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{{short description|Earliest Welsh prose stories}}
{{Redirect|Mabinogi}}
{{Italic title}}
[[File:Ceridwen.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Ceridwen]]'' by [[Christopher Williams (Welsh artist)|Christopher Williams]] (1910)]]

The '''''Mabinogion''''' ({{IPA|cy|mabɪˈnɔɡjɔn|n|Mabinogion.wav}}) is a collection of the earliest Welsh [[prose]] stories, compiled in [[Middle Welsh]] in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source [[manuscript]]s, created {{Circa|1350}}–1410, as well as a few earlier fragments. Often included in the broader mythologies described as the [[Matter of Britain]], the Mabinogion consists of eleven stories of widely different types, offering drama, philosophy, romance, tragedy, fantasy and humour. 
Strictly speaking, the [[Four Branches of the Mabinogi]] are the main sequence of related tales, but seven others include a classic hero quest, "[[Culhwch and Olwen]]"; a historic legend, complete with glimpses of a far off age, in "[[Lludd and Llefelys]]"; and other tales portraying a very different [[King Arthur]] from the later popular versions.

The stories were created and amended by various narrators over a very long period of time, and scholars beginning from the 18th century predominantly viewed the tales as fragmentary pre-Christian [[Celtic mythology]],<ref>Notably Matthew Arnold; William J. Gruffydd.</ref> or [[folklore]].<ref>Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson. 1961. The International Popular Tale and the Early Welsh Tradition. The Gregynog Lectures. Cardiff: CUP.</ref> Since the 1970s,<ref>Bollard 1974; Gantz 1978; Ford 1981.</ref> an investigation of the  <ref>John K. Bollard. "[https://sites.google.com/site/themabinogi/mabinogiandmabinogion Mabinogi and Mabinogion - The Mabinogi]". ''The Legend and Landscape of Wales Series''</ref> common plot structures, characterisation, and language styles, especially in the [[Four Branches of the Mabinogi]], has led to an understanding of the integrity of the tales, and they are now seen as a sophisticated narrative tradition, both oral and written, with ancestral construction from oral storytelling,<ref>Sioned Davies. 1998. "Written Text as Performance: The Implications for Middle Welsh Prose Narratives", in: ''Literacy in Medieval Celtic Societies'', 133–148</ref><ref>Sioned Davies. 2005. "'He Was the Best Teller of Tales in the World': Performing Medieval Welsh Narrative", in: ''Performing Medieval Narrative'', 15–26. Cambridge: Brewer.</ref> and overlay from Anglo-French influences.<ref>Lady Charlotte Guest. ''The Mabinogion. A Facsimile Reproduction of the Complete 1877 Edition'', Academy Press Limited Edition 1978, Chicago, Ill. p. xiii.</ref>

The first modern publications of the stories were English translations by [[William Owen Pughe]] of several tales in journals in 1795, 1821, and 1829, which introduced usage of the name "Mabinogion".<ref>1. William Owen Pughe. 1795. "The Mabinogion, or Juvenile Amusements, Being Ancient Welsh Romances". ''Cambrian Register'', 177–187.<br>2. William Owen Pughe. 1821. "The Tale of Pwyll". ''Cambro-Briton Journal'' 2 (18): 271–275.<br> 3. William Owen Pughe. 1829. "The Mabinogi: Or, the Romance of Math Ab Mathonwy". ''The Cambrian Quarterly Magazine and Celtic Repository'' 1: 170–179.</ref> In 1838–45, [[Lady Charlotte Guest]] first published the full collection we know today,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://aoda.org/pdf/mbng.pdf |title=The Mabinogion |last=Guest |first=Lady Charlotte |date=2002 |website=aoda.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304102124/http://aoda.org/pdf/mbng.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-04 |url-status=dead}}</ref> bilingually in Welsh and English, which popularised the name.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/society/myths_mabinogion.shtml |publisher=BBC Wales – History –Themes |title=Myths and legends – The Mabinogion |website=www.bbc.co.uk |access-date=2017-08-01}}</ref>  The later Guest translation of 1877 in one volume has been widely influential and remains actively read today.<ref>Available online since 2004. Charlotte Guest. 2004. "The Mabinogion". Gutenberg. http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=5160.</ref>
{{Celtic mythology}}
[[File:Jesus-College-MS-111 00349 175r (cropped & lightened).jpg|thumb|The opening few lines of the Mabinogi, from the ''[[Red Book of Hergest]]'', scanned by the Bodleian Library]]
The most recent translation is a compact version by Sioned Davies.<ref>Sioned Davies. 2007. ''The Mabinogion''. Oxford: Oxford University Press.</ref> John Bollard has published a series of volumes with his own translation, with copious photography of the sites in the stories.<ref>1. John Kenneth Bollard. 2006. ''Legend and Landscape of Wales: The Mabinogi''. Llandysul, Wales: Gomer Press.<br>2. John Kenneth Bollard. 2007. ''Companion Tales to The Mabinogi''. Llandysul, Wales: Gomer Press.<br>3. John Kenneth Bollard. 2010. ''Tales of Arthur: Legend and Landscape of Wales''. Llandysul, Wales: Gomer Press. Photography by Anthony Griffiths.</ref> The tales continue to inspire new fiction, dramatic retellings,<ref>e.g. Robin Williams; Daniel Morden.</ref> visual artwork, music and research,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/society/myths_mabinogion.shtml |title=BBC – Wales History – The Mabinogion |publisher=BBC |access-date=2008-07-11}}</ref> from early reinterpretations by [[Evangeline Walton]] in 1936, to [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]'s ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', to the 1975 song "[[Rhiannon (song)|Rhiannon]]" by [[Fleetwood Mac]], to the 2009–2014 series of books commissioned by Welsh independent publisher [[Seren Books]].

