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EVR.YA\AN,I WILL-GO WITHTHEE.

University of California Berkeley

PHILIP WHALEN COLLECTIONTHE PETER AND ROSELL HARVEY

MEMORIAL FUND


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EVERYMAN'S LIBRARYEDITED BY ERNEST RHYS

ROMANCE

THE MABINOGION WITHAN INTRODUCTION BYREV. R. WILLIAMS, M.A.


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THE PUBLISHERS OFWILL BE PLEASED TO SENDFREELY TO ALL APPLICANTS A LISTOF THE PUBLISHED AND PROJECTEDVOLUMES TO BE COMPRISED UNDERTHE FOLLOWING THIRTEEN HEADINGS:

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CONTENTSPAGE

PWYLL PRINCE OF DYVED . . I 3BRANWEN THE DAUGHTER OF LLYR . . 33MANAWYDDAN THE SON OF LLYR . . ,48MATH THE SON OF MATHONWY . . 6 1THE DREAM OF MAXEN WLEDIG . . 8 1

THE STORY OF LLUDD AND LLEVELYS . 89K1LHWCH AND OLWEN . . . -95THE DREAM OF RHONABWY . . . 135THE LADY OF THE FOUNTAIN , . .150PEREDUR THE SON OF EVRAWC . . 176GERAINT THE SON OF ERBIN . . .219TALIESIN ..... 263NOTES ...... 287


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The following texts and translations of the " Mabinogion "have been published :The Mabinogion. . . . English translation and notes by LadyC. E. Guest (afterwards Schreiber). 3 vols. in 7 parts. 1849

(1838-49). Second edition, 1877 > abridged edition from whichthe Welsh text is omitted. Contes populaires des anciens Bretons,Paris, 1842 ; reprinted in 1861 as, Les Romans de la Table Rondeet les Contes des anciens Bretons. M. Th. Hersart de la Ville-marque. Die Arthur Sage und die Mahrchen des Rothen Buchsvon Hergest. Albert Schulz (San Marte), 1841. The Boy'sMabinogion . . . (after Lady C. E. Guest) . . . with an intro-duction by S. Lanier. pp. xx, 361. 1881. The Text of theMabinogion and other Welsh tales. . . . Edited by John Rhysand J. G. Evans (Series of Welsh Texts.), pp. 355. 1887. LesMabinogion, Traduit . . . par J. Loth. 2 torn. (Arbois DeJubainville (M. H. d') Cours de litterature Celtique. Tom. 3, 4.)!889. Tales from the Mabinogion. Edited by Meta E. Williams,pp. xiv, 189. (The Children's Library.). 1892 (1891). TheMabinogion. Edited by J. M. Edwards, pp. iv, 96. Gwrecsam,1896-98. The Mabinogion. Translated by Lady C. E. Guest.Edited by Robert Williams. Temple Classics, pp. 355. 1902.The Mabinogion. Translated by Lady C. E. Guest. 3 vols.(Edwards, O. M.; The Welsh Library.). 1902. The Mabinogion.Translated by Lady C. E. Guest. Notes by Alfred Nutt. pp.xiii, 363. 1902. Second edition, enlarged, pp. xi, 383. 1904.

Separate versions of the tales also appeared as follows :"Pwyll"in the "Cambrian Register," vol. i; "Cambro- Briton,"1821, ii. "Math ab Mathonwy," in the "Cambrian Quarterly,"1829. "Maxen Wledig," in "Y Greal," 1806. " Lludd andLlevelys," in " Myvyrian Achaiology" and "Y Greal," 1806.


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INTRODUCTIONTHE Red Book of Hergest, a fourteenth-century MS. inthe possession of Jesus College, Oxford, is a rich and varied

store of Welsh literature in prose and verse ; but down to themiddle of the nineteenth century most of its contents wereinaccessible to the general reader and even to the student.

In 1849, however, Lady Charlotte Guest published, inthree handsome volumes, the text and an English translationof eleven tales, together with a large quantity of explanatoryand illustrative notes. In 1877 she issued, in one volume,the English translation without the Welsh text, and with theoriginal notes greatly condensed. Besides the eleven talesfrom the Red Book there was included, in both editions, thetale of Taliesin from a much later MS.The tales themselves are intrinsically so interesting froma literary point of view, and Lady Charlotte Guest's trans-

lation of them is so good, that no apology is needed forissuing her English version in a cheap form and without anymaterial change.

In early-mediaeval Wales the Bards were a class by them-selves graduates in a particular art. To obtain admissioninto the ranks of this bardic hierarchy the candidate had toundergo a strict and definite literary training : he had toprove himself master of certain traditional lore. Theaspirant to bardic rank was called a Mabinog. The tradi-tional lore which he had to acquire was roughly representedby the Matrinogi, which seems to have been at once acourse of study and a source of income, for the Mabinogwas probably allowed by custom to recite the tales he knewfor pay. Using Mabinogion as the plural of Mabinogi LadyCharlotte Guest gives it as the general title of all the twelvetales contained in her book, although, strictly speaking, thetitle is applicable only to the four-branch tale of Pwyll^Braniuen, Manawyddan and Math.

All the contents of this volume are older some of them


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2 Introductionmuch older than the MSS. in which they are found. Theydivide themselves naturally into four groups as follows :

(1) The Mabinogion proper, or, to speak accurately, theMabinogi of the four-branches, viz. Pwyll, Braniven,Manaivyddan and Math.

(2) The two short, old-world Welsh tales of MaxerisDream y and Lludd and Llevelys.(3) Stories of Arthur viz. Kilhwch and Olwen, Rho~

nabwy's Dream the Lady of the Fountain, Peredurand Geraint.

(4) The story of Taliesin.(1) The stories of the first group, in their underlying

substance, are pre-Christian and pre-historic ; in theirpresent form they are quasi-mythological. There is noreason to doubt the theory that they are a survival of theancient mythology of the Celt ; but the action of time andchange has softened down the mythical element, without get-ting rid of it altogether. The gods have ceased to be gods, butthey have not become ordinary men. In fact the substanceis so much older than the form that the story-teller couldnot analyze his material even if he would. As MatthewArnold says "the mediaeval story-teller is pillaging anantiquity of which he does not fully possess the secret ; he islike a peasant building his hut on the site of Halicarnassusor Ephesus ; he builds, but what he builds of is full ofmaterials of which he knows not the history, or knows by aglimmering tradition merely : stones 4 not of this building,' butof an older architecture, greater, cunninger, more majestical."The tales are saturated with magic and illusion.

(2) The two tales of Maxeris Dream and Lludd andLlevelys carry us back to the Roman administration ofBritain. They have a substratum of history. In theMabinogi the story-teller strove, perhaps without knowingit, to give historical reality to myth ; here he lets his imagi-nation and fancy play around real persons. The two storieschallenge comparison with the Historia Regum Britanniaof Geoffrey of Monmouth, but it is not safe to assert thatthere is any real connection between them. All that we cansay with any confidence is that the tales of this group stand,


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Introduction 3in point of time, somewhere between the Mabinogiw\& thegrowth of the Arthurian legend in Welsh literature.

(3) The third group is made up of stories of Arthur ; butthese are of two kinds. In Kilhwch and Olwen and Rhona-bw^s Dream Arthur is an indigenous British knight, andthe scene of action is definitely laid in Britain. The huntingof Twrch Trwyth, which forms so important a part of thestory of Kilhwch, is thoroughly Celtic in spirit, and theinference is that the tale must have assumed its presentform, probably in the twelfth century, before the Arthurianlegend was Normanized. In the Lady of the Fountain (orOwain and Lunet], Peredur and Geraint, Arthur and hisfollowers have become Norman knights. From beingincidental in the earlier tales, chivalry and knight-errantryhave now become essential to the tales themselves. TheArthurian legend had by this time permeated the literatureof Europe, and the fact reacted upon its Welsh form. Thegreat king still holds his court at Caerleon, but the adventuresof his knights are bound up with a certain vagueness ofgeographical detail. A shadowy geography was a part ofthe price paid for Catholicity.

(4) The romance of Taliesin is so fragmentary as hardlyto deserve to be called a story. The hero was in all proba-bility a real sixth-century bard and a contemporary ofArthur. The incidents of the tale occurred "in the be-ginning of Arthur's time and of the Round Table," and"Badon's fight" is treated as an event of the past. Theverse is highly allusive, and is of varying age, and the prosepart was probably written to give the whole an appearanceof a coherent story. The romance " has no claim to rankwith the Mabinogion and other tales of the same epoch. "Such is, in brief, a summary of the contents of thisvolume. The order in which the tales are presented hasbeen changed, but in other respects no alteration has beenmade in the work of Lady Charlotte Guest. In that workdoubtless there are defects. Her transcript of the RedBook text was in parts inaccurate ; her translation doesnot always give the literal meaning of the original, and,from motives easy to explain, she left a few passages here


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4 Introductionand there untranslated. But nowhere do her mistakes or heromissions detract seriously from the integrity of the story.The tales are charming tales, and they are told in adelightful language. In the translation the spirit of theoriginal is thoroughly preserved without resorting to anyartificially-archaic idioms. The translator set before her-self a high standard " to preserve in Saxon-English theprimitive simplicity of the Welsh original." To say that shesucceeded conspicuously in her aim is to give her work thehighest praise.

R. WILLIAMS,


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ORIGINAL INTRODUCTIONWHILST engaged on the Translations contained in these

volumes, and on the Notes appended to the various Tales, Ihave found myself led unavoidably into a much more ex-tensive course of reading than I had originally contemplated,and one which in great measure bears directly upon theearlier Mediaeval Romance.

