The Mabinogion (Oxford World's Classics) (10 page)

‘I dispersed them throughout the land, and they are numerous, and prosper everywhere,
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and strengthen whatever place they happen to be in with the best men and weapons anyone has seen.’

That night they continued to talk and sing and carouse as long as it pleased them. When they realized it was better to sleep than to sit up longer, they went to sleep. And so they enjoyed the feast. When it finished Matholwch, together with Branwen, set out for Ireland. They set out from Abermenai in their thirteen ships, and came to Ireland.

In Ireland they received a great welcome. Not one man of rank or noblewoman in Ireland came to visit Branwen to whom she did not give either a brooch or a ring or a treasured royal jewel, and it was remarkable to see such things leaving the court. Furthermore, she gained renown that year, and flourished with honour and companions. Meanwhile she became pregnant. After the appropriate time had passed she gave birth to a boy. They named him Gwern son of Matholwch. The boy was put out to be fostered to the very best place for men in Ireland.

Then in the second year, there was a murmuring of dissatisfaction in Ireland because of the insult that Matholwch had received in Wales, and the disgrace he had suffered regarding his horses. His foster-brothers and the men closest to him taunted him with it quite openly. And there was such an uproar in Ireland that there was no peace for Matholwch until he avenged the insult.
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They took revenge by sending Branwen from her husband’s chamber, and forcing her to
cook for the court; and they had the butcher come to her every day, after he had chopped up meat, and give her a box on the ear.
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And that is how her punishment was carried out.

‘Now, lord,’ said his men to Matholwch, ‘set an embargo on the ships, and the rowing-boats and the coracles, so that no one may go to Wales; and whoever comes here from Wales, imprison them and do not let them return in case they find out what is happening.’ They agreed on that.

This continued for not less than three years. In the meantime Branwen reared a starling at the end of her kneading-trough, and taught it to speak, and told the bird what kind of man her brother was. And she brought a letter telling of her punishment and dishonour. The letter was tied to the base of the bird’s wings, and it was sent to Wales, and the bird came to this island. It found Bendigeidfran in Caer Saint in Arfon, where he was at a council of his one day. The bird alighted on his shoulder, and ruffled its feathers until the letter was discovered and they realized that the bird has been reared among people. Then the letter was taken and examined. When it was read, Bendigeidfran grieved to hear how Branwen was being punished, and there and then he sent messengers to muster the entire island. Then he had the full levy of one hundred and fifty-four districts come to him, and he complained personally to them of his sister’s punishment. Then he took counsel. They agreed to set out for Ireland, and leave seven men behind as leaders, together with their seven horsemen, and Caradog son of Brân in command. Those men were left in Edeirnion, and because of that the name Saith Marchog
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was given to the township. The seven men were Caradog son of Brân and Hyfaidd Hir, and Unig Glew Ysgwydd, and Iddig son of Anarog Walltgrwn, and Ffodor son of Erfyll, and Wlch Minasgwrn, and Llashar son of Llasar Llaesgyngwyd; and Pendaran Dyfed, then a young lad,
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was with them. Those seven stayed behind as seven stewards to look after this island, and Caradog son of Brân was their chief steward.
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Bendigeidfran and the army we mentioned sailed towards Ireland, and the sea was not wide then; Bendigeidfran waded across. There were only two rivers, called the Lli and the Archan. Later the sea spread out when it flooded the kingdoms.
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But Bendigeidfran walked carrying all the stringed instruments on his own back, and made for Ireland’s shore.

Matholwch’s swineherds were on the sea shore one day, busy with their pigs. And because of what they saw on the sea, they went to Matholwch.

‘Lord,’ they said, ‘greetings.’

‘May God prosper you,’ he said, ‘and do you have any news?’

‘Lord,’ they said, ‘we have extraordinary news;
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we have seen a forest on the sea, where we never before saw a single tree.’

‘That’s strange,’ he said. ‘Could you see anything else?’

‘Yes, lord,’ they said, ‘we could see a huge mountain beside the forest, and it was moving; and there was a very high ridge on the mountain, and a lake on each side of the ridge; and the forest, and the mountain, and all of it was moving.’

‘Well,’ said Matholwch, ‘there is no one here who would know anything about that unless Branwen knows something. Go and ask her.’ Messengers went to Branwen.

‘Lady,’ they said, ‘what do you think it is?’

