Read The Mabinogion (Oxford World's Classics) Online
Authors: Sioned Davies
The Mabinogion (Oxford World's Classics) (52 page)
Aber Daugleddyf:
‘the confluence of the two Cleddau rivers’, near Milford Haven in south-west Wales.
Tringad:
later Twrch Trwyth kills
Gwyn son of Tringad son of Neued
. The first element may be cognate with Irish
trèn
(‘strong’), while the second element may be
cad
(‘battle’).
And God changed them back into their own shape for Arthur:
this implies that the bitch and her two whelps were changed back into human form.
on top of Pumlumon on Garn Gwylathr:
Pumlumon (Plynlimon) is a mountain range in mid-Wales. The name
Garn Gwylathr
has not survived.
a leash made from the beard of the man you see over there:
the text is inconsistent, since on
p. 198
it is said that the leash of Cors Cant Ewin is needed to hold Drudwyn.
Arthur sang this englyn … Were he alive, he would kill you:
for the use made of the
englyn
, see also the Second and Fourth Branches of the Mabinogi, pp.
31
and
61
–
3
, and note to
p. 31
. As a result of Arthur’s satirical verse, Cai takes offence and disappears from the story. Further
englynion
are attributed to Arthur in other sources, while in the triads (
TYP
12) Arthur is acknowledged as one of the Three Frivolous (Amateur?) Bards of the Island of Britain.
Creiddylad daughter of Lludd Llaw Eraint:
Creiddylad’s name appears in the Court List (
p. 189
).
Glinneu son of Taran:
‘Glinneu son of Thunder’, see also
p. 32
.
Gwrgwst Ledlwm … Nwython:
these four characters have associations with the North of Britain, suggesting that this episode originated from there. ‘Gwrgwst Half-Bare’, according to the genealogies, was the grandson of
Coel Hen
(‘Coel the Old’), a ruler over much of north-west England and southern Scotland in the early fifth century; his son Dyfnarth may perhaps be identified with
Dunarth, king of the North
, in the Court List (
p. 186
), both versions of
Domangart
, grandfather of the Scottish ruler
Aedán mac Gabráin
;
Pen
(‘Head’)
son of Nethog
may well be a corruption and doublet of the fourth character,
Nwython
, who is associated with the area of Strathclyde.
Cyledyr Wyllt:
an onomastic explanation for the epithet
(G)wyllt
(‘Wild’). For an Irish parallel, see references in
CaO
152.
every May day:
for the significance of May day, see note to
p. 17
.
Mabon son of Mellt:
‘Mabon son of Lightning’, who also appears in the poem ‘What Man is the Gatekeeper?’ in the Black Book of Carmarthen. See Sims-Williams in
AOW
.
the two dogs of Glythfyr Ledewig:
these were not specified in
Ysbaddaden’s list.
Ledewig
(‘Breton’) suggests that Glythfyr came from Brittany.
Gwrgi Seferi:
the first and only time that he is mentioned in the tale.
Gwrgi
means ‘Man Hound’, while
Seferi
may derive from
Severus
, a third-century emperor.
Arthur went to the North:
presumably the ‘Old North’, namely the old Brittonic kingdoms of Gododdin, Strathclyde, and Rheged located in the North of England and southern Scotland. This, ironically, is where some of the earliest surviving Welsh poetry originates, such as the
Gododdin
, and poems associated with Owain and his father Urien of Rheged.
Llamrei, Arthur’s mare:
‘Grey or Swift Leaper.’ Note that Arthur’s horse is a ‘mare’—the medieval warhorse of the West was almost always a stallion.
Porth Cerddin in Dyfed. And Mesur y Pair is there:
cerddin
is a ‘rowan tree’; however, the exact location of the
porth
(‘port’) is unknown, although Pwll Crochan (‘Pool of the Cauldron’), west of Fishguard, is a possibility, especially in view of the onomastic explanation: ‘The Measure of the Cauldron is there.’
