The oldest surviving tales of King Arthur have their origins in early Welsh mythology. These old stories survive today in the form of medieval manuscripts, often dating to the 13th or 14th centuries. However, the events they purport to relate come from a far earlier period in British history. Indeed, some are located in a distant mythical past that is hard to pin down. There are tales of old heroes, of giants, sorcerers and mysterious otherworldly kings. Some concern Arthur and the mirky centuries in our history that followed the departure of the Romans. Others hark back to even earlier times, old pagan tales of a mythical Pre-Roman Iron Age Britain.
But what do we make of these old stories? To what extent are they genuine survivals from earlier times? Do they stem, at least in part, from an oral tradition that dates to King Arthur’s day? Or, perhaps, all the way back to even more distant pagan times?
To answer such questions, we need to explore what these early stories are saying and when they may have originated. Indeed, we need to ask if there is anything more to them than pure fiction?
The Stories
When talking about early Welsh mythology we are really talking about the mythology of indigenous Britons. These are the people who inhabited our islands prior to Anglo-Saxon times. The Anglo-Saxon migration pushed indigenous people increasingly westward between the fifth and tenth centuries. Eventually British culture persisted only in the far west; Cumbria, Cornwall and, especially, in Wales. And it was in Wales that literary tradition has best preserved old stories concerning these times.
What survives today of these old tales has come down to us in the form of three main collections of medieval literature. These are:
The Mabinogion: A compilation of manuscripts, primarily from the 14th century. This represents the main body of early Welsh mythology that survives today.
Old Welsh Poems: Old medieval Welsh poems; most importantly the Book of Taliesin and the Book of Aneirin. The earliest surviving manuscripts also date to the 13th and 14th centuries.
The Triads: The triads survive in other manuscripts (mainly 13th and 14th century). They take the form of lists of what might be described as ‘top threes’; such as the Three Exalted Prisoners of Britain, the Three Generous Men, or my personal favourite, the Three Powerful Swineherds.
So, what can we meaningfully say about these sources? Let’s start by considering the contents.
The Mabinogion
The Manuscripts
The Mabinogion is a compilation of stories from different medieval manuscripts. It never existed as a single coherent collection in medieval times. The collection was pulled together and translated by Lady Charlotte Guest in the 19th century, and it was at this time it was given the name ‘Mabinogion’. The word is taken from the phrase Mabinogi that appears in part of the text. The word Mabinogi seems to have simply meant ‘tale’ or ‘story’.
To create the Mabinogion, Guest combined stories from different documents. Her primary sources were manuscripts known as the White Book of Rhydderch and the Red Book of Hergest. These sources date back to around the middle of the 14th century. However, they include copies of stories from earlier documents now lost to us.
The Four Branches
Central to the Mabinogion are its four branches. These are four related stories concerning the life of Pryderi fab Pwyll, an ancient Welsh prince. The first story deals mainly with the deeds of his father and his birth. Pryderi appears in the other three branches at various points (sometimes only very briefly), as they track the course of his life. Pryderi dies in the last of the four tales.
The four branches deal only peripherally with Pryderi in places. Some scholars have speculated that these stories represent the result of many retellings. Over time new tales and stories were added to a simpler original until a considerable narrative unrelated to the central character evolved. In time elements of Pryderi’s story were lost/fell by the wayside until what you are left with is a narrative in which he makes only intermittent appearances.
Old Tales from Romano Britain
But there are other stories in the Mabinogion besides the four branches. One such story is The Dream of Macsen Wledig, a story based on the life of a Roman Emperor. This was Magnus Maximus, who started out as the governor of Britain in the late 4th century AD. The historic Magnus seized the imperial throne with the aid of his British military garrison. This old story reflects these events in a form that might be regarded as historical fiction; no doubt greatly exaggerating the role of the Britons in securing Magnus’ throne.
Old Arthurian Tales
Several of the tales in the Mabinogion draw on Arthurian lore. Of these Culhwch and Olwen and The Dream of Rhonabwy represent old Arthurian stories in the medieval Welsh tradition. Culhwch and Olwen appears to be a copy of a story originally written at the end of the 11th century, which means it pre-dates Geoffrey of Monmouth’s famous Arthurian tale. It is the earliest surviving Arthurian tale of any substance.
