Here is the second branch of Mabinogi.This is the story of Branwen, daughter of Llyr.
Branwen daughter of Llyr
Bendigeit Vran, son of Llyr, was crowned king of all this island, a dignity further enhanced by the crown of Llundein (London). One afternoon he was at Harddlech in Ardudwy, which served as his court, sitting on the top of the rock above the waves of the sea, in the company of Manawyddan, son of Llyr, his brother, and two other brothers of the next to his mother, Nissyen and Evnyssyen, and, moreover, many nobles, as was fitting around a king.
These two brothers were sons of Eurosswydd, but they were from the same mother as him: Penardim, daughter of Beli, son of Mynogan. One of these young men was good; he brought peace to the family when they were most irritated: he was Nyssyen. The other pitted his two brothers against each other when they loved each other the most. While they were thus sitting, they saw thirteen ships coming from the south of Iwerddon (Ireland) and heading towards them; their walk was easy, rapid; the wind, blowing from the stern, brought them quickly closer to them. "I see ships there," cried the king, coming quickly towards land; command the men of the court to dress themselves, and to go and see what their intentions are. » The men dressed and went down towards them. When they were able to see the ships up close, they were convinced that they had never seen one that looked better equipped. Beautiful brocade standards floated above them. Suddenly a ship detached itself in front of the others, and a shield was seen rising above the deck, the umbo at the top, as a sign of peace. Bran's men advanced towards him, so that they could converse.
The strangers threw canoes into the sea, approached the shore, and saluted the king. He could hear them from the top of the rock where he was sitting, above their heads. God gives you well, he said, welcome. Who owns these ships and who is in charge?
“Lord,” they replied, “Matholweh, king of Ireland is here, and these ships are his.
– What can he want? Does he want to come ashore?
– As he comes as a solicitor to you, he will not go unless he obtains the object of his journey.
– What is he?
– He wants, lord, to ally himself with you: it is to ask for Branwen, daughter of Llyr, that he has come. If it pleases you, he will establish a link between the Isle of Forts and Ireland which will increase their power.
– Well, let him come ashore, and we will deliberate on the subject. » This reply was carried to Matholwch.
“With pleasure,” he said. And he went ashore. He was given a warm welcome, and that night there was a large gathering formed by his troops and those of the court. The next day a council was held, and it was decided that Branwen should be given to Matholwch. She was one of the first three ladies of this island and the most beautiful girl in the world. A meeting was arranged in Aberffraw where Matholwch would sleep with her. They set out on the march, and all the troops headed towards Aberffraw, Matholwch and his people by sea, Bendigeit Vran and his people by land.
On their arrival at Aberffraw, the banquet began. They sat down, the king of the Isle of Holds and Manawyddan on one side, Matholwch on the other, and Branwen with them. They were not in a house, but under pavilions. Bendigeit Vran could never have fit in a house. We began to drink, and we continued, chatting, until it was more pleasant to sleep than to drink. They went to bed. That night Matholwch and Branwen slept together. The next day, all the people at court rose; the officers began to take care of the sharing of the horses, in concert with the servants; they distributed them on all sides as far as the sea. In the meantime, one day the enemy of peace of whom we spoke above, Evnyssyen, came upon the dwelling of the horses of Matholwch, and asked to whom they belonged. » They are the horses of Matholwch, king of Ireland, it was replied.
– What are they doing here? he said.
– This is where the King of Ireland is; he slept with your sister Branwen; these horses are his.
– And this is how they acted with a young girl like her, with my sister! give it without my permission! They could not have done me a greater affront. “
Immediately he rushes under the horses, cuts their lips flush with their teeth, their ears flush with their heads, their tails flush with their backs; if he couldn't find a grip on the eyebrows, he shaved them down to the bone. He thus disfigured the horses, to the point that it was impossible to do anything with them. The news came to Matholwch; it was reported to him that the horses were disfigured and spoiled to such an extent that no use could be made of them. "Yes, lord," said one of the men, "you have been insulted; That’s what we want to do to you.
