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Upcoming subject:  Culhwch and Olwen


Before reading Culhwch and Olwen, I thought you may want a brief overview of the Mabinogion, the book where the story is found. The Mabinogion, is an assembled book of eleven Welsh tales found in two manuscripts: The Red Book of Hergest and the White Book Of Rhydderch. Both of the manuscripts can be roughly dated to the 14th century.  However, dating the stories inside has been difficult since the stories seem to be older than the manuscripts themselves, and many from different times.  Only five of the eleven tales feature Arthur and appear to come from two traditions.  The first set are three ‘romances’: Peredur, son of Efrog, Geraint, son of Erbin, and The Lady and the Well. These three mimic the story lines of three tales by Chretien de Troyes (written 1170-1180) and feature a distinct French influence so they may be either later additions or both are based on a common source now lost.  The remaining two are older, distinctly Welsh stories: Culhwch and Olwen (possibly the oldest of the two) and Rhonabwy’s Dream.  "Culhwch" is of interest to Arthurian scholars because if it is dated to the tenth century as some believe, it could signify an older Arthurian storytelling tradition.  Unfortunately, the dates are a point of contention amongst many scholars. Culhwch and Olwen has theorized dates from anywhere between the year 900 up to 1100.

Either of the above books are fine for the story of Culhwch and Olwen but both have a different group of stories. The Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales, by Patrick K. Ford, takes a purist approach and removes the later, possibly french influenced, stories. It does contain The Tale of Gwion Bach and The Tale of Taliesin, as well as a short poem Cad Goddeu, all of which are not featured in the other book. The Oxford World Classics version, does contain the three french influenced stories as well as The Dream of Emperor Maxen and Rhonabwy's Dream. If you are a completist you should probably get both books or find a version that has all of the above. The best value would be the Oxford World Classics version because it has more Arthur related stories than the other and it may come in handy later. Don't feel shy about reading ahead or reading some of the non-Arthurian stories. The Welsh have a mythology and story-telling tradition that is unlike anything you may have read before.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to writing again after Christmas. I hope everyone has a happy holiday!

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