The Mabinogion

In this superb collection of tales, Celtic mythology and Arthurian romance come together to form a fascinating, powerful interpretation of British legend. The tales include the shape-shifter Gwydion, who created the woman Blodeuwedd out of flowers; a murdered husband turned into an eagle; Math the magician; a magical board, dragons, witches, and giants, who live in the same world as kings and heroes, quests for honour, and stories of revenge, chivalry, honour, and love. THE MABINOGION remains one of the greatest and most influential works of myth and legend. The tales draw on pre-Christian Celtic mythology, Indo-European folktale motifs, and early medieval historical traditions. While some details may date to the Iron Age, each tale is the product of a developed medieval Welsh narrative tradition. Dating originally to 1060-1200, the tales were preserved in various 13th-15th century manuscripts, and the principal author may have been Princess Gwenllian, daughter of the King of Gwynedd. The first modern editions were English translations by William Owen Pughe of several tales, in journals from 1795 onwards. However, it was Lady Charlotte Guest who first published the full collection, bilingually in Welsh and English, 1838-1845.

This later translation was produced in 1949 by Gwyn Jones and Thomas Jones, updated in 1974 with the authors' revisions and notes by Mair Jones; reprinted 1986. This translation is considered the most literal from the Middle Welsh into Modern English, and is thus a less easy read than some of the looser translations, but more scholarly. This rip has been OCRed by PDF24, which did a good but not 100% perfect job. Cover art by Alan Lee; 1991, 1995 reprints used different art. 1993 reissue by Weidenfeld & Nicolson has a different cover again but the same text, aside from a new preface by John Updike (not included in this copy).