Mabinogion, The

Collection of medieval Welsh myths and folk tales put together in the mid-19th century and drawn mainly from two manuscripts: The White Book of Rhydderch (1300–25) and The Red Book of Hergest (1375–1425).

The Mabinogion proper consists of four parts containing 11 tales, three of which concern a hero named Pryderi. Other stories in the medieval source manuscripts touch on the legendary court of King Arthur.

The 11 tales include The Four Branches of the Mabinogi containing ‘Pwyll Prince of Dyfed’, ‘Branwen daughter of Llyr’, ‘Manawydan son of Llyr’, and ‘Math son of Mathonwy’; the Welsh Arthurian tales ‘Culhwch and Olwen’ and ‘The Dream of Rhonabwy’; the native historical themes of ‘The Dream of Macsen Wledig’ and ‘The Adventure of Lludd and Llefelys’ also found in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae/History of the Kings of Britain (c. 1139); and three Arthurian romances ‘Owain and Luned’ (or ‘The Lady of the Fountain’), ‘Geraint and Enid’, and ‘Peredur son of Efrawg’.

The three Arthurian romances demonstrate French influence in style and content, and appear to correspond to the medieval French poet Chrétien de Troyes' Yvain, Erec, and Perceval, although their relationship remains debatable.

A 19th-century translation of the full collection by English scholar Charlotte Guest included ‘The Tale of Taliesin’, found only in manuscripts dating from the 16th century, but representing an earlier tale known to have existed as early as the 9th century.