In the earliest prose stories in Britain in the

Mabinogi 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 frag ...

, the ; "birds of

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 ...

", are specifically three magical birds, whose song can "wake the dead and lull the living to sleep". They also have a non-rational effect on space as they can be remote but seem very near. They are connected with

the Queen 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 is thought to be a British

euhemerized In the fields of philosophy and mythography, euhemerism () is an approach to the interpretation of mythology in which mythological accounts are presumed to have originated from real historical events or personages. Euhemerism supposes that histor ...

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

goddess, so part of

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 t ...

. The Adar Rhiannon were demanded by the

giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''wiktionary:gigas, gigas'', cognate wiktionary:giga-, giga-) are beings of humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''gia ...

Ysbaddaden Bencawr as a marriage task for

Culhwch Culhwch (, with the final consonant sounding like Scottish "loch"), in Welsh mythology, is the son of Cilydd son of Celyddon and Goleuddydd, a cousin of Arthur and the protagonist of the story '' Culhwch and Olwen'' (the earliest of the mediev ...

to complete. The giant wanted the Birds to soothe him as he faced his last night of life, prophesied as the consequence of his daughter's wedding.

The two British sources

In the early native British Arthurian tale from Wales, ''

Culhwch and Olwen ''Culhwch and Olwen'' () is a Welsh tale that survives in only two manuscripts about a hero connected with Arthur and his warriors: a complete version in the Red Book of Hergest, , and a fragmented version in the White Book of Rhydderch, . It ...

'', Culhwch ac Olwen, the hero Culhwch ap Cilydd seeks the beautiful

Olwen In Welsh mythology, Olwen (or Olwyn) is the daughter of the giant Ysbaddaden and cousin of Goreu. She is the heroine of the story '' Culhwch and Olwen'' in the Mabinogion. Her father is fated to die if she ever marries, so when Culhwch (sometim ...

, daughter of the

chief, Ysbaddaden Bencawr as his bride. A prophecy has foretold that Ysbadadden will die on his daughter's wedding night. The giant therefore sets Culhwch and his companions a number of impossible tasks to complete before he will bestow his daughter. One of the tasks is to bring him the birds of Rhiannon, to entertain Ysbaddaden on the night before his death. The birds are retrieved, although the tale does not explain how. An earlier and fuller version of the tale may have elaborated on this.Davies, Sioned. ''The Mabinogion''. Oxford University Press, 2005. The Adar Rhiannon are also mentioned in the second

branch A branch, also called a ramus in botany, is a stem that grows off from another stem, or when structures like veins in leaves are divided into smaller veins. History and etymology In Old English, there are numerous words for branch, includ ...

of the Mabinogi, the tale of ''

Branwen ferch Llŷr ; "Branwen, daughter of Llŷr" is a legendary tale from medieval Welsh literature and the second of the four branches of the Mabinogi. It concerns the children of Llŷr; Bendigeidfran (literally "Brân the Blessed"), high king of Britain, and h ...

''. Following a cataclysmic war against the Irish, the fatally wounded British king Bendigeidfran orders his seven surviving men to

decapitate Decapitation is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and all vertebrate animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood by way of severing through the jugular vein and common c ...

him. They are then to take his head to the White Tower of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to bury it as a national protection. Before setting off, the Seven Survivors feast at

Harlech Harlech () is a seaside resort and community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, North Wales, and formerly in the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Merionethshire. It lies on Tremadog Bay in the Snowdonia National Park. Before 1966, it ...

for seven enchanted years, regaled by the three Birds of Rhiannon. These are specifically named in the text, before and after the event, as the birds of Rhiannon (see the very last lines of Branwen for the last reference).

References

{{reflist Birds in mythology Welsh mythology Welsh legendary creatures Welsh legendary characters