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Unknown
the stories represent culture, people, tidbits of history is greater than the stories, It almost feels like the narrative gives precedence to the information contained in them, They are meandering, plot points are introduced and dropped suddenly as the author said they would, They are not for the average reader who is looking for entertaining mythological tales, This is of anthropological interest but, apart from a comically long and peculiarly engrossing description of the knights of Arthurs court, I cant imagine anyone enjoying it for its literary merit.
This is the best work over the Welsh tales I've yet encountered, The scholarship is there and each tale is prefaced by critical commentary, This is an excellent translation of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, of the Arthurian "Culhwch and Olwen," and "The Dream of Rhonabwy," and two shorter tales, plus the rarelytranslated "Taliesin.
"
It omits the three "romances," Welsh retellings of the Old French works of Chretien de Troyes, which probably had Celtic, even Welsh, origins, at some considerable remove, so it may not be suitable to someone interested only in the Arthurian material.
Taliesin was brought into close connection to Arthur in the poems of Charles Williams, greatly admired by C.
S. Lewis, but this isn't an essential part of his story, In fact he was probably a later historical figure, although you wouldn't guess it from the story here which Patrick Ford, the translator, divides into two, following manuscript precedents.
For more detail, see my review at sitelink amazon. com/gp/customerre
It gets five, of course it does, but I am discovering, the older I get, that I really dislike the knights in the Norman influenced stories.
Running around playing games with each other when there are very real problems that need solving, They aren't men at all, but big children playing at tourney, I have never read any Welsh mythology or folklore before, and thus I found the Mabinogi an interesting and insightful read.
Ford's notes were extremely useful, especially where he compares each story to counterparts in other Celtic mythologies, particularly those from Ireland.
Some stories appealed to me more than others, but all were delightful reads, This book certainly left me keen to research more into Welsh myth and folklore, Now I
just need to work on my pronunciation of all those Welsh names!
The translation is smooth to read and someone entirely new to these stories would benefit from Ford's discussions of the cultural context they arose from: the oral storytelling practices, cosmologies, and publication histories.
Content warnings: violence, murder, sexual assault, rape, drugging for the purpose of committing sexual assault, death, animal cruelty, animal death, war, incest, kidnapping, brief mention of mental illness, brief mention of infertility The Mabinogi are four linked medieval Welsh tales Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed, Branwen daughter of Llyr, Manawydan son of Llyr, and Math son of Mathonwy.
Other tales are included in this volume, which represents the core of Welsh mythology, Each story is prefaced with a plainEnglish summary, then the story is presented as originaly written the editor, Patrick K.
Ford, did the translating. There is a handy glossary of names, a pronunciation guide, and an index of names at the back of the book.
These tales are full of magic, humor, and pathos, It is a great introduction to Welsh mythology, I liked this translation better than the Jeffrey Gantz one,
Some of the repetitiveness in Culhwch and Olwen irked me, because it started out funny but then dragged on.
Im not one to read poetry, so much of the Gwion Bach and Taliesin story wasnt interesting to me, but those are the books only drawbacks in my opinion.
Overall, the book is worth reading just for the Mabinogi, All four of those stories were great, I especially enjoyed Manawydan son of Llyr, I wont spoil the story, but I found it extremely funny when different people came by and tried to talk Manawydan out of hanging a mouse for thievery by stringing it up between two forks stuck in the ground!
Very Entertaining!
The stories were fresh and whimsical.
I absolutely loved the beautiufl poetry sprinkled throughout the stories, as both narrative devices as well as for their own sake.
I always find myself having to sludge through the introductions for texts like this, but it's always rewarding to read.
Ford had excellent insights in both the formal introduction and the introductions for the individual stories, Ford's observation and explanations were frank and goodspirited,
At times it's a bit dense, but definitely worth the trouble at least once! I enjoyed reading this translation.
Before each story the author has a summary of the story and a bit of an editorial, Also this collection was not just the four branches, These stories among others lie at the root of the stories if Arthur and Merlin, A very readable translation with useful notes at the beginning of each tale, and made as clear as the source material allows.
Some of the stories are amazing while others are not, Recommended.
Side note: Our teacher/professor got a little upset because no one read the last story because it was a slog.
It was kinda funny because she said she is never going to assign them again, Great teacher but this moment was a little sad in some ways, This is the book we are currently reading in the Celtic Studies Discussion Group that I have been running for over a year now.
I have already read it in other translations, and I really enjoy it, This translation seems to be one of the most true, although I have a newer one that is full of phenomenal interpretation and commentary.
Still, the Ford version is one better for our group, This was required reading and not to my taste, Why does academic writing have to be boring The only bit the author seemed engaged in was Culhwch and Olwen.