Gwlad yr Haf:
the ‘Summer Country’, originally the whole of the southwest peninsula rather than just Somerset.
a tribute of food:
the laws describe in detail the food tributes to which the king was entitled twice a year from his subjects, including flour, mead, oats, pigs, butter, and beer (
LHDd
128–9).
seven little pigs:
six of these are named as the hunt progresses: Grugyn Gwrych Eraint, Llwydog Gofyniad, Twrch Llawin, Gwys, Banw, Benwig.
a fifth of Ireland:
Ireland was traditionally divided into five provinces: Ulster, Munster, Leinster, Connacht, and Meath. The closing lines of the Second Branch tell how Ireland was repopulated after the great massacre between the Irish and the men of the Island of the Mighty (
p. 34
).
Grugyn Gwrych Eraint:
‘Grugyn Silver-bristle’. He is also referred to in this tale as Grugyn Gwallt Eraint (Grugyn Silver Hair); see
p. 211
. For Irish parallels, see
CaO
158.
Porth Clais in Dyfed … Mynyw that night:
Mynyw
or
Menevia
is the oldname for St David’s, while
Porth Clais
is a harbour 5 miles south-west of the city.
Glyn Nyfer … Cwm Cerwyn:
the Nyfer (‘Nevern’) valley, north-east of St David’s, not far from
Cwm Cerwyn
(‘the Cerwyn valley’) in the Preseli mountains. For detailed geographical references to Twrch’s journey, together with onomastic associations and a map, see
CaO
. See William Rees,
An Historical Atlas of Wales
, for the administrative divisions of medieval Wales.
Gwarthegydd son of Caw, and Tarog Allt Clwyd:
‘Cattle-raider son of Caw’ and ‘Tarog from the Rock of the Clyde’; neither was included in the Court List. Indeed, several of the characters mentioned here have notbeen introduced previously in the tale.
Peuliniog:
the land between Narberth and Carmarthen in south-west Wales.
Glyn Ystun:
a wooded area to the east of the Llychwr valley (
Dyffryn Llwchwr
).
Mynydd Amanw … Dyffryn Amanw … Banw and Benwig were killed:
‘Amanw Mountain’ and ‘Amanw Valley’ can be linked with the name Aman, a stream which flows into the Llwchwr. There is clearly an onomastic association here,
Banw
meaning ‘pigling’, and
Benwig
being the diminutive form, ‘young pigling’.
Llwch Ewin … Llwch Tawy … Din Tywi … Garth Grugyn … Ystrad Yw:
many of these places are difficult to identify with any degree of certainty.
Llwch Tawy
is the old name for Llyn y Fan Fawr in the Brecon Beacons;
Garth Grugyn
Castle, built in 1242, stands in Llanilar; the commot of
Ystrad Yw
is in south-east Wales, in the cantref of Talgarth.
Hir Peisog:
‘Long Tunic.’
between Tawy and Ewias … Aber Hafren:
the river Tawe flows into the sea at Swansea (
Abertawe
);
Ewias
was a cantref in the south-east, located between Talgarth and Erging.
Aber Hafren
is the estuary of the river Severn.
between Llyn Lliwan and Aber Gwy:
‘Lliwan Lake’ can be equated with
Llyn Lliw
, the home of the Salmon (
p. 204
); it was a tidal lake reached by the Severn ‘bore’, a fast-moving tidal wave caused by the meeting of the tidal estuary and the river. The reference to ‘the estuary of the Wye’ (
Aber Gwy
) implies that the lake, described in the
History of the Britons
as one of the Wonders of Britain, was situated on the Welsh side of the Severn estuary. The description below of the waters flooding over Twrch Trwyth may be a further reference to the Severn bore. Some sixty such features are found worldwide, the largest in the river Quaintang in China, personified as the Quaintang Dragon. Today, surfing the Severn bore is popular: the experience has been described, ironically, as ‘Hunting Wild Bore’. See also the note to
p. 17
on
Teyrnon Twrf Liant
.
