Myths & Legends of the Celtic Race Part 27

*The ****Mabinogion***

We now come to the work in which the chief treasures of Cymric myth and legend were collected by Lady Charlotte Guest sixty years ago, and given to the world in a translation which is one of the masterpieces of English literature. The t.i.tle of this work, the Mabinogion, is the plural form of the word _Mabinogi_, which means a story belonging to the equipment of an apprentice-bard, such a story as every bard had necessarily to learn as part of his training, whatever more he might afterwards add to his _rpertoire_. Strictly speaking, the _Mabinogi_ in the volume are only the four tales given first in Mr. Alfred Nutts edition, which were ent.i.tled the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, and which form a connected whole.

They are among the oldest relics of Welsh mythological saga.

*Pwyll, Head of Hades*

The first of them is the story of Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed, and relates how that prince got his t.i.tle of _Pen Annwn_, or Head of HadesAnnwn being the term under which we identify in Welsh literature the Celtic Land of the Dead, or Fairyland. It is a story with a mythological basis, but breathing the purest spirit of chivalric honour and n.o.bility.

Pwyll, it is said, was hunting one day in the woods of Glyn Cuch when he saw a pack of hounds, not his own, running down a stag. These hounds were snow-white in colour, with red ears. If Pwyll had had any experience in these matters he would have known at once what kind of hunt was up, for these are the colours of Farythe red-haired man, the red-eared hound are always a.s.sociated with magic.(228) Pwyll, however, drove off the strange hounds, and was setting his own on the quarry when a horseman of n.o.ble appearance came up and reproached him for his discourtesy. Pwyll offered to make amends, and the story now develops into the familiar theme of the Rescue of Fairyland. The strangers name is Arawn, a king in Annwn. He is being harried and dispossessed by a rival, Havgan, and he seeks the aid of Pwyll, whom he begs to meet Havgan in single combat a year hence.

Meanwhile he will put his own shape on Pwyll, who is to rule in his kingdom till the eventful day, while Arawn will go in Pwylls shape to govern Dyfed. He instructs Pwyll how to deal with the foe. Havgan must be laid low with a single strokeif another is given to him he immediately revives again as strong as ever.

Pwyll agreed to follow up the adventure, and accordingly went in Arawns shape to the kingdom of Annwn. Here he was placed in an unforeseen difficulty. The beautiful wife of Arawn greeted him as her husband. But when the time came for them to retire to rest he set his face to the wall and said no word to her, nor touched her at all until the morning broke.

Then they rose up, and Pwyll went to the hunt, and ruled his kingdom, and did all things as if he were monarch of the land. And whatever affection he showed to the queen in public during the day, he pa.s.sed every night even as this first.

At last the day of battle came, and, like the chieftains in Gaelic story, Pwyll and Havgan met each other in the midst of a river-ford. They fought, and at the first clash Havgan was hurled a spears length over the crupper of his horse and fell mortally wounded.(229) For the love of heaven, said he, slay me and complete thy work. I may yet repent that, said Pwyll. Slay thee who may, I will not. Then Havgan knew that his end was come, and bade his n.o.bles bear him off; and Pwyll with all his army overran the two kingdoms of Annwn, and made himself master of all the land, and took homage from its princes and lords.

Then he rode off alone to keep his tryst in Glyn Cuch with Arawn as they had appointed. Arawn thanked him for all he had done, and added: When thou comest thyself to thine own dominions thou wilt see what I have done for thee. They exchanged shapes once more, and each rode in his own likeness to take possession of his own land.

At the court of Annwn the day was spent in joy and feasting, though none but Arawn himself knew that anything unusual had taken place. When night came Arawn kissed and caressed his wife as of old, and she pondered much as to what might be the cause of his change towards her, and of his previous change a year and a day before. And as she was thinking over these things Arawn spoke to her twice or thrice, but got no answer. He then asked her why she was silent. I tell thee, she said, that for a year I have not spoken so much in this place. Did not we speak continually? he said. Nay, said she, but for a year back there has been neither converse nor tenderness between us. Good heaven! thought Arawn, a man as faithful and firm in his friends.h.i.+p as any have I found for a friend. Then he told his queen what had pa.s.sed. Thou hast indeed laid hold of a faithful friend, she said.

