Preiddeu Annwfn
Encyclopedia
Preiddeu Annwfn or Preiddeu Annwn (The Spoils of Annwfn) is a cryptic early medieval Welsh
poem of sixty lines found in the Book of Taliesin
. The text recounts an expedition with King Arthur
to Annwfn
or Annwn, a Welsh
otherworld
. A number of scholars have pointed out analogues in other medieval Welsh literature
, and the text has attracted interest from those who suggest that it represents a tradition that evolved into the Holy Grail
theme of later Arthurian literature.
(Aberystwyth, NLW, MS Peniarth 2), which has been dated to the first quarter of the 14th century. The text of the poem itself has proved immensely difficult to date. Estimates range from the time of the bard Taliesin
in the late 6th century to the completion of the manuscript. On the basis of linguistic criteria, Norris J. Lacy suggests that the poem took its present form around AD 900. Marged Haycock notes that the poem shares a formal peculiarity with a number of pre-Gogynfeirdd poems found in the Book of Taliesin, that is, the caesura
usually divides the lines into a longer and shorter section. She contends, however, that there is no firm linguistic evidence that the poem predates the time of the Gogynfeirdd.
himself. One line can be interpreted as implying that he received his gift of poetry or speech from a magic cauldron
, as Taliesin does in other texts, and Taliesin's name is connected to a similar story in another work. The speaker relates how he journeyed with Arthur
and three boatloads of men into Annwfn, but only seven returned. Annwfn is apparently referred to by several names, including "Mound Fortress," "Four-Peaked Fortress," and "Glass Fortress", though it is possible the poet intended these to be distinct places. Within the Mound Fort's walls Gweir, one of the "Three Exalted Prisoners of Britain" known from the Welsh Triads
, is imprisoned in chains. The narrator then describes the cauldron of the Chief of Annwn; it is finished with pearl and will not boil a coward's food. Whatever tragedy ultimately killed all but seven of them is not clearly explained. The poem continues with an excoriation of "little men" and monks, who lack in various forms of knowledge possessed by the poet.
of the Mabinogi
and Culhwch and Olwen
. The former is the mythological tale of the giant Bran the Blessed
and his sister Branwen
, the latter is an Arthurian romance also associated with the Mabinogion. In the Second Branch, Bran gives his magic life-restoring cauldron to his new brother-in-law Matholwch
of Ireland after he and Branwen marry. Matholwch mistreats his new wife, however, and Bran and his forces must cross the Irish Sea
to rescue her. Part of this attack involves the destruction of the cauldron, which Matholwch had used to resuscitate his soldiers; in the end only seven of Bran's men are left alive, including Taliesin.
In Culhwch and Olwen Arthur's retinue sail to Ireland (aboard his ship Prydwen, the ship used in Preiddeu) to obtain the cauldron of a certain Diwrnach, who treats them to a feast but refuses to give up his prize. Arthur's warrior Llenlleawc the Irishman grabs Caladvwch
(Excalibur) and swings it around, killing Diwrnach's entire retinue. Further parallels between this episode and Preiddeu Annwfn may be found in a difficult passage from the latter, which is usually understood to say that a "flashing sword", described either as "bright" or else "of Lleawch", was raised to the cauldron, leaving it in the hands of "Lleminawc". Some scholars have opted to identify either or both Lleawch and Lleminawc with Culhwchs Llenlleawc, citing a confusion or evolution of names in the manuscript tradition, but evidence for this point is not conclusive.
Roger Sherman Loomis
also pointed out the similarities between Preiddeus description of the "Glass Fortress" and a story from Irish mythology
recorded in both the Book of Invasions
and the 9th-century Historia Britonum
. In Preiddeu, the Glass Fortress is defended by 6,000 men, and Arthur's crew finds it difficult to speak with their sentinel. In the Irish tale, the Milesians
, the ancestors to the Irish people, encounter a glass tower in the middle of the ocean whose inhabitants do not speak with them. The Milesians attack, and like Arthur's expedition, lose most of their force. The one surviving ship sails on to Ireland and further adventure. Loomis further suggests that this story is connected to the Abduction of Guinevere
episode common in later literature. Sarah Higley suggests a common story that influenced these various Welsh and Irish accounts.
receive wounds in their legs and both dwell in a castle of delights where no time seems to pass. The graal portrayed in Chrétien de Troyes
' Perceval, the Story of the Grail
is taken to be reminiscent of Bran's cauldron, and, as in Preiddeu, the Grail romances always result in initial tragedy and frequently in huge loss of life.