The rest of the analysis lacked insight and passion, Publish or perish I guess, What a snooze. The Mabinogion is a collection of eleven mythological Welsh stories, In this book, Ford includes six of the eleven stories and one more not normally grouped with them Taliesin, Among the tales are the all important Four Branches of the Mabinogi: four myths that are loosely connected to each other.
Confused a bit Don't worry, What you need to know is that these wonderful mythical tales are what make up the centerpiece of Wales' contribution to the world's mythology, as well as being masterpieces of medieval literature.
I first fell under the spell of these stories some thirty years ago when I first read them in a TimeLife collection: The enchanted World.
Vincent Price used to feature in the commercials! They still strike me as some of the most beautiful and strangely haunting tales ever.
There are amazing characters found here characters that you can tell are somewhat semidivine, Some were worshipped at one time as gods, but in the course of time they have become humanized, Rhiannon first appears on a horse, No one was able to catch up to her unless you called after her, Remember the song Rhiannon by Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac, Well this is her! On the live album she refers to her as a Welsh witch, But she is actually a goddess one associated with horses and once worshipped by both Celts and romans,
Then there is Bran, He is a great and benevolent giant who rules in Wales, He gives a caldron to an Irish king that can raise the dead, Then there are the two magicians: Math and Gwydion, They are so powerful that they created a woman from flowers to give to Lleu after his mother cursed him to never take a wife among mortal women.
Leaving the Four Branches behind there is the tale of How Chulwch Won Olwen, This is an Arthurian tale, But here, Arthur and his knights are not mere mortals, but beings with awesome powers, When Chulwch enlists the help of Arthur to get through the trials in order to marry Olwen, he is given several of Arthur's knights.
Each had their own superhuman ability, Think of the Avengers or the Justice League and you will get the drift,
The story of Taliesin is that of the great wizard/bard who may have actually lived, An all wise poet who can make things happen with the power of words,
In addition to this text I would recommend a version of the complete Mabinogion so you can read the rest of the stories not included in this book.
Oxford has a new translation by Davies,
Enjoy!
.
This is the best work over the Welsh tales I've yet encountered, The scholarship is there and each tale is prefaced by critical commentary, This is an excellent translation of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, of the Arthurian "Culhwch and Olwen," and "The Dream of Rhonabwy," and two shorter tales, plus the rarelytranslated "Taliesin.
"
It omits the three "romances," Welsh retellings of the Old French works of Chretien de Troyes, which probably had Celtic, even Welsh, origins, at some considerable remove, so it may not be suitable to someone interested only in the Arthurian material.
Taliesin was brought into close connection to Arthur in the poems of Charles Williams, greatly admired by C.
S. Lewis, but this isn't an essential part of his story, In fact he was probably a later historical figure, although you wouldn't guess it from the story here which Patrick Ford, the translator, divides into two, following manuscript precedents.
For more detail, see my review at sitelink amazon. com/gp/customerre
It gets five, of course it does, but I am discovering, the older I get, that I really dislike the knights in the Norman influenced stories.
Running around playing games with each other when there are very real problems that need solving, They aren't men at all, but big children playing at tourney, I have never read any Welsh mythology or folklore before, and thus I found the Mabinogi an interesting and insightful read.
Ford's notes were extremely useful, especially where he compares each story to counterparts in other Celtic mythologies, particularly those from Ireland.
Some stories appealed to me more than others, but all were delightful reads, This book certainly left me keen to research more into Welsh myth and folklore, Now I
just need to work on my pronunciation of all those Welsh names!
The four stories which make up the Mabinogi along with three additional tales from the same tradition form this collection and comprise the core of the ancient Welsh mythological cycle.
Included are only those stories that have remained unadulterated by the influence of the French Arthurian romances, providing a rare, authentic selection of the finest works in medieval Celtic literature.
In this first thoroughly revised edition and translation since Lady Charlotte Guest's famous Mabinogion in, Patrick Ford has presented a scholarly document in readable, modern English, a literary achievement of the highest order.
Content:
Preface IX
Introduction
Select Bibliography
Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed
Branwen, daughter of Llyr
Manawydan, son of Llyr
Math, son of Mathonwy
Lludd and Lleuelys
Culhwch and Olwen
The Tale of Gwion Bach and
The Take of Taliesin
Appendix: Cad Goddeu
Glossary
A Guide to Pronunciation
Index of Proper Names
The translation is smooth to read and someone entirely new to these stories would benefit from Ford's discussions of the cultural context they arose from: the oral storytelling practices, cosmologies, and publication histories.