The appearance of Arthur in these tales would locate their subject matter in the late 5th/early 6th century.
Chivalric Romances
Some tales in the collection take the form of classic medieval chivalric romances. They contain Arthurian themes and belong to a genre of literature that became hugely popular from the 12th century onwards. These tales seem to have been influenced by the Arthurian stories of Cretien de Troyes. But, in some cases, they are romanticised re-workings of older Welsh tales. An example might be the tale of Geraint, Son of Erbin, which appears in the Mabinogion as an Arthurian romance. There are earlier Welsh poems featuring this character that lack the high medieval elements of chivalric romance. Thus, what appears in the Mabinogion is an adaptation of an earlier story.
Setting
The setting for these stories is usually but not always Wales itself. However, sometimes the action extends to Ireland and to further east in Britain (in pre-Anglo-Saxon times). Occasionally the setting extends to Europe (as it does for the Macsen Wledig story).
Many reference Arthur, which places the subjects of these stories in the early post-Roman period (late 5th to 6th century). Stories concerning characters such as Geraint and Owain recall the same period. However, the four branches reference earlier Welsh heroes from Roman and pre-Roman Britain. A few of the characters mentioned are identifiable historic figures: Magnus Maximus (c.380-390 AD), Caswallawn (a Belgic warlord who fought Julius Caesar in the 1st century BC) and Cradawg (a British leader who opposed Claudius in the 1st century AD).
The earliest stories relate to Pryderi and appear to be set at, or just before, the advent of Roman Britain. The latest deal with the final days of the old Britain, just before the final triumph of the emerging Anglo-Saxon England. In general, then, we are dealing with stories that seek to recall a pre-Anglo-Saxon Brittonic world; Britain as it was between around 100 BC and 600 AD.
Poetry
The Book of Taliesin
The Book of Taliesin is a collection of poems (originally the songs of bards) that purport to have been authored by Taliesin. The Taliesin presented in these poems is a 6th century Brittonic bard. However, his historic identity remains uncertain. It is unclear, for example, whether Taliesin was Welsh, or whether he was a British native of northwestern England.
Within these poems are references to characters that appear in the Mabinogion, indicating that the poems draw on the same rich folkloric tradition. As with the Mabinogion manuscripts, the surviving Taliesin manuscripts are 14th century, possibly late 13th.
The poems themselves contain a mix of pagan and Christian themes as well as some heroic tales of 6th century events. It is almost certain that poems were added to and re-imagined over time by many writers. Only a few might be remnants of original works by an historic Taliesin.
The Taliesin of these poems presents himself as a Christian, but also claims to have Druidic powers. His artistic muse is presented as possessing transformative powers, facilitating shapeshifting. He also writes of a mysterious Otherworld, an early imagining of a fairy realm ruled by a supernatural king. Magic and sorcery and other pagan themes often appear. But, equally, some of the poems relate Biblical stories and God (and Biblical characters) are frequently referenced.
The Book of Aneirin
The manuscripts for this book are also late 13th century. However, the poet, Aneirin, is said to be another 6th century bard from the north of England/ southern Scotland. Some believe him to have been a Cumbric Briton.
The best-known poem in the collection is Y Gododdin, a poem that concerns the battle of Catraeth (possibly Catterick in North Yorkshire) in c.600 AD. It is the tragic tale of the catastrophic defeat of the British war-bands of Gododdin at the hands of an army of northern Angles. The poetic voice (Aneirin himself) claims to be a survivor of this battle.
The Triads
References to triads appear in the Mabinogion and in old Welsh poems. The tale of Lludd and Llefelys features three plagues for example – clearly a triad. These consist of a supernatural race (the Coryaniaid), a curse of infertility and of vanishing provisions.
Lists of triads, separate from any poems or tales, were also recorded in medieval times. Some such triads date to the 13th century although some are quite likely earlier. There is evidence to show that triads were in use during the 9th century (although we lack surviving examples). Indeed, it is quite possible that they pre-date this.
Many of the triads reference characters and events that appear in sources like the Mabinogion and Taliesin. Other triads reference other mythical or historic figures and events. Put together with our other sources we find references to a rich tradition of tales, many of which no longer survive aside from in fleeting fragmentary references.