Earlier scholars were quicker to read Celtic origins in the Holy Grail stories than their modern counterparts. Whereas early 20th-century Celtic enthusiast Jessie Weston
unequivocally declared that an earlier form of the Grail narrative could be found in Preiddeu Annwfn, modern researcher Richard Barber
denies Celtic myth had much influence on the legend's development at all. R. S. Loomis, however, argued that it was more logical to search for recurrent themes and imagery found in both the Grail stories and Celtic material rather than exact ancestors; many or most modern scholars share this opinion.
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
poem of sixty lines found in the Book of Taliesin
Book of Taliesin
The Book of Taliesin is one of the most famous of Middle Welsh manuscripts, dating from the first half of the 14th century though many of the fifty-six poems it preserves are taken to originate in the 10th century. The manuscript, known as Peniarth MS 2 and kept at the National Library of Wales,...
. The text recounts an expedition with King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
to Annwfn
Annwn
Annwn or Annwfn was the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn, or much later by Gwyn ap Nudd, it was essentially a world of delights and eternal youth where disease is absent and food is ever-abundant. It later became Christianised and identified with the land of souls that had departed...
or Annwn, a Welsh
Welsh mythology
Welsh mythology, the remnants of the mythology of the pre-Christian Britons, has come down to us in much altered form in medieval Welsh manuscripts such as the Red Book of Hergest, the White Book of Rhydderch, the Book of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin....
otherworld
Otherworld
Otherworld, or the Celtic Otherworld, is a concept in Celtic mythology that refers to the home of the deities or spirits, or a realm of the dead.Otherworld may also refer to:In film and television:...
. A number of scholars have pointed out analogues in other medieval Welsh literature
Medieval Welsh literature
Medieval Welsh literature is the literature written in the Welsh language during the Middle Ages. This includes material from the fifth century, when Welsh was in the process of becoming distinct from the British language, to the works of the 16th century....
, and the text has attracted interest from those who suggest that it represents a tradition that evolved into the Holy Grail
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail is a sacred object figuring in literature and certain Christian traditions, most often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess miraculous powers...
theme of later Arthurian literature.
Manuscript and date
The poem is uniquely preserved in the Book of TaliesinBook of Taliesin
The Book of Taliesin is one of the most famous of Middle Welsh manuscripts, dating from the first half of the 14th century though many of the fifty-six poems it preserves are taken to originate in the 10th century. The manuscript, known as Peniarth MS 2 and kept at the National Library of Wales,...
(Aberystwyth, NLW, MS Peniarth 2), which has been dated to the first quarter of the 14th century. The text of the poem itself has proved immensely difficult to date. Estimates range from the time of the bard Taliesin
Taliesin
Taliesin was an early British poet of the post-Roman period whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the Book of Taliesin...
in the late 6th century to the completion of the manuscript. On the basis of linguistic criteria, Norris J. Lacy suggests that the poem took its present form around AD 900. Marged Haycock notes that the poem shares a formal peculiarity with a number of pre-Gogynfeirdd poems found in the Book of Taliesin, that is, the caesura
Caesura
thumb|100px|An example of a caesura in modern western music notation.In meter, a caesura is a complete pause in a line of poetry or in a musical composition. The plural form of caesura is caesuras or caesurae...
usually divides the lines into a longer and shorter section. She contends, however, that there is no firm linguistic evidence that the poem predates the time of the Gogynfeirdd.
Text
Preiddeu Annwfn has been translated into English several times but its obscurity at some points requires individual interpretation on the part of its translators. The narrator is possibly intended to be TaliesinTaliesin
Taliesin was an early British poet of the post-Roman period whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the Book of Taliesin...
himself. One line can be interpreted as implying that he received his gift of poetry or speech from a magic cauldron
Cauldron
A cauldron or caldron is a large metal pot for cooking and/or boiling over an open fire, with a large mouth and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger.- Etymology :...
