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The Four Branches Of The Mabinogi
The ''Four Branches of the Mabinogi'' or ''Pedair Cainc Y Mabinogi'' are the earliest prose stories in the literature of Britain. Originally written in Wales in Middle Welsh, but widely available in translations, the ''Mabinogi'' is generally agreed to be a single work in four parts, or "branches." The interrelated tales can be read as mythology, political themes, romances, or magical fantasies. They appeal to a wide range of readers, from young children to the most sophisticated adult. The tales are popular today in book format, as storytelling or theatre performances; they appear in recordings and on film, and continue to inspire many reinterpretations in artwork and modern fiction. Overview The ''Mabinogi'' are known as the ''Four Branches of the Mabinogi'', or ''Pedair Cainc y Mabinogi'' in Welsh. The tales were compiled from oral tradition in the 11th century. They survived in private family libraries via medieval manuscripts, of which two main versions and some fragments stil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is dominated by a maritime climate with narrow temperature differences between seasons. The 60% smaller island of Ireland is to the west—these islands, along with over 1,000 smaller surrounding islands and named substantial rocks, form the British Isles archipelago. Connected to mainland Europe until 9,000 years ago by a landbridge now known as Doggerland, Great Britain has been inhabited by modern humans for around 30,000 years. In 2011, it had a population of about , making it the world's third-most-populous island after Java in Indonesia and Honshu in Japan. The term "Great Britain" is often used to refer to England, Scotland and Wales, including their component adjoining islands. Great Britain and Northern Ireland now constitute the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gwawl
In Welsh mythology, Gwawl (Gwawl fab Clud) was the son of Clud, and tricks Pwyll into promising him Rhiannon. She decides to marry Pwyll instead. Nothing is known of his father Clud. Gwawl, son of Clud, is initially mentioned in the first of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, when Rhiannon tells Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed Dyfed () is a preserved county in southwestern Wales. It is a mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel. Between 1974 and 1996, Dyfed was also the name of the area's county council and the name remains in use f ..., who wishes to marry her, that she is intended for Gwawl. Rhiannon and Pwyll form a plan to free her from her forced marriage to Gwawl and make arrangements for their own marriage in a year's time. The year passes and it is assumed, if not mentioned, that Gwawl has heard of Rhiannon's pending marriage to Pwyll and has had sufficient time to create a plan so he can marry Rhiannon himself. During the wedding feast at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cigfa
Cigfa ferch Gwyn Glohoyw (Middle Welsh: ''Kigua'') is a minor character in Welsh mythology, the wife of King Pryderi of Dyfed. She is mentioned briefly in the First Branch of the ''Mabinogi'', and appears more prominently in the third. Describing the character, Proinsias Mac Cana writes: "Cigfa strikes one as a slight though effective vignette of a contemporary bourgeois snob while William John Gruffydd hypothesises that the character was a later addition to the tale."Gruffydd, W. D. ''Rhiannon'', Cardiff, 1953. John Rhys suggested a connection between Cigfa and the Irish character ''Ciochba''.Hughes, Ian. ''Manawydan uab Llyr'' Role in Welsh tradition After ascending to the throne of Dyfed, Pryderi searches for a wife and marries Cigfa, whose ancestry is recorded as "Cigfa, daughter of Gwyn Glohoyw, son of Gloyw Walltlydan, son of Casnar Wledig". A similar lineage can be found in ''Bonedd y Saint'', in which a saint named Mechyll fab Echwys is the grandson of Gwyn Glohoyw and grea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grassholm
Grassholm ( cy, Gwales or ) or Grassholm Island is a small uninhabited island situated off the southwestern Pembrokeshire coast in Wales, lying west of Skomer, in the community of Marloes and St Brides. It is the westernmost point in Wales other than the isolated rocks on which the Smalls Lighthouse stands. Grassholm is known for its huge colony of northern gannets; the island has been owned since 1947 by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and is one of its oldest reserves. It reaches . Grassholm National Nature Reserve is the third most important site for gannets in the world, after two sites in Scotland: St Kilda and Bass Rock. It serves as a breeding site for 39,000 pairs of the birds, and supports around 10 percent of the world population. The turbulent sea around Grassholm is a good feeding area for porpoises and bottlenose dolphins. The island has a significant problem with marine plastic, brought to the island by breeding gannets, as nesting material w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and Ceredigion over the River Dyfi. The scenic Llŷn Peninsula and most of Snowdonia National Park are in Gwynedd. Bangor is the home of Bangor University. As a local government area, it is the second largest in Wales in terms of land area and also one of the most sparsely populated. A majority of the population is Welsh-speaking. ''Gwynedd'' also refers to being one of the preserved counties of Wales, covering the two local government areas of Gwynedd and Anglesey. Named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd, both culturally and historically, ''Gwynedd'' can also be used for most of North Wales, such as the area that was policed by the Gwynedd Constabulary. The current area is , with a population of 121,874 as measured in the 2011 Census. Et ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harlech
Harlech () is a seaside resort and community in Gwynedd, north Wales and formerly in the historic county of Merionethshire. It lies on Tremadog Bay in the Snowdonia National Park. Before 1966, it belonged to the Meirionydd District of the 1974 County of Gwynedd. Its landmark Harlech Castle was begun in 1283 by Edward I of England, captured by Owain Glyndŵr, and in the 1480s, a stronghold of Henry Tudor. Once on a seaside cliff face, it is now half a mile (800 m) inland. New housing has appeared in the low town and in the high town around the shopping street, church and castle. The two are linked by a steep road called "Twtil". Of its 1,447 inhabitants, 51 per cent habitually speak Welsh. The built-up area with Llanfair had a population of 1,762 in the 2001 census, over half of whom lacked Welsh identity, and the electoral ward which includes Talsarnau 1,997 in the 2011 census. The estimate in 2019 was 1,881. Etymology The exact derivation of the name "Harlech" is unclear. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manawydan
