Irish Mythology in the Arthurian Legend

3.4 The Kings Cycle

The last part of Irish mythology is the so called Kings Cycle describing and focusing on “the activities of the ‘historical’ kings” (Gantz 22). The word historical is put into inverted commas because some of the kings are not historically documented at all and some of them are documented only vaguely. There is not, however, one king figuring in all the stories but it is rather a collection of stories about different kings from different historical periods. The cycle is therefore sometimes called the Historical Cycle. Some of the kings that play quite an important role in the mythological tales of this cycle are for example Conn Cétchathach, Niall Noígiallach or Brian Bórama (better known as Brian Boru) (MacKillop 76).

The king, always a male, was almost a divine figure in the Celtic society for he could perform certain things that no one else could do. Therefore, in order to become a king the king to-be had to undergo a series of initiation procedures before he could sit on the throne. Not only had the king to be of a good origin and standing, he had to be physically fit, generous and without criminal history, and he also had to comply with the initiation ritual.

It consisted of two parts; in the first part the future king had to ride in a chariot and if he failed he could not become the king, then he had to wear the royal cloak which had to fit him, and after that he had to ride in a chariot between two stones which were only a hand’s breadth away from each other. If the stones let him pass he could become the king, and finally he had to touch the Lia Fáil or “the stone of fate” which vocally indicated the right king. The second part of the ritual was the bull-feast at which a bull was killed and the future king had to eat its flesh and drink its broth after which he went to sleep wrapped in the bull’s skin. He was then chanted by four druids and while sleeping he should see the man who would become the next king (Mac Cana 119).

The king ruled in a certain region called tuath (kingdom) and he lived in Temair (Tara). The quality of his reign was reflected by the state of his kingdom. According to Proinsias Mac Cana the rightful king had to “ensure peace and equity, security of the kingdom’s borders, and material prosperity: the trees bend low with the weight of their fruit, the rivers and the sea teem with abundance of fish, and the earth brings forth rich harvests” (119). Therefore, if the king was wounded or too old, he could not ensure the well-being of his country as well as a healthy young ruler could and so he had to be replaced. This could be illustrated by the example of Nuadu, the king of Tuatha Dé Dannan, who after losing his hand in a battle had to be replaced by Bres. Nuadu could return to the throne only after he was given a new silver hand from the physician and god of healing Dian Cécht (MacKillop 168-169). Moreover, the rightful king also had to wed his kingdom and be united with the sovereignty of the part of the country over which he ruled, this could be the goddess of earth or a personification of Ireland (MacKillop 89).

The sovereignty was often an old repulsive hag who when kissed became a beautiful young lady giving the man who kissed her the right to become the king. One of the examples can be the story of Niall Noíghiallach, the alleged founder of the Uí Néill dynasty. One day he and his brothers went hunting and when they were looking for some water they met a hideous hag who promised to give them water when one of them kisses her. One of the brothers, Fiachra, gave her a small kiss but then came Niall who not only kissed her but offered to sleep with her as well. The hag got immediately transformed into a beautiful young woman, the sovereignty of Ireland. She not only gave Niall the water but she also foretold him that he would become the king of Ireland and his family would reign for several successive generations (MacKillop 92).

The sovereignty of land was always represented by a female goddess who could appear either as a beautiful woman or an old ugly hag as was the case in the above-mentioned story. According to Proinsias Mac Cana “nowhere was this divine image of sovereignty visualized so clearly as among the Celts, and more especially in Ireland”(94). He also adds that the sovereignty is “primarily concerned with the prosperity of the land: its fertility, its animal life and […] its security against external forces” (ibid.). Here, again, in the character of the sovereignty the close relationship between the Celtic people and the natural world is expressed. Thanks to the importance of the goddess of sovereignty for the Celtic people together with her appearance of an ugly hag, it has been suggested by some scholars, one of whom is also Roger Sherman Loomis, that the goddess of sovereignty could have served as an inspiration for the Bearer of the Grail in the Arthurian legend.