Before commencing these labours, I was aware, generally,that there existed a connexion between the Welsh Mabino-gion and the Romance of the Continent ; but as I advanced,I became better acquainted with the closeness and extentof that connexion, its history, and the proofs by which it issupported.At the same time, indeed, I became aware, and still stronglyfeel, that it is one thing to collect facts, and quite another toclassify and draw from them their legitimate conclusions ;and though I am loth that what has been collected withsome pains, should be entirely thrown away, it is unwillingly,and with diffidence, that I trespass beyond the acknowledgedprovince of a translator.In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries there arose intogeneral notoriety in Europe, a body of " Romance," whichin various forms retained its popularity till the Reformation.In it the plot, the incidents, the characters, were almostwholly those of Chivalry, that bond which united thewarriors of France, Spain, and Italy, with those of pureTeutonic descent, and embraced more or less firmly all thenations of Europe, excepting only the Slavonic races, notyet risen to power, and the Celts, who had fallen from it.It is not difficult to account for this latter omission. TheCelts, driven from the plains into the mountains and islands,preserved their liberty, and hated their oppressors with fierce,and not causeless, hatred. A proud and free people, isolatedboth in country and language, were not likely to adopt cus-toms which implied brotherhood with their foes.

5


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6 Original IntroductionSuch being the case, it is remarkable that when the chiefromances are examined, the name of many of the heroes and

their scenes of action are found to be Celtic, and those ofpersons and places famous in the traditions of Wales andBrittany. Of this the romances of Ywaine and Gawaine,Sir Perceval de Galles, Eric and Enide, Mort d'Arthur, SirLancelot, Sir Tristan, the Graal, &c., may be cited asexamples. In some cases a tendency to triads, and othermatters of internal evidence, point in the same direction.

It may seem difficult to account for this. Although theancient dominion of the Celts over Europe is not withoutenduring evidence in the names of the mountains andstreams, the great features of a country, yet the loss of theirprior language by the great mass of the Celtic nations inSouthern Europe (if indeed their successors in territory beat all of their blood), prevents us from clearly seeing, andmakes us wonder, how stories, originally embodied in theCeltic dialects of Great Britain and France, could so in-fluence the literature of nations to whom the Celtic languageswere utterly unknown. Whence then came these internalmarks, and these proper names of persons and places, thefeatures of a story usually of earliest date and least likely tochange ?These romances were found in England, France, Germany,Norway, Sweden, and even Iceland, as early as the beginningof the thirteenth and end of the twelfth century. The Ger-mans, who propagated them through the nations of theNorth, derived them certainly from France. Robert Wacepublished his Anglo-Norman Romance of the Brut d'Angle-terre about 1155. Sir Tristan was written in French prosein 1170; and The Chevalier au Lion, Chevalier de PEpe'e,and Sir Lancelot du Lac, in metrical French, by Chrestiende Troyes, before 1200.From these facts it is to be argued that the further backthese romances are traced, the more clearly does it appearthat they spread over the Continent from the North-west ofFrance. The older versions, it may be remarked, are farmore simple than the later corruptions. In them there isless allusion to the habits and usages of Chivalry, and the


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Original Introduction 7Welsh names and elements stand out in stronger relief. It isa great step to be able to trace the stocks of these romancesback to Wace, or to his country and age. For Wace's workwas not original. He himself, a native of Jersey, appears tohave derived much of it from the " Historia Britonum " ofGruffydd ab Arthur, commonly known as "Geoffrey ofMonmouth," born 1128, who himself professes to havetranslated from a British original. It is, however, verypossible that Wace may have had access, like Geoffrey, toindependent sources of information.To the claims set up on behalf of Wace and Geoffrey, tobe regarded as the channels by which the Cymric talespassed into the Continental Romance, may be added thoseof a third almost contemporary author. Layamon, a Saxonpriest, dwelling, about 1200, upon the banks of the upperSevern, acknowledges for the source of his British history,the English Bede, the Latin Albin, and the French Wace.The last-named however is by very much his chief, and, forWelsh matters, his only avowed authority. His book, never-theless, contains a number of names and stories relating toWales, of which no traces appear in Wace, or indeed inGeoffrey, but which he was certainly in a very favourableposition to obtain for himself. Layamon, therefore, not onlyconfirms Geoffrey in some points, but it is clear, that, pro-fessing to follow Wace, he had independent access to thegreat body of Welsh literature then current. Sir F. Maddenhas put this matter very clearly, in his recent edition ofLayamon. The Abbe de la Rue, also, was of opinion thatGaimar, an Anglo-Norman, in the reign of Stephen, usuallyregarded as a translator of Geoffrey of Monmouth, hadaccess to a Welsh independent authority.

In addition to these, is to be mentioned the Englishversion of Sir Tristrem, which Sir Walter Scott consideredto be derived from a distinct Celtic source, and not, like thelater Amadis, Palmerin, and Lord Berners's Canon ofRomance, imported into English literature by translationfrom the French. For the Auntours of Arthur, recentlypublished by the Camden Society, their Editor, Mr. Robson,seems to hint at a similar claim.


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8 Original IntroductionHere then are various known channels, by which portions

of Welsh and Armoric fiction crossed the Celtic border, andgave rise to the more ornate, and widely-spread romance ofthe Age of Chivalry. It is not improbable that there mayhave existed many others. It appears then that a largeportion of the stocks of Mediaeval Romance proceeded fromWales. We have next to see in what condition they are stillfound in that country.That Wales possessed an ancient literature, containingvarious lyric compositions, and certain triads, in which arearranged historical facts or moral aphorisms, has beenshown by Sharon Turner, who has established the highantiquity of many of these compositions.The more strictly Romantic Literature of Wales has beenless fortunate, though not less deserving of critical attention.Small portions only of it have hitherto appeared in print,the remainder being still hidden in the obscurity of ancientManuscripts : of these the chief is supposed to be the RedBook of Hergest, now in the Library of Jesus College,Oxford, and of the fourteenth century. This contains,besides poems, the prose romances known as Mabinogion.The Black Book of Caermarthen, preserved at Hengwrt, andconsidered not to be of later date than the twelfth century, issaid to contain poems only. 1The Mabinogion, however, though thus early recorded inthe Welsh tongue, are in their existing form by no meanswholly Welsh. They are of two tolerably distinct classes.Of these, the older contains few allusions to Norman customs,manners, arts, arms, and luxuries. The other, and lessancient, are full of such allusions, and of ecclesiasticalterms. Both classes, no doubt, are equally of Welsh root,but the former are not more overlaid or corrupted, thanmight have been expected, from the communication that soearly took place between the Normans and the Welsh ;whereas the latter probably migrated from Wales, and werebrought back and re-translated after an absence of centuries,

1 It is also stated, that there is in the Hengwrt Library, a MS. containing theGraal in Welsh, as early as the time of Henry I. I had hoped to have added thisto the present collection ; but the death of CoL Vaughan, to whom I applied, andother subsequent circumstances, have prevented me from obtaining access to it.


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Original Introduction 9with a load of Norman additions. Kilhwch and Olwen, andthe dream of Rhonabwy, may be cited as examples of theolder and purer class ; the Lady of the Fountain, Peredur,and Geraint ab Erbin, of the later, or decorated.

Besides these, indeed, there are a few tales, as Amlyn andAmic, Sir Bevis of Hamtoun, the Seven Wise Masters, andthe story of Charlemagne, so obviously of foreign extraction,and of late introduction into Wales, not presenting even aWelsh name, or allusion, and of such very slender intrinsicmerit, that although comprised in the Llyvr Coch, they havenot a shadow of claim to form part of the Canon of WelshRomance. Therefore, although I have translated and ex-amined them, I have given them no place in these volumes.There is one argument in favour of the high antiquity inWales of many of the Mabinogion, which deserves to bementioned here. This argument is founded on the topo-graphy of the country. It is found that Saxon names ofplaces are very frequently definitions of the nature of thelocality to which they are attached, as Clifton, Deepden,Bridge-ford, Thorpe, Ham, Wick, and the like ; whereasthose of Wales are more frequently commemorative of someevent, real or supposed, said to have happened on or nearthe spot, or bearing allusion to some person renowned in thestory of the country or district. Such are " Llyn y Mor-wynion," the Lake of the Maidens ; " Rhyd y Bedd," theFord of the Grave; "Bryn Cyfergyr," the Hill of Assault ;and so on. But as these names could not have precededthe events to which they refer, the events themselves mustbe not unfrequently as old as the early settlement in thecountry. And as some of these events and fictions are thesubjects of, and are explained by, existing Welsh legends, itfollows that the legends must be, in some shape or other, ofvery remote antiquity. It will be observed that this argu-ment supports remote antiquity only for such legends as areconnected with the greater topographical features, as moun-tains, lakes, rivers, seas, which must have been named at anearly period in the inhabitation of the country by man. Butthere exist, also, legends connected with the lesser features,as pools, hills, detached rocks, caves, fords, and the like,


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io Original Introductionplaces not necessarily named by the earlier settlers, but thenames of which are, nevertheless, probably very old, sincethe words of which they are composed are in many casesnot retained in the colloquial tongue, in which they mustonce have been included, and are in some instances lost fromthe language altogether, so much so as to be only partiallyexplicable even by scholars. The argument applies likewise,in their degree, to camps, barrows, and other artificial earth-works.Conclusions thus drawn, when established, rest upon avery firm basis. They depend upon the number and appo-siteness of the facts, and it would be very interesting topursue this branch of evidence in detail. In following upthis idea, the names to be sought for might thus be classed :

I. Names of the great features, involving proper namesand actions.

Cadair Idris and Cadair Arthur both involve more than amere name. Idris and Arthur must have been invested withheroic qualifications to have been placed in such " seats."