– Truly, he replied, I find you strange, if they wanted to outrage me, that they gave me such a young girl, of such high status, so loved by her nation.
– Lord, said another, you see the proof; There's only one thing left to do. do, go to your ships. “
Following this interview, he set out to leave on his ships. Bendigeit Vran, hearing that Matholwch was leaving court without taking leave, sent him to ask why. The messengers were Iddic, son of Anarawe, and Eveydd Hir. They came to him, and asked him what his preparations meant, and for what reason he was leaving. » Certainly, he replied, if I had known, I would not have come here. I suffered the most complete outrage. No one has had to suffer a worse attack than me in these places. One thing, however, surprises me above all else.
– Which one, they said.
– That someone gave me Branwen, one of the first three ladies of this island, the daughter of the king of the Isle of Forts, that I slept with her, and then that someone came to insult me. I'm surprised they didn't do this before giving it to me.
– Certainly, lord, it is not by the will of him who possesses this court, nor of any of his council that this affront has been done to you. And, if you find yourself outraged, Bendigeit Vran is even more sensitive than you to this affront and this bad trick.
– I believe so, but it cannot be that I have not received this outrage. “
Thereupon they returned to Bendigeit Vran, and brought him Matholwch's answer. » There is no way, he said, to prevent him from leaving with hostile dispositions, even if I would not allow it.
– Well, lord, send more messengers after him.
- It is what I am going to do. Rise up, Manawyddan son of Llyr, Eveidd Hir, Unic Glew Ysgwydd, go after him, and tell him that he will have a horse in good condition for each of those who have been spoiled to him. I will also give him, in uyneb,warth (as compensation) rods of silver as thick and as long as he is, a plate of gold as wide as his face. Let him know what kind of man did this to him, that I had nothing to do with it, that the culprit is a brother of mine, on my mother's side, and that it is hardly possible for me to blame myself. defeat him or kill him. Let him come see me; I will make peace on the conditions that he himself will draw up. “
The messengers set out in search of Matholwch, and reported this speech to him in a friendly manner. After hearing them, he said: “Men, we will take counsel. » He went to hold council, and they reflected that if they rejected these proposals, it would probably result for them rather in shame than in such important reparation. He condescended to accept, and they went to court as friends.
Pavilions and tents were prepared for them as rooms, and they sat down to eat. They sat down in the same order as at the beginning of the banquet, and Matholwch began to converse with Bendigeit Vran. He found that his conversation was languishing, that he was sad, no doubt because of the affront, whereas before he had been constantly happy. He thought that the prince was so sad because he found the reparation too small for the wrong done to him. "Man," he said, "you are not as good a conversationalist this night as in previous nights. If the repair does not seem sufficient to you, I will add to it as you wish; and from tomorrow, we will pay you for your horses.
– Lord, he replied, God restore it to you.
– I will complete the repair by giving you a cauldron which has the following virtue: if a man is killed today, you will only have to throw him in so that the next day he will be as good as ever, except that he will no longer have the floor. » Matholwch thanked him, and was very happy. The next day the horses were replaced by others, as long as there were tamed horses. They then went to another kymmwt, and gave him foals until full payment; which meant that this kymmwt bore, from then on, the name Tal-ebolyon.
The next night they sat together. » Lord, said Matholwch to Bendigeit, where did the cauldron that you gave me come from?
“It came to me,” he replied, “from a man who was in your country, but I don’t know if that’s where he found it.
- Who was it ?
– Llasar Llaesgyvnewit. He came here from Ireland with Kymideu Kumeinvoll his wife. They had escaped from the iron house, Ireland, when it was white hot on them. I would be very surprised if you didn't know anything about this.
– Indeed, lord, and I will tell you everything I know. One day when I was hunting in Ireland, on the top of a mound which overlooked a lake called Llynn y Peir (Cauldron Lake), I saw a tall man with red hair come out, carrying a cauldron on his back. the back. he was of disproportionate size, and looked like a criminal. And if he was tall, his wife was still twice as tall as him. They walked towards me and greeted me.
