The Mabinogion
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The Mabinogion
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Narrated by:
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Richard Mitchley
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By:
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Charlotte Guest
About this listen
The Mabinogion, the earliest literary jewel of Wales, is a collection of ancient tales and legends compiled around the 12th and 13th century deriving from storytelling and the songs of bards handed down over the ages. It is a remarkable document in many ways. From an historical perspective, it is the earliest prose literature of Britain. But it is in its drama that many surprises await, not least the central role of King Arthur, his wife, Gwenhwyvar, and his court at Caerlleon upon Usk.
There are tales of jousting, of quests, of damsels in distress, of abandoned wives, of monsters and dragons, of loyalty, deception and honour. Heroes and villains abound; there is courage and suffering in abundance. This is why The Mabinogion has a rightfully important position within the early literature of Europe.
There are 12 stories of varying lengths in the collection. Some, such as 'The Lady of the Fountain' and 'Geraint, the Son of Erbin', are centred on the Arthurian legend, and they display all the chivalric elements we expect from greater familiarity with later texts such as Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur. However, here, in The Mabinogion, we inhabit an earthier world, before the Round Table and the Grail Legend, though hints of these exist.
Emotions, intentions and actions are real and direct! Nevertheless, The Mabinogion was drawn from a variety of sources, and there are tales of very different character, such as 'The Dream of Maxen Wledig', which harks back to the period of the Roman Empire, and 'The Story of Llud and Llevelys', which involves the Island of Britain and the Kingdom of France.
This recording presents the classic, groundbreaking translation by Charlotte Guest. It brought The Mabinogion to a wider audience for the first time, and we can enjoy the grandeur of her literary style - one that particularly suits the audiobook medium. This is especially so in this skillful performance by Richard Mitchley. Welsh was his first language, though he has for decades divided his time between English and Welsh audiobooks and radio plays; furthermore, he guides walking holidays in Wales and is thus personally familiar with areas mentioned in The Mabinogion.
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What listeners say about The Mabinogion
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kelvin Brain old
- 14-06-17
Something a bit different.
These tales have influenced many fantasy writers over the years. when you listen, it's easy to pick out those parts.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rachel Redford
- 06-05-17
Get to the end and heaven reward thee!
Those who are familiar with the Welsh stories of the Mabinogian will relish this excellent narration of the tales with Richard Mitchley's subtle Welsh lilt and his skill at rolling off his tongue the multitude of mellifluous Welsh names. For those like me for whom The Mabinogian is merely a never-read name, as well as enjoying the narration, listening to the stories will be an absolute joy-fest.
The stories date from the 11th century, but the oral tradition on which most are based go back much further into a timeless Welsh Middle Ages where enchantment, myth, dream, quests, history - and hideous cruelty - meet. (Think vaguely King Arthur and the chivalric Romance of the Rose). The translations used here published in 1840 are by a most remarkable woman, Lady Charlotte Guest, the daughter of Earl Lindsey who, amongst her considerable other achievements, learned many languages including Persian and Welsh. The archaic language structure with its 'thee' and 'thou' and ballad-like repetitions recall both Malory's Morte d'Arthur and the Bible. In the stories themselves are universal themes such as redemption, punishment, loyalty and desire. Over-riding these is the code of honour and the severe punishment of what is perceived as dishonour - there are a great many heads severed and silver lances steeped in the blood of revenge - even the poor horses of the guilty have their eye-lids cut to the bone.
I loved the colour in all these tales - reds, golds, speckled yellow, azure; flame-coloured leopards, white-breasted greyhounds with collars of rubies and all the brilliance of robes and jewels. The stories teem with week-long feasts, gruelling quests on horseback into strange forests and mountains, and ladies of enchanting beauty who may be married to one not of her choosing, or be imprisoned, turned into a mouse or a boar or forbidden to speak. A magic wand will turn a man into a deer or a hog, or turn his green crops to dust. The punishments and violence are relentless: a severed head is carried around for 40 years, the heads of 200 men are squeezed until they are dead (quite a feat!); blood-laced lances are forever cleaving in twain some malefactor who has broken the social code. I liked the story of Branwen who saved his sister imprisoned in Ireland by teaching a starling to speak (and presumably to navigate!), and tucking a message into its feathers thereby arranging her rescue.
Download The Mabinogian and be transported into another world!
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25 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Richard Jones
- 18-04-17
Read well and entertaining
Is there anything you would change about this book?
nah.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Mabinogion?
maybe the crow story or... badger in the bag.
What three words best describe Richard Mitchley’s voice?
welsh-ish, interested, engaging.
Was The Mabinogion worth the listening time?
yeah, it was great; everyone was such a dick back then though... maybe that hasn't changed much though... i dunno
Any additional comments?
nah.
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13 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Ola Agbaimoni
- 17-03-21
Great in terms of Welsh mythology
Whilst his book is great in terms of Welsh mythology I found many of the story is very difficult to listen to as they lacked plot or direction and a lot of them are completely pointless.
Halfway through I was going to give up but decided to stick with it till the end more as a point of principle than of enjoyment. It would be good as a textbook in a classics degree.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Thomas Brown
- 17-05-20
Not bad, but not a special read at all.
I've read a lot of mythology books and this is by far the most dull. There doesn't feel to be much reason behind any of the characters and their choices don't make sense half the time. There was a section where for an hour I felt like the poor narrator was just listing names of people. Much more interesting looking at Celtic, Norse or Greek Mythology.
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1 person found this helpful