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Llŷr
Llŷr ( cy, Llŷr Llediaith (); ''Lleddiaith'' meaning "half-speech" or "half-language") is a figure in Welsh mythology, probably originally a deity, probably derived from Irish Ler ("the Sea"), father of ''Manannán mac Lir''. Other than his progeny and odd titbits, his identity remains obscure. Llŷr appears as the father of Brân, Brânwen and Manawydan by Penarddun in the ''Branwen, Daughter of Llyr'', the Second Branch of the ''Mabinogi''., New Revised ed. 1993, p. 21, "Bendigeidfran son of Llŷr was crowned king.. His two brothers on the mother's side (Nisien and Efnisien) were sons of Euroswydd by his mother Penarddun." The Welsh Triads states that Llŷr was imprisoned by Euroswydd, and presumably, Penarddun subsequently married Euroswydd, giving birth by Euroswydd to her two younger sons, Nisien and Efnisien, as stated in the Second Branch. William Shakespeare's play ''King Lear'' is based on material taken secondhand (through Raphael Holinshed) from Geoffrey of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Welsh Mythology
Welsh mythology (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Mytholeg Cymru'') 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 ( cy, derwyddon). 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 folklore, such as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brân The Blessed
Brân the Blessed ( cy, Bendigeidfran or ''Brân Fendigaidd'', literally "Blessed Crow") is a giant and king of Britain in Welsh mythology. He appears in several of the Welsh Triads, but his most significant role is in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi, '' Branwen ferch Llŷr''. He is a son of Llŷr and Penarddun, and the brother of Brânwen, Manawydan, Nisien and Efnysien. The name "Brân" in Welsh is usually translated as crow or raven. Role in the ''Mabinogion'' The Irish king Matholwch sails to Harlech to speak with Brân the Blessed, high king of the Island of the Mighty and to ask for the hand of his sister Branwen in marriage, thus forging an alliance between the two islands. Brân agrees to Matholwch's request, but the celebrations are cut short when Efnysien, a half-brother of Brân and Branwen, brutally mutilates Matholwch's horses, angry that his permission was not sought in regard to the marriage. Matholwch is deeply offended until Brân offers him compensa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Four Branches Of The Mabinogi
The ''Four Branches of the Mabinogi'' or ''Pedair Cainc Y Mabinogi'' are the earliest prose stories in the literature of Britain. Originally written in Wales in Middle Welsh, but widely available in translations, the ''Mabinogi'' 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. They appeal to a wide range of readers, from young children to the most sophisticated adult. The tales are popular today in book format, as storytelling or theatre performances; they appear in recordings and on film, and continue to inspire many reinterpretations in artwork and modern fiction. Overview The ''Mabinogi'' are known as the ''Four Branches of the Mabinogi'', or ''Pedair Cainc y Mabinogi'' 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 sti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manawydan
Manawydan fab Llŷr is a figure of Welsh mythology, the son of Llŷr and the brother of Brân the Blessed and Brânwen. The first element in his name is cognate with the stem of the name of the Irish sea god Manannán mac Lir, and likely originated from the same Celtic deity as Manannán. Unlike Manannán, however, no surviving material connects him with the sea in any way except for his patronymic (''llŷr'' is an old Welsh word for ''sea''). Manawydan's most important appearances occur in the Second and Third Branches of the Mabinogi (the latter of which is named for him), but he is also referenced frequently in medieval poetry and the Welsh Triads. The Mabinogi Second Branch Manawydan is an important character in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi, the ''Mabinogi of Brânwen, Daughter of Llŷr''. In this tale, Manawydan serves as advisor to his brother Brân the Blessed, the King of Britain. He sits beside Brân at the feast celebrating the wedding of their sister Brânwen t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mabinogion
The ''Mabinogion'' () are the earliest Welsh prose stories, and belong to the Matter of Britain. The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, created c. 1350–1410, as well as a few earlier fragments. The title covers a collection of eleven prose stories of widely different types, offering drama, philosophy, romance, tragedy, fantasy and humour, and created by various narrators over time. There is a classic hero quest, "Culhwch and Olwen"; a historic legend in " Lludd and Llefelys," complete with glimpses of a far off age; and other tales portray a very different King Arthur from the later popular versions. The highly sophisticated complexity of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi defies categorisation. The stories are so diverse that it has been argued that they are not even a true collection. Scholars from the 18th century to the 1970s predominantly viewed the tales as fragmentary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Efnisien
Efnisien fab Euroswydd (also spelled Efnissien or Efnysien) is a sadistic anti-hero in Welsh mythology, appearing prominently in the tale of ''Branwen ferch Llŷr'', the second branch of the Mabinogi. Described by Will Parker as "a study in the psychopathic personality" and an "embodiment of the forces of anti-social disruption," he is the catalyst of the tale's ultimate tragedy, and is largely responsible for the destruction of both Ireland and the Island of the Mighty. He is the son of Euroswydd and Penarddun, twin brother to Nisien, and half-brother to Brân the Blessed, Manawydan, and Branwen. The Welsh Triads call Llŷr one of the Three Exalted Prisoners of Britain for his captivity at Euroswydd's hands; this is likely to a lost tradition of the birth of Penarddun's younger sons. Role in Welsh tradition The Irish king Matholwch sails to Harlech to speak with Brân the Blessed high king of the Island of the Mighty and to ask for the hand of his sister Branwen in marriage, thu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Penarddun