– Which trip is yours? I tell them.
“Here, lord,” he replied. This woman will be pregnant in a month and fifteen days. Whoever is born from her, after a month and a half, will be a fully armed warrior.
» I took it upon myself to provide for their upkeep, and they stayed with me for a year without anyone reproaching me. But from then on, I was given difficulties about them. Before the end of the fourth month, they made themselves hated by committing excesses without restraint in the country, annoying and causing trouble to noble men and women. Following this, my vassals gathered and came to summon me to separate from them by giving me a choice between these people and themselves. I left it to the country to decide their fate. They certainly would not have gone willingly, nor would they have been forced to leave by fighting. In this embarrassment, my vassals decided to build a house made entirely of iron. When it was ready, they brought in all the blacksmiths there were in Ireland with pincers and hammers, and had coal piled up all around the house up to the top of the house. They gave the woman, the man and his children plenty of food and drink. When we found them drunk, we began to light the coals around the house and blow the bellows until everything was white hot. They held council in the middle of the floor of the room. The man stayed there until the iron wall was white. The heat becoming intolerable, he pushed his shoulder against the wall and went out, throwing her out, followed by his wife. No one but the two of them escaped. It was then, I suppose, that he crossed the sea and came to you.
– It was then, no doubt, that he came here and gave me the cauldron.
– How did you welcome them?
– I distributed them all over my domains. They multiply and arise everywhere; wherever they are, they fortify themselves with the best men and weapons that have ever been seen. “
They continued their conversation that night, with artistic recreations and compotes, as long as they pleased. When they found it better to sleep than to sit any longer, they went to bed. They thus spent the time of the banquet in cheerfulness. When it was finished, Matholwch left with Branwen for Ireland. They left Aber Menei with their thirteen ships, and arrived in Ireland, where they were received with very great demonstrations of joy. No distinguished man or noblewoman came to Ireland to visit Branwen without her giving him a necklace, a ring, or some precious royal jewel, which made them look princely when they went out. She thus passed the year gloriously, and completely succeeded in acquiring fame and friendship. It then happened that she became pregnant. At the end of the required time, a son was born to him. He was named Gwern, son of Matholwch, and sent to be raised among the best men in Ireland.
In the second year there was suddenly a great stir in Ireland about the outrage that Matholwch had suffered in Kymry (Wales), and the bad trick that had been played on him regarding his horses. His foster brothers and his closest relatives openly reproached him for it. The tumult became such in Ireland that he could not hope for rest unless he took revenge for the outrage. This was the revenge they decided upon: he would drive Branwen out of her room, send her to cook food at court, and every day the butcher, after cutting the meat, would go to her and give her a slap in the face. This was the punishment imposed on Branwen. " Now, lords, said his men to Matholwch, prevent the ships, the boats and the corwgl from going to Wales, all those who come from Wales imprison them; do not let them go back, lest it be known. » They stopped at this plan. They remained like this for no less than three years.
Meanwhile, Branwen raised a starling on the edge of her mess, taught it a language, told it what kind of man her brother was, and brought her a letter describing her sufferings and the abusive treatment she was receiving. She attached the letter to the base of the bird's wings, and sent it to Wales. The bird went to this island. He found Bendigeit Vran at Caer Seint in Arvon which this time happened to be his court of justice. It came down on his shoulder and ruffled its feathers until we saw the letter and recognized that we were dealing with a bird raised in a house. Bendigeit Vran took the letter and read it. He was greatly grieved when he heard of Branwen's sufferings, and he immediately sent messengers to gather the whole island together. He called to him all the forces of the one hundred and fifty-four countries. He himself complained to them about the suffering his sister was being subjected to, and took counsel. It was decided to make an expedition to Ireland and leave seven men as governors on this island, with Cradawc at their head; they were seven knights. They left them in Edeirnon, and it was because of this that the city was called Seith Marchawc (seven knights). They were: Cradawc, son of Bran; Eveidd Hir; United Glew Ysgwydd; Iddic, son of Anarawc Walltgrwn (curly-haired); Ffodor, son of Ervyll; Wlch Minascwrn; Llashar, son of Llaesar Llaesgywydd, and Pendaran Dyvet who remained with them as a young servant. These seven men remained as administrators to watch over the island; Cradawc was at their head.