‘Though I am no “lady”,’ she said, ‘I know what it is: the men of the Island of the Mighty coming over, having heard of my punishment and dishonour.’

‘What is the forest they saw on the sea?’ they said.

‘Masts of ships and yardarms,’ she said.

‘Oh!’ they said. ‘What was the mountain they saw alongside the ships?’

‘That was Bendigeidfran my brother, wading across,’ she said. ‘There was no ship big enough for him.’

‘What was the very high ridge and the lake on each side of the ridge?’

‘That was him, looking at this island,’ she said. ‘He is angry. The two lakes on either side of the ridge are his two eyes on each side of his nose.’

Then they quickly mustered all the fighting-men of Ireland and of the coastal regions, and took counsel.

‘Lord,’ said his men to Matholwch, ‘the only advice is to retreat across the Liffey (a river in Ireland), and put the Liffey between you and him, and then destroy the bridge that crosses the river. There are loadstones on the riverbed—neither ships nor vessels can sail across.’
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They retreated over the river, and destroyed the bridge.

Bendigeidfran landed with his fleet and approached the riverbank. ‘Lord,’ said his noblemen, ‘you know the strange thing about the
river, no one can sail across it, nor is there a bridge. What shall we do for a bridge?’ they said.

‘Nothing, except that he who is a leader, let him be a bridge,’
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said Bendigeidfran. ‘I will be a bridge,’ he said. This was the first time that saying was uttered, and it is still used as a proverb.

Then after Bendigeidfran had lain down across the river, hurdles were placed on him,
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and his men walked on top of him to the other side. Then, as soon as he got up, Matholwch’s messengers approached him, and greeted him, and addressed him on behalf of Matholwch his kinsman who, they said, wished nothing but good to come Bendigeidfran’s way.

‘And Matholwch is giving the kingship of Ireland to Gwern son of Matholwch, your nephew, your sister’s son, and will invest him in your presence, to make up for the injustice and injury that was done to Branwen. And make provision for Matholwch wherever you like, either here or in the Island of the Mighty.’

‘Well,’ said Bendigeidfran, ‘if I myself cannot have the kingship, perhaps I should take advice regarding your message. But until a better response comes, you will get no answer from me.’

‘Very well,’ they said, ‘we will bring you the best response we can get; wait for our message.’

‘I will if you return quickly,’ he said.

The messengers set off and went to Matholwch.

‘Lord,’ they said, ‘prepare a better response for Bendigeidfran. He would not listen at all to the one we took him.’

‘My men,’ said Matholwch, ‘what is your advice?’

‘Lord,’ they said, ‘there is only one thing to do. He has never been able to fit inside a house,’ they said. ‘Build a house in his honour, so that there is room for him and the men of the Island of the Mighty in one half of the house, and for you and your troops in the other. And place your kingship at his disposal, and pay homage to him. And because of the honour in building the house (for he has never had one into which he could fit) he will make peace with you.’

The messengers took the offer to Bendigeidfran; and he took advice. He decided to accept; and that was all done on Branwen’s advice because she feared that the country would be laid waste.

The terms of peace were arranged, and the house was built, large and spacious. But the Irish had a cunning plan. They placed a peg on either side of each column of the one hundred columns in the house,
and hung a hide bag on each peg with an armed man in each one of them.
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Efnysien entered the house ahead of the troops of the Island of the Mighty, and cast fierce, ruthless glances around the house. He caught sight of the hide bags along the pillars.

‘What is in this bag?’ he said to one of the Irishmen.

‘Flour, friend,’ he answered.

Efnysien prodded the bag until he found the man’s head, and he squeezed the head until he could feel his fingers sinking into the brain through the bone. He left that one, and put his hand on another bag and asked, ‘What have we here?’

‘Flour, friend,’ said the Irishman. Efnysien played the same game with each of them, so that not a man was left alive of the entire two hundred, apart from one. And he came to that one, and asked, ‘What have we here?’

‘Flour, friend,’ said the Irishman. Efnysien prodded the bag until he found the man’s head, and just as he had squeezed the heads of the others so he squeezed this one. He could feel armour on the head of this one. He did not let him go until he had killed him. And then he sang an
englyn
:

‘There is in this bag a different kind of flour,

Champions, warriors, attackers in battle,

Against fighters, prepared for combat.’
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Then the troops entered the house. The men of the Island of Ireland entered the house on the one side, and the men of the Island of the Mighty on the other. As soon as they sat down they were reconciled, and the boy was invested with the kingship.