Manawydan fab Llŷr is a figure of Welsh mythology, the son of Llŷr and the brother of Brân the Blessed and Brânwen. The first element in his name is cognate with the stem of the name of the Irish sea god Manannán mac Lir, and likely originated from the same Celtic deity as Manannán. Unlike Manannán, however, no surviving material connects him with the sea in any way except for his patronymic (''llŷr'' is an old Welsh word for ''sea''). Manawydan's most important appearances occur in the Second and Third Branches of the Mabinogi (the latter of which is named for him), but he is also referenced frequently in medieval poetry and the Welsh Triads. The Mabinogi Second Branch Manawydan is an important character in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi, the ''Mabinogi of Brânwen, Daughter of Llŷr''. In this tale, Manawydan serves as advisor to his brother Brân the Blessed, the King of Britain. He sits beside Brân at the feast celebrating the wedding of their sister Brânwen to Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey, North Wales, is the largest island in the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man. The term ''Manx Sea'' may occasionally be encountered ( cy, Môr Manaw, ga, Muir Meann gv, Mooir Vannin, gd, Muir Mhanainn). On its shoreline are Scotland to the north, England to the east, Wales to the southeast, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to the west. The Irish Sea is of significant economic importance to regional trade, shipping and transport, as well as fishing and power generation in the form of wind power and nuclear power plants. Annual traffic between Great Britain and Ireland amounts t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Starling
Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The Sturnidae are named for the genus ''Sturnus'', which in turn comes from the Latin word for starling, ''sturnus''. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, are called mynas, and many African species are known as glossy starlings because of their iridescent plumage. Starlings are native to Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as northern Australia and the islands of the tropical Pacific. Several European and Asian species have been introduced to these areas, as well as North America, Hawaii, and New Zealand, where they generally compete for habitats with native birds and are considered to be invasive species. The starling species familiar to most people in Europe and North America is the common starling, and throughout much of Asia and the Pacific, the common myna is indeed common. Starlings have strong feet, their flight is strong and direct, and they are very gregarious. Their preferred h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gwern
(meaning "Alder") is a minor figure in Welsh tradition. He is the son of Matholwch, king of Ireland, and Branwen, sister to the king of Britain. He appears in the tale of '' Branwen, daughter of Llŷr'', in which his murder at the hands of his sadistic uncle Efnysien sparks a mutually destructive battle between Britain and Ireland. Role in Welsh tradition Background Matholwch, King of Ireland, sails across the Irish Sea to ask the British High King, Brân, for the hand of his sister Branwen in marriage. Bendigeidfran agrees to this, but during a feast to celebrate the betrothal, Efnisien, a half-brother of Branwen and Bendigeidfran, arrives and asks what was going on. When told, he is furious that Branwen has been given in marriage without his permission, and retaliates by mutilating Matholwch's horses. Matholwch is deeply angered until Bendigeidfran gives him a magic cauldron which restores the dead to life. Once in Ireland, Branwen is treated cruelly by her husband, Matholw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pair Dadeni
In Welsh mythology and literature, the Pair Dadeni (Cauldron of Rebirth) is a magical cauldron able to resurrect the dead. It plays a key role in Branwen ferch Llŷr, the second branch of the Mabinogi. It is one of a number of magic cauldrons in Welsh legend and folklore, including the cauldron of Diwrnach the Irishman in ''Culhwch and Olwen'', the cauldron of the Head of Annwn in ''Preiddeu Annwfn'' and the cauldron of Cerridwen in the tale of Taliesin. Pair Dadeni was destroyed by Efnysien in a battle with the Irish. Seeing that the Irish were using the cauldron to revive their dead, he hid among the Irish corpses and was thrown into the cauldron by the Irish. He destroyed the cauldron from within, sacrificing himself in the process. In ''The Chronicles of Prydain'' by Lloyd Alexander Lloyd Chudley Alexander (January 30, 1924 – May 17, 2007) was an American author of more than 40 books, primarily fantasy novels for children and young adults. Over his seven-decade career, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matholwch
Matholwch, King of Ireland, is a character in the Second Branch of the ''Mabinogi'', the tale of Branwen ferch Llŷr. The story opens with Bendigeidfran (Bran the Blessed), giant and king of Britain, sitting on a rock by the sea at Harlech and seeing the vessels of Matholwch approaching. Matholwch has come to ask for the hand of Bendigeidfran's sister Branwen in marriage. Bendigeidfran agrees to this, and a feast is held to celebrate the betrothal. While the feast is going on, Efnisien, a half-brother of Branwen and Bendigeidfran, arrives and asks why there were celebrations. On being told, he is furious that his half sister has been given in marriage without his consent, and vents his spleen by mutilating Matholwch's horses. Matholwch is deeply offended, but is conciliated by Bran who gives him a magical cauldron which can bring the dead to life. Once they are married, Matholwch treats Branwen cruelly and she is forced to work in the kitchens. Branwen tames a starling and give ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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