As it can be seen from the preceding pages the range of themes and motifs of Irish mythology is wide with some motifs repeating in several stories. One of the favourite themes in the Irish myths is the transformation of a human being into an animal, which is common in Welsh mythology as well. This happens for example in such stories as The Fate of the Children of Lir (Gregory 103-113) in which the children of Lir were enchanted by their stepmother into swans or in the Wooing of Étaín (Gantz 37-59) in which Étaín is transformed first into water and then she was turned into a worm and finally into a scarlet fly by a jealous wife of her lover Midir. Animals and nature in general play an important role not only in the everyday life of the Celtic people but naturally in their mythology as well. Very popular is the motif of cattle, which is typical for Irish mythology and which appears in many stories with The War for the Bull of Cuailnge (or Táin bó Cúailnge) (Gregory 439-479) being the most famous one. Other popular animals often appearing in various stories are dogs, swans and other birds, horses, salmon and insect. From the natural scenery, the most important part is played by the sea which was the primary source of livelihood for the inhabitants of Ireland, rivers appear also quite often in the myths as well as the hills that served primarily as the entrance gates to the Irish otherworld. The otherworld appears in several myths as well, the most well-known is the story The Call of Oisín (Gregory 288-308) which was already described in this chapter. Another important motif not only in the Irish myths but in Celtic mythology in general is the cult of the head for the Celts believed that the head was the centre of power and it was therefore considered the most important part of the body. Warriors often took the heads of their dead enemies and used their skulls as drinking vessels or as talismans (Clarus 49). The head of a dead man sometimes had special abilities such as the head of Sualtim in the story called The Awakening of Ulster (Gregory 479-492) in which he goes to Emain Macha in order to bring some men to help Cú Chulainn and when he gets there he accidentally falls on his shield and cuts his head off. Although cut off, the head still calls for help: “Sualtim’s shield came against his own head, and cut it clean off […] and the shield dragged after him by its own thongs, and Sualtim’s head in the hollow of it, and the head said the same words as before […]” (Gregory 484). Other common motifs that appear in Irish mythological stories deal more or less with everyday events and things such as marriage, fights, cheating or the celebration of the deeds of a hero.

The motifs appearing in Irish mythology are often similar to the motifs and themes found in the mythology of the Welsh Celts, which will be discussed in the following chapter. The connections between Irish and Welsh mythology and the Arthurian legend as well as the role of motifs and symbols from the mythological stories in the legend will be explored further in the final chapter of this work.

4. Welsh Mythology

Welsh mythology is in many respects similar to Irish mythology, yet in some respects it retains its own characteristics. It is not as extensive as the Irish mythological heritage nor is it as well-documented. The old Welsh scribes started to transcribe the myths later than their Irish counterparts and therefore the oldest Welsh manuscripts originate in the eleventh or the twelfth century, that is some five centuries later than the Irish mythological tales. The Welsh material was influenced by the spread of Christianity as well as by the growing popularity of the new genre of the chivalric romance which later replaced the mythological tales altogether. As Ingeborg Clarus remarks: “While the Irish myths still pulsate with the Celtic and pre-Celtic spirit and do not fear any violence or exaggeration, the Mabinogi is already touched by the whiff of the beginning of the chivalric age”³(187). The relatively late documentation of Welsh myths can be ascribed to the unsettled situation in Wales, which was occupied first by the Romans around 78 AD and then in the fifth and sixth centuries by the barbaric tribes of Angles and Saxons who drove the native inhabitants to the Welsh woods and valleys isolating them thus from the other inhabitants of the country. The Welsh were also often attacked by the Picts from the north and the Irish from the west (Jones 2000, 6-8). The theme of travelling often appears in Welsh mythology in general, and it is probably a reflection of the situation of its inhabitants who have to flee before their invaders: “The Welsh folk-tales in The Mabinogion often refer to the constant coming and going between Wales and Ireland” (Jones 2000, 8).

Other themes that often appear in Welsh mythology are similar to the themes that could be found in Irish mythology as well. One of the recurrent themes is the transformation of a human being into an animal. This can be found in numerous tales such as Math, the Son of Mathonwy (Guest 80-107) in which Math, lord of Gwynedd has to have his feet in the lap of a virgin, and he is permitted to leave it only in the case of a war. His nephew Gilfaethwy falls in love with Goewin, his foot-holder and with the help of his brother Gwydion starts a war between Math and Pryderi so that Gilfaethwy can take hold of Goewin. When Math returns and learns about it, he marries Goewin and enchants the two brothers into animal shape; they have to live as a stag and a hind for one year, as a wild boar and a wild sow for another year and the third year they have to live as a pair of wolves. Each year they have an offspring which Math turns into human shape and gives them animal names symbolizing their close relationship with nature. This interconnectedness of the human and the natural world is for Celtic mythology typical in general. Animals play an important role in the mythological narratives; the most typical animals in Welsh mythology are above all the swine, horses, dogs and birds such as owl or eagle.

Another common theme of the myths that appeared in Irish mythology as well is the celebration of a hero’s deeds, in this case the deeds of Pwyll in Pwyll, Prince of Dyved (Guest, vol. III 11-38) in which Pwyll spends a year in Annwn, the Welsh otherworld where he helps its king Arawn to get rid of his enemy and as a reward, can be called the king of the otherworld himself. Another hero whose life and deeds are described in the stories is Kulhwch (or Culhwch) in Kulhwch and Olwen (Guest, vol. II 63-115) in which he has to complete a series of tasks Olwen’s father set him before he could marry his daughter. He is helped by magic and also by Arthur and his men.

Another theme that appears in Welsh mythology is the kidnapping of little children soon after their birth. This happened for example to Rhiannon, the wife of Pwyll and her son Pryderi who disappeared immediately after he was born as well as to godlike Mabon, known as the ‘Divine Youth’ who was taken from his mother Modron (‘The Divine Mother’) only three days after his birth (Mac Cana 32-33).