==Etymology==
The name first appears in 1795 in [[William Owen Pughe]]'s translation of ''[[Pwyll]]'' in the journal ''Cambrian Register'' under the title "The Mabinogion, or Juvenile Amusements, being Ancient Welsh Romances".<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=uO9ZDgAAQBAJ&dq=%22The+Mabinogion%2C+or+Juvenile+Amusements%2C+being+Ancient+Welsh+Romances.%22&pg=PT19 Peter Stevenson, ''Welsh Folk Tales''. The History Press, 2017, np]</ref> The name appears to have been current among Welsh scholars of the London-Welsh Societies and the regional [[eisteddfod]]au in Wales. It was inherited as the title by the first publisher of the complete collection, [[Lady Charlotte Guest]].

The form ''mabynnogyon'' occurs once at the end of the first of the ''[[Four Branches of the Mabinogi]]'' in one manuscript. It is now generally agreed that this one instance was a mediaeval scribal error which assumed 'mabinogion' was the plural of 'mabinogi', which is already a [[Welsh language|Welsh]] plural occurring correctly at the end of the remaining three branches.<ref>S Davies trans. ''The Mabinogion'' (Oxford 2007) pp. ix–x</ref>

The word ''mabinogi'' itself is something of a puzzle, although clearly derived from the Welsh ''mab'', which means "son, boy, young person".<ref>I. Ousby (ed.), ''The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English'' (Cambridge 1995), p. 579</ref> As early as 1632 the lexicographer [[John Davies (Mallwyd)|John Davies]] quotes a sentence from ''[[Math fab Mathonwy]]'' with the notation "Mabin" in his ''Antiquae linguae Britannicae ... dictionarium duplex'', article "Hob". [[Eric P. Hamp]], of the earlier school traditions in mythology, found a suggestive connection with [[Maponos]], "the Divine Son", a [[Gallo-Roman religion|Gaulish deity]].

Sioned Davies suggests the title ''Mabinogi'' properly applies only to the Four Branches,<ref>Sioned Davies (translator). ''The Mabinogion'' (Oxford 2007), p. ix–x.</ref> which is a tightly organised quartet very likely by one author, where the other seven stories are very diverse. Each of these four tales ends with the [[colophon (publishing)|colophon]] "thus ends this branch of the Mabinogi" (in various spellings), hence the name.<ref>Sioned Davies (translator), ''The Mabinogion'' (Oxford 2007), p. x.</ref>

