The Mammoth Book of Celtic Myths and Legends (44 page)

Branwen uerch Llyr
(Branwen, daughter of Llyr), which she is said to have retold, is the main basis of our first tale, which is found in the Second Branch. By the time this story was
written, as with the others, Christian scribes had tended to censor the fact that they were talking about the ancient gods. Bran is often referred to as
Benedigeidfan
in Welsh sources and
this comes from the adjective
bendigaid
– blessed, which identifies him as a deity.

Bran of Wales seems cognate with Bran of Ireland, who journeys to the Otherworld in search of adventure. He also appears to be the source of the medieval French romance of “Bron, the
Fisher King”.

For the story of “Math fab Mathonwy” we also go to the
Mabinogi
and specifically to the Fourth Branch of the
Mabinogi. The story not only tells of Math
and the war with Pryderi but of the birth of Gwydion’s son, Lleu Llaw Gyffes, and of his faithless wife, Blodeuedd. This is one of the most powerful stories in Welsh myth and, among
retellings and works based on its themes, Saunders Lewis made it into one of his most memorable plays, entitled
Blodeuwedd
(1948). This appeared in an English translation by Joseph Clancy as
“The Woman made of Flowers” (1985).

The next tale, “Llyn-y-Fan Fach”, which is sometimes called “The Physicians of Myddfai”, has survived both in ancient written form and as a folk tale handed down orally.
The earliest written reference appears to be in a medieval manuscript in the British Museum, BL Add. 14912. There have been several versions of the tale and many scholastic studies.

The story of “Bedd Gellert”, however, is not so widely known, surviving in oral tradition down to the end of the 18th century and then being picked up in the form of a poem by the
Hon. William R. Spencer, and printed privately by him in 1800, later being reprinted in his collected poems in 1811. However, a similar story, “The Fables of Cattwg the Wise”, appears
in the mss of Iolo Morganwg (Edward Williams, 1747–1826). The first part of the story, concerning Rhita Gawr, bears a resemblance to a theme from the story of “Culhwch and
Olwen”.

“The Quest for Olwen”, often called simply “Culhwch and Olwen”, is one of the oldest complete story texts in the Welsh language. It is not an intrinsic part of the
Mabinogi
but found in
The White Book of Rhydderch
and
The Red Book of Hergest
. It is also the earliest recorded native Arthurian saga in Welsh, predating Geoffrey of
Monmouth’s
Historia Regum Britanniae
and therefore, unlike many later tales, not influenced by it.

The final story, “The Dream of Rhonabwy” (
Breudwyt Ronabwy
) is also a native Arthurian tale, the earliest copy of which is found in
The Red Book of Hergest
. The tale is
set in Powys in the reign of Madog ap Maredudd (d. 1160), the last King of Powys, and it is presumed that the story was composed during his reign. This is the earliest example of the use
of the dream motif, which is found in both Welsh and Irish tales.

But Rhonabwy’s tale is a mystery tale, for the mystery lies in its interpretation. No satisfactory explanation has ever been given by a scholar as to the meaning of Arthur and
Owain’s strange board game and the symbolism of the ravens. That it has something to do with the crushing victories of the Anglo-Saxons over the Celtic Britons is clear. Politically, at the
time the story was set (ie in the mid-12th century) Owain of Gwynedd had managed to unite the Welsh princes in an alliance against the attacks of Henry II. Should the story be read in that context?
Did the storyteller, seeing the need for another Arthur to rise to defend the Britons, this time against the Anglo-Normans, also attempt to show, in symbolic form, the dissensions among the British
Celts? The conclusions must be left to the readers.

Like the other Celts, Welsh myths and legends are full of topographical references. One cannot walk through any area of a Celtic country without coming to realize, unless one is totally
impervious to atmosphere, that geographical features are intrinsic to the myths and legends. Celtic myth has much to do with place as well as with story content. As a demonstration of this, my wife
and I used to spend some time on the Lleyn Peninsula, in North Wales. In the area around Trefor, where we stayed in the early 1970s, one could still find the old-style
chwedleuwr
or
storyteller who maintained the oral tradition of tales. That is where I first picked up the tale of “Bedd Gellert”. It was, however, on that very peninsula that the locations of the
creation of Blodeuedd, the woman of flowers, is said to have happened and the spot where Lleu lived in the form of an eagle. On the north shore, Gwydyon sought a name for his son. South-west, by
Bardsey Island, Branwen’s starling came ashore with the sorrowful news of her fate. To the south shore, the ships of Matholwch arrived to take Branwen back to Ireland. All these events are
contained in the following tales.

