Customer Reviews

The Song of Taliesin: Tales from King Arthur's Bard

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This is a book I have bee waiting for for a long time. Both John and Caitlin Mathhews' more (overtly) scholarly books have hinted at the possibility of more primitive, more whole versions of the Celtic stories that we have - and here John fascinatingly reconstructs them. My favorite is 'The Battle of the Trees', which takes hints from the medieval poem 'Cad Goddeu' and fleshes them out into a prose narrative, creating in effect a 'Fifth Branch of the Mabinogi'. The character of Gwydion is as wily as ever. The excitement of reading these stories, as a Celticist in training, was not only in their elegant and evocative narratives, but in seeing where fragments had been stiched together seamlessly. I'm not sure that the Irish stories worked as well as the British/Welsh ones, but the marriage of scholarship and vision is astonishing, from the story born from the poem 'Preiddeu Annwn' 'The Journey to Deganwy' to the wonderful version of the story of Branwen.
Highly recommended to those who are familiar with Celtic literature and those who are just discovering it.

John Matthews is a poet and a scholar. In this translation, Mr. Matthews successfully invokes the spirit of the bard, taking these ancient Welsh tales and turning them into a readable, intelligable and excellent writing. The Song of Taliesin is so skillfully done, I recommend it to beginners, middlers and experts alike. Seek this book out if you have any interest in Celtic myth or culture.

John Matthews has done a great service by bringing the old welsh pagan tales to print. The stories teach the old religion and celtic folkways through the eyes of a fictional christian monk. I really enjoyed the book though I did find a few mistakes here and there...no big deal. Try reading the Mabingion along with this book. Or reading Evangeline Walton's fine series based on the Mabingion as well...Great stuff!