II. Names of lesser features, as " Bryn y Saeth," Hill ofthe Dart ; " Llyn Llyngclys," Lake of the Engulphed Court ;" Ceven y Bedd," the Ridge of the Grave ; "Rhyd y Saeson,"the Saxons' Ford.

III. Names of mixed natural and artificial objects, as"Coeten Arthur," Arthur's Coit; " Cerrig y Drudion," theCrag of the Heroes ; which involve actions. And such asembody proper names only, as " Cerrig Howell," the Crag ofHowell ; " Caer Arianrod," the Camp of Arianrod ; " BronGoronwy," the Breast (of the Hill) of Goronwy; "Castellmab Wynion," the Castle of the son of Wynion ; " NantGwrtheyrn," the Rill of Vortigern.The selection of names would demand much care anddiscretion. The translations should be indisputable, and,where known, the connexion of a name with a legend shouldbe noted. Such a name as " Mochdrev," Swine-town, wouldbe valueless unless accompanied by a legend.

It is always valuable to find a place or work called afteran individual, because it may help to support some traditionof his existence or his actions. But it is requisite that care


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Original Introduction nbe taken not to push the etymological dissection too far.Thus, "Caer Arianrod" should be taken simply as the" Camp of Arianrod," and not rendered the " Camp of thesilver circle," because the latter, though it might possiblyhave something to do with the reason for which the namewas borne by Arianrod herself, had clearly no reference toits application to her camp.

It appears to me, then, looking back upon what has beenadvanced :

I. That we have throughout Europe, at an early period,a great body of literature, known as Mediaeval Romance,which, amidst much that is wholly of Teutonic origin andcharacter, includes certain well-marked traces of an olderCeltic nucleus.

II. Proceeding backwards in time, we find these romances,their ornaments falling away at each step, existing towardsthe twelfth century, of simpler structure, and with less en-cumbered Celtic features, in the works of Wace, and otherBards of the Langue d'Oil.

III. We find that Geoffrey of Monmouth, Layamon, andother early British and Anglo-Saxon historians, and minstrels,on the one hand, transmitted to Europe the rudiments of itsafter romance, much of which, on the other hand, they drewfrom Wales.

IV. Crossing into Wales we find, in the Mabinogion, theevident counterpart of the Celtic portion of the continentalromance, mixed up, indeed, with various reflex additionsfrom beyond the border, but still containing ample internalevidence of a Welsh original.V. Looking at the connexion between divers of the moreancient Mabinogion, and the topographical nomenclature ofpart of the country, we find evidence of the great, thoughindefinite, antiquity of these tales, and of an origin, which,if not indigenous, is certainly derived from no Europeannation.

It was with a general belief in some of these conclusions,that I commenced my labours, and I end them with myimpressions strongly confirmed. The subject is one notunworthy of the talents of a Llwyd or a Prichard. It might,


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12 Original IntroductionI think, be shown, by pursuing the inquiry, that the Cymricnation is not only, as Dr. Prichard has proved it to be, anearly offshoot of the Indo-European family, and a people ofunmixed descent, but that when driven out of their conquestsby the later nations, the names and exploits of their heroes,and the compositions of their bards, spread far and wideamong the invaders, and affected intimately their tastes andliterature for many centuries, and that it has strong claims tobe considered the cradle of European Romance.

C. E. G.

DOWLAIS, August 2


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THE MABINOGIONPWYLL PRINCE OF DYVED

PWYLL Prince of Dyved was lord of the seven Can-trevs of Dyved ; and once upon a time he was at Narberthhis chief palace, and he was minded to go and hunt, andthe part of his dominions in which it pleased him to huntwas Glyn Cuch. So he set forth from Narbeth that night,and went as far as Llwyn Diarwyd. And that night hetarried there, and early on the morrow he rose and cameto Glyn Cuch, when he let loose the dogs in the wood,and sounded the horn, and began the chase. And as hefollowed the dogs, he lost his companions ; and whilst helistened to the hounds, he heard the cry of other hounds,a cry different from his own, and coming in the oppositedirection.And he beheld a glade in the wood forming a levelplain, and as his dogs came to the edge of the glade, hesaw a stag before the other dogs. And lo, as it reachedthe middle of the glade, the dogs that followed the stagovertook it and brought it down. Then looked he atthe colour of the dogs, staying not to look at the stag,and of all the hounds that he had seen in the world, hehad never seen any that were like unto these. For theirhair was of a brilliant shining white, and their ears werered ; and as the whiteness of their bodies shone, so didthe redness of their ears glisten. And he came towardsthe dogs, and drove away those that had brought downthe stag, and set his own dogs upon it.And as he was setting on his dogs he saw a horsemancoming towards him upon a large light-grey steed, with a

hunting horn round his neck, and clad in garments of13


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14 The Mabinogiongrey woollen in the fashion of a hunting garb. And thehorseman drew near and spoke unto him thus. "Chief-tain," said he, " I know who thou art, and I greet theenot." " Peradventure," said Pwyll, " thou art of suchdignity that thou shouldest not do so." "Verily," answeredhe, " it is not my dignity that prevents me." " What is itthen, O Chieftain ? " asked he. " By Heaven, it is byreason of thine own ignorance and want of courtesy."" What discourtesy, Chieftain, hast thou seen in me ? "" Greater discourtesy saw I never in man," said he, "thanto drive away the dogs that were killing the stag and toset upon it thine own. This was discourteous, and thoughI may not be revenged upon thee, yet I declare to Heaventhat I will do thee more dishonour than the value of anhundred stags." "O Chieftain," he replied, "if I havedone ill I will redeem thy friendship." " How wilt thouredeem it ? " " According as thy dignity may be, but Iknow not who thou art ? " "A crowned king am I inthe land whence I come." "Lord," said he, "may theday prosper with thee, and from what land comest thou ? "" From Annwvyn," 1 answered he ; " Arawn, a King ofAnnwvyn, am I." " Lord," said he, " how may I gainthy friendship ? " " After this manner mayest thou," hesaid. " There is a man whose dominions are opposite tomine, who is ever warring against me, and he is Havgan,a King of Annwvyn, and by ridding me of this oppres-sion, which thou canst easily do, shalt thou gain myfriendship." " Gladly will I do this," said he. " Showme how I may." " I will show thee. Behold thus it isthou mayest. I will make firm friendship with thee; andthis will I do. I will send thee to Annwvyn in my stead,and I will give thee the fairest lady thou didst ever beholdto be thy companion, and I will put my form and sem-blance upon thee, so that not a page of the chamber, noran officer, nor any other man that has always followed meshall know that it is not I. And this shall be for the spaceof a year from to-morrow, and then we will meet in thisplace." "Yes," said he; "but when I shall have been therefor the space of a year, by what means shall I discover him

1 Hades.


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Pwyll Prince of Dyved 15of whom thou speakest ? " " One year from this night,"he answered, "is the time fixed between him and methat we should meet at the Ford ; be thou there in mylikeness, and with one stroke that thou givest him, heshall no longer live. And if he ask thee to give himanother, give it not, how much soever he may entreatthee, for when I did so, he fought with me next day aswell as ever before." " Verily," said Pwyll, " what shallI do concerning my kingdom ? " Said Arawn, " I willcause that no one in all thy dominions, neither man norwoman, shall know that I am not thou, and I will gothere in thy stead." " Gladly then," said Pwyll, " will Iset forward." " Clear shall be thy path, and nothing shalldetain thee, until thou come into my dominions, and Imyself will be thy guide ! "So he conducted him until he came in sight of thepalace and its dwellings. " Behold," said he, " the Courtand the kingdom in thy power. Enter the Court, thereis no one there who will know thee, and when thou seestwhat service is done there, thou wilt know the customsof the Court."

So he went forward to the Court, and when he camethere, he beheld sleeping-rooms, and halls, and chambers,and the most beautiful buildings ever seen. And he wentinto the hall to disarray, and there came youths and pagesand disarrayed him, and all as they entered saluted him,And two knights came and drew his hunting-dress fromabout him, and clothed him in a vesture of silk and gold.And the hall was prepared, and behold he saw the house-hold and the host enter in, and the host was the mostcomely and the best equipped that he had ever seen.And with them came in likewise the Queen, who was thefairest woman that he had ever yet beheld. And shehad on a yellow robe of shining satin ; and they washedand went to the table, and sat, the Queen upon one sideof him, and one who seemed to be an Earl on the otherside.And he began to speak with the Queen, and he thought,from her speech, that she was the seemliest and mostnoble lady of converse and of cheer that ever was. And


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16 The Mabinogionthey partook of meat, and drink, with songs and withfeasting; and of all the Courts upon the earth, beholdthis was the best supplied with food and drink, and vesselsof gold and royal jewels.And the year he spent in hunting, and minstrelsy, and

feasting, and diversions, and discourse with his com-panions until the night that was fixed for the conflict.And when that night came, it was remembered even bythose who lived in the furthest part of his dominions, andhe went to the meeting, and the nobles of the kingdomwith him. And when he came to the Ford, a knightarose and spake thus. "Lords," said he, "listen well. Itis between two kings that this meeting is, and betweenthem only. Each claimeth of the other his land andterritory, and do all of you stand aside and leave thefight to be between them."Thereupon the two kings approached each other in themiddle of the Ford, and encountered, and at the first

thrust, the man who was in the stead of Arawn struckHavgan on the centre of the boss of his shield, so thatit was cloven in twain, and his armour was broken, andHavgan himself was borne to the ground an arm's anda spear's length over the crupper of his horse, and hereceived a deadly blow. "O Chieftain," said Havgan," what right hast thou to cause my death ? I was notinjuring thee in anything, and I know not wherefore thouwouldest slay me. But, for the love of Heaven, sincethou hast begun to slay me, complete thy work." " Ah,Chieftain," he replied,

"I may yet repent doing that untothee, slay thee who may, I will not do so." " My trusty

Lords," said Havgan, "bear me hence. My death hascome. I shall be no more able to uphold you." " MyNobles," also said he who was in the semblance of Arawn," take counsel and know who ought to be my subjects.""Lord," said the Nobles," "all should be, for there is noking over the whole of Annwvyn but thee." " Yes," hereplied, "it is right that he who comes humbly shouldbe received graciously, but he that doth not come withobedience, shall be compelled by the force of swords."