Triads often inter-relate with other tales and can even overlap with each other. The Three Plagues listed in Lludd and Llefelys overlaps with a Triad of Three Oppressions separately recorded in the 13th century. Instead of Coryaniaids, infertility and vanishing provisions, we have Coryaniaids, Picts and Saxons.
How Old are Welsh Myths?
Clues in the Literature
As we have seen many of these stories, poems and triads survive in the form of manuscripts written in the 13th and 14th century. Yet they are often dealing with stories about a much earlier period of British history; 800+ years before they were written.
So, this raises the question – just how old are these stories? Are they copies of older versions that date all the way back to the times in which the tales are set? Are these near contemporary tales of a real Arthur, or, come to that, a real Pryderi? Or are they simply later medieval literary constructions? Fictional creations designed to entertain a much later medieval audience.
There are some clues in the manuscripts themselves. Some are written in a language style that shows they were copied from earlier texts. In this way we can tell that, although a story in a manuscript might be 14th century, it is a copy of something originally written in the 11th, 12th or 13th century. In this way we can be confident that many of these stories have a history that pre-dates the earliest surviving manuscripts.
Origins
There is significant debate over the true age of some of this material. Y Gododdin and a few of the Taliesin poems, for example, have been dated by some to as early as the 7th century. If this is true, this would make them near contemporary records of events they describe. However, there is no real consensus on this and others might argue that Y Gododdin was originally a 9th century composition and not 7th. Even so, a 9th century date would make it the oldest surviving composition of its kind.
However, in attempting to trace the history of this material back further we encounter another issue. Many of these stories probably began life as bardic compositions, sung or recited in the halls of early medieval lords. From these origins they developed within an oral tradition, passed on for generation to generation by cyfarwyddiad (story tellers).
The reality is that any given story, transmitted via an oral tradition is likely to be subject to evolution, change and accretion. This process can and does continue, even after the stories have first been committed to paper. Plenty of evidence for this can be easily found within the Arthurian literary tradition of the high to later medieval period.
Folk Tradition and Evolution
Folk stories and myths, whether they concern Arthur, Pryderi, Robin Hood or any other character are subject to evolution and change over time. Even if we assume that a particular story was first told in 650, what we end up with by 1350 is almost certainly going to be something different.
We can see this process in action in medieval literature. The famous Song of Roland, written in the 11th century, covers real historic events – the Battle of Roncevaux Pass. This battle occurred in 778, three centuries before. In the Song, the battle is fought between Franks and Muslims. However, in history, the battle was between Basques and Franks. The Song used dramatic license to change events to suit the culture of the day (which in the late 11th century was leading up to the age of crusading).
Then there is a medieval story of Alexander the Great, that has him flying on a chariot tethered to four griffins. Saint George was very likely to have been a real 3rd century Roman soldier who was martyred for his faith. However, at some point between his death and the High Middle Ages, tales of a dragon got ‘added’ into his story.
In short, stories change and evolve, sometimes quite radically over time. But do they, nevertheless, contain grains of truth?
Themes
Historic Figures
One question we might ask is whether characters who appear in the tales and triads were real people? Sometimes we can say for sure that they were – Magnus Maximus was a real emperor. But what about individuals like Arthur, or Pryderi? Was Arthur a real early 6th century British king? Was Pryderi a real ancient British chieftain from Dyfed, living in some distantly recalled pre-Roman past?
We can only speculate as to whether such individuals truly lived as real historic figures. The possibility cannot be discounted. There may well have ultimately been a real person behind these stories. That said, we must accept that many of the stories that have since sprung up concerning their lives are most likely fictional.
There may once have been a famous ancient British warlord called Pryderi in Dyfed. However, who he really was and what he really did, we must accept, is lost to us in the mists of time.
Perhaps a more significant takeaway from these myths, is not the existence or otherwise of individual characters. It is more the general observation that heroes and charismatic kings play a key role in these stories. Such individuals therefore held enormous cultural significance for the society in which these stories were fashioned.
