Tales from the Mabinogion

#FairyTaleTuesday
Tolkien was far from the first to use a ring of invisibility. In the story of Owain, from the Mabinogion, the golden-haired Luned gifts our hero just such a charm.
After upturning an enchanted bowl, he is pursued by the retinue of the Black Knight, and escapes thanks to her gift.

Although from a different source, Taliesin gestating from a magical grain of corn consumed by a shape-shifted hen is perhaps the most unusual though!
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#MythologyMonday
From Lleu Law Gyffes dropping from Arianrhod`s womb as she steps over an enchanted branch, to Pryderi being stolen by some unseen creature and growing preternaturally quickly, the Mabinogion is filled with strange stories of the births its heroes.
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Gaelic and Scots gain official status on St Andrew’s Day The Gaelic and Scots languages have gained official status in a “historic milestone” as people across Scotland mark St Andrew’s Day. It is one of a range of measures which come into force on November ...

The Gaelic and Scots languages have gained official status in a ‘historic milestone’ as people across Scotland mark St Andrew’s Day

#FolkloreSunday
The time of the Mari Lwyd approaches!
One of Wales` more unique festive customs sees a decorated horse`s skull carried from door to door, where its bearers challenge each household to engage in a duel of verse and wit for entry and, most importantly, beer!

He raised the child, who grew with uncanny speed, coming of age before his first year.
When Teyrnon heard of Rhiannon’s lost infant, taken on the very night he fought the creature, the truth was clear. He returned the boy to Dyfed, where Rhiannon named him Pryderi, from the Welsh for “anxiety".
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#BookWormSat
On the night of his birth, Pryderi was stolen from his cradle by some unseen beast, his mother falsely accused of infanticide.
Meanwhile, lord Teyrnon, losing livestock to a clawed creature, kept vigil in his stable. He drove off the monster, finding a newborn left on the threshold.
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A reminder that Wishlisting upcoming indie games really does make a difference to small developers - it's one of the few tools we have to actually gain visibility.
If there are any smaller titles that you're interested, please do give them a Wishlist on Steam!
store.steampowered.com/app/3067260/...

#WyrdWednesday
Efnysien is the baby-murdering, animal-mutilating, anti-hero of the Second Branch. His actions near eradicated the Irish, and cost his own brother's life.
But in an ultimate act of self-sacrifice he destroyed the Cauldron of Rebirth, ending the war that had ravaged his people.

A Voice Like This BONUS EPISODE -The Raven [audio src="https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/1a0e3d8a-4ad8-425e-9054-f48421d2e25e.mp3"][/audio]In this special bonus episode, Phil Rowe brings Edgar Allan Poe's iconic poem, The Raven, vividly to...

#LegendaryWednesday
It can be said, without exaggeration, that Poe's poem, the Raven, is one of the most well known, powerful, and unsettling poems ever written.
Phil Rowe, the voice of Pryderi in our game, has recorded a version of the poem that is both haunting, and fierce.

Just such a weird choice of material, given that the original sources are so resolutely pagan!

Eek, I've just been looking into it... Apparently it's part of the Daily Wire's agenda to make content that reflects a "masculine Christianity".... Not immediately obvious how that fits their agenda, but doesn't instill a lot of hope!

YouTube video by DailyWire+ The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin | Official Trailer

Yes, this does look quite ridiculous...
But still, it's based on a series of books inspired by the Mabinogion and the Book of Taliesin, amongst others, so I'm not going to complain too much!
youtu.be/RkmT-kZIHNU?...

#FairyTaleTuesday
Legends tells of a sunken lost land off the coast of Wales, Cantre'r Gwaelod. It was ruled over by Gwyddno Garanhir, the grandfather of the great bard Taliesin.
Gwyddno also guarded a magic hamper that could turn a single meal into enough food to feed a hundred!

#MythologyMonday
In the Welsh Otherworld of Annwn, there is a magical cauldron that only feeds the brave, leaving cowards and traitors to starve.
The heat that warms the cauldron is provided by the breath of nine maidens, an unusual twist on the 'nine sorceresses' archetype.

In this version of the myth, the Grail is replaced by a severed head on a platter. The witches defeat Arthur's knights one by one, until Peredur himself steps up and defeats the coven leader with a single blow, breaking their magic.
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#folkloresunday
In an early version of the Arthurian Grail quest, the warrior Peredur must confront a coven of nine witches, known as the Gwiddonod Caerloyw, or the Nine Sorceresses of Gloucester.
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YouTube video by Learning Welsh with Mr D (learning Welsh) gwyddbwyll (chess) // ze point of ze day 912

Ha! Yeah, it's not an obvious one... I'd say try 'goo-ith-boo-ill', that'd be close. The 'll' sound at the end is that particular Welsh fricative though, that's the trickiest part!
youtu.be/dY0bKI0M4AI?...

Diolch! Me too... :)

#FolkyFriday
Welsh still uses the word 'Gwyddbwyll' for modern chess, but there was once a much older game, similar to the Irish Fidchell.
Amongst the Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain was a magical Gwyddbwyll board, made of gold and silver, who's enchanted pieces would play by themselves.

YouTube video by The Welsh Viking Welsh Museum Heist and a Correction

There was another museum heist recently, that got considerably less attention than the raid on the Louvre. The Welsh Viking gives some nice commentary on it here.
BTW, the Welsh Viking is great, and you should subscribe to his YouTube channel!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZRS...

#BookologyThursday
You might not think from looking at it, but Grassholm Island was reputed to be a site of great revelry!
According to the Mabinogion, after the bloody slaughter of the war in Ireland, Manawydan and the other survivors of the war spent eighty years feasting here!

#WyrdWednesday
In Welsh mythology, white is traditionally the colour of the beasts of Annwn, the Otherworld.
It is the colour of Rhiannon's magical steed, the enchanted boar tracked by Pryderi and Manawydan, and the white-furred, red-eared Cŵn Annwn, dubbed "Hell Hounds" by Christian storytellers.

Very interesting! I believe there's significantly more Welsh written online than Irish, perhaps the 'critical mass' of language needed lies somewhere between those two?

It's a nice idea, but not sure it's actually the case - from what I've seen, ChatGPT does a pretty plausible job handling the Welsh language. Any Welsh speakers have any experience trying to use LLMs in Welsh?

The child would of course grow up to become the great bard Taliesin, and those first poetic words he spoke would be known as Dyhuddiant Elffin. The poem attributed to the baby bard can still be read today, preserved in the Book of Taliesin.
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#MythologyMonday
When the witch Ceridwen gave birth to a cursed child, he was too beautiful for her to kill, so she cast him into the sea in a basket.
The abandoned babe was found and taken in by Elffin ap Gwyddno. As he was picked up, the child began to sing, in perfect rhythm and meter.
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Interestingly, both stories are filled with vivid, highly specific imagery - clothing patterns and colours, architectural layouts, precise positioning of troops and servants. Instead of the surreal that we usually associate with dream sequences, these stories are as sharply clear as reality.
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#FolkyFriday
Two stories from the Mabinogion are driven narratively by dream sequences. Rhonabwy sleeps for three days and dreams of a chess game against King Arthur, and Macsen Wledig dreams of a journey to far away lands in search of a beautiful maiden.
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Neither player wins, however, with Arthur throwing a temper tantrum and smashing the board before the game is complete! Rhonabwy eventually awakes, to find he has been sleeping solidly for three days.
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