- Chapter Thirty-Nine -
help of a mortal. Upon his return to Dyfed, Pwyll encounters Rhiannon, who
appears riding a white horse. They are eventually married after tricking Gwawl, her
betrothed, and a son is born to them. He disappears on the night of his birth and
Rhiannon is falsely accused of killing him. Her punishment is to sit at the horseblock
outside the court gate and to carryall visitors to court on her back. Meanwhile,
Teyrnon lord of Gwent Is-Coed discovers the boy and rears him for seven years
before returning him to his parents, whereupon the child is named Pryderi. It has
been suggested that Teyrnon (from '~Tigernonos, 'Great, or Divine, Lord') was
originally a divine figure and played a more important role in the tale, while
Rhiannon (from Y,°Rigantona, 'Great, or Divine, Queen') with her equine associations
is to be equated with Epona, the Celtic horse-goddess (Gruffydd 1953: 9S; Mac Cana
19S3: SO-I). Moreover, in the third branch and in Culhwch ac Olwen she is assigned
magical birds who 'wake the dead and lull the living to sleep' Gones and Jones 1976:
I I 5-16). Attempts have also been made to equate Pryderi and Rhiannon with Mabon
(from '~Maponos, 'Divine Son') and Modron (from '~Matrona, 'Great Mother')
(Gruffydd 1953). Mabon son of Modron appears in the role of a huntsman in
Culhwch ac Olwen and 'was taken away when three nights old from his mother'
Gones and Jones 1976: IIS). Hamp (1975) has even argued that the term Mabinogi
itself is to be understood as originally the material, or doings pertaining to (the
family of) the divine Maponos, and has nothing to do with youth, son, story of
youth, as is commonly held.
The family of Lljr is central to the second branch, namely Bd.n or Bendigeidfran
(Bran the Blessed), king of Britain, his brother Manawydan and sister Branwen. Her
hand is given in marriage to Matholwch king of Ireland, whereupon Efnysien,
Branwen's half-brother, insults Matholwch by mutilating his horses. Bran offers gifts
to pacify him, including a magic cauldron whose virtue is that when dead men are
placed in it they will rise the following day, but will not have the power of speech.
On their return to Ireland Branwen is punished for the insult done to her husband
in Wales. She rears a starling and sends it to Wales with news of her plight, where-
upon Bran wages war against the Irish. In the ensuing battle, Bran is mortally
wounded in his foot - he orders his head to be cut off and taken for burial to the
White Mount in London where it will serve as a talisman to keep away invaders.
Following Bran's instructions, the seven survivors spend seven years feasting at
Harlech, and a further eighty years on the island of Gwales before burying the head.
There is no evidence that Branwen was ever a divine figure, but her brother Bran
certainly possessed magical qualities. We are told that he was a man of immense
stature - no house could ever hold him - and when the Welsh discover that the Irish
have destroyed the bridge over the Llinon (probably Shannon), Bran lies across the
river, forming a bridge for his men to cross. After his death his severed head remains
uncorrupted and is excellent company for his men, the implication being that it
speaks to them.
The Otherworld is an interesting feature of the second branch - it is portrayed as
a happy and welcoming place. In the first branch, the Otherworld court is perfection
itself, but there is no detailed description. Neither is there an exact location
- Annwfn is a land in close proximity to Dyfed, but no clear boundary separates
them. In the second branch, it is a wonderful place by the sea in both instances. The