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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 ...
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Pwyll Pendefig Dyfed
, "Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed," is a legendary tale from medieval Welsh literature and the first of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi. It tells of the friendship between Pwyll, prince of Dyfed, and Arawn, lord of Annwn (the Otherworld), of the courting and marriage of Pwyll and Rhiannon and of the birth and disappearance of Pryderi. This branch introduces a number of storylines that reappear in later tales, including the alliance between Dyfed and Annwn, and the enmity between Pwyll and Gwawl. Along with the other branches, the tale can be found in the medieval ''Red Book of Hergest'' and White Book of Rhydderch. Synopsis Whilst hunting in Glyn Cuch, Pwyll, prince of Dyfed becomes separated from his companions and stumbles across a pack of hounds feeding on a slain stag. Pwyll drives the hounds away and sets his own hounds to feast, earning the anger of Arawn, lord of the otherworldly kingdom of Annwn. In recompense, Pwyll agrees to trade places with Arawn for a year and a day, takin ...
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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 ...
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Gwawl
In Welsh mythology, Gwawl (Gwawl fab Clud) was the son of Clud, and tricks Pwyll into promising him Rhiannon. She decides to marry Pwyll instead. Nothing is known of his father Clud. Gwawl, son of Clud, is initially mentioned in the first of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, when Rhiannon tells Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed Dyfed () is a preserved county in southwestern Wales, covering the modern counties Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. It is mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel. Between 1974 and 1996, Dyfed w ..., who wishes to marry her, that she is intended for Gwawl. Rhiannon and Pwyll form a plan to free her from her forced marriage to Gwawl and make arrangements for their own marriage in a year's time. The year passes and it is assumed, if not mentioned, that Gwawl has heard of Rhiannon's pending marriage to Pwyll and has had sufficient time to create a plan so he can marry Rhiannon himself. During the wedding feast at ...
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Rhiannon
Rhiannon () is a protagonist (main character) of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, Mabinogi, in its First and Third Branches. She originates only in these prose tales, with just a couple of references in 14thC mediaeval Welsh poetry, and none in the ''Trioedd''/ Welsh Triads. Ronald Hutton calls her "one of the great female personalities in World literature", adding that "there is in fact, nobody quite like her in previous human literature". Patrick K. Ford comments ‘It is clear from her first entrance that she will accomplish her ends’. In the Mabinogi, Rhiannon is a strong-minded ruler, a lady of the courts, and a devoted mother. She is intelligent, politically strategic, famed for her sophisticated conversation and striking looks, as well as her wealth and the generosity of her gifts especially to minstrels. In the First Branch Rhiannon chooses Pwyll, prince of Dyfed (south-west Wales), as her consort, breaking her contract with Gwawl, another prince. Her fateful choic ...
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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 ...
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Pryderi
Pryderi fab Pwyll is a prominent figure in Welsh mythology, the son of Pwyll and Rhiannon, and king of Dyfed after his father's death. He is the only character to appear in all Four Branches of the Mabinogi, although the size of his role varies from tale to tale. He is often equated with the divine son figure of Mabon ap Modron, while Jeffrey Gantz compares him to Peredur fab Efrawg, who is himself associated with the continental figure of Sir Percival de Galles.''The Mabinogion.'' Translated with an introduction by Jeffrey Gantz. 1976. Penguin Books, London. Ifor Williams speculated that he was once the focal character of the Mabinogi as a whole, although some subsequent scholars disagree with this theory. Pryderi is described by Jeffrey Gantz as "bold and enterprising, but rash to the point of foolishness." He goes on to say that "his downfall, while pathetic, is not entirely undeserved." Role in Welsh mythology Birth and early life Pryderi was born in Arberth to Pwyll ...
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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 ...
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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, ...
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The 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 ...
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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 ...
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Teyrnon
In Welsh tradition, Teyrnon Twryf Lliant is the lord of the Kingdom of Gwent and the foster father of the divine son, Pryderi. He appears most prominently in '' Pwyll Pendefig Dyfed'', the first of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, but also features briefly in the early tale on the Matter of Britain, '' Culhwch and Olwen'', as a knight of King Arthur. The name Teyrnon is widely acknowledged as deriving from the Common Brittonic *tigernonos, "great lord". Role A son is born in Arberth to Pwyll, Lord of Dyfed, and Rhiannon, daughter of Hyfaidd Hen. On the night of his birth, the child disappears while in the care of six of Rhiannon's ladies-in-waiting. To avoid the king's wrath, they smear dog's blood onto a sleeping Rhiannon, claiming that she had committed infanticide Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, it ...
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