The Mabinogion (Oxford World's Classics) (44 page)

After the seven men we spoke of above:
this branch does not make use of the traditional opening formula; rather, the continuity between the Second and Third Branches is emphasized, in written rather than in oral terms.

Caswallon:
see note to
p. 33
.

you are one of the Three Undemanding Chieftains:
in a surviving triad the other two chieftains are named as Llywarch the Old and Gwgon Gwron son of Peredur (
TYP
8). The meaning of
lledyf
(‘undemanding’ or ‘unassuming’) is explained further: ‘because they would not seek a dominion, and nobody could deny it to them.’ In the tale Bendigeidfran, the king of the Island of the Mighty, is dead, as is his son Caradog, which
leaves Manawydan with a legitimate claim to the throne. However, his cousin Caswallon has seized the crown. For more details on Manawydan, see note to
p. 22
.

The seven cantrefs of Dyfed:
see note to
p. 3
.

Gorsedd Arberth:
for the peculiarites of the mound at Arberth, see note to p. 8. The location may be regarded as a liminal zone, where this world and the other converge.

They heard a tumultuous noise … only the four of them remained:
in the
Mabinogion
a huge noise or an uproar signals a supernatural incident; compare the disappearance of Pryderi and Rhiannon (
p. 40
), the appearance of the mice (
p. 42
), the disappearance of Teyrnon’s foal (
p. 18
), and the events concerning the Black Knight in the tale of ‘The Lady of the Well’ (
p. 119
). Here, in the Third Branch, the noise brings in its wake a magical mist which robs the land of its people, animals, and dwelling-places; this has clear parallels with the ‘waste land’ theme, although Dyfed here is deserted rather than infertile.

Llasar Llaesgyngwyd:
the context here suggests that the name
Llasar
means some sort of substance (perhaps blue enamel) that was used to decorate harness and weapons. In the Second Branch (
p. 28
), Llashar son of Llasar Llaesgyngwyd is one of the men that Bendigeidfran leaves behind to defend the Island of the Mighty, while Llasar Llaes Gyfnewid is the huge and monstrous man who brings the Cauldron of Rebirth to Bendigeidfran (
p. 26
). It is unclear whether these characters should be regarded as one and the same.

Cordovan leather:
high-quality Spanish leather, or ‘cordwain’, produced in Cordoba during the Moorish period. It was used especially to make shoes.

one of the Three Golden Shoemakers:
Manawydan’s role as shoemaker can perhaps be explained by the connection between his name and
manawyd
(‘awl’); however, this is a false derivation (see note to
p. 22
). In a surviving triad the other two shoemakers are named as Caswallon son of Beli, and Lleu Llaw Gyffes, ‘when he and Gwydion were seeking a name and arms from his mother Aranrhod’ (
TYP
67), an incident described in the Fourth Branch (
p. 56
). The adjective
eur
, which literally means ‘golden’, can also be taken figuratively to mean ‘splendid’ or ‘noble’, the implication being that each of the high-status characters was forced at some point to adopt the humble craft of shoemaking.

a gleaming white boar:
a common motif whereby the pursuing of an enchanted animal leads to an Otherworld encounter. Swine play a significant role in the Four Branches: Arawn, king of Annwfn (the Otherworld), gives swine as a gift to Pryderi (
p. 48
); Gwydion tricks Pryderi into parting with the swine in the Fourth Branch, an act that ultimately costs Pryderi his life (
p. 51
); and a sow leads Gwydion to the wounded Lleu at the end of the branch (
p. 62
). The boar Twrch Trwyth plays a central role in ‘How Culhwch Won Olwen’ (see note to
p. 198
).

I give you God as my guarantor:
mach
(‘guarantor’ or ‘surety’) is a legal term. Here, Manawydan is giving God as his surety, in the absence of a third party.

