Theo Logos's Reviews > The Mabinogion

Strange and otherworldly, the Four Branches of the Mabinogi are unquestionably the jewels of this collection of medieval Welsh mythology and folklore. In volume they make up only a little over a third of the book, but trust me — this is what you are here for.

In the Mabinogi, the veil between the world of men and the otherworlds of the gods is thin. Even the distinction between heroes and gods is not always easy to distinguish. They live in close proximity, crossing the veil between worlds almost as readily as any other boundary line. In the First Branch, the hero Pwyll, prince of Dyfed easily crosses that boundary, encountering Arawn, Lord of Annwn (the Otherworld) and switches places with him for a year and a day to render him a service. In the Second Branch, Brân the Blessed, King of Britain, is so large he cannot fit in a house or onto a ship, and wades across the sea when he goes to war with the King of Ireland. Magical cauldrons bring dead warriors back to life to fight again, metamorphosis of all kinds abound, severed head continue to converse with their comrades over years long feast, beautiful maidens are constructed from flowers — all these strange and wondrous magics and more weave through the Mabinogi. Here, the mundane is magical and visa versa.

After the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, most of the rest of the tales are part of the Arthur cycle, some of the earliest contributions to The Matter of Britain. These stories aren’t bad as such, but become tediously repetitive after a while — another damsel rescued, another monster or arrogant knight defeated, another nearly invulnerable hero. They have a certain charm, but lack the mystical, otherworldly vitality of the Mabinogi.