And Pwyll when he came back to his own land called his lords together and asked them how they thought he had sped in his kings.h.i.+p during the past year. Lord, said they, thy wisdom was never so great, and thou wast never so kind and free in bestowing thy gifts, and thy justice was never more worthily seen than in this year. Pwyll then told them the story of his adventure. Verily, lord, said they, render thanks unto heaven that thou hast such a fellows.h.i.+p, and withhold not from us the rule which we have enjoyed for this year past. I take heaven to witness that I will not withhold it, said Pwyll.

So the two kings made strong the friends.h.i.+p that was between them, and sent each other rich gifts of horses and hounds and jewels; and in memory of the adventure Pwyll bore thenceforward the t.i.tle of Lord of Annwn.

*The Wedding of Pwyll and Rhiannon*

Near to the castle of Narberth, where Pwyll had his court, there was a mound called the Mound of Arberth, of which it was believed that whoever sat upon it would have a strange adventure: either he would receive blows and wounds or he would see a wonder. One day when all his lords were a.s.sembled at Narberth for a feast Pwyll declared that he would sit on the mound and see what would befall.

He did so, and after a little while saw approaching him along the road that led to the mound a lady clad in garments that shone like gold, and sitting on a pure white horse. Is there any among you, said Pwyll to his men, who knows that lady? There is not, said they. Then go to meet her and learn who she is. But as they rode towards the lady she moved away from them, and however fast they rode she still kept an even distance between her and them, yet never seemed to exceed the quiet pace with which she had first approached.

Several times did Pwyll seek to have the lady overtaken and questioned, but all was in vainnone could draw near to her.

Next day Pwyll ascended the mound again, and once more the fair lady on her white steed drew near. This time Pwyll himself pursued her, but she flitted away before him as she had done before his servants, till at last he cried : O maiden, for the sake of him thou best lovest, stay for me.

I will stay gladly, said she, and it were better for thy horse had thou asked it long since.

Pwyll then questioned her as to the cause of her coming, and she said: I am Rhiannon, the daughter of Hevydd Hen,(230) and they sought to give me to a husband against my will. But no husband would I have, and that because of my love for thee; neither will I yet have one if thou reject me. By heaven! said Pwyll, if I might choose among all the ladies and damsels of the world, thee would I choose.

They then agree that in a twelvemonth from that day Pwyll is to come and claim her at the palace of Hevydd Hen.

Pwyll kept his tryst, with a following of a hundred knights, and found a splendid feast prepared for him, and he sat by his lady, with her father on the other side. As they feasted and talked there entered a tall, auburn-haired youth of royal bearing, clad in satin, who saluted Pwyll and his knights. Pwyll invited him to sit down. Nay, I am a suitor to thee, said the youth; to crave a boon am I come. Whatever thou wilt thou shalt have, said Pwyll unsuspiciously, if it be in my power. Ah, cried Rhiannon, wherefore didst thou give that answer? Hath he not given it before all these n.o.bles? said the youth; and now the boon I crave is to have thy bride Rhiannon, and the feast and the banquet that are in this place. Pwyll was silent. Be silent as long as thou wilt, said Rhiannon. Never did man make worse use of his wits than thou hast done. She tells him that the auburn-haired young man is Gwawl, son of Clud, and is the suitor to escape from whom she had fled to Pwyll.

Pwyll is bound in honour by his word, and Rhiannon explains that the banquet cannot be given to Gwawl, for it is not in Pwylls power, but that she herself will be his bride in a twelvemonth; Gwawl is to come and claim her then, and a new bridal feast will be prepared for him. Meantime she concerts a plan with Pwyll, and gives him a certain magical bag, which he is to make use of when the time shall come.