==Translations==
[[File:The Mabinogion page 452.png|thumb|Illustration from Lady Guest's Mabinogion.]]
Lady Charlotte Guest's work was helped by the earlier research and translation work of William Owen Pughe.<ref>{{cite DWB|title=Guest (Schreiber), Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Bertie|id=s-GUES-ELI-1812|access-date=6 March 2015}}</ref> The first part of Charlotte Guest's translation of the Mabinogion appeared in 1838, and it was completed in seven parts in 1845.<ref>{{cite web|title=BBC Wales History – Lady Charlotte Guest|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/figures/lady_charlotte_guest.shtml|website=BBC Wales|access-date=6 March 2015}}</ref> A three-volume edition followed in 1846,<ref>{{cite web|title=Lady Charlotte Guest. extracts from her journal 1833–1852|url=http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/GLA/Guest.html|website=Genuki: UK and Ireland Genealogy|access-date=6 March 2015}}</ref> and a revised edition in 1877.  Her version of the ''Mabinogion'' was the most frequently used English version until the 1948 translation by [[Gwyn Jones (author)|Gwyn Jones]] and Thomas Jones, which has been widely praised for its combination of literal accuracy and elegant literary style.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lady Charlotte Guest|url=http://www.data-wales.co.uk/guest.htm|website=Data Wales Index and search|access-date=6 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504015452/http://data-wales.co.uk/guest.htm|archive-date=4 May 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Stephens |editor1-first=Meic |editor1-link=Meic Stephens |title=The Oxford Companion to the Literature of Wales |year=1986 |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |publication-date=1986 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00meic/page/306 306, 326] |isbn=0-19-211586-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00meic/page/306 }}</ref>  Several more, listed below, have since appeared.

==Date of stories==
[[File:George Sheringham - The Panel of the Mabinogi - ref 10525.jpg|thumb|''The Panel of the Mabinogi'' (watercolour and gouache on silk) by [[George Sheringham]] (1884–1937) ]]
Dates for the tales in the ''Mabinogion'' have been much debated, a range from 1050 to 1225 being proposed,<ref>[[Andrew Breeze]], ''The Origins of the Four Branches of the Mabinogion'' (Leominster 2009), p. 72, 137.</ref> with the consensus being that they are to be dated to the late 11th and 12th centuries.<ref>I. Ousby (ed.), ''The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English'' (Cambridge 1995), p. 579</ref> The stories of the ''Mabinogion'' appear in either or both of two medieval Welsh manuscripts, the [[White Book of Rhydderch]] or ''Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch'', written {{Circa|1350}}, and the [[Red Book of Hergest]] or ''Llyfr Coch Hergest'', written about 1382–1410, though texts or fragments of some of the tales have been preserved in earlier 13th century and later manuscripts. Scholars agree that the tales are older than the existing manuscripts, but disagree over just how much older. It is clear that the different texts included in the ''Mabinogion'' originated at different times (though regardless their importance as records of early myth, legend, folklore, culture, and language of Wales remains immense).

Thus the tale of Culhwch ac Olwen, with its primitive warlord Arthur and his court based at [[Celliwig]], is generally accepted to precede the Arthurian romances, which themselves show the influence of [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]]'s {{Lang|la|[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]}} (1134–36) and the romances of [[Chrétien de Troyes]].<ref>Sioned Davies (translator), ''The Mabinogion'' (Oxford 2007), p. xxiii,  279.</ref>  Those following [[R. S. Loomis]] would date it before 1100, and see it as providing important evidence for the development of Arthurian legend, with links to [[Nennius]] and early Welsh poetry.<ref>H. Mustard (translator), ''Parzival'' (New York 1961) pp. xxxi, xlii</ref> 
By contrast, [[The Dream of Rhonabwy]] is set in the reign of the historical [[Madog ap Maredudd]] (1130–60), and must therefore either be contemporary with or postdate his reign, being perhaps early 13th century.<ref>Sioned Davies (translator), ''The Mabinogion'' (Oxford 2007), p.  xxi.</ref>

Much debate has been focused on the dating of the ''Four Branches of the Mabinogi''. [[Ifor Williams]] offered a date prior to 1100, based on linguistic and historical arguments,<ref>[[Andrew Breeze]], ''The Origins of the Four Branches of the Mabinogion'' (Leominster 2009), p. 69.</ref> while later [[Saunders Lewis]] set forth a number of arguments for a date between 1170 and 1190; [[Thomas Charles-Edwards]], in a paper published in 1970, discussed the strengths and weaknesses of both viewpoints, and while critical of the arguments of both scholars, noted that the language of the stories best fits the 11th century, (specifically 1050–1120),<ref>[[Andrew Breeze]], ''The Origins of the Four Branches of the Mabinogion'' (Leominster 2009), p.  72.</ref> although much more work is needed. In 1991, [[Patrick Sims-Williams]] argued for a plausible range of about 1060 to 1200, which seems to be the current scholarly consensus (fitting all the previously suggested date ranges).<ref>Sims-Williams, Patrick, 'The Submission of Irish Kings in Fact and Fiction: Henry II, Bendigeidfran, and the dating of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi', ''Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies'', 22 (Winter 1991), 31–61.</ref>

==Stories==
[[File:Harlech Statue The Two Kings.jpg|right|thumb|''The Two Kings'' (sculptor [[Ivor Roberts-Jones]], 1984) near [[Harlech Castle]], Wales. [[Brân the Blessed|Bendigeidfran]] carries the body of his nephew Gwern.]]

