Product Description

Drawing on myth, folklore and history, the stories of the Mabinogion passed from generations of storytellers before they were written down in the thirteenth century in the form we know. Set in dual realms of the forests and valleys of Wales and the shadowy otherworld, the tales are permeated by a dreamlike atmosphere. In 'Math Son of Mathonwy' two brothers plot to carry off the virginal Goewin, while in 'Manawydan Son of Ll^yr' a chieftain roams throughout Britain after a spell is cast over his land. And King Arthur's court provides the backdrop to tales such as 'How Culhwch Won Olwen', in which a young man must complete many tasks before he can marry a giant's daughter.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #125563 in Books
• Published on: 2003-12-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

About the Author
Jeffrey Gantz lives in Massachusetts, where he works as a newspaper editor and journalist. An expert in Celtic languages and literature, he has also translated Early Irish Myths and Sagas for Penguin Classics.

Customer Reviews

Excellent translation of an under-read classic
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.

Good, but look at the other options too.
This is a sound translation, though it reads a little stiffly, and includes all the tales Charlotte Guest included when she published the first version, except the tale of Taliesin, which is not from the same manuscript.

But you might also like to consider the new translation by Sioned Davies - The Mabinogion, OUP, ISBN 978-0-19-283242-9 which I find livelier and more up-to-date, and contains all the same stories.

For the older tales of the collection (the Four Branches, Culhuch and Olwen, Lludd and Lleuelyss) Patrick K. Ford's version (The Mabinogi,University of California) is very good if you can get hold of it, and also contains a translation of one of the original versions of Taliesin.

An Excellent Account of Welsh Celtic Mythology
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.