The Mabinogion
Also known as: Y Mabinogion, The Four Branches of the Mabinogi, Pedeir Keinc y Mabinogi
A medieval Welsh collection of prose tales blending myth, folklore, and romance. Its Four Branches center on Pryderi’s lineage, while accompanying tales range from Arthurian quests to visionary dreams and encounters with the Otherworld.
Description
The Mabinogion is the conventional title for a set of Middle Welsh prose narratives that unite native mythic cycles with courtly romance and adventure. The Four Branches—Pwyll, Branwen, Manawydan, and Math—trace the fortunes of Dyfed and Gwynedd through shape-shifting, enchanted geasa, and otherworldly treaties. Parallel tales include the gigantic Bendigeidfran’s ill-fated expedition to Ireland, Lleu Llaw Gyffes’s near-death and rebirth as eagle, and Blodeuwedd’s creation from flowers. Elsewhere, Culhwch’s sprawling quest list enlists Arthur’s retinue, and dream-visions of Macsen and Rhonabwy juxtapose sovereignty with memory. Later romances (Geraint, Owain, Peredur) echo or adapt Continental materials while retaining distinctive Welsh textures—landscapes alive with taboo, cauldrons that reanimate the dead, talking heads, uncanny birds, and boars that lead heroes across borders into Annwn.
Historiography
The corpus survives primarily in the White Book of Rhydderch and the Red Book of Hergest, with additional witnesses and later copies. Lady Charlotte Guest’s 1838–1849 English translation popularized the collective title “Mabinogion”, a misreading of the term “mabinogi” attached to the Four Branches; the label nonetheless persists. Scholarly consensus places composition of the Four Branches in the late 11th–early 13th centuries, with some tales drawing on older oral strata and others reflecting interaction with French romances. Modern editions distinguish the native mythic narratives from the Arthurian romances while treating the medieval manuscript context as the unifying frame.
Date Notes
Narratives likely formed from earlier oral tradition; preserved chiefly in the White Book of Rhydderch (c.1350) and Red Book of Hergest (c.1382–1410).
Themes
Archetypes
Symbols
Major Characters
- Pwyll
- Rhiannon
- Pryderi
- Bran the Blessed
- Branwen
- Manawydan
- Math
- Gwydion
- Blodeuwedd
- Lleu Llaw Gyffes
- Arianrhod
Myths
- Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed
- Branwen Daughter of Llŷr
- Manawydan Son of Llŷr
- Math Son of Mathonwy and Blodeuedd
- Culhwch and Olwen
- Lludd and Llefelys
- The Dream of Macsen Wledig
- The Dream of Rhonabwy
Facts
- The collective title “Mabinogion” derives from Lady Charlotte Guest’s 19th-century edition and a medieval scribal form of “mabinogi.”
- The Four Branches are linked by the figure of Pryderi and the houses of Llŷr and Dôn.
- Key manuscripts are the White Book of Rhydderch and Red Book of Hergest, both in Middle Welsh.
- “Culhwch and Olwen” preserves one of the earliest extensive Arthurian character lists.
- The cauldron of rebirth motif in “Branwen” parallels Insular Celtic otherworld vessels.
- “Owain,” “Geraint,” and “Peredur” align with, but diverge from, Chrétien de Troyes’s French romances.
- “The Dream of Rhonabwy” is a late, ironic vision that reflects on Arthurian memory and courtly spectacle.
- “Lludd and Llefelys” frames kingship through solving three plagues affecting the land.
- “Manawydan” features a rare resolution by negotiation rather than battle.
- Modern printed ‘Mabinogion’ often append ‘Hanes Taliesin,’ absent from the two chief manuscripts.