The collection represents the vast majority of prose found in medieval Welsh manuscripts which is not translated from other languages. Notable exceptions are the ''Areithiau Pros''. None of the titles are contemporary with the earliest extant versions of the stories, but are on the whole modern ascriptions. The eleven tales are not adjacent in either of the main early manuscript sources, the [[White Book of Rhydderch]] ({{Circa|1375}}) and the [[Red Book of Hergest]] ({{Circa|1400}}), and indeed ''Breuddwyd Rhonabwy'' is absent from the White Book.

===Four Branches of the ''Mabinogi''===
The [[Four Branches of the Mabinogi|Four Branches of the ''Mabinogi'']] (''Pedair Cainc y Mabinogi'') are the most clearly mythological stories contained in the ''Mabinogion'' collection. [[Pryderi]] appears in all four, though not always as the central character.

* ''[[Pwyll Pendefig Dyfed]]'' (''[[Pwyll]], Prince of Dyfed'') tells of Pryderi's parents and his birth, loss and recovery.
* ''[[Branwen ferch Llŷr]]'' (''Branwen, daughter of Llŷr'') is mostly about [[Branwen]]'s marriage to the King of Ireland. Pryderi appears but does not play a major part.
* ''[[Manawydan fab Llŷr]]'' (''Manawydan, son of Llŷr'') has Pryderi return home with [[Manawydan]], brother of Branwen, and describes the misfortunes that follow them there.
* ''[[Math fab Mathonwy (branch)|Math fab Mathonwy]]'' (''Math, son of Mathonwy'') is mostly about the eponymous Math and [[Gwydion]], who come into conflict with Pryderi.

===Native tales===
Also included in Guest's compilation are five stories from Welsh tradition and legend:
* ''[[Breuddwyd Macsen Wledig]]'' (''The Dream of Macsen Wledig'')
* ''Lludd a Llefelys'' (''[[Lludd and Llefelys]]'')
* ''[[Culhwch and Olwen|Culhwch ac Olwen]]'' (''Culhwch and Olwen'')
* ''Breuddwyd Rhonabwy'' (''[[The Dream of Rhonabwy]]'')
* ''[[Hanes Taliesin]]'' (''The History of [[Taliesin]]'')

The tales ''Culhwch and Olwen'' and ''The Dream of Rhonabwy'' have interested scholars because they preserve older traditions of King Arthur. The subject matter and the characters described events that happened long before medieval times. After the departure of the Roman Legions, the later half of the 5th century was a difficult time in Britain. King Arthur's twelve battles and defeat of invaders and raiders are said to have culminated in the [[Battle of Badon]].

There is no consensus about the ultimate meaning of ''The Dream of Rhonabwy''. On one hand it derides [[Madoc]]'s time, which is critically compared to the illustrious Arthurian age. However, Arthur's time is portrayed as illogical and silly, leading to suggestions that this is a satire on both contemporary times and the myth of a heroic age.<ref>Brynley F. Roberts (1991). "The Dream of Rhonabwy", in: Norris J. Lacy, ''The New Arthurian Encyclopedia'', pp. 120–121. New York: Garland. {{ISBN|0-8240-4377-4}}.</ref>

''Rhonabwy'' is the most literary of the medieval Welsh prose tales. It may have also been the last written. A [[Colophon (publishing)|colophon]] at the end declares that no one is able to recite the work in full without a book, the level of detail being too much for the memory to handle. The comment suggests it was not popular with storytellers, though this was more likely due to its position as a literary tale rather than a traditional one.<ref>Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan (1991). "'Breuddwyd Rhonabwy' and Later Arthurian Literature", in: Rachel Bromwich et al., "The Arthur of the Welsh", p. 183. Cardiff: University of Wales. {{ISBN|0-7083-1107-5}}.</ref>

The tale ''The Dream of Macsen Wledig'' is a romanticised story about the Roman emperor [[Magnus Maximus]], called ''Macsen Wledig'' in Welsh. Born in [[Hispania]], he became a legionary commander in Britain, assembled a Celtic army and assumed the title of Roman Emperor in 383. He was defeated in battle in 385 and beheaded at the direction of the [[List of Byzantine emperors|Eastern Roman emperor]].

