The legendary book of the Welsh Celts
The legend book of the Welsh Celts - The Four Branches of Mabinogi is a text translated from Welsh into German by Bernhard Maier , based on the legends of the Celts , who became known under the name Mabinogion . These oral traditions were not written down by an unknown author until the 11th or 12th centuries. This book is the first time a translation from the original language of Middle Kymrian. It also includes a detailed author's afterword, bibliographical references and an index listing the most important Cymric (Welsh) terms and their pronunciation.
The four branches of the Mabinogi
Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Guest
Location Dyfeds in Wales
This translation of Pedair Ceinc y Mabinogi was made on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the first translation by Lady Charlotte Guest . The book contains a small map of Wales as it was divided and named in the Four Branch Times. For more detailed information on the people, the plot or the location, see the respective main pages.
- Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed is the First Branch of the Mabinogi .
- Branwen, the daughter of Llŷr is the second branch of the Mabinogi .
- Manawydan, the son of Llŷr is the third branch of the Mabinogi .
- Math, the son of Mathonwys, is the fourth branch of the Mabinogi .
- Epilogue: Here follows a detailed epilogue by Bernhard Maier in which he discusses the Welsh scriptures.
Middle Cymrian literature
Welsh belongs beside Breton , Irish and Gaelic Scots to the living still Celtic languages . The Celtic languages were spread all over Europe and large parts of the Balkans as far as Asia Minor ( Galatians ). The oldest Cymrian scripts date from the 6th century. Up to the 8th century, this phase, from which names and inscriptions have been preserved, is called Early Cymrian and the period up to the middle of the 12th century is called Old Kymrian. There are a few texts from this period, such as the so-called Surexit memorandum, the Computus fragment and two short anonymous poems.
However, there are more extensive writings from the Middle Cymrian language period, including the “Black Book of Carmarthen” ( Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin ), the “Book Taliensis” ( Llyfr Taliesin ), the “ White Book of Rhydderchs ” ( Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch ) and the “ Red Book von Hergest ”( Llyfr Coch Hergest ). According to Maier, a distinction is made between heroic poetry and prose narration, including works such as the Historia Regum Britanniae by Geoffrey von Monmouth . There are also the “Three Romances” ( Y Tair Rhamant ) “Gereint, the son of the heiress” ( Gereint fab heiress ), “The mistress of the spring” ( Iarlles y Ffynnawn ) and “Peredur, the son of Efrawg” ( Peredur fab Efrawg ), which largely correspond to the old French verse novels Erec et Enide , Yvain ou Le Chevalier au lion and Perceval le Gallois ou Li Contes del Graal by Chrétien de Troyes . The texts of the Arthurian legend with Celtic origin include "Rhonabwy's Dream" ( Breuddwyd Rhonabwy ), another story from the Mabinogion. Maier compares it with the older story "Culhwch and Olwen" ( Culhwch ac Olwen ).
Other Welsh writings are "The Story of Lludd and Llefelys" ( Cyfranc Lludd a Llefelys ), "Macsen's Dream" ( Breuddwyd Macsen ), "The Gododdin" Aneirins ( Y Gododdin ) and others (see also list of island Celtic myths and legends ).
The Four Branches of Mabinogi: History of Research
According to Maier, the four branches of Mabinogi are completely contained in both the “White Book of Rhydderchs” (around 1350) and in the “Red Book of Hergest” (around 1400), so that it is assumed that it is a copy. For the White Book he gives the handwriting "Peniarth 6" as a template.
Until the early modern period, the four branches of the Mabinogi appear to have been largely unknown in Wales. This is said to have changed only after James Macpherson's successful Ossian poem . Towards the end of the 18th century, people appreciated the virtues of vernacular literature, which had previously been spurned as fables. In 1795 the first English translation of the story Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed appeared in the magazine "The Cambrian Register", written and edited by William Owen Pughe (* 1759, † 1835). The first nearly complete translation by Lady Charlotte Guest (* 1812, † 1895) after the "Red Book of Hergest" appeared in 1848 in the third volume of her work The Mabinogion , which contained the three romances and other stories mentioned above.