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Pwyll Prince of Dyved 17And thereupon he received the homage of the men, andhe began to conquer the country ; and the next day bynoon the two kingdoms were in his power. And theie-upon he went to keep his tryst, and came to Glyn Cuch.And when he came there, the King of Annwvyn wasthere to meet him, and each of them was rejoiced to seethe other. " Verily," said Arawn, " may Heaven rewardthee for thy friendship towards me. I have heard of it.When thou comest thyself to thy dominions," said he>" thou wilt see that which I have done for thee." " What-ever thou hast done for me, may Heaven repay itthee."Then Arawn gave to Pwyll Prince of Dyved his properform and semblance, and he himself took his own ; andArawn set forth towards the Court of Annwvyn ; and hewas rejoiced when he beheld his hosts, and his house-hold, whom he had not seen so long ; but they had notknown of his absence, and wondered no more at hiscoming than usual. And that day was spent in joy andmerriment ; and he sat and conversed with his wife andhis nobles. And when it was time for them rather tosleep than to carouse, they went to rest.

Pwyll Prince of Dyved came likewise to his countryand dominions, and began to inquire of the nobles of theland, how his rule had been during the past year, com-pared with what it had been before. " Lord," said they,"thy wisdom was never so great, and thou wast neverso kind or so free in bestowing thy gifts, and thy justicewas never more worthily seen than in this year." " ByHeaven," said he, "for all the good you have enjoyed, youshould thank him who hath been with you ; for behold,thus hath this matter been." And thereupon Pwyll relatedthe whole unto them. "Verily, Lord," said they, "renderthanks unto Heaven that thou hast such a fellowship, andwithhold not from us the rule which we have enjoyed forthis year past" "I take Heaven to witness that I willnot withhold it," answered Pwyll.And thenceforth they made strong the friendship thatwas between them, and each sent unto the other horses.


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18 The Mabinogionand greyhounds, and hawks, and all such jewels as theythought would be pleasing to each other. And by reasonof his having dwelt that year in Annwvyn, and havingruled there so prosperously, and united the two kingdomsin one day by his valour and prowess, he lost the nameof Pwyll Prince of Dyved, and was called Pwyll Chiefof Annwvyn from that time forward.Once upon a time, Pwyll was at Narberth his chief

palace, where a feast had been prepared for him, andwith him was a great host of men. And after the firstmeal, Pwyll arose to walk, and he went to the top of amound that was above the palace, and was called GorseddArberth. " Lord," said one of the Court, " it is peculiarto the mound that whosoever sits upon it cannot go thence,without either receiving wounds or blows, or else seeinga wonder." " I fear not to receive wounds and blows inthe midst of such a host as this, but as to the wonder,gladly would I see it. I will go therefore and sit uponthe mound."And upon the mound he sat. And while he sat there,they saw a lady, on a pure white horse of large size, witha garment of shining gold around her, coming along thehighway that led from the mound ; and the horse seemedto move at a slow and even pace, and to be coming uptowards the mound. " My men," said Pwyll, " is thereany among you who knows yonder lady ? " " There isnot, Lord," said they. " Go one of you and meet her,that we may know who she is." And one of them arose,and as he came upon the road to meet her, she passedby, and he followed as fast as he could, being on foot ;and the greater was his speed, the further was she fromhim. And when he saw that it profited him nothing tofollow her, he returned to Pwyll, and said unto him," Lord, it is idle for any one in the world to follow heron foot." "Verily," said Pwyll, " go unto the palace,and take the fleetest horse that thou seest, and go afterher."And he took a horse and went forward. And he cameto an open level plain, and put spurs to his horse ; and


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Pwyll Prince of Dyved 19the more he urged his horse, the further was she fromhim. Yet she held the same pace as at first. And hishorse began to fail ; and when his horse's feet failed him,he returned to the place where Pwyll was. " Lord," saidhe, " it will avail nothing for any one to follow yonderlady. I know of no horse in these realms swifter thanthis, and it availed me not to pursue her." " Of a truth,"said Pwyll, " there must be some illusion here. Let usgo towards the palace." So to the palace they went, andthey spent that day. And the next day they arose, andthat also they spent until it was time to go to meat. Andafter the first meal, " Verily," said Pwyll, " we will go thesame party as yesterday to the top of the mound. Anddo thou," said he to one of his young men, " take theswiftest horse that thou knowest in the field." And thusdid the young man. And they went towards the mound,taking the horse with them. And as they were sittingdown they beheld the lady on the same horse, and in thesame apparel, coming along the same road. " Behold/'said Pwyll, " here is the lady of yesterday. Make ready,youth, to learn who she is." " My lord," said he, " thatwill I gladly do." And thereupon the lady came oppositeto them. So the youth mounted his horse ; and beforehe had settled himself in his saddle, she passed by, andthere was a clear space between them. But her speedwas no greater than it had been the day before. Thenhe put his horse into an amble, and thought that not-withstanding the gentle pace at which his horse went, heshould soon overtake her. But this availed him not ; sohe gave his horse the reins. And still he came no nearerto her than when he went at a foot's pace. And the morehe urged his horse, the further was she from him. Yetshe rode not faster than before. When he saw that itavailed not to follow her, he returned to the place wherePwyll was. " Lord," said he, " the horse can no morethan thou hast seen." " I see indeed that it avails notthat any one should follow her. And by Heaven," saidhe, " she must needs have an errand to some one in thisplain, if her haste would allow her to declare it. Let usgo back to the palace." And to the palace they went,


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2O The Mabinogionand they spent that night in songs and feasting, as itpleased them.And the next day they amused themselves until it wastime to go to meat. And when meat was ended, Pwyll

said, " Where are the hosts that went yesterday and theday before to the top of the mound ? " " Behold, Lord,we are here," said they. "Let us go," said he, "to themound, to sit there. And do thou," said he to the pagewho tended his horse, " saddle my horse well, and hastenwith him to the road, and bring also my spurs withthee." And the youth did thus. And they went and satupon the mound ; and ere they had been there but ashort time, they beheld the lady coming by the sameroad, and in the same manner, and at the same pace." Young man," said Pwyll, " I see the lady coming ; giveme my horse." And no sooner had he mounted hishorse than she passed him. And he turned after her andfollowed her. And he let his horse go bounding play-fully, and thought that at the second step or the third heshould come up with her. But he came no nearer to herthan at first. Then he urged his horse to his utmostspeed, yet he found that it availed nothing to follow her.Then said Pwyll, " O maiden, for the sake of him whomthou best lovest, stay for me." " I will stay gladly," saidshe, " and it were better for thy horse hadst thou askedit long since." So the maiden stopped, and she threwback that part of her headdress which covered her face.And she fixed her eyes upon him, and began to talkwith him. "Lady," asked he, "whence comest thou,and whereunto dost thou journey ? " "I journey onmine own errand," said she, " and right glad am I to seethee." " My greeting be unto thee," said he. Then hethought that the beauty of all the maidens, and all theladies that he had ever seen, was as nothing compared toher beauty. " Lady," he said, " wilt thou tell me aughtconcerning thy purpose? " " I will tell thee," said she." My chief quest was to seek thee." " Behold," saidPwyll, " this is to me the most pleasing quest on whichthou couldst have come; and wilt thou tell me whothou art?" "I will tell thee, Lord," said she. "I am


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Pwyll Prince of Dyved 21Hhiannon, the daughter of Heveydd Hen, and theysought to give me to a husband against my will. But nohusband would I have, and that because of my love forthee, neither will I yet have one unless thou reject me.And hither have I come to hear thy answer." "ByHeaven," said Pwyll, " behold this is my answer. If Imight choose among all the ladies and damsels in theworld, thee would I choose." "Verily," said she, "ifthou art thus minded, make a pledge to meet me ere Iam given to another." " The sooner I may do so, themore pleasing will it be unto me," said Pwyll, "andwheresoever thou wilt, there will I meet with thee." " Iwill that thou meet me this day twelvemonth at the palaceof Heveydd. And I will cause a feast to be prepared,so that it be ready against thou come." " Gladly," saidhe,

" will I keep this tryst.""Lord," said she,

"remain inhealth, and be mindful that thou keep thy promise ; andnow I will go hence." So they parted, and he went backto his hosts and to them of his household. And what-

soever questions they asked him respecting the damsel,he always turned the discourse upon other matters. Andwhen a year from that time was gone, he caused a hundredknights to equip themselves and to go with him to thepalace of Heveydd Hen. And he came to the palace,and there was great joy concerning him, with much con-course of people and great rejoicing, and vast prepara-tions for his coming. And the whole Court was placedunder his orders.And the hall was garnished and they went to meat,and thus did they sit ; Heveydd Hn was on one sideof Pwyll, and Rhiannon on the other. And all therest according to their rank. And they ate and feastedand talked one with another, and at the beginning ofthe carousal after the meat, there entered a tall auburn-haired youth, of royal bearing, clothed in a garment ofsatin. And when he came into the hall, he salutedPwyll and his companions. " The greeting of Heavenbe unto thee, my soul," said Pwyll, " come thou and sitdown." " Nay," said he, "a suitor am I, and I will domine errand." " Do so willingly," said Pwyll. " Lord,"