The story of [[Taliesin]] is a later survival, not present in the Red or White Books, and is omitted from many of the more recent translations.

===Romances===
The tales called the ''[[Three Welsh Romances]]'' (''Y Tair Rhamant'') are Welsh-language versions of Arthurian tales that also appear in the work of [[Chrétien de Troyes]].<ref>David Staines (Translator) ''The Complete Romances of Chrétien de Troyes''. Indiana University Press, Bloomington & Indianapolis, 1990, p. 1, 257, 339.</ref> Critics have debated whether the Welsh Romances are based on Chrétien's poems or if they derive from a shared original.<ref>Jessie L. Weston (1993; originally published 1920). ''From Ritual To Romance''. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, p. 107.</ref>  Though it is arguable that the surviving Romances might derive, directly or indirectly, from Chrétien, it is probable that he in turn based his tales on older, [[Celts|Celtic]] sources.<ref>Roger Sherman Loomis (1991). ''The Grail: From Celtic Myth to Christian Symbol'', Princeton, p. 8. {{ISBN|0-691-02075-2}}</ref> The Welsh stories are not direct translations and include material not found in Chrétien's work.

* ''Owain, neu Iarlles y Ffynnon'' (''Owain, or the Countess'' (or ''Lady'') ''of the Fountain'')
* ''Peredur fab Efrog'' (''[[Peredur son of Efrawg]]'')
* ''Geraint ac Enid'' (''Geraint and Enid'')

==Influence on later works==

* [[Kenneth Morris (author)|Kenneth Morris]], himself a Welshman, pioneered the adaptation of the ''Mabinogion'' with ''[[The Fates of the Princes of Dyfed]]'' (1914) and ''Book of the Three Dragons'' (1930).{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}
*[[Evangeline Walton]] adapted the ''Mabinogion'' in the novels ''[[The Island of the Mighty]]'' (1936), ''[[The Children of Llyr]]'' (1971), ''[[The Song of Rhiannon]]'' (1972) and ''[[Prince of Annwn]]'' (1974), each one of which she based on one of the branches, although she began with the fourth and ended by telling the first. These were published together in chronological sequence as ''The Mabinogion Tetralogy'' in 2002.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}
* ''[[Y Mabinogi]]'' is a film version, produced in 2003. It starts with live action among Welsh people in the modern world. They then 'fall into' the legend, which is shown through animated characters. It conflates some elements of the myths and omits others. {{citation needed|date=November 2022}}
* The tale of "[[Culhwch and Olwen]]" was adapted by Derek Webb in Welsh and English as a dramatic recreation for the reopening of [[Narberth Castle]] in Pembrokeshire in 2005.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}
*[[Lloyd Alexander]]'s award-winning ''[[The Chronicles of Prydain]]'' fantasy novels for younger readers are loosely based on Welsh legends found in the ''Mabinogion''. Specific elements incorporated within Alexander's books include the Cauldron of the Undead, as well as adapted versions of important figures in the ''Mabinogion'' such as Prince Gwydion and Arawn, Lord of the Dead.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}
*[[Alan Garner]]'s novel ''[[The Owl Service]]'' (Collins, 1967; first US edition Henry Z. Walck, 1968) alludes to the mythical [[Blodeuwedd]] featured in the Fourth Branch of the ''Mabinogi''. In Garner's tale three teenagers find themselves re-enacting the story. They awaken the legend by finding a set of dinner plates (a "dinner service") with an owl pattern, which gives the novel its title.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}
*The [[Welsh mythology]] of ''The Mabinogion'', especially the ''[[Four Branches of the Mabinogi]]'', is important in [[John Cowper Powys]]'s novels ''[[Owen Glendower (novel)|Owen Glendower]]'' (1941), and ''[[Porius: A Romance of the Dark Ages|Porius]]'' (1951).<ref>John Brebner describes ''The Mabinogion'' as "indispensable for understanding Powys's later novels", by which he means ''Owen Glendower'' and ''Porius'' (fn, p. 191).</ref> [[Jeremy Hooker]] sees ''The Mabinogion'' as having "a significant presence […] through character's knowledge of its stories and identification of themselves or others with figures or incidents in the stories".<ref>"John Cowper Powys: 'Figure of the Marches'", in his ''Imagining Wales'' (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2001), p. 106.</ref> Indeed, there are "almost fifty allusions to these four […] tales"' (The ''Four Branches of the Mabinogi'') in the novel, though "some ... are fairly obscure and inconspicuous".<ref>W. J. Keith, p. 44.</ref>  Also in ''Porius'' Powys creates the character Sylvannus Bleheris, Henog of [[Dyfed]], author of ''[[Four Branches of the Mabinogi|the Four Pre-Arthurian Branches of the Mabinogi]]'' concerned with [[Pryderi]], as a way linking the mythological background of ''Porius'' with this aspect of the ''Mabinogion''.<ref>John Cowper Powys, "The Characters of the Book", ''Porius'', p. 18.</ref>
*[[J. R. R. Tolkien]] worked on a translation of ''Pwyll Prince of Dyfed'', held at the [[Bodleian Library]],<ref>Carl Phelpstead, ''Tolkien and Wales: Language, Literature and Identity'', p. 60</ref> and his entire legendarium was influenced by existing mythologies including the ''Mabinogion'',<ref>[[Tom Shippey]], ''The Road to Middle Earth'', pp. 193–194: "The hunting of the great wolf recalls the chase of the boar [[Twrch Trwyth]] in the Welsh ''Mabinogion'', while the motif of 'the hand in the wolf's mouth' is one of the most famous parts of the ''Prose Edda'', told of [[Fenrir|Fenris Wolf]] and the god [[Týr|Tyr]]; Huan recalls several faithful hounds of legend, [[Garmr|Garm]], Gelert, Cafall".</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Hooker |first=Mark T. |title=Tolkienian mathomium: a collection of articles on J. R. R. Tolkien and his legendarium |chapter=The Feigned-manuscript Topos |year=2006 |publisher=Llyfrawr |pages=176–177 |isbn=978-1-4116-9370-8 |quote=The 1849 translation of The Red Book of Hergest by Lady Charlotte Guest (1812–1895), which is more widely known as The Mabinogion, is likewise of undoubted authenticity (...) It is now housed in the library at Jesus College, Oxford. Tolkien's well-known love of Welsh suggests that he would have likewise been well-acquainted with the source of Lady Guest's translation. For the Tolkiennymist, the coincidence of the names of the sources of Lady Charlotte Guest's and Tolkien's translations is striking: ''The Red Book of Hergest'' and ''The Red Book of Westmarch''. Tolkien wanted to write (translate) a mythology for England, and Lady Charlotte Guest's work can easily be said to be a 'mythology for Wales.' The implication of this coincidence is intriguing.}}</ref> reflected in his choice of the term ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' as a title for his collection of ancestral tales. The title of his [[Red Book of Westmarch]] echoes the Mabinogion's [[Red Book of Hergest]].

