Annwn, Annwfn, or Annwfyn (; ''Annwvn'', ''Annwyn'', ''Annwyfn'', ''Annwvyn'', or ''Annwfyn'') is the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn (or, in Arthurian literature, by Gwyn ap Nudd), it is a world of delights and eternal youth where disease is absent and food is ever-abundant. Name and etymology Middle Welsh sources suggest that the term was recognised as meaning "very deep" in medieval times. The appearance of a form ''antumnos'' on an ancient Gaulish curse tablet, which means ''an'' ('other') + ''tumnos'' ('world'), however, suggests that the original term may have been *''ande-dubnos'', a common Gallo-Brittonic word that literally meant "underworld". The pronunciation of Modern Welsh ''Annwn'' is . Whereabouts of Annwn In both Welsh and Irish mythologies, the Otherworld was believed to be located either on an island or underneath the earth. In the First Branch of the '' Mabinogi'', it is implied that Annwn is a land within Dyfed, while the context of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Welsh Mythology
Welsh mythology (also commonly known as ''Y Chwedlau'', meaning "The Legends") consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of the predominantly oral societies Celtic mythology and history were recorded orally by specialists such as druids (). This oral record has been lost or altered as a result of outside contact and invasion over the years. Much of this altered mythology and history is preserved in Medieval Welsh literature, medieval Welsh manuscripts, which include the Red Book of Hergest, the White Book of Rhydderch, the Book of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin. Other works connected to Welsh mythology include the ninth-century Latin historical compilation ''Historia Brittonum'' ("History of the Britons") and Geoffrey of Monmouth's twelfth-century Latin chronicle ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' ("History of the Kings of Britain"), as well as later Welsh folklore, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Four Branches Of The Mabinogi
The ''Four Branches of the Mabinogi'' or are the earliest prose stories in the literature of Great Britain, Britain. Originally written in Wales in Middle Welsh, but widely available in translations, the is generally agreed to be a single work in four parts, or "branches." The interrelated tales can be read as mythology, political themes, romances, or magical fantasies. The tales are popular today in book format, as storytelling or theatre performances; they appear in recordings and on film, and continue to inspire reinterpretations in artwork and modern fiction, such as the ''New Stories of the Mabinogion'' series and ''The Assembly of the Severed Head'' by Hugh Lupton. Overview The are known as the ''Four Branches of the'' , or in Welsh. The tales were compiled from oral tradition in the 11th century. They survived in private family libraries via medieval manuscripts, of which two main versions and some fragments continue to survive today. Early modern scholarship of the saw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arawn
In Welsh mythology, Arawn () was the king of the otherworld realm of Annwn who appears prominently in the first branch of the Mabinogi, and alluded to in the fourth. In later tradition, the role of the king of Annwn was largely attributed to the Welsh psychopomp, Gwyn ap Nudd - meaning "white" (i.e. 'winter') a possible kenning for his true name. However, Arawn's memory is retained in a traditional saying found in an old Cardigan folktale: :''Hir yw'r dydd a hir yw'r nos, a hir yw aros Arawn'' "Long is the day and long is the night, and long is the waiting of Arawn" The name ''Arawn'' is derived from that of the biblical prophet Aaron. Arawn's association with the hunt, hornes and the Otherworld has prompted some scholars to associate Arawn with the continental Gaulish god Cernunnos. Role in Welsh tradition The Four Branches In the '' First Branch of the Mabinogi'', Pwyll mistakenly stumbles into the realm of Annwn and finds white hounds with red ears feeding on a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mabinogion
The ''Mabinogion'' () is a collection of the earliest Welsh prose stories, compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, created –1410, as well as a few earlier fragments. Often included in the broader mythologies described as the Matter of Britain, the Mabinogion consists of eleven stories of widely different types, offering drama, philosophy, romance, tragedy, fantasy and humour. Strictly speaking, the Four Branches of the Mabinogi are the main sequence of related tales, but seven others include a classic hero quest, "Culhwch and Olwen"; a historic legend, complete with glimpses of a far off age, in "Lludd and Llefelys"; and other tales portraying a very different King Arthur from the later popular versions. The stories were created and amended by various narrators over a very long period of time, and scholars beginning from the 18th century predominantly viewed the tales as fragmentary pre-Christi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingdom Of Dyfed
The Kingdom of Dyfed (), one of several Welsh petty kingdoms that emerged in 5th-century sub-Roman Britain in southwest Wales, was based on the former territory of the Demetae (modern Welsh ''Dyfed''). The royal line was founded by Irish settlers in the 5th century. After the Norman invasion of Wales Dyfed was incorporated into Pembrokeshire. The name was resurrected for the now-defunct administrative area called Dyfed as well as in the names of some regional organisations such as Dyfed–Powys Police. Dyfed may have originally occupied the area that bordered the rivers Teifi, Gwili and Tywi, and included contemporary Pembrokeshire, the western part of contemporary Carmarthenshire, and with the town of Carmarthen. Dyfed eventually comprised at least seven cantrefi: Cemais, Deugleddyf, Emlyn, Cantref Gwarthaf, Pebidiog, Penfro and Rhos, with an approximate area of about . During times of strength, the kingdom expanded to additionally cover the Ystrad Tywi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