Penarddun is a figure in Welsh mythology, the wife of Llŷr. The Second Branch of the ''Mabinogi'' names Bran, Branwen, and Manawydan as her children by Llŷr, and ascribes to her two additional sons by Euroswydd: Nisien, a good man, and Efnysien, a conniving troublemaker. The Welsh Triads call Llŷr one of the Three Exalted Prisoners of Britain for his captivity at Euroswydd's hands; this likely refers to a lost tradition of the birth of Penarddun's younger sons. The ''Mabinogi'' names Penarddun as a daughter of the ancestor Beli Mawr, but the genealogy is confused; it is possible she was meant to be his sister rather than daughter. The name Penarddun can be translated as "Chief Beauty" or "Most Fair" (Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ... ''pen'' "head, chief, f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manannán Mac Lir
Manannán or Manann, also known as Manannán mac Lir ("son of the sea"), is a warrior and king of the Otherworld in Irish mythology who is associated with the sea and often interpreted as a sea god, usually as a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He is seen as the ruler and guardian of the Otherworld, and his dominion is referred by such names as Emain Ablach, Mag Mell (Plain of Delights), or Tír Tairngire (Land of Promise). He is described as over-king of the surviving Tuatha Dé after the advent of humans ( Milesians), and uses the mist of invisibility ('' féth fíada'') to cloak the whereabouts of his home as well as the sidh dwellings of the others. In modern tales, he is said to own a self-navigating boat named ''Sguaba Tuinne'' ("Wave-sweeper"), a horse Aonbharr which can course over water as well as land, and a deadly strength-sapping sword named Fragarach, though the list does not end there. Manannán appears also in Scottish and Manx legend, where he is known ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euroswydd
Euroswydd is a figure in Welsh mythology, the father of Nisien and Efnysien by Penarddun, daughter of Beli Mawr. In the Second Branch of the ''Mabinogi'' Penarddun is the wife of Llŷr, by whom her children are Brân, Branwen, and Manawydan. The circumstances of Nisien and Efnysien's conception are not described, but one of the Welsh Triads The Welsh Triads ( cy, Trioedd Ynys Prydein, "Triads of the Island of Britain") are a group of related texts in medieval manuscripts which preserve fragments of Welsh folklore, mythology and traditional history in groups of three. The triad is a ... mentions that Euroswydd had held Llŷr captive as one of the Three Exalted Prisoners of the Island of Britain; it is likely the traditions are connected. References *Rachel Bromwich (editor and translator), ''Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Welsh Triads'', Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1978. *Jeffrey Gantz (translator), ''The Mabinogion'', London and New York: Penguin Books, 1976. *Ifans, Da ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Branwen
Branwen, Daughter of Llŷr is a major character in the Second Branch of the ''Mabinogi'', which is sometimes called the "Mabinogi of Branwen" after her. Branwen is a daughter of Llŷr and Penarddun. She is married to Matholwch, King of Ireland, but the marriage does not bring peace. Her story The story opens with Branwen's brother, Brân the Blessed, giant and King of Britain, sitting on a rock by the sea at Harlech and seeing the vessels of Matholwch, King of Ireland, approaching. Matholwch has come to ask for the hand of Branwen in marriage. Brân agrees to this, and a feast is held to celebrate the betrothal. During the feast, Efnysien, a half-brother of Branwen and Brân, arrives at the stables and asks of the nature of the celebration. On being told, he is furious that his half sister has been given in marriage without his consent, and flying into a rage he mutilates the horses belonging to the Irish. Matholwch is deeply offended, but conciliated by Brân, who gives ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dôn
Dôn () is an ancestor figure in Welsh legend and literature. She is typically given as the mother of a group known as the "Children of Dôn", including Gwydion, Arianrhod, and Gilfaethwy, among many others. However, antiquarians of the early modern era generally considered Dôn a male figure. The House of Dôn In astronomy Llys Dôn (literally "The Court of Dôn") is the traditional Welsh name for the constellation Cassiopeia. At least three of Dôn's children also have astronomical associations: Caer Gwydion ("The Castle of Gwydion") is the traditional Welsh name for the Milky Way, and Caer Arianrhod ("The Castle of Arianrhod") being the constellation of Corona Borealis. See also *The House of Llŷr *Tuatha Dé Danann *Danu (Irish goddess) In Irish mythology, ''*Danu'' () is the reconstructed mother goddess of the Tuatha dé Danann (Old Irish: "The peoples of the goddess Danu"). Though primarily seen as an ancestral figure, some Victorian sources also associat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Lear
''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane and a proscribed crux of political machinations. The first known performance of any version of Shakespeare's play was on Saint Stephen's Day in 1606. The three extant publications from which modern editors derive their texts are the 1608 quarto (Q1) and the 1619 quarto (Q2, unofficial and based on Q1) and the 1623 First Folio. The quarto versions differ significantly from the folio version. The play was often revised after the English Restoration for audiences who disliked its dark and depressing tone, but since the 19th century Shakespeare's original play has been regarded as one of his supreme achievements. Both the title role and the supporting roles have been coveted by accomplished actors, and the play has been widely adapted. In hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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