==See also==
* [[Medieval Welsh literature]]
* Three paintings by Welsh artist [[Christopher Williams (Welsh artist)|Christopher Williams]]: ''Ceridwen'' (1910) and ''Branwen'' (1915) at the [[Glynn Vivian Art Gallery]], and ''Blodeuwedd'' (1930) at the [[Newport Museum]]
* [[Mabinogion sheep problem|''Mabinogion'' sheep problem]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
===Translations and retellings===
*Bollard, John K. (translator), and Anthony Griffiths (photographer). ''Tales of Arthur: Legend and Landscape of Wales''. Gomer Press, Llandysul, 2010. {{ISBN|978-1-84851-112-5}}. (Contains "The History of Peredur or The Fortress of Wonders", "The Tale of the Countess of the Spring", and "The History of Geraint son of Erbin", with textual notes.)
*Bollard, John K. (translator), and Anthony Griffiths (photographer). ''Companion Tales to The Mabinogi: Legend and Landscape of Wales''. Gomer Press, Llandysul, 2007. {{ISBN|1-84323-825-X}}. (Contains "How Culhwch Got Olwen", "The Dream of Maxen Wledig", "The Story of Lludd and Llefelys", and "The Dream of Rhonabwy", with textual notes.)
*Bollard, John K. (translator), and Anthony Griffiths (photographer). ''The Mabinogi: Legend and Landscape of Wales''. Gomer Press, Llandysul, 2006. {{ISBN|1-84323-348-7}}. (Contains the Four Branches, with textual notes.)
*Brown, Matt, and Williams, Eloise. ''The Mab''. Unbound, 2022. {{ISBN|1-800-18115-9|978-1-8001-8115-1}}'''.'''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Price |first=Stephen |date=2025-02-26 |title=Modern take on the Mabinogi with foreword by Michael Sheen named 'Welsh book of the month' |url=https://nation.cymru/culture/modern-take-on-the-mabinogion-with-foreword-by-michael-sheen-named-welsh-book-of-the-month/ |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=Nation.Cymru |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Buzz |date=2022-06-15 |title=THE MAB makes a cornerstone of Welsh literature vivid & accessible again |url=https://www.buzzmag.co.uk/the-mab-mabinogion-eloise-williams-michael-sheen-book-review/ |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=Buzz Magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Mab – Eloise Williams |url=https://eloisewilliams.com/the-mab/ |access-date=2025-03-18 |language=en-US}}</ref>
*Caldecott, Moyra (retold by), and Lynette Gussman (illustrator). ''Three Celtic Tales''. Bladud Books, Bath, 2002. {{ISBN|1-84319-548-8}}. (Contains "The Twins of the Tylwyth Teg", "Taliesin and Avagddu" and "Bran, Branwen and Evnissyen")
*Davies, Sioned. ''The Mabinogion''. Oxford World's Classics, 2007. {{ISBN|1-4068-0509-2}}. (Omits "Taliesin". Has extensive notes.)
*Ellis, T. P., and John Lloyd. ''The Mabinogion: a New Translation.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1929. (Omits "Taliesin"; only English translation to list manuscript variants.)
*Ford, Patrick K. ''The Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977. {{ISBN|0-520-03414-7}}. (Includes "Taliesin" but omits  "The Dream of Rhonabwy", "The Dream of Macsen Wledig" and the three Arthurian romances.)
*Gantz, Jeffrey. Trans. ''The Mabinogion.'' London and New York: Penguin Books, 1976. {{ISBN|0-14-044322-3}}. (Omits "Taliesin".)
*Guest, Lady Charlotte. ''The Mabinogion.'' Dover Publications, 1997. {{ISBN|0-486-29541-9}}. (Guest omits passages which only a Victorian would find at all risqué. This particular edition omits all Guest's notes.)
*Jones, Gwyn and Jones, Thomas. ''The Mabinogion.'' Golden Cockerel Press, 1948. (Omits "Taliesin".)
**Everyman's Library edition, 1949; revised in 1989, 1991.
**Jones, George (Ed), 1993 edition, Everyman S, {{ISBN|0-460-87297-4}}.
**2001 Edition, (Preface by John Updike), {{ISBN|0-375-41175-5}}.
*Knill, Stanley. ''The Mabinogion Brought To Life''. Capel-y-ffin Publishing, 2013. {{ISBN|978-1-4895-1528-5}}. (Omits ''Taliesin''. A retelling with General Explanatory Notes.) Presented as prose but comprising 10,000+ lines of hidden decasyllabic verse.