One simply tunes into the landscape and it is replete with tales of gods and heroes, goddesses and heroines, and of the constant struggle of good and evil.

Wales was exceptionally fortunate in having scholars and folklorists such as Sir John Rh
ŷ
s (1840–1915), appointed as the first professor
of Celtic Studies at Oxford. His book
Celtic Folklore
,
Welsh and Manx
(two vols, 1901) and his concern with pre-Christian Celtic religion and mythology, as in his
On the Origin and
Growth of Religion as Illustrated by Celtic Heathendom
(1888), were pioneering works in the field.

One could not leave this area without mention of one of the most important figures in the collection of Welsh folklore – William Jenkyn Thomas (1870–1959), who was an assiduous
collector of oral tradition in Wales. A graduate of Cambridge, he lectured at University College of Bangor and published two collections of folklore:
The Welsh Fairy Book
(1907) and
More
Welsh Fairy and Folk Tales
(1958).

The best general introduction to early Welsh literature is the previously mentioned
Medieval Welsh Literature
by Andrew Breeze.

20 Bran and Branwen

T
here was great rejoicing throughout the Isle of the Mighty when Bran, son of Llyr, announced that his beautiful sister Branwen, “the Fair
Blossom”, would be married to Matholwch, king of Éireann. It was a union that everyone rejoiced in, for it meant peace between the two kingdoms. Others rejoiced that Branwen should
find a husband in the handsome warrior-king and a king so rich that he had sent no less than thirteen great ships to Aber Alaw, which is now called Aberffraw, filled with rich gifts. It was at Aber
Alaw that the wedding feast was to be held.

Great pavilion tents were pitched around the sea port and for nine days and nine nights there was feasting and entertainment.

Branwen and Matholwch gazed upon one another and neither could find fault in the choice.

Bran, the king of the Isle of the Mighty, was much pleased with the match for, above all things, he desired peace for his people. But there were some in the kingdom, and within his own family,
who did not. Some were ready for mischief and war. Penarddun, the daughter of Dôn, who was the mother of Bran and Branwen by Llyr, had married again to a champion called Eurosswydd. To him
she bore twins. One was called Nisien and the other was Efnisien. The first grew to be a youth of gentle nature and a lover of peace, while the second was one who loved nothing better than strife
and conflict.

Because this was known, Bran the king decided that Efnisien should not be invited to Branwen’s wedding feast.
So enraged did Efnisien become that he came to the
celebrations anyway, although he did not make his presence known. He slunk into the camp of Matholwch in disguise and proceeded to cut off the tails, ears, eyebrows and lips of all the king of
Ireland’s horses.

Matholwch stormed into Bran’s tent the next morning and demanded an explanation for the great insult that had been paid him. Bran explained that the deed had been done without his
knowledge and, as token of his good faith, Bran would replace every horse that had been mutilated. In addition, he gave Matholwch a plate of purest gold as big as his face and a staff of silver as
tall as Matholwch himself. To this Bran also added a special gift. It was a magical cauldron that had been brought from Éireann.

Matholwch was mollified by these gifts. In fact, he was more than delighted with the cauldron. Matholwch knew of this magical cauldron and knew where it had once been kept, at a spot called the
Lake of the Cauldron in the heart of his kingdom. Walking by that lake many years before, Matholwch had met a tall, ugly man, with a wife larger and uglier than himself. The man, who was called
Llassar Llaesgyfnewis, had the cauldron strapped to his back. Every six weeks his wife, called Cymideu Cymeinfoll, gave birth to a fully armed warrior. And if any one warrior was killed, Llassar
would put the corpse in the cauldron and the warrior would re-emerge, as alive as ever but lacking the power of speech.

At first they had taken service with Matholwch, but the continual growth of the warrior family, who could never be killed, and their incessant bickering caused the king of Éireann many a
heartache. Finally, he could stand no more and knew that the only thing to do was to destroy Llassar and Cymideu and all their children together.

