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The Four Branches of the ''Mabinogi'' or Y Pedair Cainc Mabinogi are the earliest prose literature of Britain. Originally written in Wales in Middle Welsh, but widely available in translations, the ''Mabinogi'' is generally agreed to be a single work in four parts, or "Branches." The interrelated tales can be read as mythology, political themes, romances, or magical fantasies. They appeal to a wide range of readers, from young children to the most sophisticated adult. The tales are popular today in book format, as storytelling or theatre performances; they appear in recordings and on film, and continue to inspire many reinterpretations in artwork and modern fiction. (The ''Mabinogi'' needs to be disentangled from ''The Mabinogion'' which is the modern name for a larger collection of British/ Welsh mediaeval tales. Published versions of ''The Mabinogion''〔Guest 1838 -45; 1849, 1877, 1906 etc. Ellis & lloyd 1929; Jones & Jones 1949; Gantz, 1976; S. Davies 2008.〕 typically ''include'' the ''Mabinogi''. The name ''The Mabinogion'' first appears in print 1795,〔Pughe, William Owen. 1795. "''The Mabinogion'', or Juvenile Amusements, Being Ancient Welsh Romances.” Cambrian Register, 177–87. This was only one episode of the First Branch. Pughe's complete translation was never published in full.〕 based on a single mediaeval mistake, but the name then became firmly established in modern usage for the larger collection.) ==Overview== The "Mabinogi" are known as the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, or Pedair Cainc Mabinogi in Welsh. The tales were compiled from oral tradition in the 11thC. They survived in private family libraries via mediaeval manuscripts, of which two main versions and some fragments still survive today. Early modern scholarship of the Mabinogi saw the tales as a garbled Welsh mythology which prompted attempts to salvage or reconstruct them. Since the 1970s the tales have become recognised as a complex secular literature, with powerfully explored characters, political, ethical and gendered themes, as well as imaginative fantasies. The style of writing is admired for its deceptive simplicity and controlled wordpower, as well as intricate doublets where mirrorings have been compared to Celtic knotwork.〔Bollard, John Kenneth. 1974. “The Structure of the Four Branches of the Mabinogion.” Trans. of the Hon. Soc. of Cymmrodorion, 250–76. 〕 The world displayed within the ''Mabinogi'' extends across Wales, to Ireland, and into England. It presents a legendary Britain as a united land under a king, yet with powerful separate princedoms, where native Welsh law, hud (magic), and romance, combine in a unique synergy. Each Branch contains several tale episodes in a sequence, and each Branch is titled with the name of a leading protagonist. These titles are Pwyll, Branwen, Manawydan and Math, but this is a modern custom: the Branches are not titled in the mediaeval manuscripts. Only one character appears in all four Branches, Pryderi, though he is never dominant or central to any of the Branches. * ''Pwyll Prince of Dyfed'' tells of the heroic and magical sojourn of Pwyll in Annwfn, his shapeshifting, chastity and a duel, which all establish a mighty alliance. The formidable Rhiannon courts him, and he helps her win her freedom to marry him. The strange abduction at birth of their baby son follows, with his rescue, fostering and restoration by the good lord Teyrnon of Gwent. The child is named Pryderi. * ''Branwen Daughter of Llŷr'' follows Branwen's marriage to the King of Ireland, who abuses her due to insult by her half brother Efnisien. A tragically genocidal war develops fomented by Efnisien, in which a Cauldron which resurrects the dead figures, and the giant king Bran's head survives his death in an enchanted idyll. Pryderi is merely named as a war survivor, and Branwen dies heartbroken. * ''Manawydan Son of Llŷr'' brother of Branwen, heir to the throne of Britain, becomes Pryderi's good friend during the war. Pryderi arranges his friend's marriage to Rhiannon. The land of Dyfed is devastated. Journeys in England setting up craft businesses follow. An enchanted trap removes Pryderi and Rhiannon: Manawydan becomes a farmer. He cannily negotiates their release, as well as the restoration of the land, by confronting the villain behind it all. * ''Math Son of Mathonwy'' is a dark sequence of deception and treachery: war with Dyfed, the death of Pryderi, the double rape of a virgin girl, and the rejection of an unwanted hero son by proud Arianrhod. Gwydion her magician brother is the architect of all these destinies. He adds an artificially incubated pregnancy, and a synthetic woman. She, Blodeuedd, creates a treacherous love triangle, murder in a peculiar manner. Gwydion makes a shamanic journey of redemption. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Four Branches of the Mabinogi」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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