===Welsh text and editions===
*''Branwen Uerch Lyr''. Ed. Derick S. Thomson. Medieval and Modern Welsh Series Vol. II. Dublin: [[Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies]], 1976. {{ISBN|1-85500-059-8}}
*''Breuddwyd Maxen''. Ed. Ifor Williams. Bangor: Jarvis & Foster, 1920.
*''Breudwyt Maxen Wledig''. Ed. Brynley F. Roberts. Medieval and Modern Welsh Series Vol. XI. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 2005.
*''Breudwyt Ronabwy''. Ed. Melville Richards. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1948.
*''Culhwch and Olwen: An Edition and Study of the Oldest Arthurian Tale''.  Rachel, Bromwich and D. Simon Evans. Eds. and trans. Aberystwyth: University of Wales, 1988; Second edition, 1992.
*''Cyfranc Lludd a Llefelys''. Ed. Brynley F. Roberts. Medieval and Modern Welsh Series Vol. VII. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1975.
*''Historia Peredur vab Efrawc''. Ed. Glenys Witchard Goetinck. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. 1976.
*''Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch''. Ed. [[J. Gwenogvryn Evans]]. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1973.
*''Math Uab Mathonwy''. Ed. Ian Hughes. Aberystwyth: Prifysgol Cymru, 2000.
*''Owein or Chwedyl Iarlles y Ffynnawn''. Ed. R.L. Thomson. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1986.
*''Pedeir Keinc y Mabinogi''. Ed. Ifor Williams. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1951. {{ISBN|0-7083-1407-4}}
*''Pwyll Pendeuic Dyuet''. Ed. R. L. Thomson. Medieval and Modern Welsh Series Vol. I. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1986. {{ISBN|1-85500-051-2}}
*''Ystorya Gereint uab Erbin''. Ed. R. L. Thomson. Medieval and Modern Welsh Series Vol. X. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1997.
*''Ystoria Taliesin''. Ed. Patrick K. Ford. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1992. {{ISBN|0-7083-1092-3}}

