Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Mabinogion, the Four Branches
    Mabinogion, the Four Branches
    Mabinogion, the Four Branches
    Audiobook3 hours

    Mabinogion, the Four Branches

    Written by Colin Jones and Lady Charlotte Guest

    Narrated by Colin Jones

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    After reading, recording, and listening to the Four Branches of the Mabinogion, I'm amazed that the world isn't full of Manga comics, Hollywood blockbusters, bestselling novels, sticker collections, trading cards, and fantasy role-playing games based on this quite astonishing collection of Welsh tales.

    The breadth and imagination of these stories is really quite amazing - How many other stories can boast such a heady collection of wizards, body-swapping, bitter curses, deep revenge lasting for generations, a giant, a cauldron of immortality, murder plots, princes, kings and even pig-embezzlement?

    Not to mention a woman made from flowers by two wizards as a wife for a man cursed by his mother from ever marrying another human being. A man who can only be killed by a spear which has been crafted for one year and this while he stands with one leg on a bath and the other on the back of a young goat?

    The Mabinogion is a collection of tales, told over generations, recorded in two manuscripts; "Llyfr Coch Hergest" ("The Red Book of Hergest") and "Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch" ("The White Book of Rhydderch"). Translated into English by Lady Charlotte Guest, they contain a large number of tales from the Welsh storytelling tradition. Strictly speaking, however, the term Mabinogi (Mabinogion was mistakenly taken as the plural of Mabinogi by Lady Charlotte Guest) refers to the Four Branches recorded here.

    The Mabinogion begins with the tale of Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed. Pwyll changes places with a King of Annwfn, the Otherworld. He also meets Rhiannon for the first time, who appears on a charmed horse which cannot be caught by even the fastest rider.

    The Second Branch concerns Branwen, her brother Bendigeidfran (a giant) and the terrible fate which follows her marriage to the King of Ireland.

    In the Third Branch a castle appears where none has ever been seen before, charms are cast and deep revenge is played out.

    The fourth branch concerns Blodeuwedd, the Woman of Flowers; 'So they took the the blossoms of the oak, and the blossoms of the broom, and the blossoms of the meadow-sweet, and produced from them a maiden, the fairest and most graceful that man ever saw. And they baptized her, and gave her the name of Blodeuwedd.'

    Long before the stories were ever written down, Welsh storytellers would enthrall audiences with tales of Pwyll, Rhiannon, Bendigeidfran, Branwen, and their adventures. I hope this collection captures the spirit and wonder of these ancient tales.

    An Author's Republic audio production.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAuthor's Republic
    Release dateMar 31, 2017
    ISBN9781518946332
    Mabinogion, the Four Branches

    Related to Mabinogion, the Four Branches

    Related audiobooks

    General Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Anglo-saxon Metrical Charms

      Mar 27, 2020

      Anglo-saxon Metrical Charms
      1 min read

    • Article

      Magic Of The Finnar

      Jan 31, 2024

      Magic Of The Finnar
      2 min read

    • Article

      Right Royal Writers

      May 4, 2022

      Right Royal Writers
      4 min read

    • Article

      Crusader Kinks

      Jul 22, 2021

      Crusader Kinks
      7 min read

    • Article

      Crusader Kinks

      Aug 10, 2021

      Crusader Kinks
      7 min read

    • Article

      Crusader Kinks

      Sep 6, 2021

      Crusader Kinks
      7 min read

    • Article

      Magpie Myth And Magic

      Jul 23, 2020

      Magpie Myth And Magic
      5 min read

    • Article

      Epic Reads

      Jun 8, 2020

      Epic Reads
      2 min read

    • Article

      The Origins Of The Fairies

      Jan 25, 2024

      The Origins Of The Fairies
      3 min read

    • Article

      A Story For Our Times

      Dec 29, 2021

      ROBINSON CRUSOE is a lockdown story, as are most Golden Age detective novels, set in remote country houses: Jane Eyre and Rogue Male, but Stella Gibbons, wrote the lockdown story for our age. Born in 1902, she was the eldest of three children whose f

      2 min read

    • Article

      A Warning To The Fortean

      Jul 14, 2022

      A Warning To The Fortean
      9 min read

    • Article

      EMILY BEARN on Coronation Books for Children

      Apr 5, 2023

      This season, children's fiction hails a new superhero in the form of King Charles III, who stars in a galore of picture books to mark the Coronation. For the youngest readers, The King's Coronation by Marion Billet (Campbell, £6.99) is a skilfully im

      3 min read

    • Article

      Our Own Prince Of Thieves

      Feb 1, 2023

      Our Own Prince Of Thieves
      5 min read

    • Article

      Fürsten Foremost

      Feb 11, 2021

      Fürsten Foremost
      10 min read

    • Article

      5 New Fantasy Novels Invigorate Old Tropes

      May 18, 2023

      Spell books, dragons, mermaids, fairies and a magic circus all take on new life in the pages of these five enchanting tales hitting shelves in May and June.

      5 min read

    • Article

      Tales From The Countryside

      Dec 14, 2023

      Tales From The Countryside
      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Mabinogion, the Four Branches

    4.5/5

    4 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words