, as Taliesin does in other texts, and Taliesin's name is connected to a similar story in another work. The speaker relates how he journeyed with Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
and three boatloads of men into Annwfn, but only seven returned. Annwfn is apparently referred to by several names, including "Mound Fortress," "Four-Peaked Fortress," and "Glass Fortress", though it is possible the poet intended these to be distinct places. Within the Mound Fort's walls Gweir, one of the "Three Exalted Prisoners of Britain" known from the Welsh Triads
Welsh Triads
The Welsh Triads are a group of related texts in medieval manuscripts which preserve fragments of Welsh folklore, mythology and traditional history in groups of three. The triad is a rhetorical form whereby objects are grouped together in threes, with a heading indicating the point of likeness...
, is imprisoned in chains. The narrator then describes the cauldron of the Chief of Annwn; it is finished with pearl and will not boil a coward's food. Whatever tragedy ultimately killed all but seven of them is not clearly explained. The poem continues with an excoriation of "little men" and monks, who lack in various forms of knowledge possessed by the poet.
Analogues in other works
Two works in particular feature narrative elements that are frequently cited as probable literary relatives. These are the Second BranchFour Branches of the Mabinogi
The Four Branches of the Mabinogi are the best known tales from the collection of medieval Welsh prose known as the Mabinogion. The word "Mabinogi" originally designated only these four tales, which are really parts or "branches" of a single work, rather than the whole collection...
of the Mabinogi
Mabinogion
The Mabinogion is the title given to a collection of eleven prose stories collated from medieval Welsh manuscripts. The tales draw on pre-Christian Celtic mythology, international folktale motifs, and early medieval historical traditions...
and Culhwch and Olwen
Culhwch and Olwen
Culhwch and Olwen is a Welsh tale about a hero connected with Arthur and his warriors that survives in only two manuscripts: a complete version in the Red Book of Hergest, ca. 1400, and a fragmented version in the White Book of Rhydderch, ca. 1325. It is the longest of the surviving Welsh prose...
. The former is the mythological tale of the giant Bran the Blessed
Bran the Blessed
Brân the Blessed is a giant and king of Britain in Welsh mythology. He appears in several of the Welsh Triads, but his most significant role is in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi, Branwen ferch Llŷr. He is a son of Llŷr and Penarddun, and the brother of Brânwen, Manawydan, Nisien and Efnysien...
and his sister Branwen
Branwen
Branwen, Daughter of Llŷr is a major character in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi, which is sometimes called the Mabinogi of Branwen after her. Branwen is a daughter of Llŷr and Penarddun...
, the latter is an Arthurian romance also associated with the Mabinogion. In the Second Branch, Bran gives his magic life-restoring cauldron to his new brother-in-law Matholwch
Matholwch
Matholwch, King of Ireland, is a character in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi, the tale of Branwen ferch Llŷr.The story opens with Bran, King of Britain, sitting on a rock by the sea at Harlech and seeing the vessels of Matholwch approaching. Matholwch has come to ask for the hand of Bran's...
of Ireland after he and Branwen marry. Matholwch mistreats his new wife, however, and Bran and his forces must cross the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
to rescue her. Part of this attack involves the destruction of the cauldron, which Matholwch had used to resuscitate his soldiers; in the end only seven of Bran's men are left alive, including Taliesin.
In Culhwch and Olwen Arthur's retinue sail to Ireland (aboard his ship Prydwen, the ship used in Preiddeu) to obtain the cauldron of a certain Diwrnach, who treats them to a feast but refuses to give up his prize. Arthur's warrior Llenlleawc the Irishman grabs Caladvwch
Excalibur
Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was...
(Excalibur) and swings it around, killing Diwrnach's entire retinue. Further parallels between this episode and Preiddeu Annwfn may be found in a difficult passage from the latter, which is usually understood to say that a "flashing sword", described either as "bright" or else "of Lleawch", was raised to the cauldron, leaving it in the hands of "Lleminawc". Some scholars have opted to identify either or both Lleawch and Lleminawc with Culhwchs Llenlleawc, citing a confusion or evolution of names in the manuscript tradition, but evidence for this point is not conclusive.
