12 h 1 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A prince takes an Otherworld king’s place, a woman is shaped from flowers, and a giant wades across the sea.
The Mabinogion brings together eleven medieval Welsh tales, from the four branches to Arthurian adventures and knightly romances. In the first branch, Pwyll offends the king of the Otherworld and agrees to rule in his place for a year. Elsewhere, Branwen’s marriage links Britain and Ireland, while her giant brother Bendigeidfran tries to keep the peace.
In Manawydan son of Llyr, friendship and marriage bring Manawydan, Pryderi and Rhiannon together. Culhwch and Olwen sends Arthur’s men against impossible tasks, while The Dream of Macsen Wledig follows an emperor’s search for a woman glimpsed in sleep. Across these stories, honor carries a price, magic shapes lives, and tenderness sits close to brutality.
What you’ll discover
- An encounter with the Otherworld Follow Pwyll into a bargain that asks him to take another king’s place.
- A woman’s patient strength Meet Rhiannon, who chooses her own path and bears unjust blame with patience.
- Love and impossible tasks Join Culhwch as he seeks Olwen with help from Arthur’s warriors.
- A fountain that raises storms Follow Owain to a strange fountain, where a guardian waits to challenge him.
- Stories with dreamlike turns Discover tales where old Welsh myth meets knightly romance, humor, and sudden cruelty.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who love myth, fairy tale and the roots of the Arthur legends, and anyone curious about Welsh culture. If you want tidy plots and realistic people, the shifting, dreamlike logic of these tales may feel hard to follow.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A prince trades places with a king
- A marriage between islands goes wrong
- Magic shapes lives in the last two branches
- Arthur's men serve a lovesick hero
- Dreams and knights fill the later tales
- Magic, honor and the voice of an oral tradition
Who’s who
- PwyllLord of Dyfed, who offends the king of the Otherworld by accident and agrees to rule in his place for a year.
- RhiannonA woman of the Otherworld who rides to Pwyll by her own choice and later faces unjust blame with great patience.
- BendigeidfranBrân the Blessed, a giant king of Britain who gives his sister in marriage and tries to keep the peace.
- BranwenBendigeidfran's sister, married to the king of Ireland, who finds a way to send word home across the sea.
- GwydionA magician and storyteller of Gwynedd, clever and ruthless, who will stop at nothing for his family.
- CulhwchA young prince under a stepmother's oath, who seeks the giant's daughter Olwen with the help of Arthur's men.
- OlwenDaughter of the Chief Giant, so lovely that white flowers grow wherever she walks.
- OwainA knight of Arthur's court who goes to test a storm-raising fountain and must face its guardian.
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- Audiobook
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- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 9 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
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The Mabinogion
Welsh rulers, lovers and warriors face magic and difficult tasks.
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Language: English
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A prince trades places with a king
The first branch opens in Dyfed, in south-west Wales. Its lord, Pwyll, is hunting in a wood when he drives off a strange pack of hounds from a stag and sets his own dogs on it. The strange hounds are shining white with red ears, the mark of the Otherworld. Their owner is Arawn, king of Annwfn, and he is offended.
Arawn does not ask for blood. He asks Pwyll to make amends by taking his shape for a year and a day, ruling in Annwfn, and then fighting Arawn's rival, a king named Hafgan. Meanwhile Arawn will take Pwyll's shape and rule Dyfed. Pwyll agrees. In Annwfn he governs well and lies each night beside Arawn's queen without touching her, out of honor. That restraint wins Arawn's lasting friendship, and it is why Pwyll later bears the title Lord of Annwfn.
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The author
Lady Charlotte Guest
1812–1895 · English translator of Welsh literature
Lady Charlotte Schreiber, also known as Lady Charlotte Guest, was born in Lincolnshire, England, in 1812. She lived in Wales and England and translated the Mabinogion from Welsh into English. Her translation appeared between 1838 and 1849. She also managed the Dowlais ironworks. She died in Dorset in 1895.
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What is the Mabinogion about?
It is a collection of eleven medieval Welsh tales. They include myths about Pwyll, Rhiannon and Branwen, a quest story about Culhwch and Olwen, and later Arthurian romances about knights such as Owain and Peredur.
What does the word Mabinogion mean?
The name comes from a scribe's word in one manuscript and was used by Lady Charlotte Guest for the whole collection. Strictly, Mabinogi belongs only to the first four tales, known as the four branches.
Who wrote the Mabinogion and when?
No author is known. The tales were written down in Welsh in the fourteenth century manuscripts called the White Book of Rhydderch and the Red Book of Hergest, but many stories are much older.
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