Customer Reviews

The Mabinogion (Penguin Classics)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Jeffrey Gantz's translation of The Mabinogion is not only the most readable to the modern man, unlike Guest, he doesn't delete passages thought "indelicate" by Victorian society. This is the best representation of these Welsh classics, and includes Gantz's own study of the mythology of these texts, a book in it's own right, as a prologue and at the beginning of each tale. A must for every library.

The Mabinogion is an excellent collection of Welsh Celtic myths/legends. Certain tales are difficult to follow because of a large cast of characters and long list of events/deeds. Nevertheless, the Mabinogion portrays Celtic (Welsh) mythology well. There is an excellent summary of each tale, a guide to pronunciation of names and a map of the region. Together with the tales, these additions make this book exciting and easily accessible.

Gantz has created a modern, readable translation of these eleven Welsh classics. Although they come from the same oral tradition and were captured on paper around the same time (1200s to 1400s), they are rarely related to each other. Each story has its unique character, like page after page of people named in 'How Culwch won Owen'. 'The Dream of Rohanbwy' likewise seems to be a listing of colored arms and costumes so detailed that the writer say, "no one ... knows The Dream without a book because of the many colors."

Others of these tales are much more interesting for their relatioships to other parts of the mythos of the British isles. 'Peredur son of Evrawg' is variant of the Parsival story, with close parallels in many of its particulars. The Mabingion also retells some of the earliest known tales in the Arthurian canon. 'Gerient and Enid,' for example, is founded in the Arthur mythology. It's founded on the notions of knightly honor and chivalry, but with a primitive and harsh interpretation of the ethos.

There are other glimpses of early Celtic times, as well. One that struck me, in two different passages, was a telling of some great feast, where the doors were closed to all comers once the feasting began. All comers, that is, except a "king of a lawful dominion or a craftsman who brings his craft." Later in that story (Culwch), the bouncer isn't told to let the kings in, only the craftsmen. This is a vivid display of their high regard for skilled work, something that sounds strange to a modern ear. I think less of the modern ear for thinking so little of such skills.

Not all translations of the Mabinogion are created equal. Reading another translation, I foundered on obsolete, Elizabethan language injected to make the stories seem archaic. This one uses contemporary language, as bards in a living oral tradition would have done, to create a smooth and readable collection.

//wiredweird

The Mabinogion is a collection of ancient Welsh mythlogical tales. The first four stories, called the four branches of Mabinogi, form a coherent cycle. The Mabinogion also contains several pseudo-historical tales, ans several early Arthurian stories. The earliest Arthurian tale ever written(Culhwch and Olwen)is contained in this volume. The Mabinogion takes place in a bizzare mythological world filled with dragons, demons, and faries. Overall, a fascinating read. Well worth a purchase.

Eleven Welsh tales written in the 13th century based on older oral versions which probably date back to pagan times. The quality and coherence of the tales varies. Some of them are well-told with good narrative flow and consisent, well-defined characters. Others are a confused jumble of seemingly random incidents which end abruptly with major conflicts still unresolved. Jeffrey Gatz's translation is plain and readable; nowhere near as murky or as dry as some translated "classics" I have struggled through. I noticed a slight change in tone from the gentle Celtic lilt in the first half of the book, to frequent use of Beowulf-like compounds ("ferocious-bold" "venomous-painful" "fierce-powerful" etc) in the Arthurian tales of the second half. Could it be that in the Arthurian romances, an intentionally archaic style was used by the writer? Dr. Gantz doesn't specifically mention this, though he does say that some of the vocabulary in the Mabinogion was obsolete even at the time it was written. An air of mystery and magic pervades all the stories.
The tales of the Mabinogion were paraphrased by T.W. Rolleston in his _Celtic Myths and Legends_, 1917 (still available from Dover,) so I was already somewhat familiar with them when I read them. The full versions are much better, and being already familiar with the plot did not diminish my enjoyment at all. The Mabinogion has many parallels with Irish myth and legend. It also contains some of the earliest versions of tales from the King Arthur mythos (even a primitive, very understated version of the Grail legend!) "The Dream of Rhonabwy" (placed by Gantz in the middle of the book to serve as a transition from the mythological tales to the Arthurian tales) contains one of the best contemporary descriptions of Medeival squalor I have ever read. You can almost smell the filth and feel the discomfort of Rhonabwy and his companions as you read the opening passages of this tale.
Gantz's introductory materials are brief and to the point. He provides a general introduction at the beginning which gives the historical background of the Mabinogion and puts it into its literary perspective alongside the French romances. There are a few paragraphs before each tale which provide background information pertinent to that particular story.

Before you step into anything by Lawhead, Zimmer-Bradley, or yet another retelling of Arthurian legends, THIS is the book you should read first. This is also the edition that is used as a coursebook in Celtic Civilisation lectures at the University of Glasgow, so it is probably one of the better translations out there.

Aside from the fact that the best place to learn about Celtic mythology and folklore is from the myths themselves, (Why bother looking around for someone to 'speak for the Celts' when they are perfectly capable of speaking for themselves -- indeed, have centuries of tradition in doing so?) the Four Branches of the Mabinogi are entertaining in and of themselves. Rhiannon isn't a glitter-infested fairy queen nanny of New Age construction -- she's a snarky, quick-witted lady who oftentimes finds herself coming to the rescue of her dull-witted husband, Pwyll. Arthur invokes the anger of his closest knight, Cai, (Kay) by making up a parody song on the spot -- and Cai storms off in a huff.

Although removed from present culture by centuries, the tales within the Mabinogi touch on a chord of familiar human experiences through lively tales and engaging characters who are not at all so different from ourselves.

And pick up the Mabinogion! Lots of captivating stories that lie as close to the roots of the Legends of King Arthur, etc, as we can get. Not the lightest read ever, but often compelling. The introductions to the book as a whole, and each of it's sections, are thoughtful, informative, and reasonably short.

A major feature of these tales is the listing of characters, often major players in different tales. What makes these lists fun are names like Unig Strong Should, Iddig son of Anarawd Curly Hair, and Wlch Bone Lip. Gantz, however, neglects the translation of many the names. For a reading public unaccustomed to 3-page lists, this little joy adds to the experience without taking away from the authority of the translation.

This is a good translation of the Welsh epic, but readers may wish to compare by reading Patrick Ford's translation which I find more lively.

This is a good translation of the Welsh epic, but readers may wish to compare by reading Patrick Ford's translation which I find more lively.