Then, when peace had been made, Bendigeidfran called the boy to him. The boy went from Bendigeidfran to Manawydan, and everyone who saw him loved him. From Manawydan, Nysien son of Euroswydd called the boy to him. The boy went to him graciously.

‘Why does my nephew, my sister’s son, not come to me?’ said Efnysien. ‘Even if he were not king of Ireland, I would still like to make friends with the boy.’

‘Let him go, gladly,’ said Bendigeidfran. The boy went to him cheerfully.

‘I confess to God,’ said Efnysien to himself, ‘the outrage I shall now commit is one the household will never expect.’ And he gets up, and takes the boy by the feet, and immediately, before anyone in the
house can lay a hand on him, he hurls the boy head-first into the fire. When Branwen sees her son burning in the fire she tries to jump into the fire from where she is sitting between her two brothers. But Bendigeidfran seizes her with one hand, and seizes his shield with the other. Then everyone in the house leaps up. And that was the greatest uproar ever by a crowd in one house, as each one took up arms. Then Morddwyd Tyllion said, ‘Hounds of Gwern, beware of Morddwyd Tyllion.’
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As each went for his weapons, Bendigeidfran held Branwen between his shield and his shoulder.

The Irish began to kindle a fire under the Cauldron of Rebirth. Then they threw the corpses into the cauldron until it was full, and they would get up the next morning fighting as well as before except that they could not talk. When Efnysien saw the corpses, and no room anywhere for the men of the Island of the Mighty, he said to himself, ‘Oh God,’ he said, ‘woe is me that I am the cause of this mountain of the men of the Island of Mighty; and shame on me,’ he said, ‘unless I try to save them from this.’

He creeps in among the corpses of the Irish, and two bare-backed Irishmen come up to him and throw him into the cauldron, as if he were an Irishman. He stretches himself out in the cauldron so that the cauldron breaks into four pieces, and his own heart breaks too. And because of that, such victory as there was went to the men of the Island of the Mighty. There was no real victory except that seven men escaped, and Bendigeidfran was wounded in the foot with a poisoned spear. The seven men who escaped were Pryderi,
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Manawydan, Glifiau son of Taran, Taliesin, Ynog, Gruddieu son of Muriel, and Heilyn son of Gwyn Hen.

Then Bendigeidfran ordered his head to be cut off.
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‘And take my head,’ he said, ‘and carry it to the Gwynfryn in London, and bury it with its face towards France. And it will take you a long time; you will feast in Harlech for seven years, with the birds of Rhiannon
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singing to you. And you will find the head to be as good company as it ever was when it was on me. And you will stay for eighty years in Gwales in Penfro.
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And so long as you do not open the door towards Aber Henfelen,
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facing Cornwall, you can remain there and the head will not decay. But as soon as you open that door you can stay no longer. Make for London to bury the head. And now set off across the sea.’

Then his head was cut off, and they set out across the sea with the
head, those seven men
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and Branwen as the eighth. They came ashore at Aber Alaw in Talebolion. And then they sat down and rested. She looked at Ireland and at the Island of the Mighty, what she could see of them.

‘Oh son of God,’ she said, ‘woe that I was ever born. Two good islands have been laid waste because of me!’ She gives a mighty sigh, and with that her heart breaks. And they make a four-sided grave for her
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and bury her there on the banks of the Alaw.

Then the seven men journeyed towards Harlech carrying the head. As they were travelling they met a company of men and women.

‘Do you have any news?’ said Manawydan.

‘No,’ they said, ‘except that Caswallon son of Beli
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has overrun the Island of the Mighty and is crowned king in London!’

‘What happened to Caradog son of Brân and the seven men who were left with him on this Island?’ they said.

‘Caswallon attacked them and six men were killed, and Caradog’s heart broke from bewilderment at seeing the sword kill his men and not knowing who killed them. Caswallon had put on a magic cloak so that no one could see him killing the men—they could only see the sword. Caswallon did not want to kill Caradog—he was his nephew, his cousin’s son. (And he was one of the Three People who Broke their Hearts from Sorrow.)
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Pendaran Dyfed, who was a young lad with the seven men, escaped to the woods,’ they said.