King
Arthur Lady Charlotte Guest Geoffrey of Monmouth
The stories of the Mabinogion were
translated into English by Lady Charlotte Guest, and were printed
by Llandovery in 1849, with the English translation alone appearing in
1879.
These tales are taken from two now
well-known ancient Welsh manuscripts.
These
manuscripts are the White Book of Rhydderch or Llyfr
Gwyn Rhyddech, which was written in around 1350; and the Red Book of Hergest (Llyfr Coch Hergest) which was
written a little later, sometime probably from about 1380 to 1410. The
tales are older than the these dates, but by how much?
From an
examination of the language, it appears as though they may have both
existed before the Norman invasion.
If this early
date is accepted, then the Mabinogion are an important early source of
Arthurian legends.
Of all the stories in the Mabinogion, the
ones which have Arthurian elements are Culwch and Olwen (Culwch
ac Olwen) and The Dream of Rhonabwy (Breuddwyd
Rhonabwy).
The three tales known as The Three Romances
are ancient Welsh versions of stories that also appear in Chretien de
Troyes. The Welsh stories are not translations of Chretien de Troyes
work.
However, they are from the same original legend or source.
The
Three Romances are: Owain, neu larlles y Ffnnon or Owain,
or the Lady of the Fountain; Peredur fab Efrog (Peredur,
son of Efrawg); and Geraint ac Enid (Geraint
and Enid).
The prose tale Culhwch and Olwain,
gives a list of the names of more than 200 of Arthur's men, Cai and
Bedwyr included. It also tells of Arthur helping his kinsman Culhwch win
the hand of Olwain, daughter of Ysbaddaden the giant, by completing a
series of heroic tasks, and the hunt for the great boar Twrch Trwyth.
The stories of the Mabinogion were
translated into English by Lady Charlotte Guest, and were printed
by Llandovery in 1849, with the English translation alone appearing in
1879.