Genealogy, Kinship and Precedence
Throughout these stories, significant emphasis is place of who people are – defined in terms of their ancestry and familial relationships. Status derives in no small part from the status and deeds of ancestors and relatives. And status and precedence are clearly important; often reflected in where characters are seated during meals relative to the senior lord present. The stories give strong testimony to the importance and nature of these social hierarchies.
Insults, Honour and Friendship
Who is considered a friend and who is not is an important distinction. A distinction that is drawn between members of different British kingdoms, different places and even different families. Friendship can easily be lost or strained by perceived insult, and insults often lead to conflict. However, it is also clear that insults can be forgiven if proper reparations are made. An honourable reparation often restores friendship or even makes new friends of old enemies. Seeking reparations and endeavouring to restore or build friendship to mitigate conflict is a strong feature of the old British world described in these tales.
Compensation and Conflict Avoidance
Conflict, nevertheless, frequently breaks out in the old British world. The murder or death in battle of a friend or a relative often leads to a quest for vengeance. And such vendettas easily spiral out of control, in a spate of tit-for-tat, violent retributive acts. However, conflict can often be avoided if adequate compensation is offered. Compensation may take the form of money, land, favours or the offering of other assets of perceived value – such as livestock. This is often a significant part of the currency of diplomacy by which wars are avoided or ended.
The Value of Livestock
Livestock represented important currency in old Britain. Livestock are often offered as gifts, as compensation, or serve as the targets of raids. Sometimes success in war itself can be defined in terms of livestock captured. The ownership of livestock, therefore, was a key signifier of wealth, power, and status.
No greater example of this can be found than the reverential way in which pigs are treated in some of this material. One of the triads specifically lists the Three Powerful Swineherds of the Island of Britain. It is an epithet that clearly held cultural significance on a par with the Three Brave Men or the Three Enchanters. A significant theme in the story of Math (the third branch of the Mabinogion) deals with an attempt to steal swine. The pigs are portrayed as highly valued supernatural animals, originating from the otherworld of Annwn. And we are informed that ‘their flesh is better than the flesh of oxen’, indicating that their meat was considered a delicacy.
Hence, we have a myth specifically created to explain the origins of swine. It is hard for us to imagine a world in which pigs were seen as highly prized creatures of semi-magical origin.
Paganism and Christianity
These tales and poems contain references to both Christianity, and to magic and supernatural phenomena. The Taliesin writer claims in one poem to be a Druid, yet often references God and also plainly claims to be a Christian.
What we have, therefore, are tales and poems that occupy a world that is both Christian and pagan at the same time. There can be little doubt that the authors are Christians; they believe in God and are clearly aware of Biblical stories and characters. And yet they also frequently hark back to pagan times for inspiration.
How can Taliesin be both a Druid and a Christian? Clearly the bard occupied an early medieval world in which Christianity was the accepted religion. But it was also a world in which pagan beliefs still occupied a powerful place within the cultural memory.
The Otherworld and the Supernatural
These themes are evident throughout this early Welsh material. In the first branch of the Mabinogion, Pwyll (father of Pryderi) travels to the otherworld realm of Annwn. References to the otherworld of Annwn and its fairy king also appear in Taliesin’s work. Men can cross the boundaries to the otherworld, but it is difficult and clearly a perilous thing to attempt. Taliesin tells us that none managed the crossing before Pwyll. He also tells us how many men travelled to otherworld places with Arthur, yet only seven returned.
Taliesin also references his own supernatural power, a power he refers to as the Awen, and which can be equated to something akin to the poetic muse of a bard. Yet, it is a poetic muse that has the power to transform and even facilitate Druidic shapeshifting.
Such references are clearly inspired by older pagan beliefs rather than Christianity. However, we can only guess at the extent to which original pagan belief finds true expression in these works. More importantly, we can only guess at the extent to which these beliefs have been distorted and added to by the later fictional embellishments of later centuries.
Prophecy and Divination
Roman accounts confirm that prophecy and divination were features of Druidic paganism (as they were of pagan European cultures more widely). So, it is not surprising to find the subject of prophecy and foretelling features strongly in early Welsh mythology.