Madog son of Maredudd … uplands of Arwystli:
Madog ruled Powys from 1130 until his death in 1160. Throughout his reign he attempted to defend his lands against the power of Gwynedd, joining forces with Henry II against Owain Gwynedd in 1157. After his death Powys was shared between his heirs, namely three of his sons, his brother Iorwerth, and his nephew Owain Cyfeiliog, leading to internal strife. Powys in the twelfth century consisted of today’s Montgomeryshire and parts of the counties of Merioneth, Denbigh, and Flint. Porffordd can be identified with Pulford in Flintshire, 5 miles south of Chester. The exact location of Gwafan is uncertain, except that it was somewhere in the cantref of Arwystli in south Montgomeryshire. The author emphasizes, therefore,
that
all
of Powys is under Madog’s rule. For a detailed map of the places mentioned in the tale, see Melville Richards’s Welsh-language edition of the tale,
Breudwyt Ronabwy
(Cardiff, 1948). See also William Rees,
An Historical Atlas of Wales
.
Iorwerth son of Maredudd:
or
Iorwerth Goch
(‘Iorwerth the Red’), according to historical sources. Iorwerth was a
latimari
(‘translator’) for the king, and was given the lordship of Chirk Castle for his services. He joined his brother in 1157 against Owain Gwynedd. But in 1165 he fought
with
Owain Gwynedd for a short period, against Henry II; but then restored his allegiance to the English Crown once more. The tension between Iorwerth and his brother is representative of the fragile situation in medieval Wales, where male relatives would fight for supremacy.
head of the retinue:
the
teulu
(‘retinue’) was integral to the role of any ruler; it would not only defend him, but also promote his cause in the bloody political sphere. The
penteulu
(‘head’) was usually a close relative, as attested by the Welsh laws (
LHDd
8–11).
Rhychdir Powys … Efyrnwy:
the
Rhychdir
(meaning ‘arable land’) is the area around Oswestry. The river Ceiriog flows into the Dee at Aber Ceiriog, not far from Chirk; nearby is Halton (
Halictwn
).
Rhyd Wilfre
refers to a ford (
rhyd
) on the river Efyrnwy (English: Vyrnwy), between Llanymynech and Melverley.
Didlystwn:
Dudleston, to the south-east of Aber Ceiriog.
Rhonabwy … Heilyn Goch son of Cadwgan son of Iddon:
Rhonabwy’s two companions are from Powys: Cynwrig
Frychgoch
(‘Freckled and Red’) comes from Mawddwy, a commot in north-west Powys; Cadwgan
Fras
(‘stout’) comes from Moelfre in the commot of Cynllaith, 6 miles to the west of Oswestry. No details are given about Rhonabwy himself. Heilyn, like Cynwrig, is ‘Red’, presumably a reference to the colour of his hair.
A very black old building … on one dais:
a vivid description of a medieval house, quite unlike the sumptuous halls of the ‘romances’. The building is unlikely to be a hall-house (which might have a raised dais at one end of the hall for the main table), and probably represents a building lower down the social scale, such as a medieval long-house with combined cattle/living quarters, where the dais may refer to low built-in benching along the walls, either side of the central hearth, for sleeping and sitting on. My thanks to Mark Redknap, Amgueddfa Cymru/National Museum Wales. See also John B. Hilling,
The Historic Architecture of Wales
(Cardiff, 1976), 90–104.
yellow ox-skin:
in Irish sources sleeping on an ox-hide was a precursor to a dream, very often a prophetic vision.
Maes Argyngroeg … Rhyd-y-groes on the Hafren:
Maes Argyngroeg
is the level land near Welshpool, retained in the name Gungrog today.
Rhyd-ygroes
(‘Ford of the Cross’) is probably at Buttington near Welshpool.
and saw a young man … as yellow as the flowers of the broom:
the first of many formulaic descriptions which, although highly elaborate, follow the traditional pattern found in most of the other tales. The horse is often an integral part of the description in ‘Rhonabwy’s Dream’. Powys was famous for its horses in the Middle Ages, as witnessed, for example, by Gerald of Wales, who emphasizes their ‘majestic proportions’ and ‘incomparable speed’: Lewis Thorpe (trans.),
The Journey Through Wales and The Description of Wales
(Harmondsworth, 1978) 201. See Sioned Davies, ‘Horses in the
Mabinogion
’, in Davies and Jones (eds.),
The Horse in Celtic Culture
.