He had enticed them all into a house made of iron and had coals heaped on it, hoping that it would roast the whole family to death. But as soon as the iron walls grew white-hot, Cymideu and
Llassar had burst through them but their bickering children had remained behind and were roasted to death. Cymideu and Llassar, together with their magic
cauldron, had crossed
to the Isle of the Mighty, where Bran had allowed them to settle and, in return for this kindness, they had given Bran the magic cauldron.

So Matholwch was well pleased at receiving the cauldron but without the fierce pair who had previously owned it and all the warriors to which they gave birth.

So the wedding feast continued and, at the end of the nine days and nights, Matholwch and his beautiful bride, Branwen, set sail for his court at Tara in Éireann. And before the year was
out, Branwen bore Matholwch a son, who was called Gwern, and because he was the heir to the five kingdoms of Éireann, he was sent to be fostered among the greatest families of the land.

In the second year of their marriage, tales of the insult Matholwch had suffered at his wedding feast were made known to the people of Éireann. Stories were spread that Matholwch was
weak, having accepted a token compensation from Bran. The people of Éireann, prompted by these stories, grew indignant. They demanded that Matholwch should seek vengeance. Now Matholwch was
rather worried at this, for he knew that behind the stories were his foster-brothers, who were envious of his throne. They were stirring up this trouble in order to oust him as king and claim the
throne for themselves.

So Matholwch decided to appease his people by publicly degrading Branwen. He had her removed to the kitchens of the palace and forced her to cook and clean and ordered the chief cook to give her
a blow on the ears every day so that she would know her place. All traffic of ships between Éireann and the Isle of the Mighty was forbidden, so that no news of how Branwen was being
punished should reach her brother.

For three years, Branwen bore the punishment, working from sunrise to sunset in the kitchens and being sent to sleep in a draughty attic at night. It was in the attic, in the brief period before
dawn, that she found a young starling with a broken wing. She mended the wing and taught the starling how to fly. Then she wrote a letter to her brother Bran, telling him what was taking place. The
starling took the message under its wing and flew up into the sky.

Away eastward from Éireann it flew, until it alighted at Caer Seiont in Arfon. Indeed, not only did it alight in Caer Seiont but it set down on the very shoulder of
Bran, the king, himself.

Bran’s rage grew as he read the letter from his sister and he called his son Caradawg to him and told him to send out to all the chieftains of the Isle of the Mighty to prepare a great
army to invade Éireann. No less than one hundred and forty-four kings came to his aid. Leaving Caradawg to rule the Isle of the Mighty in his absence, Bran set sail with his great
armada.

Messengers soon came to Matholwch, telling him that a great forest was growing on the sea and this vast wood was moving towards the shores of Éireann.

Branwen heard the news and cried in joy. “It is the masts and yards of the fleet of Britain.”

The chief cook reported this outburst to Matholwch, who immediately sought the advice of his council. They decided that the army of Bran was so vast that it could not be met in battle where
advantage was with it. Matholwch, however, ordered a great palace to be constructed for Bran to placate him. A great feasting would be held and all homage done to the king of the Isle of the
Mighty. Branwen would be released and her son Gwern brought to the court.

However, this was an outward subterfuge. The plan was that Bran and all his sub-kings and chieftains would be invited into the new palace feasting-hall. Of course, according to ancient law, no
one could enter a feasting-hall with arms, so that made the Britons defenceless. Matholwch secretly arranged that at each of the pillars behind the seats at the feasting tables were to be hung two
leather bags. And in each bag would be an armed warrior of Éireann. A signal would be given and the warriors would then fall on the guests and slaughter them.

Now it chanced that Efnisien had come with Bran’s army and, while Matholwch was greeting Bran and inviting him to the banquet, Efnisien entered the feasting-hall. Efnisien saw the bags and
asked one of Matholwch’s attendants: “What is in this bag?”

“Meal, good soul,” replied the servant.

So Efnisien put his hand in the bag and felt the head of the warrior inside. He squeezed the head until his fingers met together in the brain as the bone cracked. He went to
the next bag and asked the same question. The attendant tried to brazen it out. But Efnisien went through the entire hall and crushed all two hundred warriors’ heads while they were hiding in
the bags, even the head of one warrior who was wearing an iron helmet.