The Mabinogion, Lludd and Llefelys

Pwyll rode towards a grassy clearing and came apon a dead stag surrounded by small but fiery hounds: their coats were a blinding white, and their ears like glowing red coals. Bravely, the Prince urged his horse into the glade, charged wildly at the dogs and scattered them away.

As his own pack returned and grouped around the deer, a huntsman rode out from the trees and hailed him: "Lord, I will not greet you because you have driven off my hounds from their prey".

At these words the Prince promised to make up for his discourtesy. "Well" said the stranger "This is how to win my friendship. I am Arawn, King of Annwn (the Other World), and I have a neighbour called King Hafgan who is forever causing trouble. Yet whenever I hit him more than one stroke, the next day he is as well as he was before."

Before The Lord of the Rings there was THE MABINOGION. Widely recognized as the finest arc of Celtic mythology, the eleven stories were preserved in two Welsh collections, The White Book of Rhydderch (1300-1325) and The Red Book of Hergest (1375-1425), though the stories themselves hail from an oral tradition dating back a thousand years. At its core are tales of heroes and men, birth and death, gods and beasts, penance and vindication, kinship and kingship, battles and quests. THE MABINOGION embraces much of ancient and early British culture, combining the numinous world of Celtic mythology, Arthurian legend and feudal Europe’s Age of Chivalry. Indeed, scholars have identified that it was out of THE MABINOGION that the Arthurian legends were born.

The first plague arrived when the Coranieid people settled here. Such was the power of their hearing that no soft word could be spoken which the wind did not catch and carry to their ears. In this way, the Coranieid knew in advance the plans of their enemies.

The second plague occurred annually on the eve of Mayday: a piercing scream was heard throughout the land which sliced into the hearts of every man and woman. It made old people tremble and young children cry.

The third plague -- well, it was simply annoying. However many wonderful dishes were prepared for a feast at the king's court, all the food and drink would disappear after the first night.

Lludd decided to ask his brother, Llefelys (who was King of France), for help. Silently, the brothers sailed in ships towards each other, meeting up mid-channel between their two countries.

To prevent the Coranieid over-hearing their conversation they talked to one another through a long bronze horn, but (strangely) the words which came out were angry and spiteful. So Llefelys poured good wine into the horn to wash out the evil spirit, and then he advised Lludd what he should do . . .

On returning to Caer Lundein the King crushed in water some insects which his brother had given him. Then he called together all the folk in the land (both the natives and the newcomers), and he sprinkled the insecticide over them. His own people were unaffected (after all, the Britons were used to rain) but the Coranieid shivered, cursed and faded away. So ended the first plague.

To rid the Island of the second plague, which was the scream, Lludd measured the length and breadth of Britain and dug a hole at its very centre (which turned out to be in Oxford). In the hole he placed a tub of mead, covered it with silk and sat down to watch.

Suddenly there appeared two dragons, scratching, snapping and biting as they flew up into the air. Lludd knew from Llefelys that it was the British dragon who screamed, fighting for control of his tiny kingdom.

At last the dragons grew tired and collapsed onto the silk. As the cloth sank beneath them they turned into pigs and drank up all the mead. Then (as you would have done) they fell asleep.

The king pounced. He bundled the dragons up and carried them away to the mountains of Snowdonia. Then he buried them beneath stones in the heart of the rockface of Dinas Emrys near Beddgelert. And that was the end of the second plague.

In celebration the king's cooks prepared a banquet, with enough dishes to last for several days. And this time Lludd knew what to do. So after the singing and dancing he settled down to watch, and whenever he became heavy with sleep he plunged into a tub of cold water placed nearby.

In this way, he was still awake (while those around him slept) when a giant clad in armour came into the hall and began putting all the food and wine into a mighty hamper.

Lludd jumped up and challenged him, and there occurred a fierce battle between the two. Iron rang and sparks flew, but eventually the right of the King prevailed, and he forced his opponent to the ground. Then the giant yielded and promised to be the king's man from now on - and (more importantly) he never stole from the festive table ever again.