The Women of the Mabinogion: A Series
Now medieval Welsh text may not be your ‘go to’ for a Sunday afternoon read, but there is something extraordinary about the magic, mystery, romance and betrayal that oozes from the eleven medieval Welsh tales known as The Mabinogion. Rather like modern day fantasy-fiction the tales entangle the reader in a world of magical horses, shape shifters, women made from flowers and giant kings to name a few.
So What Is The Mabinogion?
For the many of you whom I imagine are unfamiliar with this collection of tales, The Mabinogion are eleven tales, not conceived as an organic group, but individual tales steeped in the oral tradition of the medieval Welsh storyteller. They have no single author and have evolved and changed over centuries, through hundreds of storyteller’s adaptations and interpretations, until written down in the form we see them today.
The stories are preserved in two manuscripts, the White Book of Rhydderch dated c.1350 (which can be found in the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth) and the Red Book of Hergest dated between 1382 and c.1410 (in the Bodleian Library, Oxford).
The tales were popularised in the nineteenth century by Lady Charlotte Guest; she published the first complete English translation of the tales between 1838 and 1849. Throughout her lifetime, alongside her literary pursuits, she had 10 children, promoted schools for young Victorian boys and girls, as well as running her husband's iron business. A quite remarkable woman, this will not be the last time I write about Lady Charlotte.
Who Are The Women Of The Mabinogion?
I’ll be looking at the women in the four branches of the Mabinogion (the first four tales, so named due to their formulaic ending ‘and so ends this branch of the Mabinogi’).
The four branches are home to four noteworthy female characters:
> Beautiful Rhiannon, whose magical horse is impossible to catch.
Rhiannon, a strong woman closely connected with horse goddess mythology is a force to be reckoned with until she is accused of eating her own child.
> Silent Branwen, the most beautiful woman in the world sent to Ireland to be the wife of the Irish King Matholwch.
Branwen, the ideal of feminine beauty is abused, humiliated and assaulted by the Irish. Hers is a tale of true tragedy.
> Gwydion’s sister Arianrhod, the false virgin with magical abilities.
Arianrhod bares the most resemblance to a witch, being described as having witchy abilities and has rather more economic independence than the other female characters.
> Blodeuwedd, a woman crafted from flowers by the magicians Gwydion and Math to serve as a wife.
The woman of flowers, Blodeuwedd is an adulteress, punished for loving another man and using the only weapon at her disposal...manipulation.
These women all represent different themes within medieval celtic writing and give us the opportunity to explore feminist readings of the text. My favourite thing about these women is how they often push the boundaries of accepted female behaviour. Ultimately they place the men in their tales in situations where they must make decisions, shaping the fate of all those concerned.
If you like the sound of these truly authentic representations of women then stay tuned for my next blog posts on each of these fantastic characters.
Julia xx
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