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22 The Mabinogionsaid he, " my errand is unto thee, and it is to crave aboon of thee that I come." "What boon soever thoumayest ask of me, as far as I am able, thou shalt have.""Ah," said Rhiannon, "wherefore didst thou give thatanswer ? " " Has he not given it before the presence ofthese nobles ? " asked the youth. " My soul," said Pwyll,"what is the boon thou askest?" "The lady whombest I love is to be thy bride this night ; I come to askher of thee, with the feast and the banquet that are inthis place." And Pwyll was silent because of the answerwhich he had given. " Be silent as long as thou wilt,"said Rhiannon. " Never did man make worse use of hiswits than thou hast done." " Lady," said he, " I knewnot who he was." " Behold this is the man to whomthey would have given me against my will," said she."And he is Gwawl the son of Clud, a man of great powerand wealth, and because of the word thou hast spoken,bestow me upon him lest shame befall thee." " Lady,"

said he, " I understand not thine answer. Never can Ido as thou sayest." " Bestow me upon him," said she," and I will cause that I shall never be his." " By whatmeans will that be ? " asked Pwyll. " In thy hand will Igive thee a small bag," said she.

" See that thou keep itwell, and he will ask of thee the banquet, and the feast,and the preparations which are not in thy power. Untothe hosts and the household will I give the feast. Andsuch will be thy answer respecting this. And as concernsmyself, I will engage to become his bride this nighttwelvemonth. And at the end of the year be thou here,"said she, "and bring this bag with thee, and let thyhundred knights be in the orchard up yonder. Andwhen he is in the midst of joy and feasting, come thou inby thyself, clad in ragged garments, and holding thy bagin thy hand, and ask nothing but a bagful of food, and Iwill cause that if all the meat and liquor that are in theseseven Cantrevs were put into it, it would be no fuller thanbefore And after a great deal has been put therein, hewill ask thee whether thy bag will ever be full. Say thouthen that it never will, until a man of noble birth and ofgreat wealth arise and press the food in the bag with both


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Pwyll Prince of Dyved 23his feet, saying, * Enough has been put therein ; ' and Iwill cause him to go and tread down the food in the bag,and when he does so, turn thou the bag, so that he shallbe up over his head in it, and then slip a knot upon thethongs of the bag. Let there be also a good bugle hornabout thy neck, and as soon as thou hast bound him inthe bag, wind thy horn, and let it be a signal betweenthee and thy knights. And when they hear the sound ofthe horn, let them come down upon the palace." " Lord,"said Gwawl, "it is meet that I have an answer to myrequest." " As much of that thou hast asked as it is inmy power to give, thou shalt have," replied Pwyll. " Mysoul," said Rhiannon unto him, "as for the feast and thebanquet that are here, I have bestowed them upon themen of Dyved, and the household, and the warriors thatare with us. These can I not suffer to be given to any.In a year from to-night a banquet shall be prepared forthee in this palace, that I may become thy bride."

, So Gwawl went forth to his possessions, and Pwyllwent also back to Dyved. And they both spent thatyear until it was the time for the feast at the palace ofHeveydd Hen. Then Gwawl the son of Glud set out tothe feast that was prepared for him, and he came to thepalace, and was received there with rejoicing. Pwyll,also, the Chief of Annwvyn, came to the orchard withhis hundred knights, as Rhiannon had commanded him,having the bag with him. And Pwyil was clad in coarseand ragged garments, and wore large clumsy old shoesupon his feet. And when he knew that the carousal afterthe meat had begun, he went towards the hall, and whenhe came into the hall, he saluted Gwawl the son of Clud,and his company, both men and women. "Heavenprosper thee," said Gwawl, " and the greeting of Heavenbe unto thee." " Lord," said he, " may Heaven rewardthee, I have an errand unto thee." " Welcome be thineerrand, and if thou ask of me that which is just, thoushalt have it gladly." " It is fitting," answered he. " Icrave but from want, and the boon that I ask is to havethis small bag that thou seest filled with meat." "Arequest within reason is this," said he, " and gladly shalt


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24 The Mabinogionthou have it. Bring him food." A great number ofattendants arose and began to fill the bag, but for all thatthey put into it, it was no fuller than at first. " My soul,"said Gwawl, " will thy bag be ever full ? " " It will not,I declare to Heaven," said he, " for all that may be putinto it, unless one possessed of lands, and domains, andtreasure, shall arise and tread down with both his feet thefood that is within the bag, and shall say, ' Enough hasbeen put therein.'" Then said Rhiannon unto Gwawlthe son of Clud, " Rise up quickly." " I will willinglyarise," said he. So he rose up, and put his two feet intothe bag. And Pwyll turned up the sides of the bag, sothat Gwawl was over his head in it. And he shut it upquickly and slipped a knot upon the thongs, and blew hishorn. And thereupon behold his household came downupon the palace. And they seized all the host that hadcome with Gwawl, and cast them into his own prison.And Pwyll threw off his rags, and his old shoes, and histattered array ; and as they came in, every one of Pwyll'sknights struck a blow upon the bag, and asked, " What ishere?" "A Badger," said they. And in this mannerthey played, each of them striking the bag, either withhis foot or with a staff. And thus played they with thebag. Every one as he came in asked, " What game areyou playing at thus ? " " The game of Badger in theBag," said they. And then was the game of Badger inthe Bag first played." Lord," said the man in the bag, " if thou wouldestbut hear me, I merit not to be slain in a bag." SaidHeveydd Hen,

" Lord, he speaks truth. It were fittingthat thou listen to him, for he deserves not this." " Verily,"said Pwyll, " I will do thy counsel concerning him."" Behold this is my counsel then," said Rhiannon ; " thouart now in a position in which it behoves thee to satisfysuitors and minstrels ; let him give unto them in thystead, and take a pledge from him that he will never seekto revenge that which has been done to him. And thiswill be punishment enough." " I will do this gladly,"said the man in the bag. "And gladly will I acceptit," said Pwyll, " since it is the counsel of Heveydd and


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Pwyll Prince of Dyved 25Rhiannon." " Such then is our counsel," answered they." I accept it," said Pwyll. " Seek thyself sureties." " Wewill be for him/' said Heveydd, "until his men be free toanswer for him." And upon this he was let out of thebag, and his liegemen were liberated. " Demand now ofGwawl his sureties," said Heveydd, "we know whichshould be taken for him." And Heveydd numbered thesureties. Said Gwawl, "Do thou thyself draw up thecovenant." " It will suffice me that it be as Rhiannonsaid," answered Pwyll. So unto that covenant were thesureties pledged. " Verily, Lord," said Gwawl, " I amgreatly hurt, and I have many bruises. I have need tobe anointed ; with thy leave I will go forth. I will leavenobles in my stead, to answer for me in all that thou shaltrequire." " Willingly," said Pwyll, " mayest thou do thus."So Gwawl went towards his own possessions.And the hall was set in order for Pwyll and the men ofhis host, and for them also of the palace, and they wentto the tables and sat down. And as they had sat thattime twelvemonth, so sat they that night. And they ate,and feasted, and spent the night in mirth and tranquillity.And the time came that they should sleep, and Pwyll andRhiannon went to their chamber.And next morning at the break of day, " My Lord,"said Rhiannon, "arise and begin to give thy gifts untothe minstrels. Refuse no one to-day that may claim thybounty." " Thus shall it be gladly," said Pwyll, " bothto-day and every day while the feast shall last." So Pwyllarose, and he caused silence to be proclaimed, and desiredall the suitors and the minstrels to show and to point outwhat gifts were to their wish and desire. And this beingdone, the feast went on, and he denied no one while itlasted. And when the feast was ended, Pwyll said untoHeveydd, " My Lord, with thy permission I will set outfor Dyved to-morrow." " Certainly," said Heveydd, " mayHeaven prosper thee. Fix also a time when Rhiannonmay follow thee."

"By Heaven," said Pwyll,

"we willgo hence together." "Wiliest thou this, Lord?" said

Heveydd. "Yes, by Heaven," answered Pwyll.And the next day, they set forward towards Dyved,


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26 The Mabinogionand journeyed to the palace of Narberth, where a feastwas made ready for them. And there came to themgreat numbers of the chief men and the most nobleladies of the land, and of these there was none to whomRhiannon did not give some rich gift, either a bracelet,or a ring, or a precious stone. And they ruled the landprosperously both that year and the next.And in the third year the nobles of the land began tobe sorrowful at seeing a man whom they loved so much,and who was moreover their lord and their foster-brother,without an heir. And they came to him. And the placewhere they met was Preseleu, in Dyved. " Lord," saidthey, " we know that thou art not so young as some ofthe men of this country, and we fear that thou mayestnot have an heir of the wife whom thou hast taken.Take therefore another wife of whom thou mayest haveheirs. Thou canst not always continue with us, andthough thou desire to remain as thou art, we will notsuffer thee." " Truly," said Pwyll, " we have not longbeen joined together, and many things may yet befall.Grant me a year from this time, and for the space of ayear we will abide together, and after that I will doaccording to your wishes. So they granted it. Andbefore the end of a year a son was born unto him. Andin Narberth was he born ; and on the night that he wasborn, women were brought to watch the mother and theboy. And the women slept, as did also Rhiannon, themother of the boy. And the number of the womenthat were brought into the chamber was six. And theywatched for a good portion of the night, and beforemidnight every one of them fell asleep, and towardsbreak of day they awoke; and when they awoke, theylooked where they had put the boy, and behold he wasnot there. "Oh," said one of the women, "the boy islost!" "Yes," said another, "and it will be small ven-geance if we are burnt or put to death because of thechild." Said one of the women, " Is there any counselfor us in the world in this matter ? " " There is,"answered another, " I offer you good counsel." " Whatis that?" asked they. "There is here a stag-hound