There was a huge army of mice:
devastation of crops by supernatural creatures is a common motif. Compare also a poem on the ‘Unhappy Harvest’, attributed to Rhigyfarch son of Sulien, where ‘a host of mice refuse to spare the fields’ (see Michael Lapidge, ‘The Welsh-Latin Poetry of Sulien’s Family’,
Studia Celtica
, 8/9 (1973–4), 68–106). Rhigyfarch was the author of the
Vita Davidis
(a Life of St David) composed about 1094. Indeed, some have argued that the Four Branches of the Mabinogi can be attributed to Rhigyfarch, or his father Sulien. A. C. Breeze, on the other hand, argues that the author was Gwenllian (1097–1136), daughter of Gruffudd ap Cynan, king of Gwynedd (see
Medieval Welsh Literature
, Dublin, 1997).

a cleric:
he is followed by a priest and then a bishop, implying that ‘cleric’ is a man in holy orders, of the lowest rank.

I am punishing it in accordance with the law:
for the laws concerning theft, see
LHDd
156–69. If the mouse can not redeem itself through compurgation, then it can buy its way out for seven pounds. Failing that, it would be banished.

Gwawl son of Clud … Badger in the Bag:
a reference to events in the First Branch when Pwyll tricked Rhiannon’s suitor Gwawl into a bag; he was then kicked and beaten by Pwyll’s men as if he were an animal (see note to
p. 14
). However, Gwawl promised not to seek vengeance for the humiliation.

gate-hammers:
gordd meaning a ‘hammer’ or ‘mallet’, presumably refers here to a fixture for knocking, attached to the door. How Pryderi would have worn this around his neck is uncertain; but it is clear that the punishment was meant to humiliate him.

the Mabinogi of the Collar and the Hammer:
an attempt to explain the title traditionally given to this part of the story. Indeed, at one time it may have been an independent mabinogi rather than part of a ‘branch’ of a mabinogi. It seems that Rhiannon and Pryderi were punished during their captivity, in retaliation for Gwawl’s ill-treatment in the First Branch. It has been suggested that the noun
mynweir
(‘collar’) may also reflect the proper name
Gwair
, one of the Three Exalted Prisoners of the Island of Britain according to the triads, who was imprisoned in the Otherworld (
TYP
52).

Math son of Mathonwy was lord over Gwynedd:
a powerful magician, as reflected also in early Welsh poetry. He has a magic wand with which he can accomplish transformations, perform a virginity test, and create a woman out of flowers. In the triads he is associated with one of the Three
Great Enchantments of the Island of Britain (
TYP
28). It is unclear whether Mathonwy is the name of his mother or his father—the family to which Math belonged was perhaps matrilinear, as reflected in the names of his nephews Gwydion and Gilfaethwy, sons of Dôn (their mother), while at the end of the branch Lleu inherits Gwynedd through his mother, Math’s sister. Or Mathonwy may perhaps be a non-person and merely a doublet of Math’s own name; compare the pairs of invented names in ‘How Culhwch Won Olwen’: Sugn son of Sugnedydd, Drem son of Dremidydd. Gwynedd consisted of the following seven cantrefs: Cemais, Aberffraw, Rhosyr (in Môn), Llŷn, Arfon, Arllechwedd, and Dunoding.

Pryderi son of Pwyll … Ystrad Tywi:
Pryderi is the only character to appear in all Four Branches (see Introduction). For the
seven cantrefs of Dyfed
, see note to
p. 3
. For details of the Welsh administrative divisions, see William Rees,
An Historical Atlas of Wales
(Cardiff, 1972; 1st edn. 1951).

could not live unless his feet were in the lap of a virgin … Caer Dathyl in Arfon:
in the law tracts the foot-holder is listed as one of the additional officers at court: ‘It is right for him to hold the King’s feet in his lap from when he begins sitting at the banquet until he goes to sleep, and to scratch the King’ (
LHDd
32–3). Here, Math’s very existence depends on his virgin foot-holder.
Dol Pebin
is probably in the Nantlle Valley (see note to
p. 62
); however, there is no certainty as to the location of
Caer Dathyl
—it is clearly a fort somewhere on the coast between Dinas Dinlle and Caernarfon (see note to
p. 108
). The name
Tathal
also occurs in ‘How Culhwch Won Olwen’,
p. 184
.

