Bran the Blessed

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Brân Fendigeid [ braːn ven'digeid ], also Bendigeidfran or Bendigeitvran , ("Bran the Blessed", "Blessed Crow", "Blessing Raven", from Irish / Latin benedicatios ) is a giant from the Welsh sagas. Translated from Welsh, Bran means “crow”, but it is also often called “raven”. Both are often synonymous with "warrior". In the stories of the Mabinogion , he is the son of Llŷr , the Welsh god of the sea , and his wife Penarddun . His siblings are Manawydan and Branwen . He still has two half-brothers, Nissyen and Efnisien , whose father is Euroswydd.

mythology

Bran occurs in several verses of the Welsh Triads ( Trioedd Ynys Prydein ), but especially in the second branch of the Mabinogion, Branwen ferch Llŷr ("Branwen, the daughter of Llyr"), as King of Wales or Britain . In this tale he saves his sister Branwen, who is treated badly in Ireland by her husband Matholwch .

The Two Kings by Ivor Robert-Jones (1984): Bran carries his murdered nephew Gwern (Harlech Castle, Wales)

It is reported here that Bran promises his sister to King Matholwch to secure the peace without consulting his half-brother Efnisien . He is so angry that he insults the Irish king seriously and mutilates his horses so much that they have to be killed. It was only after Bran gave Matholwch reconciliation gifts that the marriage in Aberffraw took place.

"I will give you a kettle as a present, and the special quality of the kettle is this: the man whom you are killed today, throw into the kettle and he will be as good as ever by tomorrow, except that he has the gift of speech will be missing. "

Branwen accompanies Matholwch to Ireland, where she gives birth to her son Gwern . But when Matholwch's subjects find out about the mutilated horses, they force him to cast his wife away and do heavy work in the kitchen. Bran learns of this through a trained star and moves to Ireland to rescue his sister. He leaves his son Caradawg fab Bran with six companions as administrator of the kingdom. However, this is outwitted by Bran's cousin Caswallawn , who can usurp the rule.

Like a wandering mountain, Bran trudges ahead of his fleet through the Irish Sea .

“Oh dear!” They said, “what was the mountain that you saw next to the ships?” “That was my brother Bendigeitfran,” she said, “which comes after he has waded the sea. There has never been a ship that was big enough for him. "

Matholwch finally agrees to abdicate in favor of his son Gwern. He also has a new palace built, and when it was inaugurated, Irish nobles planned to kill the Welsh people. But the still offended Efnisien throws Gwern into the fire and a new fight breaks out. The Irish gain the upper hand thanks to the resuscitation cauldron that Bran Matholwch had given. But Efnisien sacrifices itself to destroy the cauldron so that the Welsh win, although only seven men survive.

Bran is fatally wounded by a poisoned spear and orders his men to sever his head and bury it under the Gwynfryn (also Gwynvryn ), the white hill (the oldest part of the Tower of London ) so that it faces France . This is to ensure that Britain would never be conquered from the sea. According to the Trioedd Ynys Prydain, this is "one of the three lucky hides on the island of Britain". According to the oldest form of the legend, the burial place is Branodunum ("Fortress of Bran", near Brancaster in Norfolk ). According to the story, the seven survivors only spend seven years in Harlech with Brans talking head , where they are entertained by Rhiannon's birds. Then they move on to Gwales (possibly Grassholm Island ). Only after another eighty years do they remember their actual task.

And because of the eighty years it was called the assembly of the great head. [ ysbyddawd urddawl ben / pen ]

More legends

According to his wishes, Bran's head was buried in London, where the White Tower now stands. It is reported in the Welsh Triads that King Arthur excavated him because he believed that his power alone was enough to protect Britain from invasion.

And one of the three unfortunate revelations was when it was dug up again, for no plague ever came across the sea to this island as long as the head was hidden there.

The legend of the Tower Ravens , which says that the entire kingdom will perish if no ravens live in the '' White Tower '', is occasionally associated with Bran, as his name means "raven".

It is also assumed that the stories about Bran's life form the basis for the fisherman king , the guardian of the Grail from the Arthurian legend . The Fisher King appears in Chrétien de Troye's novel “ Li Contes del Graal ”, where he suffered a fatal wound on his leg. In his magical castle he still remains alive, just like Bran's head still speaks after his death. Robert de Boron reports in his work "Estoire dou Graal" that the fisherman's name was Bron.

literature

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bernhard Maier: The legend book of the Welsh Celts . P. 130 f, note 36.2.
  2. ↑ Bernhard Maier: The legend book of the Welsh Celts . P. 36 ff.
  3. ↑ Bernhard Maier: The legend book of the Welsh Celts . P. 41.
  4. ↑ Bernhard Maier: The legend book of the Welsh Celts . P. 46.
  5. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. P. 820.
  6. ↑ Bernhard Maier: The legend book of the Welsh Celts . P. 53, 138, note 53.23 (possibly also "the exalted assembly of the head").
  7. ↑ Bernhard Maier: The legend book of the Welsh Celts . Pp. 54, 138, note 54.6.
  8. ↑ Bernhard Maier: The legend book of the Welsh Celts . P. 137, note 51,9.