Caradog ap Bran (sometimes spelled as Caradoc) is the son of the British king Bran the Blessed in

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 ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

, who appears most prominently in the second branch of 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 tale of Branwen ferch Llŷr. He is further mentioned in the

Welsh Triads The Welsh Triads (, "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 rhetorical form whereby o ...

and in certain medieval Welsh genealogies. Caradog is the grandson of the sea god

Llŷr Llŷr ( (); 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 tidbits, his identit ...

, the nephew of Manawydan, Branwen, Efnisien and Nisien.

Role in Welsh tradition

The Irish king Matholwch sails to

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 ...

to speak with Bran 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. Bendigeidfran agrees to Matholwch's request, but the celebrations are cut short when Efnisien, a half-brother to the children of Llŷr, brutally mutilates Matholwch's horses, angry that his permission was not sought in regards to the marriage. Matholwch is deeply offended until Bran offers him compensation in the form of a magic

cauldron A cauldron (or caldron) is a large cookware and bakeware, pot (kettle) for cooking or boiling over an open fire, with a lid and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger and/or integral handles or feet. There is a rich history of cauldron lore in r ...

that can restore the dead to life. Pleased with the gift, Matholwch and Branwen sail back to Ireland to reign. Once in Matholwch's kingdom, Branwen gives birth to a son, Gwern, but Efnysien's insult continues to rankle among the Irish and, eventually, Branwen is mistreated, banished to the kitchens as a servant and beaten every day. She tames a starling and sends it across the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

with a message to her brother Bendigeidfran, who raises a huge host in preparation for invasion. A council is held among the British and it is decided that seven men should stay behind to defend Britain; Bran's son Caradog is given seniority over the chieftains, namely Hefeydd the Tall, Unig Strong Shoulder, Iddig ab Anarawd, Ffodor ab Erfyll, Wlch Bone Lip, Llassar fab Llasar Llaes Gyngwyd and Pendaran Dyfed. Bran's host sails across the

. Upon Bran's departure, Caradog and his men are attacked by his uncle, Caswallawn fab Beli, who murders Caradog's men whilst concealed by a cloak of invisibility. Caradog, whom Caswallawn had not intended to kill, breaks his heart in despair at the deaths of his kinsmen, and Caswallawn ascends to the throne. Caradog's paternal uncle Manawydan learns of his nephew's death upon his return from

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and submits to the usurper. The triads allude to both Caradog's role as a defender of Britain and to his death; Triad 13 names him as one of the Chief Defenders of Britain, while Triad 95 refers to him as one of the three people who broke their hearts out of bewilderment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caradog Ap Bran Mythological princes Welsh mythology Mabinogion