A year pa.s.sed away, Gwawl appeared according to the compact, and a great feast was again set forth, in which he, and not Pwyll, had the place of honour. As the company were making merry, however, a beggar clad in rags and shod with clumsy old shoes came into the hall, carrying a bag, as beggars are wont to do. He humbly craved a boon of Gwawl. It was merely that the full of his bag of food might be given him from the banquet.

Gwawl cheerfully consented, and an attendant went to fill the bag. But however much they put into it it never got fullerby degrees all the good things on the tables had gone in; and at last Gwawl cried: My soul, will thy bag never be full? It will not, I declare to heaven, answered Pwyllfor he, of course, was the disguised beggar manunless some man wealthy in lands and treasure shall get into the bag and stamp it down with his feet, and declare, Enough has been put herein. Rhiannon urged Gwawl to check the voracity of the bag. He put his two feet into it; Pwyll immediately drew up the sides of the bag over Gwawls head and tied it up.

Then he blew his horn, and the knights he had with him, who were concealed outside, rushed in, and captured and bound the followers of Gwawl. What is in the bag? they cried, and others answered, A badger, and so they played the game of Badger in the Bag, striking it and kicking it about the hall.

At last a voice was heard from it. Lord, cried Gwawl, if thou wouldst but hear me, I merit not to be slain in a bag. He speaks truth, said Hevydd Hen.

So an agreement was come to that Gwawl should provide means for Pwyll to satisfy all the suitors and minstrels who should come to the wedding, and abandon Rhiannon, and never seek to have revenge for what had been done to him. This was confirmed by sureties, and Gwawl and his men were released and went to their own territory. And Pwyll wedded Rhiannon, and dispensed gifts royally to all and sundry; and at last the pair, when the feasting was done, journeyed down to the palace of Narberth in Dyfed, where Rhiannon gave rich gifts, a bracelet and a ring or a precious stone to all the lords and ladies of her new country, and they ruled the land in peace both that year and the next. But the reader will find that we have not yet done with Gwawl.

*The Penance of Rhiannon*

Now Pwyll was still without an heir to the throne, and his n.o.bles urged him to take another wife. Grant us a year longer, said he, and if there be no heir after that it shall be as you wish. Before the years end a son was born to them in Narberth. But although six women sat up to watch the mother and the infant, it happened towards the morning that they all fell asleep, and Rhiannon also slept, and when the women awoke, behold, the boy was gone! We shall be burnt for this, said the women, and in their terror they concocted a horrible plot: they killed a cub of a staghound that had just been littered, and laid the bones by Rhiannon, and smeared her face and hands with blood as she slept, and when she woke and asked for her child they said she had devoured it in the night, and had overcome them with furious strength when they would have prevented herand for all she could say or do the six women persisted in this story.

When the story was told to Pwyll he would not put away Rhiannon, as his n.o.bles now again begged him to do, but a penance was imposed on hernamely, that she was to sit every day by the horse-block at the gate of the castle and tell the tale to every stranger who came, and offer to carry them on her back into the castle. And this she did for part of a year.

*The Finding of Pryderi*(231)

Now at this time there lived a man named Teirnyon of Gwent Is Coed, who had the most beautiful mare in the world, but there was this misfortune attending her, that although she foaled on the night of every first of May, none ever knew what became of the colts. At last Teirnyon resolved to get at the truth of the matter, and the next night on which the mare should foal he armed himself and watched in the stable. So the mare foaled, and the colt stood up, and Teirnyon was admiring its size and beauty when a great noise was heard outside, and a long, clawed arm came through the window of the stable and laid hold of the colt. Teirnyon immediately smote at the arm with his sword, and severed it at the elbow, so that it fell inside with the colt, and a great wailing and tumult was heard outside. He rushed out, leaving the door open behind him, but could see nothing because of the darkness of the night, and he followed the noise a little way. Then he came back, and behold, at the door he found an infant in swaddling-clothes and wrapped in a mantle of satin. He took up the child and brought it to where his wife lay sleeping. She had no children, and she loved the child when she saw it, and next day pretended to her women that she had borne it as her own. And they called its name Gwri of the Golden Hair, for its hair was yellow as gold; and it grew so mightily that in two years it was as big and strong as a child of six; and ere long the colt that had been foaled on the same night was broken in and given him to ride.