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Pwyll Prince of Dyved 27bitch, and she has a litter of whelps. Let us kill someof the cubs, and rub the blood on the face and hands ofRhiannon, and lay the bones before her, and assert thatshe herself hath devoured her son, and she alone willnot be able to gainsay us six." And according to thiscounsel it was settled. And towards morning Rhiannonawoke, and she said, " Women, where is my son ? "" Lady," said they, " ask us not concerning thy son, wehave nought but the blows and the bruises we got bystruggling with thee, and of a truth we never saw anywoman so violent as thou, for it was of no avail tocontend with thee. Hast thou not thyself devoured thyson ? Claim him not therefore of us." " For pity'ssake," said Rhiannon ; " the Lord God knows all things.Charge me not falsely. If you tell me this from fear, Iassert before Heaven that I will defend you." " Truly,"said they, " we would not bring evil on ourselves for anyone in the world." " For pity's sake, " said Rhiannon," you will receive no evil by telling the truth." But forall her words, whether fair or harsh, she received but thesame answer from the women.And Pwyll the chief of Annwvyn arose, and his house-hold, and his hosts. And this occurrence could not beconcealed, but the story went forth throughout the land,and all the nobles heard it. Then the nobles came toPwyll, and besought him to put away his wife, becauseof the great crime which she had done. But Pwyllanswered them, that they had no cause wherefore theymight ask him to put away his wife, save for her havingno children. " But children has she now had, thereforewill I not put her away ; if she has done wrong, let herdo penance for it."So Rhiannon sent for the teachers and the wise men,and as she preferred doing penance to contending withthe women, she took upon her a penance. And thepenance that was imposed upon her was, that she shouldremain in that palace of Narberth until the end of sevenyears, and that she should sit every day near unto ahorse-block that was without the gate. And that sheshould relate the story to all who should come there,


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28 The Mabinogionwhom she might suppose not to know it already ; andthat she should offer the guests and strangers, if theywould permit her, to carry them upon her back into thepalace. But it rarely happened that any would permit.And thus did she spend part of the year.Now at that time Teirnyon Twryv Vliant was Lord ofGwent Is Coed, and he was the best man in the world.And unto his house there belonged a mare, than whichneither mare nor horse in the kingdom was more beautiful.And on the night of every first of May she foaled, andno one ever knew what became of the colt. And onenight Teirnyon talked with his wife : " Wife," said he," it is very simple of us that our mare should foal everyyear, and that we should have none of her colts.""What can be done in the matter?" said she. "Thisis the night of the first of May," said he. "The vengeanceof Heaven be upon me, if I learn not what it is thattakes away the colts." So he caused the mare to bebrought into a house, and he armed himself, and beganto watch that night. And in the beginning of the night,the mare foaled a large and beautiful colt. And it wasstanding up in the place. And Teirnyon rose up andlooked at the size of the colt, and as he did so he hearda great tumult, and after the tumult behold a claw camethrough the window into the house, and it seized thecolt by the mane. Then Teirnyon drew his sword, andstruck off the arm at the elbow, so that portion of thearm together with the colt was in the house with him.And then did he hear a tumult and wailing, both at once.And he opened the door, and rushed out in the directionof the noise, and he could not see the cause of the tumultbecause of the darkness of the night, but he rushedafter it and followed it. Then he remembered that hehad left the door open, and he returned. And at thedoor behold there was an infant boy in swaddling-clothes,wrapped around in a mantle of satin. And he took upthe boy, and behold he was very strong for the age thathe was of.Then he shut the door, and went into the chamberwhere his wife was. "Lady," said he, "art thou sleeping?"


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Pwyll Prince of Dyved 29" No, lord," said she, " I was asleep, but as thou earnestin I did awake." "Behold, here is a boy for thee if thouwilt," said he, " since thou hast never had one." " Mylord," said she, "what adventure is this?" "It wasthus," said Teirnyon ; and he told her how it all befell."Verily, lord," said she, "what sort of garments are thereupon the boy? " " A mantle of satin," said he. " He isthen a boy of gentle lineage," she replied. " My lord,"she said, "if thou wilt, I shall have great diversion andmirth. I will call my women unto me, and tell themthat I have been pregnant." " I will readily grant theeto do this," he answered. And thus did they, and theycaused the boy to be baptized, and the ceremony wasperformed there ; and the name which they gave untohim was Gwri Wallt Euryn, because what hair was uponhis head was as yellow as gold. And they had the boynursed in the Court until he was a year old. And beforethe year was over he could walk stoutly. And he waslarger than a boy of three years old, even one of greatgrowth and size. And the boy was nursed the secondyear, and then he was as large as a child six years old.And before the end of the fourth year, he would bribethe grooms to allow him to take the horses to water." My lord," said his wife unto Teirnyon, " where is thecolt which thou didst save on the night that thou didstfind the boy ?" "I have commanded the grooms of thehorses," said he, " that they take care of him." "Wouldit not be well, lord," said she, "if thou wert to cause himto be broken in, and given to the boy, seeing that on thesame night that thou didst find the boy, the colt wasfoaled and thou didst save him ? " "I will not opposethee in this matter," said Teirnyon. " I will allow theeto give him the colt." " Lord," said she, " may Heavenreward thee ; I will give it him." So the horse was givento the boy. Then she went to the grooms and thosewho tended the horses, and commanded them to becareful of the horse, so that he might be broken in bythe time that the boy could ride him.And while these things were going forward, they heardtidings of Rhiannon and her punishment. And Teirnyorfc


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3O The MabinogionTwryv Vliant, by reason of the pity that he felt on hearingthis story of Rhiannon and her punishment, inquiredclosely concerning it, until he had heard from many ofthose who came to his court. Then did Teirnyon, oftenlamenting the sad history, ponder within himself, and helooked steadfastly on the boy, and as he looked uponhim, it seemed to him that he had never beheld so greata likeness between father and son, as between the boyand Pwyll the Chief of Annwvyn. Now the semblanceof Pwyll was well known to him, for he had of yore beenone of his followers. And thereupon he became grievedfor the wrong that he did, in keeping with him a boywhom he knew to be the son of another man. And thefirst time that he was alone with his wife, he told herthat it was not right that they should keep the boy withthem, and suffer so excellent a lady as Rhiannon to bepunished so greatly on his account, whereas the boy wasthe son of Pwyll the Chief of Annwvyn. And Teirnyon'swife agreed with him, that they should send the boy toPwyll. "And three things, lord," said she, "shall wegain thereby. Thanks and gifts for releasing Rhiannonfrom her punishment; and thanks from Pwyll for nursinghis son and restoring him unto him ; and thirdly, if theboy is of gentle nature, he will be our foster-son, and hewill do for us all the good in his power/' So it was settledaccording to this counsel.And no later than the next day was Teirnyon equipped,and two other knights with him. And the boy, as afourth in their company, went with them upon the horsewhich Teirnyon had given him. And they journeyedtowards Narberth, and it was not long before they reachedthat place. And as they drew near to the palace, theybeheld Rhiannon sitting beside the horse-block. Andwhen they were opposite to her, "Chieftain," said she," go not further thus, I will bear every one of you intothe palace, and this is my penance for slaying my ownson and devouring him." " Oh, fair lady," said Teirnyon,ci think not that I will be one to be carried upon thyback." "Neither will I," said the boy. "Truly," mysoul," said Teirnyon, "we will not go." So they went


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Pwyll Prince of Dyved 31forward to the palace, and there was great joy at theircoming. And at the palace a feast was prepared, becausePywll was come back from the confines of Dyved. Andthey went into the hall and washed, and Pwyll rejoicedto see Teirnyon. And in this order they sat. Teirnyonbetween Pwyll and Rhiannon, and Teirnyon's two com-panions on the other side of Pwyll, with the boy betweenthem. And after meat they began to carouse and todiscourse. And Teirnyon's discourse was concerning theadventure of the mare and the boy, and how he and hiswife had nursed and reared the child as their own. " Andbehold here is thy son, lady," said Teirnyon. "Andwhosoever told that lie concerning thee, has done wrong.And when I heard of thy sorrow, I was troubled andgrieved. And I believe that there is none of this hostwho will not perceive that the boy is the son of Pwyll,"said Teirnyon. "There is none," said they all, "whois not certain thereof." " I declare to Heaven," saidRhiannon, " that if this be true, there is indeed an endto my trouble." " Lady," said Pendaran Dyved, " wellhast thou named thy son Pryderi, 1 and well becomes himthe name of Pryderi son of Pwyll Chief of Annwvyn.""Look you," said Rhiannon, "will not his own namebecome him better?" "What name has he?" askedPendaran Dyved. " Gwri Wallt Euryn is the name thatwe gave him." "Pryderi," said Pendaran, "shall hisname be." " It were more proper," said Pwyll, " thatthe boy should take his name from the word his motherspoke when she received the joyful tidings of him." Andthus was it arranged.