Roger Sherman Loomis
Roger Sherman Loomis
Roger Sherman Loomis was an American scholar and one of the foremost authorities on medieval and Arthurian literature.-Biography:...
also pointed out the similarities between Preiddeus description of the "Glass Fortress" and a story from Irish mythology
Irish mythology
The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...
recorded in both the Book of Invasions
Lebor Gabála Érenn
Lebor Gabála Érenn is the Middle Irish title of a loose collection of poems and prose narratives recounting the mythical origins and history of the Irish from the creation of the world down to the Middle Ages...
and the 9th-century Historia Britonum
Historia Britonum
The Historia Brittonum, or The History of the Britons, is a historical work that was first composed around 830, and exists in several recensions of varying difference. It purports to relate the history of the Brittonic inhabitants of Britain from earliest times, and this text has been used to write...
. In Preiddeu, the Glass Fortress is defended by 6,000 men, and Arthur's crew finds it difficult to speak with their sentinel. In the Irish tale, the Milesians
Milesians (Irish)
Milesians are a people figuring in Irish mythology. The descendants of Míl Espáine, they were the final inhabitants of Ireland, and were believed to represent the Goidelic Celts.-Myth:...
, the ancestors to the Irish people, encounter a glass tower in the middle of the ocean whose inhabitants do not speak with them. The Milesians attack, and like Arthur's expedition, lose most of their force. The one surviving ship sails on to Ireland and further adventure. Loomis further suggests that this story is connected to the Abduction of Guinevere
Guinevere
Guinevere was the legendary queen consort of King Arthur. In tales and folklore, she was said to have had a love affair with Arthur's chief knight Sir Lancelot...
episode common in later literature. Sarah Higley suggests a common story that influenced these various Welsh and Irish accounts.
A Grail connection?
Early translators suggested a link between Preiddeu Annwfn (taken together with the Bran story) and the later Grail narratives, with varying degrees of success. Similarities are sometimes peripheral, such as that both Bran the Blessed and the Grail keeper the Fisher KingFisher King
The Fisher King, or the Wounded King, figures in Arthurian legend as the latest in a line charged with keeping the Holy Grail. Versions of his story vary widely, but he is always wounded in the legs or groin, and incapable of moving on his own...
receive wounds in their legs and both dwell in a castle of delights where no time seems to pass. The graal portrayed in Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes was a French poet and trouvère who flourished in the late 12th century. Perhaps he named himself Christian of Troyes in contrast to the illustrious Rashi, also of Troyes...
' Perceval, the Story of the Grail
Perceval, the Story of the Grail
Perceval, the Story of the Grail is the unfinished fifth romance of Chrétien de Troyes. Probably written between 1181 and 1191, it is dedicated to Chrétien's patron Philip, Count of Flanders...
is taken to be reminiscent of Bran's cauldron, and, as in Preiddeu, the Grail romances always result in initial tragedy and frequently in huge loss of life.
Earlier scholars were quicker to read Celtic origins in the Holy Grail stories than their modern counterparts. Whereas early 20th-century Celtic enthusiast Jessie Weston
Jessie Weston
Jessie Laidlay Weston was an independent scholar and folklorist, working mainly on mediaeval Arthurian texts.Her best-known work is From Ritual to Romance ; this book is now available as an online text, as are others of hers...
unequivocally declared that an earlier form of the Grail narrative could be found in Preiddeu Annwfn, modern researcher Richard Barber
Richard Barber
Richard William Barber FRSL FSA FRHistS is a British historian who has been writing and publishing in the field of medieval history and literature ever since his student days. He has specialised in Arthurian legend, beginning with a general survey, Arthur of Albion which is still in print in a...
denies Celtic myth had much influence on the legend's development at all. R. S. Loomis, however, argued that it was more logical to search for recurrent themes and imagery found in both the Grail stories and Celtic material rather than exact ancestors; many or most modern scholars share this opinion.