In the book of Taliesin, we find a poem concerning the Great Prophecy of Britain, which appears to concern a battle that occurred in 937 AD. (This would tend to date the authorship of this poem to later in the tenth century). Again, we can find examples of pagan prophecy mixing with Christian motifs; as in Taliesin’s Goronwy’s Oak. This work combines references to Noah, Mathonwy’s wand charms and supernatural prophecy in the same poem.
Prophecy and magical dooms also feature in the Mabinogion. The dying King Brân the Blessed foretells a great feast at Harlech. King Lludd is told to bury two battling dragons, and it is foretold that as long as they remain buried, Britain shall be free of plagues.
The sorceress Arianrhod influences the future by placing a tynged (a geas – i.e. a magical obligation, prohibition or taboo) on her illegitimate son. This prophesized doom prevents him bearing arms, having a name or marrying without her future consent.
Magic and ritual
Magic and magical rituals feature throughout many of these stories. Indeed, in the Mabinogion, magic is presented as a power which many people possess. Gwydion and Math fashion a living woman, Blodeuwedd, from flowers. Manawydan finds himself trapped in an enchanted wasteland, devoid of other people, by means of sorcery.
Magic is sometimes worked with the aid of wands (such as that used by Math) and the triads include lists such as the Three Enchanters and Three Great Enchantments. Yet, despite all this sorcery and enchantment, these same stories frequently reference God and invoke Christian themes.
Paganistic magical belief and Christianity sit comfortably beside each other in these early British stories.
Shape changing and transformation
One form of magic that is often referenced are spells resulting in transformation and/or shape shifting.
Shapeshifting is often facilitated by enchantments, potentially facilitated by a wand. The iconic example of this is Math’s sorcery. Math uses his wand to transmute Gwydion and Gilfaethwy into deer, then wild boar and finally wolves. This form of shapeshifting (achieved by means of sorcery) reflects the general way in which lycanthropy was understood in medieval times. Lycanthropy was not believed to be a transmittable disease in the Middle Ages. Instead, people believed it was a supernatural condition brought about by sorcery.
Math uses a wand to facilitate shapeshifting but a different form of shapeshifting is described by Taliesin. For Taliesin, shapeshifting appears to have been a Druidic power facilitated by the Awen. It is by the power of the Awen that Taliesin makes prophecies and he uses the same power to shape change. In this context Taliesin’s understanding of Awen appears akin to a kind of shamanic power. The Awen somehow facilitates a muse inspired transmutation of spirit, consciousness and body. This Taliesin uses to become such things as a salmon or perhaps even a drop of water.
Are such examples providing us with a window into actual ancient Druidic belief? Or are they no more than heavily distorted early medieval recollections of such belief? There is no way to tell.
Myth and History
So, what can these old stories and myths tell us about the actual history of the old Britain? Britain as it was in the period between 100 BC and 600 AD?
Firstly, we must accept that there can be no doubt that any historic facts behind these tales are obscured by accretion and artistic embellishment. It might be argued that, for this reason, it is hard to see how they can be relied upon.
And yet, what they provide is a window into the minds of men. These tales, poems and triads held cultural significance to people. In that sense they hold historic significance. They reflect something, however imperfectly, of the lost values of the old British world. The poorly understood world of Arthur and Pryderi. They are not reliable records of historic events, but what they do record is still of historic importance.
Other Features on early Medieval Myths and Legends
Here are links to past features covering early medieval myths, legends and folklore traditions, you might want to check out some of these stories:
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References and Further Reading
Aneirin. (2022). The Text of the Book of Aneirin. Legare Street Press
Bromwich, R. (2006). Trioedd Ynys Prydein. University of Wales Press: Cardiff
Gantz, J. (2003). The Mabinogion. Penguin Classics: London
Monmouth, Geoffrey of. (1966). The History of the Kings of Britain. Penguin Classics: London.
Watts, P. (2024). Myths and Legends of the Medieval World. Pen and Sword Books: Bradford.
Useful websites:
Images
All images are sourced via wiki commons.
Blodeuwedd and Gronw: Ernest Wallcousins, 1920
Medieval Manuscript text: Book of Taliesin page 1868 facsimile
Taliesin image: Benjamin West (The Bard) Google Art Project
Two Dragons: History of the Kings of Britain C15th manuscript