Content warnings: violence, murder, sexual assault, rape, drugging for the purpose of committing sexual assault, death, animal cruelty, animal death, war, incest, kidnapping, brief mention of mental illness, brief mention of infertility The Mabinogi are four linked medieval Welsh tales Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed, Branwen daughter of Llyr, Manawydan son of Llyr, and Math son of Mathonwy.
Other tales are included in this volume, which represents the core of Welsh mythology, Each story is prefaced with a plainEnglish summary, then the story is presented as originaly written the editor, Patrick K.
Ford, did the translating. There is a handy glossary of names, a pronunciation guide, and an index of names at the back of the book.
These tales are full of magic, humor, and pathos, It is a great introduction to Welsh mythology, I liked this translation better than the Jeffrey Gantz one,
Some of the repetitiveness in Culhwch and Olwen irked me, because it started out funny but then dragged on.
Im not one to read poetry, so much of the Gwion Bach and Taliesin story wasnt interesting to me, but those are the books only drawbacks in my opinion.
Overall, the book is worth reading just for the Mabinogi, All four of those stories were great, I especially enjoyed Manawydan son of Llyr, I wont spoil the story, but I found it extremely funny when different people came by and tried to talk Manawydan out of hanging a mouse for thievery by stringing it up between two forks stuck in the ground!
Very Entertaining!
The stories were fresh and whimsical.
I absolutely loved the beautiufl poetry sprinkled throughout the stories, as both narrative devices as well as for their own sake.
I always find myself having to sludge through the introductions for texts like this, but it's always rewarding to read.
Ford had excellent insights in both the formal introduction and the introductions for the individual stories, Ford's observation and explanations were frank and goodspirited,
At times it's a bit dense, but definitely worth the trouble at least once! I enjoyed reading this translation.
Before each story the author has a summary of the story and a bit of an editorial, Also this collection was not just the four branches, These stories among others lie at the root of the stories if Arthur and Merlin, A very readable translation with useful notes at the beginning of each tale, and made as clear as the source material allows.
Some of the stories are amazing while others are not, Recommended.
Side note: Our teacher/professor got a little upset because no one read the last story because it was a slog.
It was kinda funny because she said she is never going to assign them again, Great teacher but this moment was a little sad in some ways, This is the book we are currently reading in the Celtic Studies Discussion Group that I have been running for over a year now.
I have already read it in other translations, and I really enjoy it, This translation seems to be one of the most true, although I have a newer one that is full of phenomenal interpretation and commentary.
Still, the Ford version is one better for our group, This was required reading and not to my taste, Why does academic writing have to be boring The only bit the author seemed engaged in was Culhwch and Olwen.
The rest of the analysis lacked insight and passion, Publish or perish I guess, What a snooze. The Mabinogion is a collection of eleven mythological Welsh stories, In this book, Ford includes six of the eleven stories and one more not normally grouped with them Taliesin, Among the tales are the all important Four Branches of the Mabinogi: four myths that are loosely connected to each other.
Confused a bit Don't worry, What you need to know is that these wonderful mythical tales are what make up the centerpiece of Wales' contribution to the world's mythology, as well as being masterpieces of medieval literature.
I first fell under the spell of these stories some thirty years ago when I first read them in a TimeLife collection: The enchanted World.
Vincent Price used to feature in the commercials! They still strike me as some of the most beautiful and strangely haunting tales ever.
There are amazing characters found here characters that you can tell are somewhat semidivine, Some were worshipped at one time as gods, but in the course of time they have become humanized, Rhiannon first appears on a horse, No one was able to catch up to her unless you called after her, Remember the song Rhiannon by Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac, Well this is her! On the live album she refers to her as a Welsh witch, But she is actually a goddess one associated with horses and once worshipped by both Celts and romans,
Then there is Bran, He is a great and benevolent giant who rules in Wales, He gives a caldron to an Irish king that can raise the dead, Then there are the two magicians: Math and Gwydion, They are so powerful that they created a woman from flowers to give to Lleu after his mother cursed him to never take a wife among mortal women.
Leaving the Four Branches behind there is the tale of How Chulwch Won Olwen, This is an Arthurian tale, But here, Arthur and his knights are not mere mortals, but beings with awesome powers, When Chulwch enlists the help of Arthur to get through the trials in order to marry Olwen, he is given several of Arthur's knights.
Each had their own superhuman ability, Think of the Avengers or the Justice League and you will get the drift,
The story of Taliesin is that of the great wizard/bard who may have actually lived, An all wise poet who can make things happen with the power of words,
In addition to this text I would recommend a version of the complete Mabinogion so you can read the rest of the stories not included in this book.
Oxford has a new translation by Davies,
Enjoy!
.