Knowra Welsh mythology Welsh mythology Welsh mythology comprises mythic narratives and figures preserved chiefly in medieval Welsh-language texts, including stories later grouped as the Mabinogion.
Four Branches of the Mabinogi : Four medieval Welsh tales centered on the families of Pwyll, Branwen, Manawydan, and Math. These linked tales form the central narrative cycle most associated with Welsh myth.
Mabinogion : A modern collection of eleven medieval Welsh prose tales, including the Four Branches of the Mabinogi. The collection is the main modern gateway to many narratives classified as Welsh mythology.
White Book of Rhydderch : A fourteenth-century Welsh manuscript containing major prose tales, including the Four Branches of the Mabinogi. It is one of the principal witnesses to the medieval stories now read as Welsh myth.
Taliesin : A legendary Welsh poet associated with early poetry and later tales of transformation and supernatural wisdom. His legendary identity connects mythic narrative with the prestige of Welsh poetry.
Irish mythology : The mythic traditions of Ireland, preserved in medieval Irish texts and later folklore. Irish cycles offer close Celtic parallels but arise from a different language and textual history.
Culhwch and Olwen : A medieval Welsh tale in which Culhwch seeks Olwen and must complete tasks set by her father, the giant Ysbaddaden. Its giant, quest, and Arthurian host preserve a dense catalogue of legendary figures.
Middle Welsh : The stage of the Welsh language used in texts written roughly from the twelfth through the fourteenth centuries. Most surviving literary sources for Welsh myth were composed or copied in this language.
Red Book of Hergest : A large Welsh manuscript compiled around the turn of the fifteenth century, preserving prose tales, poetry, and historical material. Its copies help establish the forms in which several mythic narratives survive.
Aneirin : A Welsh poet traditionally associated with Y Gododdin, an early medieval elegy for warriors killed in battle. His poetry preserves an early heroic world adjacent to later Welsh mythic storytelling.
Arthurian legend : The broad body of medieval and later stories about King Arthur and his court. Welsh Arthurian material is one strand within a much larger, multilingual legendary tradition.
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