While these things were going on Teirnyon heard the tale of Rhiannon and her punishment. And as the lad grew up he scanned his face closely and saw that he had the features of Pwyll Prince of Dyfed. This he told to his wife, and they agreed that the child should be taken to Narberth, and Rhiannon released from her penance.

As they drew near to the castle, Teirnyon and two knights and the child riding on his colt, there was Rhiannon sitting by the horse-block.

Chieftains, said she, go not further thus; I will bear every one of you into the palace, and this is my penance for slaying my own son and devouring him. But they would not be carried, and went in. Pwyll rejoiced to see Teirnyon, and made a feast for him. Afterwards Teirnyon declared to Pwyll and Rhiannon the adventure of the man and the colt, and how they had found the boy. And behold, here is thy son, lady, said Teirnyon, and whoever told that lie concerning thee has done wrong. All who sat at table recognised the lad at once as the child of Pwyll, and Rhiannon cried: I declare to heaven that if this be true there is an end to my trouble. And a chief named Pendaran said: Well hast thou named thy son Pryderi [trouble], and well becomes him the name of Pryderi son of Pwyll, Lord of Annwn. It was agreed that his name should be Pryderi, and so he was called thenceforth.

Teirnyon rode home, overwhelmed with thanks and love and gladness; and Pwyll offered him rich gifts of horses and jewels and dogs, but he would take none of them. And Pryderi was trained up, as befitted a kings son, in all n.o.ble ways and accomplishments, and when his father Pwyll died he reigned in his stead over the Seven Cantrevs of Dyfed. And he added to them many other fair dominions, and at last he took to wife Kicva, daughter of Gwynn Gohoyw, who came of the lineage of Prince Casnar of Britain.

*The Tale of Bran and Branwen*

Bendigeid Vran, or Bran the Blessed, by which latter name we shall designate him here, when he had been made King of the Isle of the Mighty (Britain), was one time in his court at Harlech. And he had with him his brother Manawyddan son of Llyr, and his sister Branwen, and the two sons, Nissyen and Evnissyen, that Penardun his mother bore to Eurosswyd. Now Nissyen was a youth of gentle nature, and would make peace among his kindred and cause them to be friends when their wrath was at its highest; but Evnissyen loved nothing so much as to turn peace into contention and strife.

One afternoon, as Bran son of Llyr sat on the rock of Harlech looking out to sea, he beheld thirteen s.h.i.+ps coming rapidly from Ireland before a fair wind. They were gaily furnished, bright flags flying from the masts, and on the foremost s.h.i.+p, when they came near, a man could be seen holding up a s.h.i.+eld with the point upwards in sign of peace.(232)

When the strangers landed they saluted Bran and explained their business.

Matholwch,(233) King of Ireland, was with them; his were the s.h.i.+ps, and he had come to ask for the hand in marriage of Brans sister, Branwen, so that Ireland and Britain might be leagued together and both become more powerful. Now Branwen was one of the three chief ladies of the island, and she was the fairest damsel in the world.

The Irish were hospitably entertained, and after taking counsel with his lords Bran agreed to give his sister to Matholwch. The place of the wedding was fixed at Aberffraw, and the company a.s.sembled for the feast in tents because no house could hold the giant form of Bran. They caroused and made merry in peace and amity, and Branwen became the bride or the Irish king.

Next day Evnissyen came by chance to where the horses of Matholwch were ranged, and he asked whose they were. They are the horses of Matholwch, who is married to thy sister. And is it thus, said he, they have done with a maiden such as she, and, moreover, my sister, bestowing her without my consent? They could offer me no greater insult. Thereupon he rushed among the horses and cut off their lips at the teeth, and their ears to their heads, and their tails close to the body, and where he could seize the eyelids he cut them off to the bone.