Lady Guest's translation established the term Mabinogion as a collective term for all Middle Kymrian prose stories, although it originally only referred to the four branches. It was only through its successful publication that Celtic literature gained influence. In 1854 an essay by Ernest Renan Essai sur la poésie des races celtique appeared in the "Revue des Deux Mondes" and in 1859 as a separate book. In 1866, four lectures on the study of Celtic literature by Matthew Arnold, which he had given at Oxford University, were published in "Cornhill Magazine" and in 1867 as a book entitled The study of Celtic Literature . In 1877 John Rhŷs received the first chair in Celtology at Jesus College in Oxford. In 1897 he and his student John Gwenogvryn brought out a revised version of Hergest's translation of the Red Book . In 1889 the first French translation of Les Mabinogion by the Breton celtologist Joseph Loth was published. The revised version from 1913 also served as the basis for the first German translation by Martin Buber in 1914. In 1925 another version by Ludwig Mühlhausen with a Middle Kymrian-German glossary was published.
Edward Anwyl pointed to Pryderi as a link within the four branches and tried to derive pre-Christian myths about the natural cycle in the texts. More recent interpretations attribute the elements of the wonderful to the presence of international fairy tale motifs rather than to Celtic mythology. The possible derivation from historical events was only considered in the recent past (1987 to 1990).
The sources: myth, fairy tale, reality
Bernhard Maier sheds light on the sources on which the stories are based. For one, it is believed that all four branches were written by one person because they are very similar in style. On the other hand, the narrator himself refers to the tradition ( cyfanwyddyd ) available to him. This is also indicated by the changing locations of the action, well-known locations in Britain and Ireland. The first and third branches are set in the Kingdom of Dyfed , in south-west Wales. The fourth takes place in the northern Welsh Kingdom of Gwynedd , where the second also has its starting point. One of the sources is the pre-Christian mythology of the Celts, which can be reconstructed on the basis of comparisons with Irish literature and inscriptions and of excavation finds. From this source comes the idea of a parallel world, also other world ( Annwn ), which plays a role especially in the first and third branches. Irish literature shows that the pre-Christian burial mounds (Cymrian gorsedd , Irish síd ) are places where one can come into contact with the Otherworld. Some nights are particularly suitable for this, such as the beginning of summer (Cymr. Calan Mai or Calan Haf, ir. Beltaine ) or the beginning of winter (Cymr. Calan Gaeaf, ir. Samhain , now also known as ' Halloween '). In addition, there are mythological objects, such as the magic cauldron (in Branwen ferch Ll ,r ), which can be attested by finds (see Celtic cauldron cult ) and old etymologically explainable names of gods.
As a further source, motifs from folk tales are viewed according to the Motif Index of Filk literature according to Stith Thompson. These include the giant, the bird-messenger or the magic hat ( Bendigeidfran in Branwen ferch Llŷr ), the mother who is accused of child murder ( Rhiannon ), the role reversal or the extraordinary development of the son (with Pwyll, the latter also with Llew Llaw Gyffes in Math fab Mathonwy ). Likewise, the magic mist (in Manawydan fab Llŷr ) or the transformation of a person into an animal ( Gwydyon and Gilfaethwy in Math fab Mathonwy )
The work: structure, linguistic design and intention
The work The Four Branches of Mabinogi has a linear plot that extends from Pwyll, with the birth of Pryderi, Branwen, Manawydan, Pryderi's participation in the armed conflict between the Isle of the Strong ( Britain ) and Ireland , to Math and extends his death at the hand of the enchanting Gwydyon. While the plot was initially thought to be based on some sort of biography of Pryderi, recent studies suggest that Pryderi's fate may be more of a secondary part of the narrative.
Rather, it seems likely that certain topics, such as friendship, play a major role, which are illuminated in different ways in the individual branches. In Pwyll, for example, a friendship is told between Pwyll and Arawn , while in Math the good understanding is destroyed by Gwydyon's schemes. It also plays a central role in the story of Manawydan, who stands up for his friend Pryderi. Another important issue is the feud and the mostly tragic end of these clashes. Branwen ferch Llŷr, for example, willfully conjure up strife between Britain and Ireland through Efnisia , which brings heavy losses for both sides.
The mythological aspect of the stories can be seen in the fact that very old names such as those of King Beli and his son Caswallawn are used here, so that the story is clearly recognizable for the reader and dates from a long time before the Christianization of Britain. In this way, the narrator avoids incorporating ecclesiastical aspects into the plot and thus ensures that his narrative remains universally valid.
Remarks
Explanations of words and local equivalents for present-day Wales as well as additional information are given in the notes . Furthermore, there is a bibliography and a register with Cymric words and their pronunciation.
See also
literature
- Bernhard Maier: The legend book of the Welsh Celts. The four branches of the Mabinogi. dtv , Munich 1999, ISBN 3-423-12628-0 .