''The Dream of Rhonabwy'' () is a
Middle Welsh
Middle Welsh (, ) is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh ().
Literature and history
Middle Welsh is ...
prose tale. Set during the reign of
Madog ap Maredudd
Madog ap Maredudd (, ; died 1160) was the last prince of the entire Kingdom of Powys, Wales. He held for a time, the FitzAlan Lordship of Oswestry, family of the Earl of Arundel, Earls of Arundel, of Arundel Castle. His daughter married Lord Rhys ...
, prince of
Powys
Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...
(died 1160), its composition is typically dated to somewhere between the late 12th through the late 14th century. It survives in only one manuscript, the
Red Book of Hergest
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secon ...
, and has been associated with 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 frag ...
'' since its publication by
Lady Charlotte Guest
Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Guest (née Bertie; 19 May 1812 – 15 January 1895), later Lady Charlotte Schreiber, was an English aristocrat who is best known as the first publisher in modern print format of the ''Mabinogion'', the earliest prose li ...
in the 19th century. A diplomatic version of the text is published by the University of Wales Press as ''Breuddwyt Ronabwy'', edited by
Grafton Melville Richards, first published in 1948. The bulk of the narrative describes a dream
vision
Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to:
Perception Optical perception
* Visual perception, the sense of sight
* Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight
* Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...
experienced by its central character, Rhonabwy, a retainer of Madog, in which he visits the time of
King Arthur
According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...
. The text uses the fictional trope of
time travel
Time travel is the hypothetical activity of traveling into the past or future. Time travel is a concept in philosophy and fiction, particularly science fiction. In fiction, time travel is typically achieved through the use of a device known a ...
.
Narrative
The
frame story
A frame story (also known as a frame tale, frame narrative, sandwich narrative, or intercalation) is a literary technique that serves as a companion piece to a story within a story, where an introductory or main narrative sets the stage either fo ...
tells that Madog sends Rhonabwy and two companions to find the prince's rebellious brother Iorwerth. One night during the pursuit they seek shelter with Heilyn the Red, but find his
longhouse
A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe, and North America.
Many were built from lumber, timber and ...
filthy and his beds full of fleas. Lying down on a yellow ox-skin, Rhonabwy experiences a dream of Arthur and his time. Serving as his guide is one of Arthur's followers, Iddawg the Churn of Britain, so called because he sparked the
Battle of Camlann
The Battle of Camlann ( or ''Brwydr Camlan'') is the legendary final battle of King Arthur, in which Arthur either died or was mortally wounded while fighting either alongside or against Mordred, who also perished. The original legend of Caml ...
when he distorted the king's messages of peace he was supposed to deliver to the enemy
Medrawd (Mordred). Iddawg introduces Rhonabwy and his friends to Arthur, who regrets that Wales has been inherited by such tiny men.
Iddawg reveals that Arthur's men are assembled to meet the
Saxons
The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
at the
Battle of Mount Badon
The Battle of Badon, also known as the Battle of Mons Badonicus, was purportedly fought between Britons and Anglo-Saxons in Post-Roman Britain during the late 5th or early 6th century. It was credited as a major victory for the Britons, st ...
. However, Arthur is more concerned with a game of
gwyddbwyll, a Celtic board game similar to Roman
ludus latrunculorum
''Ludus latrunculorum'', ''latrunculi'', or simply ''latrones'' ("the game of brigands", or "the game of soldiers" from ''latrunculus'', diminutive of ''latro'', mercenary or highwayman) was a two-player Abstract strategy game, strategy board gam ...
, that he is playing against his follower
Owain mab Urien
Owain mab Urien (Middle Welsh Owein) (died c. 595) was the son of Urien, king of Rheged c. 590, and fought with his father against the Angles of Bernicia. The historical figure of Owain became incorporated into the Arthurian cycle of legends w ...
(
Ywain
In Arthurian legend, Ywain , also known as Yvain and Owain among other spellings (''Ewaine'', ''Ivain'', ''Ivan'', ''Iwain'', ''Iwein'', ''Uwain'', ''Uwaine'', ''Ywan'', etc.), is a Knight of the Round Table. Tradition often portrays him as t ...
). While they play, messengers arrive declaring that Arthur's squires are attacking Owain's ravens; when Owain asks that this be stopped Arthur only responds, "your move". Finally Owain orders his ravens to attack Arthur's servants; when Arthur asks him to call them off, Owain says "your move, lord". Eventually Arthur crushes the chess pieces into dust, and the two declare peace between their forces. After this the Saxons send a contingent asking for a truce, which Arthur grants after consulting his advisors.
Cai (Kay) declares that any who wish to follow Arthur should come to
Cornwall
Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
. The noise of the troops moving wakes Rhonabwy, who realizes he has slept for three days.
Interpretation
There is no consensus about the ultimate meaning of ''The Dream of Rhonabwy''. On one hand it derides Madoc's time, which is critically compared to the illustrious Arthurian age. However, Arthur's time is portrayed as illogical and silly, leading to suggestions that this is a satire on both contemporary times and the myth of a heroic age.
[Roberts, Brynley F. (1991). "The Dream of Rhonabwy." In Lacy, Norris J., ''The New Arthurian Encyclopedia'', p. 120–121. New York: Garland. .]
''Rhonabwy'' is the most literary of the medieval Welsh prose tales; it may have also been the last written. A
colophon at the end declares that no one is able to recite the work in full without a book, the level of detail being too much for the memory to handle. The comment suggests the work was not popular with storytellers, though this was more likely due to its position as a literary tale rather than a traditional one.
See also
*
Rhuawn Bebyr
Notes
References
*Bromwich, Rachel (2006). ''Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain''. University of Wales Press. .
*Gantz, Jeffrey (translator) (1987). ''The Mabinogion''. New York: Penguin. .
*Lacy, Norris J. (Ed.) (1991). ''The New Arthurian Encyclopedia''. New York: Garland. .
* J. A. Carson, ''The Structure and Meaning of The Dream of Rhonabwy'', in: ''
Philological Quarterly
The ''Philological Quarterly'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering research on medieval European and modern literature and culture. It was established in 1922 by Hardin Craig. The inaugural issue of the journal was made available at sixt ...
'' 53, 1974, S. 289–303.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dream of Rhonabwy, The
Works set in the 12th century
13th-century books
Arthurian literature in Welsh
Fiction about dreams
Mabinogion
Medieval Welsh literature
Welsh-language literature
Visions (spirituality)
Frame stories
Literature about time travel