Bendigeit Vran and all the soldiers we have mentioned set sail for Ireland. The waves were not considerable then; he walked through shallows. There were only two rivers called Lli and Archan. Since then, the waves have extended their empire. Bendigeit advanced, carrying all the musicians on his back, and went to the land of Ireland.
The pig-keepers of Matholwch, who were on the water's edge, returned to him. Lord, they said, be well.
– God bless you, he replied, have you brought any news?
– Yes, lord, surprising news. We saw a wood on the water, in a place where we had never seen a trace of it before.
– This is a surprising thing; Is that all you saw?
– We saw again, lord, a large mountain next to the wood, and this mountain was walking; on the mountain a peak, and on each side of the peak a lake. The woods, the mountains, everything was in motion.
– There is no one here who knows anything about this, except Branwen; question her. “
The messengers went to Branwen. » Princess, they said, what do you think all this is?
– They are, she replied, the men of the Isle of Forts who cross the water to come here after having learned of my sufferings and my dishonor.
– What is this wood that we saw on the waves?
– These are ship’s yards and masts.
- Oh! they said, and the mountain that we saw next to the ships?
– This is Bendigeit Vran, my brother, wading. There was no ship in which he could fit.
– And the high peak, and the lakes on both sides of the peak?
– It’s him casting irritated glances at this island; the two lakes on both sides of the peak are its eyes on either side of its nose. “
They immediately assembled all the warriors of Ireland, all the great chiefs, and held council. "Lord," said the nobles to Matholwch, "there is no other plan than to retreat beyond the Llinon, the river of Ireland, to put the Llinon between you and him, and to break the bridge. There is a magnetic stone at the bottom of the river that does not allow any ship or vessel to cross it. “
They withdrew to the other side of the river, and broke the bridge. Bendigeit came ashore and went with the fleet to the river bank. » Lord, said his nobles, you know the privilege of this river: no one can cross it, and there is no bridge over it. What is your opinion for a bridge?
– I see no other than this: Let he who is chief be bridge. I will be the bridge. “
It was then, for the first time, that this remark was made, and even today it serves as a proverb. He lay down over the river; they threw racks at him, and the troops crossed over his body. As he got up, the messengers of Matholwch came to greet him and compliment him on behalf of their master, his relative by marriage, assuring him that he had not deserved him, in what depended on his will. » Matholwch, they added, give the kingdom of Ireland to Gwern your nephew, your sister's son; he offers it to him in your presence, in reparation for the wrong and the vexations that have been done to Branwen; you will provide for the maintenance of Matholwch wherever you want, here or in the Isle of Forts.
– If I cannot myself, replied Bendigeit Vran, seize the kingdom, I may deliberate on your proposals. Before you make other suggestions, don't try to get an answer from me.
– The most satisfactory answer we receive, we will bring it to you. So wait for our message.
– I will wait, but come back quickly. “
The messengers went to Matholwch. Lord, they said to him, prepare a more satisfying answer for Bendigeit Vran. He doesn't want to listen to anything we brought him for you.
“Men,” said Matholwch, “what is your opinion?