===Secondary sources===
*[[Andrew Breeze|Breeze, A. C.]] ''The Origins of the "Four Branches of the Mabinogi"''. Leominster: Gracewing Publishing, Ltd., 2009. {{ISBN|0-8524-4553-9}}
*Charles-Edwards, T.M. "The Date of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi" ''Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion'' (1970): 263–298.
*Ford, Patrick K. "Prolegomena to a Reading of the Mabinogi: 'Pwyll' and 'Manawydan.'" ''Studia Celtica'' 16/17 (1981–82): 110–125.
*Ford, Patrick K. "Branwen: A Study of the Celtic Affinities", ''Studia Celtica'' '''22/23''' (1987/1988): 29–35.
*Hamp, Eric P. "Mabinogi". ''Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion'' (1974–1975): 243–249.
*{{cite book|last1=Parker|first1=Will|title=The Four Branches of the Mabinogi|date=2005|publisher=Bardic Press|location=Oregon House, CA|isbn=978-0974566757|url=http://www.mabinogi.net/}}
*Sims-Williams, Patrick. "The Submission of Irish Kings in Fact and Fiction: Henry II, Bendigeidfran, and the dating of the ''Four Branches of the Mabinogi''", ''Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies'', '''22''' (Winter 1991): 31–61.
*Sullivan, C. W. III (editor). ''The Mabinogi, A Books of Essays''. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1996. {{ISBN|0-8153-1482-5}}

{{CatholicEncyclopedia|wstitle=Mabinogion}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Wikisource|Mabinogion|''Mabinogion''}}
{{Wikisource1913CatholicEnc|Mabinogion}}
The Guest translation can be found with all original notes and illustrations at:
*[[:File:The Mabinogion - From the Llyfr Coch o Hergest, and other ancient Welsh manuscripts, with an English translation and notes (IA bub gb LsJgqSFFqkkC).pdf|The Mabinogion - From the Llyfr Coch o Hergest, and other ancient Welsh manuscripts, with an English translation and notes (1st version; 1838 and 1845)]]
*[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/mab/index.htm Sacred Texts: The ''Mabinogion'']

The original Welsh texts can be found at:
*[https://archive.org/details/TextOfTheMabinogion ''Mabinogion''] (an 1887 edition at the [[Internet Archive]]; contains all the stories except the "Tale of Taliesin")
*[http://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcs/celt/mcymr/pkm/pkm.htm?pkm001.htm ''Mabinogion''] (Contains only the four branches reproduced, with textual variants, from Ifor Williams' edition.)
*[[s:cy:Pwyll Pendeuic Dyuet|Pwyll Pendeuic Dyuet]]
*[[s:cy:Branwen uerch Lyr|Branwen uerch Lyr]]
*[[s:cy:Manawydan uab Llyr|Manawydan uab Llyr]]

Versions without the notes, presumably mostly from the [[Project Gutenberg]] edition, can be found on numerous sites, including:
*[http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=5160 Project Gutenberg Edition of ''The Mabinogion''] (From the 1849 edition of Guest's translation)
*[http://www.missgien.net/arthurian/mabinogion The Arthurian Pages: ''The Mabinogion'']
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050325123149/http://www.geocities.com/branwaedd/mindex.html Branwaedd: ''Mabinogion'']
*[http://www.timelessmyths.com/celtic/mabinogion.html Timeless Myths: Mabinogion]
* {{librivox book | title=The Mabinogion}}

A discussion of the words ''Mabinogi'' and ''Mabinogion'' can be found at
*[http://themabinogi.googlepages.com/mabinogiandmabinogion Mabinogi and "Mabinogion"]
*[http://www.nantlle.com/mabinogi-saesneg-places-mentioned-in-the-first-branch.htm A discussion of places mentioned]

A theory on authorship can be found at
*[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/is-this-welsh-princess-the-first-british-woman-author-1282555.html Is this Welsh princess the first British woman author?]

{{Celtic mythology (Welsh)}}
{{Welsh language}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mabinogion| ]]
[[Category:Arthurian literature in Welsh]]
[[Category:Medieval Welsh literature]]
[[Category:Welsh mythology]]
[[Category:Welsh-language literature]]
[[Category:Works of unknown authorship]]
[[Category:Pigs in literature]]