"Teirnyon," said Pwyll, "Heaven reward thee thatthou hast reared the boy up to this time, and, being ofgentle lineage, it were fitting that he repay thee for it.""My lord," said Teirnyon, "it was my wife who nursedhim, and there is no one in the world so afflicted as sheat parting with him. It were well that he should bear inmind what I and my wife have done for him." " I callHeaven to witness," said Pwyll, " that while I live I willsupport thee and thy possessions, as long as I am able to

1 The word " Pryder " or " Pryderi " means anxiety.


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32 The Mabinogionpreserve my own. And when he shall have power, hewill more fitly maintain them than I. And if this counselbe pleasing unto thee, and to my nobles, it shall be that,as thou hast reared him up to the present time, I willgive him to be brought up by Pendaran Dyved, fromhenceforth. And you shall be companions, and shallboth be foster-fathers unto him." " This is good counsel,"said they all. So the boy was given to Pendaran Dyved,and the nobles of the land were sent with him. AndTeirnyon Twryv Vliant, and his companions, set out forhis country, and his possessions, with love and gladness.And he went not without being offered the fairest jewelsand the fairest horses, and the choicest dogs ; but hewould take none of them.

Thereupon they all remained in their own dominions.And Pryderi, the son of Pwyll the Chief of Annwvyn,was brought up carefully as was fit, so that he becamethe fairest youth, and the most comely, and the bestskilled in all good games, of any in the kingdom. Andthus passed years and years, until the end of Pwyll theChief of Annwvyn's life came, and he died.And Pryderi ruled the seven Cantrevs of Dyved pros-perously, and he was beloved by his people, and by allaround him. And at length he added unto them thethree Cantrevs of Ystrad Tywi, and the four Cantrevs ofCardigan ; and these were called the Seven Cantrevs ofSeissyllwch. And when he made this addition, Pryderithe son of Pwyll the Chief of Annwvyn desired to take awife. And the wife he chose was Kicva, the daughterof Gwynn Gohoyw, the son of Gloyw Wallt Lydan, theson of Prince Casnar, one of the nobles of this Island.And thus ends this portion of the Mabinogion.


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Branwen the Daughter of Llyr 33

BRANWEN THE DAUGHTER OF LLYRHERE IS THE SECOND PORTION OF THE MABINOGIBENDIGEID VRAN, the son of Llyr, was the crowned

king of this island, and he was exalted from the crownof London. And one afternoon he was at Harlech inArdudwy, at his Court, and he sat upon the rock ofHarlech, looking over the sea. And with him were hisbrother Manawyddan the son of Llyr, and his brothersby the mother's side, Nissyen and Evnissyen, and manynobles likewise, as was fitting to see around a king. Histwo brothers by the mother's side were the sons of Euros-swydd, by his mother, Penardun, the daughter of Belison of Manogan. And one of these youths was a goodyouth and of gentle nature, and would make peacebetween his kindred, and cause his family to be friendswhen their wrath was at the highest ; and this one wasNissyen ; but the other would cause strife between histwo brothers when they were most at peace. And asthey sat thus, they beheld thirteen ships coming fromthe south of Ireland, and making towards them, and theycame with a swift motion, the wind being behind them,and they neared them rapidly. " I see ships afar," saidthe king, " coming swiftly towards the land. Commandthe men of the Court that they equip themselves, andgo and learn their intent." So the men equipped them-selves and went down towards them. And when theysaw the ships near, certain were they that they had neverseen ships better furnished. Beautiful flags of satin wereupon them. And behold one of the ships outstrippedthe others, and they saw a shield lifted up above the sideof the ship, and the point of the shield was upwards, intoken of peace. And the men drew near that they mighthold converse. Then they put out boats and cametowards the land. And they saluted the king. Now theking could hear them from the place where he was, uponthe rock above their heads. "Heaven prosper you/*


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34 The Mabinogionsaid he, " and be ye welcome. To whom do these shipsbelong, and who is the chief amongst you?" "Lord,"said they, "Matholwch, king of Ireland, is here, andthese ships belong to him." "Wherefore comes he?"asked the king, " and will he come to the land ? " " Heis a suitor unto thee, lord," said they, " and he will notland unless he have his boon." "And what may thatbe?" inquired the king. "He desires to ally himselfwith thee, lord," said they, " and he comes to ask Branwenthe daughter of Llyr, that, if it seem well to thee, theIsland of the Mighty may be leagued with Ireland, andboth become more powerful." "Verily," said he, "lethim come to land, and we will take counsel thereupon."And this answer was brought to Matholwch. "I. willgo willingly," said he. So he landed, and they receivedhim joyfully ; and great was the throng in the palace thatnight, between his hosts and those of the Court ; andnext day they took counsel, and they resolved to bestowBranwen upon Matholwch. Now she was one of thethree chief ladies of this island, and she was the fairestdamsel in the world.And they fixed upon Aberffraw as the place where sheshould become his bride. And they went thence, andtowards Aberffraw the hosts proceeded ; Matholwch andhis host in their ships ; Bendigeid Vran and his host byland, until they came to Aberffraw. And at Aberffrawthey began the feast and sat down. And thus sat theyThe King of the Island of the Mighty and Manawyddanthe son of Llyr on one side, and Matholwch on the otherside, and Branwen the daughter of Llyr beside him. Andthey were not within a house, but under tents. No housecould ever contain Bendigeid Vran. And they beganthe banquet and caroused and discoursed. And when itwas more pleasing to them to sleep than to carouse, theywent to rest, and that night Branwen became Matholwch'sbride.And next day they arose, and all they of the Court,and the officers began to equip and to range the horsesand the attendants, and they ranged them in order as faras the sea.


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Branwen the Daughter of Llyr 35And behold one day, Evnissyen, the quarrelsome manof whom it is spoken above, came by chance into the

place, where the horses of Matholwch were, and askedwhose horses they might be. " They are the horses ofMatholwch king of Ireland, who is married to Branwen,thy sister ; his horses are they." " And is it thus theyhave done with a maiden such as she, and moreover mysister, bestowing her without my consent ? They couldhave offered no greater insult to me than this," said he.And thereupon he rushed under the horses and cut offtheir lips at the teeth, and their ears close to their heads,and their tails close to their backs, and wherever hecould clutch their eyelids, he cut them to the verybone, and he disfigured the horses and rendered themuseless.And they came with these tidings unto Matholwch,saying that the horses were disfigured, and injured sothat not one of them could ever be of any use again." Verily, lord," said one, "it was an insult unto thee, andas such was it meant." " Of a truth, it is a marvel tome, that if they desire to insult me, they should havegiven me a maiden of such high rank and so muchbeloved of her kindred, as they have done." " Lord,"said another, "thou seest that thus it is, and there isnothing for thee to do but to go to thy ships." Andthereupon towards his ships he set out.And tidings came to Bendigeid Vran that Matholwchwas quitting the Court without asking leave, and mes-sengers were sent to inquire of him wherefore he did so.And the messengers that went were Iddic the son ofAnarawd, and Heveydd Hir. And these overtook himand asked of him what he designed to do, and whereforehe went forth. " Of a truth," said he, " if I had knownI had not come hither. I have been altogether insulted,no one had ever worse treatment than I have had here.But one thing surprises me above all." " What is that ? "asked they. " That Branwen the daughter of Llyr, oneof the three chief ladies of this island, and the daughterof the King of the Island of the Mighty, should havebeen given me as my bride, and that after that I should


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36 The Mabinogionhave been insulted ; and I marvel that the insult was notdone me before they had bestowed upon me a maiden soexalted as she." " Truly, lord, it was not the will of anythat are of the Court," said they, " nor of any that are ofthe council, that thou shouldest have received this insult ;and as thou hast been insulted, the dishonour is greaterunto Bendigeid Vran than unto thee." "Verily," saidhe, "I think so. Nevertheless he cannot recall theinsult." These men returned with that answer to theplace where Bendigeid Vran was, and they told himwhat reply Matholwch had given them. "Truly," saidhe, " there are no means by which we may prevent hisgoing away at enmity with us, that we will not take.""Well, lord/ said they, "send after him anotherembassy." "I will do so," said he. "Arise, Manawyd-dan son of Llyr, and Heveydd Hir, and Unic GlewYsgwyd, and go after him, and tell him that he shallhave a sound horse for every one that has been injured.And beside that, as an atonement for the insult, he shallhave a staff of silver, as large and as tall as himself, anda plate of gold of the breadth of his face. And showunto him who it was that did this, and that it was doneagainst my will ; but that he who did it is my brother,by the mother's side, and therefore it would be hard forme to put him to death. And let him come and meetme," said he, " and we will make peace in any way hemay desire."The embassy went after Matholwch, and told him allthese sayings in a friendly manner, and he listened there-unto. " Men," said he, " I will take counsel." So to thecouncil he went. And in the council they consideredthat if they should refuse this, they were likely to havemore shame rather than to obtain so great an atonement.They resolved therefore to accept it, and they returnedto the Court in peace.Then the pavilions and the tents were set in orderafter the fashion of a hall ; and they went to meat, andas they had sat at the beginning of the feast, so sat theythere. And Matholwch and Bendigeid Vran began todiscourse ; and behold it seemed to Bendigeid


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Branwen the Daughter of Llyr 37while they talked, that Matholwch was not so cheerfulas he had been before. And he thought that the chief-tain might be sad, because of the smallness of the atone-ment which he had, for the wrong that had been donehim. " Oh, man," said Bendigeid Vran, " thou dost notdiscourse to-night so cheerfully as thou wast wont Andif it be because of the smallness of the atonement, thoushalt add thereunto whatsoever thou mayest choose, andto-morrow I will pay thee the horses." " Lord," said he,"Heaven reward thee." "And I will enhance theatonement," said Bendigeid Vran, " for I will give untothee a cauldron, the property of which is, that if one ofthy men be slain to-day, and be cast therein, to-morrowhe will be as well as ever he was at the best, except thathe will not regain his speech." And thereupon he gavehim great thanks, and very joyful was he for that cause.And the next morning they paid Matholwch the horsesas long as the trained horses lasted. And then theyjourneyed into another commot, where they paid him withcolts until the whole had been paid, and from thenceforththat commot was called Talebolion.And a second night sat they together. "My lord,"said Matholwch,

" whence hadst thou the cauldron whichthou hast given me?" "I had it of a man who hadbeen in thy land," said he, "and I would not give itexcept to one from there." " Who was it ? " asked he,"Llassar Llaesgyvnewid ; he came here from Irelandwith Kymideu Kymeinvoll, his wife, who escaped fromthe Iron House in Ireland, when it was made red hotaround them, and fled hither. And it is a marvel to methat thou shouldst know nothing concerning the matter."" Something I do know," said he, " and as much as Iknow I will tell thee. One day I was hunting in Ireland,and I came to the mound at the head of the lake, whichis called the Lake of the Cauldron. And I beheld ahuge yellow-haired man coming from the lake with acauldron upon his back. And he was a man of vast size,and of horrid aspect, and a woman followed after him.And if the man was tall, twice as large as he was thewoman, and they came towards me and greeted me.


