The Book of Taliesin
Also known as: Hanes Taliesin, Historia Taliesin, The Tale of Gwion Bach, Taliesin
A Welsh prose tale with embedded poems recounting how the boy Gwion Bach, tasting three drops from Ceridwen’s cauldron of inspiration, transforms and is reborn as Taliesin—prodigy bard and savior of Elphin—whose songs humble King Maelgwn’s court.
Description
The narrative tells of Ceridwen brewing a cauldron to grant inspired wisdom (awen) to her ugly son Morfran. When the servant boy Gwion Bach accidentally tastes the three fateful drops, he flees as Ceridwen gives chase through a rapid sequence of shape-shifts. Swallowed as a grain and reborn from Ceridwen, the radiant child is set adrift in a leather bag and found by Elphin, son of Gwyddno Garanhir, who names him Taliesin. Brought before King Maelgwn of Gwynedd, the wonder-child composes riddling, prophetic songs, exposing the vanity of court bards and securing Elphin’s release and fortune. The tale blends folktale motifs, bardic self-fashioning, and mythic symbolism—especially the cauldron of awen—linking Taliesin’s poetic authority to primordial wisdom and metamorphosis.
Historiography
The tale is absent from the core Four Branches yet circulates with Mabinogion material in later collections. Principal witnesses include Peniarth MS 2 (c. 1600) and a cognate account in Elis Gruffydd’s mid-sixteenth-century Chronicle. Scholars view it as a composite drawing on older bardic lore surrounding the historical Taliesin and poems in the Book of Taliesin. Modern editors often print it alongside medieval Welsh narratives; the embedded verses vary by manuscript.
Date Notes
Survives chiefly in early modern Welsh manuscripts (e.g., Peniarth MS 2, c. 1600) but preserves older medieval narrative materials; a related version appears in Elis Gruffydd’s chronicle (mid-16th c.).
Symbols
Major Characters
- Taliesin
- Cerridwen
- Gwion Bach
- Morfran (Afagddu)
- Elphin
Myths
- Gwion Bach and the Cauldron of Inspiration
- The Shapeshifting Chase
- Birth and Naming of Taliesin
- Taliesin’s Prophetic Songs
Facts
- The tale explains Taliesin’s origin as a miraculous rebirth from Ceridwen after a pursuit through successive transformations.
- Its central object, Ceridwen’s cauldron, is a Welsh emblem of poetic inspiration (awen) and wisdom.
- The story’s earliest full witnesses date to the 16th century, though the motifs are medieval and likely earlier.
- Elphin, son of Gwyddno Garanhir, discovers the infant Taliesin in a leather bag caught at a fish weir.
- At King Maelgwn’s court, Taliesin’s songs confound rival bards and secure Elphin’s release and honor.
- The narrative interweaves prose with attributed poems; the verses differ across manuscripts and later printings.
- The historical Taliesin was a 6th-century bard; the tale fuses legendary biography with bardic ideology.
- Motifs include shape-shifting chase, wisdom by accidental taste, miraculous child exposure, and riddling contests.
- Though often printed with the Mabinogion, it is not part of the Four Branches.
- Key manuscript associations include Peniarth MS 2 and Elis Gruffydd’s Chronicle redaction.