; "Branwen, daughter of Llŷr" is a legendary tale from

medieval Welsh literature Medieval Welsh literature is the literature written in the Welsh language during the Middle Ages. This includes material starting from the 5th century AD, when Welsh was in the process of becoming distinct from Common Brittonic, and continuing t ...

and the second of the four branches of the

Mabinogi The ''Mabinogion'' () is a collection of the earliest Welsh prose stories, compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, created –1410, as well as a few earlier frag ...

. It concerns the children of

Llŷr Llŷr ( (); meaning 'half-speech' or 'half-language') is a figure in Welsh mythology, probably originally a deity, probably derived from Irish Ler ('the Sea'), father of ''Manannán mac Lir''. Other than his progeny and odd tidbits, his identit ...

; Bendigeidfran (literally "Brân the Blessed"), high king of Britain, and his siblings Manawydan and Branwen, and deals with the latter's marriage to Matholwch, king of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Matholwch's mistreatment of the British princess leads to a mutually destructive war between the two islands, the deaths of most of the principal characters, and the ascension of Caswallon fab Beli to the British throne. Along with the other branches, the tale can be found in the medieval

Red Book of Hergest Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secon ...

and

White Book of Rhydderch The White Book of Rhydderch (Welsh: ''Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch'', National Library of Wales, Peniarth MS 4-5) is one of the most notable and celebrated surviving manuscripts in Welsh language, Welsh. Mostly written in southwest Wales in the middle of ...

. It is followed directly by the third branch, '' Manawydan fab Llŷr''. It has been suggested that the tale derives in part from the third-century BC

Gallic invasion of the Balkans Gallic groups, originating from the various La Tène chiefdoms, began a southeastern movement into the Balkans from the 4th century BC. Although Gallic settlements were concentrated in the western half of the Carpathian basin, there were notabl ...

, identifying Brân with the Gallic chieftain Brennus. Nikolai Tolstoy has suggested that the present version of the legend may have been influenced by the eleventh-century battles of

Brian Boru Brian Boru (; modern ; 23 April 1014) was the High King of Ireland from 1002 to 1014. He ended the domination of the High King of Ireland, High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill, and is likely responsible for ending Vikings, Viking invasio ...

and

Máel Sechnaill Máel Sechnaill, an early Irish personal name meaning "Devotee of St Sechnall" who is thought to be a 5th century Italian Bishop that preceded St Patrick. It may refer to: * Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid (d. 862), high-king of Ireland *Máel ...

, while Will Parker has proposed that the branch is distantly related to the Irish tales of '' Cath Maige Mucrama'' and ''

Immram Brain The Voyage of Bran ( [], meaning "The Voyage of Bran [son of Febail]") is a medieval seventh- or eighth-century Irish language narrative. Source The date of composition has been assigned to the late 7th or early 8th century, and the text is kn ...

''Parker, Will. ''The Mabinogion''. as well as the early

Arthurian According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a leader of the post-Ro ...

texts '' The Spoils of Annwfn'' and '' How Culhwch won Olwen''.

Synopsis

The Irish king Matholwch sails to

Harlech Harlech () is a seaside resort and community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, North Wales, and formerly in the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Merionethshire. It lies on Tremadog Bay in the Snowdonia National Park. Before 1966, it ...

to speak with Bran the Blessed high king of the Island of the Mighty and to ask for the hand of his sister Branwen in marriage, thus forging an alliance between the two islands. Bendigeidfran agrees to Matholwch's request, but the celebrations are cut short when Efnisien, a half-brother to the children of Llŷr, brutally mutilates Matholwch's horses, angry that his permission was not sought in regards to the marriage. Matholwch is deeply offended until Bran offers him compensation in the form of a magic

cauldron A cauldron (or caldron) is a large cookware and bakeware, pot (kettle) for cooking or boiling over an open fire, with a lid and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger and/or integral handles or feet. There is a rich history of cauldron lore in r ...

that can restore the dead to life. Pleased with the gift, Matholwch and Branwen sail back to Ireland to reign. Once in Matholwch's kingdom, Branwen gives birth to a son, Gwern, but Efnisien's insult continues to rankle among the Irish and, eventually, Branwen is mistreated, banished to the kitchens and beaten every day. She tames a starling and sends it across the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a 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 Ch ...

with a message to her brother Bendigeidfran, who sails from Wales to Ireland to rescue her with his brother, Manawydan, and a huge host of warriors, mustered from the 154

cantref A cantref ( ; ; plural cantrefi or cantrefs; also rendered as ''cantred'') was a Wales in the Early Middle Ages, medieval Welsh land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law. Description Land in medieval Wales was divid ...

s of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

. The Irish offer to make peace and build a house big enough to entertain Bendigeidfrân but hang a hundred bags inside, supposedly containing flour but actually containing armed warriors. Efnisien, suspecting a trick, reconnoitres the hall and kills the warriors by crushing their heads inside the bags. Later, at the feast, Efnisien, again feeling insulted, throws Gwern on the fire and a savage battle breaks out. Seeing that the Irish are using the cauldron to revive their dead, Efnisien hides among the corpses and destroys the cauldron, sacrificing himself in the process. Only seven men survive the conflict, among them Manawydan,

Taliesin Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Britons (Celtic people), Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the ''Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to ...

and Pryderi fab Pwyll, prince of

Dyfed Dyfed () is a preserved county in southwestern Wales, covering the modern counties Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. It is mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel. Between 1974 and 1996, Dyfed w ...

, Branwen having herself died of a

broken heart A broken heart (also known as heartbreak or heartache) is a metaphor for the intense emotional stress or pain one feels at experiencing great loss or deep longing. The concept is cross-cultural, often cited with reference to unreciprocated o ...

. The survivors are told by the mortally wounded Bran to cut off his head and to return it to Britain. For seven years the seven survivors stay in

, where they are entertained by Bendigeidfran's head, which continues to speak. They later move on to Gwales (often identified with Grassholm Island off Dyfed) where they live for eighty years without perceiving the passing of time. Eventually, Heilyn fab Gwyn opens the door of the hall facing Cornwall and the sorrow of what had befallen them returns. As instructed they take the now silent head to Gwynfryn, the "White Hill" (thought to be the location where the Tower of London now stands), where they bury it facing France so as to ward off invasion. Before the end of the tale, a small detour is taken to jab at the Irish. The battle in Ireland has only left five pregnant women, who give birth to five sons. These sons repopulate the island with the only women available on the island: the mothers. With that, the island is restored with human life, and five districts are created because of this incest. Though Ireland today is divided into four provinces, the five mothers and five sons helps to explain the structure of this island as well as poke fun at the Irish people. This story, after the digression, concludes with the retelling of the main points of Branwen's story.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Branwen Ferch Llyr Welsh mythology Mabinogion Taliesin