He was unable to circuit the land:
a reference to the custom whereby a lord and his retinue would circuit the land, accepting the hospitality of his people; compare the reference in the Third Branch (
p. 36
).

Gilfaethwy son of Dôn and Gwydion son of Dôn:
Dôn shares her name with the Celtic mother-goddess Danu, whose name is preserved today in the name of the river Donau (Danube), for example, or the river Don in Scotland. In Irish her name is commemorated in the tales of the
Tuatha Dé Danann
(‘The People of the Goddess Danu’), a race of gods who populated Ireland before the Celts. In the Fourth Branch we meet her brother Math, three sons—Gwydion, Gilfaethwy, and Gofannon—and a daughter Aranrhod. Gwydion is presented as a shape-shifting magician; indeed, surviving poetry seems to suggest that there was once a large body of literature surrounding him, unlike his brother Gilfaethwy, who may well have been created solely as a catalyst for the events of the Fourth Branch. Gofannon appears again in ‘How Culhwch Won Olwen’, together with another son, Amaethon (
p. 195
).

Math son of Mathonwy’s special attribute:
compare the Coraniaid in the tale of ‘Lludd and Llefelys’ (see note to
p. 112
).

Hobeu … they were sent to him from Annwfn by Arawn king of Annwfn:
Hobeu
means ‘pigs’ and
moch
means ‘swine’. In the First Branch, Pwyll (Pryderi’s father) and Arawn, king of the Otherworld, send each other ‘horses and hunting-dogs and hawks’ as a token of their friendship (p. 8). However, no pigs are mentioned. Pryderi is associated with the animals elsewhere: in the triads he is named as one of the Three Powerful Swineherds (
TYP
26), when he ‘guarded the swine of Pendaran Dyfed in Glyn Cuch in Emlyn’. Glyn Cuch is where his father Pwyll first encountered Arawn in the First Branch (
p. 3
), while Pendaran Dyfed seems to have been Pryderi’s foster-father (
p. 21
). A variant triad adds that ‘these swine were the seven animals which Pwyll Lord of Annwfn brought, and gave them to Pendaran Dyfed his foster-father’. It is clear that there existed a number of accounts regarding the introduction of pigs to Wales. The animals are often associated with the supernatural in the
Mabinogion
, and played a significant role in the mythology of the Celts (see notes to pp.
39
and
198
).

They entered, disguised as poets:
the reference shows that it was not unusual for poets to travel the country, and that they were most welcome at any court. According to the Welsh laws, the
pencerdd
(‘chief poet’) is one of the additional court officers—‘it is right for him to start the song, first of God, and secondly of the Lord to whom the court belongs, or of another’ (
LHDd
38–9). See also Introduction, pp.
xiii
–
xiv
.

That night they travelled … in the town which is still called Mochdref:
an attempt to explain four place-names, three examples of Mochdref (‘Swine-town’) and one of
Mochnant
(‘Swine-brook’). The author interprets the
moch
- element in all four as ‘swine’, reflecting the pigs’ journey from South to North Wales. It is difficult to locate these places with any degree of certainty. The
Mochdref
in the
uplands of Ceredigion
may refer to a location to the north-east of Aberystwyth, in the vicinity of today’s Nant-y-moch reservoir.
Elenid
is in southern Powys, and refers to the mountainous land known as Pumlumon (Plynlimon) today.
Ceri
and
Arwystli
(see note to
p. 214
) were a commot and cantref respectively, in the area around Newtown and Llanidloes; indeed, about 3 miles south-west of Newtown is the parish of
Mochdref
. The commot of
Mochnant
was partly in Denbighshire and partly in Montgomeryshire, while the Mochdref in the cantref of Rhos is located between Colwyn Bay and Llandudno.

Arllechwedd … Creuwrion:
an onomastic explanation associated with
creu
, the Welsh name for ‘pen’, possibly Cororion, situated between Bangor and Bethesda. The commote of
Arllechwedd
lay between Bangor and the Conwy river in the north, extending south to Dolwyddelan and Penmachno.

Y Traeth Mawr:
meaning ‘the great stretch of sand’, located at the estuary of the Glaslyn and Dwyryd rivers at Porthmadog.