– Lord, they replied, we only see one. He has never been able to fit into a house. Well ! make a house big enough to accommodate him and the men of the Isle of Forts on one side, you and your army on the other. Give him your kingdom to do as he pleases, and do him homage. In return for the honor that will be done to him by building a house capable of containing him, which he never had, he will make peace with you. “
The messengers returned with this message to Bendigeit Vran. He decided to accept. All this was done by the advice of Branwen, who wanted to avoid ruin to a country which also belonged to her. They began to carry out the conditions of the treaty; a tall and spacious house is built. But the Gwyddyl (the Irish) imagined a stratagem: they established supports on both sides of each of the hundred columns of the house. They placed a skin bag on each ledge, and an armed man in each bag.
Evnyssyen entered before the troop from the Isle of Forts, and cast furious and wicked glances from all sides of the house. He saw the bags of skin along the pillars. » What's in this bag? he said to an Irishman.
“Flour, my soul,” he replied.
He felt it until he found the head, and he squeezed it until he felt his fingers meet the marrow through the bones, and he left it. He put his hand on another, and asked: "What is in this?"
“Flour,” replied the Irish.
He played the same game with each of them, until only one of the two hundred men was left alive. He went to the latter, and asked: "What is there here?"
“Flour,” replied the Irish.
He felt it until he found the head, and squeezed it like the others. He felt armor on the latter's head, and did not let go until he had killed him. Then he sang this enqlyn:
There are in this particular sack of flour, champions, wrestlers, who descend into combat: combat fully prepared for the combatants. "
At that moment the troops entered the house. The men from the island of Ireland went to one side and those from the Isle of Forts to the other. As soon as they were seated, the union between them was made. The kingship was offered to Matholwch's son. When peace was concluded, Bendigeit Vran sent for the child; the child then went to Manawyddan. Everyone who saw him took a liking to him. He was with Manawyddan when Nyssyen, son of Eurossuydd, called him to him. The child went towards him kindly. "Why," cried Evnyssyen, "doesn't my nephew, my sister's son, come to me? If he were not King of Ireland, I would be happy to exchange caresses with him.
– Gladly, said Bendigeit Vran, let him go. »
The child went to him very happy. » I attest to God, said Evnyssyen to himself, the family hardly expects the murder that I am going to commit at this moment. » He stood up, grabbed the child by the feet, and, before anyone in the family could stop him, he threw the child head first into the blazing fire.
Branwen, seeing her son in the middle of the flames, wanted, from the place where she was sitting between her two brothers, to throw herself into the fire; but Bendigeit Vran seized her with one hand and took her shield with the other. Everyone immediately attacks the whole house; this troop in the same house produced the greatest tumult that had ever been seen; everyone grabs their weapons. Morddwyt Tyllyon then cries: Dogs of Gwern, beware of Morddwyt Tyllion!
Everyone then threw themselves on their weapons. Bendigeit Vran held Branwen between his shield and his shoulder. The Irish began to light a fire under the cauldron of resurrection. The corpses were thrown into it until it was full. The next day they rose again as formidable warriors as ever, except that they could not speak. Evnyssyen seeing on the ground the bodies deprived of rebirth of the men of the Isle of Forts said to himself: “O God, woe to me for having been the cause of this destruction of the men of the Isle of Forts. Shame on me if I don't find a way to salvation. » He introduced himself among the corpses of the Irish. Two barefoot Irishmen came to him and, mistaking him for one of their own, threw him into the cauldron. He distended himself in the cauldron to the point that the cauldron burst into four pieces and his chest shattered. It is to this that the men of the island owe all the success they obtained.
It was reduced to the fact that seven men were able to escape; Bendigeit Vran was wounded in the foot by a poisoned spear. These are the seven who escaped Pryderi, Manawyddan, Gliuieri Eil Taran, Talyessin Ynawc, Grudyeu, son of Muryel, Heilyn, son of Gwyn Hen (the old one). Bendigeit Vran ordered his head to be cut off. “Take my head,” he said to them; take her to Gwynn Vryn (the white hill) in London and bury her there with her face turned towards France. You will be on the road for a long time. In Harddlech you will sit at the table for seven years, while the birds of Rhiannon sing to you. My head will be as pleasant a company for you as at the best times when it was on my shoulders. In Gwales, in Penvro, you will spend eighty years. Until you open the door that opens onto Aber Henvelen, towards the Cornwall, you can stay there and keep your head intact. But it will be impossible, as soon as you open the door; cross straight ahead. » They cut off his head, and, taking him with them, set out across the strait, all seven of them, not counting Branwen.