When Matholwch heard what had been done he was both angered and bewildered, and bade his people put to sea. Bran sent messengers to learn what had happened, and when he had been informed he sent Manawyddan and two others to make atonement. Matholwch should have sound horses for every one that was injured, and in addition a staff of silver as large and as tall as himself, and a plate of gold the size of his face. And let him come and meet me, he added, and we will make peace in any way he may desire. But as for Evnissyen, he was the son of Brans mother, and therefore Bran could not put him to death as he deserved.

*The Magic Cauldron*

Matholwch accepted these terms, but not very cheerfully, and Bran now offered another treasure, namely, a magic cauldron which had the property that if a slain man were cast into it he would come forth well and sound, only he would not be able to speak. Matholwch and Bran then talked about the cauldron, which originally, it seems, came from Ireland. There was a lake in that country near to a mound (doubtless a fairy mound) which was called the Lake of the Cauldron. Here Matholwch had once met a tall and ill-looking fellow with a wife bigger than himself, and the cauldron strapped on his back. They took service with Matholwch. At the end of a period of six weeks the wife gave birth to a son, who was a warrior fully armed. We are apparently to understand that this happened every six weeks, for by the end of the year the strange pair, who seem to be a war-G.o.d and G.o.ddess, had several children, whose continual bickering and the outrages they committed throughout the land made them hated. At last, to get rid of them, Matholwch had a house of iron made, and enticed them into it. He then barred the door and heaped coals about the chamber, and blew them into a white heat, hoping to roast the whole family to death. As soon, however, as the iron walls had grown white-hot and soft the man and his wife burst through them and got away, but the children remained behind and were destroyed. Bran then took up the story. The man, who was called Lla.s.sar Llaesgyvnewid, and his wife Kymideu Kymeinvoll, come across to Britain, where Bran took them in, and in return for his kindness they gave him the cauldron. And since then they had filled the land with their descendants, who prospered everywhere and dwelt in strong fortified burgs and had the best weapons that ever were seen.

So Matholwch received the cauldron along with his bride, and sailed back to Ireland, where Branwen entertained the lords and ladies of the land, and gave to each, as he or she took leave, either a clasp or a ring or a royal jewel to keep, such as it was honourable to be seen departing with.

And when the year was out Branwen bore a son to Matholwch, whose name was called Gwern.

*The Punishment of Branwen*

There occurs now an unintelligible place in the story. In the second year, it appears, and not till then, the men of Ireland grew indignant over the insult to their king committed by Evnissyen, and took revenge for it by having Branwen degraded to the position of a cook, and they caused the butcher every day to give her a blow on the ears. They also forbade all s.h.i.+ps and ferry-boats to cross to Cambria, and any who came thence into Ireland were imprisoned so that news of Branwens ill-treatment might not come to the ears of Bran. But Branwen reared up a young starling in a corner of her kneading-trough, and one day she tied a letter under its wing and taught it what to do. It flew away towards Britain, and finding Bran at Caer Seiont in Arvon, it lit on his shoulder, ruffling its feathers, and the letter was found and read. Bran immediately prepared a great hosting for Ireland, and sailed thither with a fleet of s.h.i.+ps, leaving his land of Britain under his son Caradawc and six other chiefs.

*The Invasion of Bran*

Soon there came messengers to Matholwch telling him of a wondrous sight they had seen; a wood was growing on the sea, and beside the wood a mountain with a high ridge in the middle of it, and two lakes, one at each side. And wood and mountain moved towards the sh.o.r.e of Ireland. Branwen is called up to explain, if she could, what this meant. She tells them the wood is the masts and yards of the fleet of Britain, and the mountain is Bran, her brother, coming into shoal water, for no s.h.i.+p can contain him; the ridge is his nose, the lakes his two eyes.(234)