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38 The Mabinogion* Verily,' asked I, 'wherefore are you journeying?'* Behold, this/ said he to me, 'is the cause that wejourney. At the end of a month and a fortnight thiswoman will have a son ; and the child that will be bornat the end of the. month and the fortnight will be awarrior fully armed.' So I took them with me and main-tained them. And they were with me for a year. Andthat year I had them with me not grudgingly. Butthenceforth was there murmuring, because that they werewith me. For, from the beginning of the fourth monththey had begun to make themselves hated and to bedisorderly in the land ; committing outrages, and molest-ing and harassing the nobles and ladies ; and thence-forward my people rose up and besought me to part withthem, and they bade me to choose between them and mydominions. And I applied to the council of my countryto know what should be done concerning them ; for oftheir own free will they would not go, neither could theybe compelled against their will, through fighting. And [thepeople of the country] being in this strait, they caused achamber to be made all of iron. Now when the chamberwas ready, there came there every smith that was inIreland, and every one who owned tongs and hammer.And they caused coals to be piled up as high as the topof the chamber. And they had the man, and the woman,and the children, served with plenty of meat and drink ;but when it was known that they were drunk, they beganto put fire to the coals about the chamber, and they blewit with bellows until the house was red hot all aroundthem. Then was there a council held in the centre ofthe floor of the chamber. And the man tarried until theplates of iron were all of a white heat ; and then, . byreason of the great heat, the man dashed against theplates with his shoulder and struck them out, and hiswife followed him ; but except him and his wife noneescaped thence. And then I suppose, lord," saidMatholwch unto Bendigeid Vran, "that he came overunto thee." " Doubtless he came here," said he, " andgave unto me the cauldron." " In what manner didstthou receive them ? " "I dispersed them through every


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Branwen the Daughter of Llyr 39part of my dominions, and they have become numerousand are prospering everywhere, and they fortify theplaces where they are with men and arms, of the bestthat were ever seen."That night they continued to discourse as much as

they would, and had minstrelsy and carousing, and whenit was more pleasant to them to sleep than to sit longer,they went to rest. And thus was the banquet carried onwith joyousness ; and when it was finished, Matholwchjourneyed towards Ireland, and Branwen with him, andthey went from Aber Menei with thirteen ships, andcame to Ireland. And in Ireland was there great joybecause of their coming. And not one great man ornoble lady visited Branwen unto whom she gave noteither a clasp, or a ring, or a royal jewel to keep, such asit was honourable to be seen departing with. And inthese things she spent that year in much renown, andshe passed her time pleasantly, enjoying honour andfriendship. And in the meanwhile it chanced that shebecame pregnant, and in due time a son was bornunto her, and the name that they gave him was Gwernthe son of Matholwch, and they put the boy out tobe foster-nursed, in a place where were the best men ofIreland.And behold in the second year a tumult arose inIreland, on account of the insult which Matholwch hadreceived in Cambria, and the payment made him for hishorses. And his foster-brothers, and such as werenearest unto him, blamed him openly for that matter.And he might have no peace by reason of the tumultuntil they should revenge upon him this disgrace. Andthe vengeance which they took was to drive away Branwenfrom the same chamber with him, and to make her cookfor the Court ; and they caused the butcher after he hadcut up the meat to come to her and give her every daya blow on the ear, and such they made her punishment." Verily, lord," said his men to Matholwch, " forbidnow the ships and the ferry boats and the coracles, thatthey go not into Cambria, and such as come over fromCambria hither, imprison them that they go not back for


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4O The Mabinogionthis thing to be known there." And he did so ; and itwas thus for not less than three years.And Branwen reared a starling in the cover of thekneading trough, and she taught it to speak, and she

taught the bird w.hat manner of man her brother was.And she wrote a letter of her woes, and the despite withwhich she was treated, and she bound the letter to theroot of the bird's wing, and sent it towards Britain.And the bird came to this island, and one day it foundBendigeid Vran at Caer Seiont in Arvon, conferringthere, and it alighted upon his shoulder and ruffled itsfeathers, so that the letter was seen, and they knew thatthe bird had been reared in a domestic manner.Then Bendigeid Vran took the letter and looked uponit And when he had read the letter he grieved exceed-ingly at the tidings of Branwen's woes. And immediatelyhe began sending messengers to summon the islandtogether. And he caused sevenscore and four countriesto come unto him, and he complained to them himselfof the grief that his sister endured. So they tookcounsel. And in the council they resolved to go toIreland, and to leave seven men as princes here, andCaradawc, the son of Bran, as the chief of them, andtheir seven knights. In Edeyrnion were these men left.And for this reason were the seven knights placed in thetown. Now the names of these seven men were, Cara-dawc the son of Bran, and Heveydd Hir, and Unic GlewYsgwyd, and Iddic the son of Anarawc Gwalltgrwn, andFodor the son of Ervyll, and Gwlch Minascwrn, andLlassar the son of Llaesar Llaesgygwyd, and PendaranDyved as a young page with them. And these abodeas seven ministers to take charge of this island ; andCaradawc the son of Bran was the chief amongst them.

Bendigeid Vran, with the host of which we spoke,sailed towards Ireland, and it was not far across the sea,and he came to shoal water. It was caused by tworivers ; the Lli and the Archan were they called ; andthe nations covered the sea. Then he proceeded withwhat provisions he had on his own back, and approachedthe shore of Ireland.


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Branwen the Daughter of Llyr 41Now the swineherds of Matholwch were upon the sea-

shore, and they came to Matholwch. "Lord," said they," greeting be unto thee," " Heaven protect you," saidhe, " have you any news ? " " Lord," said they, " wehave marvellous news, a wood have we seen upon thesea, in a place where we never yet saw a single tree."" This is indeed a marvel," said he ; " saw you aughtelse?" "We saw, lord," said they, "a vast mountainbeside the wood, which moved, and there was a loftyridge on the top of the mountain, and a lake on eachside of the ridge. And the wood, and the mountain,and all these things moved." " Verily," said he, " thereis none who can know aught concerning this, unless it beBranwen."

Messengers then went unto Branwen. " Lady," saidthey, " what thinkest thou that this is ? " " The men ofthe Island of the Mighty, who have come hither on hear-ing of my ill-treatment and my woes." " What is theforest that is seen upon the sea ? " asked they. " Theyards and the masts of ships," she answered. "Alas,"said they, " what is the mountain that is seen by the sideof the ships ? " " Bendigeid Vran, my brother," shereplied, " coming to shoal water ; there is no ship thatcan contain him in it." " What is the lofty ridge withthe lake on each side thereof?" "On looking towardsthis island he is wroth, and his two eyes, one on eachside of his nose, are the two lakes beside the ridge."The warriors and the chief men of Ireland werebrought together in haste, and they took counsel" Lord," said the nobles unto Matholwch, " there is noother counsel than to retreat over the Linon (a riverwhich is in Ireland), and to keep the river between theeand him, and to break down the bridge that is across theriver, for there is a loadstone at the bottom of the riverthat neither ship nor vessel can pass over." So theyretreated across the river, and broke down the bridge.Bendigeid Vran came to land, and the fleet with himby the bank of the river. " Lord," said his chieftains," knowest thou the nature of this river, that nothing canacross it, and there is no over it ? * "


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42 The Mabinogionsaid they, " is thy counsel concerning a bridge ? " " Thereis none," said he, " except that he who will be chief, lethim be a bridge. I will be so," said he. And then wasthat saying first uttered, and it is still used as a proverb.And when he had lain down across the river, hurdleswere placed upon him, and the host passed over thereby.And as he rose up, behold the messengers of Matholwchcame to him, and saluted him, and gave him greeting inthe name of Matholwch, his kinsman, and showed how thatof his goodwill he had merited of him nothing but good." For Matholwch has given the kingdom of Ireland toGwern the son of Matholwch, thy nephew and thy sister'sson. And this he places before thee, as a compensationfor the wrong and despite that has been done untoBranwen. And Matholwch shall be maintained where-soever thou wilt, either here or in the Island of theMighty." Said Bendigeid Vran, "Shall not I myselfhave the kingdom? Then peradventure I may takecounsel concerning your message. From this time untilthen no other answer will you get from me." " Verily,"said they, "the best message that we receive for thee,we will convey it unto thee, and do thou await ourmessage unto him." "I will wait," answered he, "anddo you return quickly."The messengers set forth and came to Matholwch."Lord,"

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