They landed at Aber Alaw in Talebolyon. There they sat down and rested. Branwen looked towards Ireland and the Isle of Forts, on what she could see: “Alas, son of God,” she cried, “cursed be my birth! Two such beautiful islands destroyed because of me! She let out a big sigh and her heart broke. They made a square tomb for him and buried him in this place on the bank of the Alaw. The seven men headed towards Harddlech with the lead. On the way, they met a group of men and women. » Do you have any news?, said Manawyddan
– No other, they replied, except that Caswallawn son of Beli has taken possession of the Isle of Forts and is crowned king in London.
“What has happened,” said the seven, “to Caradawc, son of Bran, and to the seven men who were left with him on this island?
– Kaswallawn attacked them and killed six of them; Caradawc's heart broke in despair when he saw the sword killing his men without knowing who was striking them. It was Kaswallawn who had put on an enchanted cloak, so that no one saw him kill them: only the sword could be seen. For Caradawc, he didn't want to kill him, because he was his nephew, his cousin's son german. He was one of three men whose hearts broke with grief. Pendaran Dyvet who was a young servant with the seven men escaped into a wood. “
They went to Harddlech and settled there. They began to provide themselves with plenty of food and drink, and began to eat and drink. Three birds came to sing a certain song to them, compared to which all those they had heard were without charm. The birds stood far away above the waves and yet they saw them as clearly as if they had been with them. This meal lasted seven years; at the end of the seventh year, they left for Gwales in Penvro.
They found there a pleasant, royal place above the waves, and a large hall. Two of the doors were open, but the third was closed, the one facing Cornwall. Here, said Manawyddan, is the door that we must not open. "
They spent the night there amid abundance and merriment. Whatever suffering they had seen, whatever suffering they had experienced themselves, they remembered nothing, nor any sorrow in the world. They spent eighty years there so that they could not remember having had a better or more pleasant time in all their lives. They were not more tired; neither of them noticed that the other was older all this time than when they had come there. The company of the head was no more painful to them than while Bendigeit Vran was alive. It is because of the past eighty years that this time is called the Reception of the Sacred Head. The time of the expedition to Ireland is called the reception of Branwen and Matholwch. But this is what Heilyn, son of Gwynn, did one day. » Shame on my beard, he cried, if I do not open this door to find out if what they say is true. “
He opened the door and looked out over Cornwall and the Bristol Channel. As soon as he looked, all the losses they had suffered, the death of their parents and their companions, all the evil that had happened to them came back to their memory as clearly as if it had all happened at that very moment, but , above all, the loss of their lord. From that moment on, they had no rest and left for London with their heads.
However long their journey was, they arrived there and buried the head in Gwynn Vrynn. This was, when it was buried, the third good hiding place, and, when it was discovered, the third bad discovery: no plague could in fact come to this island, as long as the head was hidden in this place. This is what the story of their adventure says. These were the men who returned from Ireland.
In Ireland, only five pregnant women remained alive, in a cave in the desert. Five sons were born to these five women at the same time. They raised them until they were great young men, and thought of women and desired them. So each of them slept with the other's mother. They governed the country, populated it and divided it between the five of them: it is from this division between five that the five current divisions of Ireland come. They examined the land where the battles had taken place, and found so much gold and silver that they became rich. This is how this branch of the Mabinogi ends, dealing with the cause of the blow given to Branwen, the third of the fatal blows given in this island; of the reception of Bran when he went to Ireland with the troops of the hundred and fifty-four countries to punish the blow of Branwen; of supper at Harddlech for seven years; of Rhiannon's birdsong, and of the hospitality of the head comprising eighty years.