The magic cauldron is another motif that is common for Celtic mythology in general. It appears in the story of Branwen, Daughter of Llyr (Guest, vol. III 39-60) which can be found in the second branch of the Mabinogi and which will be dealt with later on. This tale also contains the motif of a living and speaking head which was described in The Awakening of Ulster (Gregory 479-492) in the previous chapter.

Finally, the motif of the supernatural forces and gods helping or causing harm to the mortals is also present in most of the stories studied in this chapter.
4.1 The Mabinogion

The most important source of Welsh mythology is the collection known as the Mabinogion. The tales found in this collection come from an old oral tradition and were recorded only in the late eleventh and early twelfth century by “a talented author who was [nevertheless] less interested in preserving sources than in producing an effective piece of literature” (Mac Cana 18). The unknown author had, however, a formidable task of creating the collection from scarce and scattered mythological material which was not an easy task to do and it has to be admitted that although the stories may contain some of his inventions, they are still the only extant source of our knowledge of Welsh mythology.

The copies of the texts of the Mabinogion have been preserved in two manuscripts dating back to the fourteenth century; the White Book of Rhydderch (about 1325) and the Red Book of Hergest (between 1382 and 1410). The texts were translated into English by Lady Charlotte Guest in the nineteenth century. There are twelve stories altogether that are more or less mutually interconnected and arranged into four parts called branches. The four branches consist of four main stories of Pwyll, the Prince of Dyved; Branwen, the Daughter of Llyr; Manawyddan, the Son of Llyr and Math, Son of Mathonwy all of which are more or less connected with the character of Pwyll and his family (MacKillop 306-307).

The origin and meaning of the name Mabinogion has been a subject of dispute among the Celtic scholars which resulted in several possible theories. One of them, proposed by James MacKillop, says that the name is derived from the old Welsh word mabynogyon which could mean the stories about the godlike Mabon (MacKillop 306). Another theory says that it is derived from the word mab meaning a boy or a child and that the stories should be accounts of a hero’s childhood (Procházka 438) which seems to be quite unlikely. Another theory, seeming to be the most probable of all, was suggested by Jiří Konůpek in the epilogue to the Czech edition of the Mabinogion. It explains the name Mabinogi as being derived from the name used for the assortment of tales the applicant for the position of a bard, called mabinog had to know by heart (Vilikovský 144).

The use of the terms Mabinogion and Mabinogi has also been debated among authors and scholars dealing with Welsh mythology. It has been finally agreed that it is possible to use both terms, although some authors use only the term Mabinogion, while others tend rather towards the term Mabinogi. In this work both terms will be used: when the whole collection of Welsh mythological stories will be referred to, the term Mabinogion will be preferred and when the attention will be turned to the individual branches of Welsh mythology, the term Mabinogi will be used.


4.1.1 First Branch of the Mabinogi

The first branch of the Mabinogi consists of stories connected to Pwyll, the prince of Dyved. The story of Pwyll consists of two almost unrelated parts. The first part focuses on one of the common motifs of Celtic mythology which is the co-existence and cooperation of the world of the mortals with the otherworld and their mutual relationship.

It begins with Pwyll hunting when he meets a strange pack of dogs chasing a hind. The dogs are all white with red ears - a typical sign of the beings from the Celtic otherworld. Pwyll tries to scare the dogs away when a stranger approaches and introduces himself as Arawn, the king of Annwn, the Welsh otherworld. He then asks Pwyll if he wants to exchange their kingdoms for a year and help him to get rid of his enemy Hafgan. Pwyll agrees and so the kings exchange their appearances and kingdoms for a year. After that time Pwyll kills Hafgan and both kings can return back to their own kingdoms. As a reward for his service Arawn gives Pwyll the title of the king of the otherworld (Guest, vol. III 11-38).

This part of the story deals mainly with the themes of the otherworld and its relationship with the world of the mortals. This theme, as has already been shown in the previous chapters, was one of the most important ones in Celtic mythology in general. Celtic people certainly believed in some form of life after death which is naturally reflected in their mythology. The Celts believed that the world of mortals cannot exist without the otherworld and vice versa. As Ingeborg Clarus points out, ghosts sometimes need the help of a mortal being and mortals learn the true meaning of their being through the contact with the inhabitants of the otherworld (189). This view is further supported by Andrew Welsh who in his article Doubling and Incest in the Mabinogi argues that Pwyll is in fact a double of Arawn, the king of the otherworld, and that through meeting with Arawn, “Pwyll [is brought] together with a better aspect of himself” (352) which helps him “to hold to the rule of a better self” (ibid.) for Arawn had shown him that he could be a better ruler than he was before.

This better self is also symbolized by a test he is not aware of and that is to remain chaste while living in Arawn’s kingdom and not to have intercourse with his wife for the whole period of his stay. Pwyll resists any temptations and remains restraint, as far as the queen is concerned, for the whole time. It can be argued, however, that this was a later artificial addition made by the Christians, for as Ingeborg Clarus suggests, the concept of marital chastity and chastity as such was not spread among the pagan Celtic people at all (Clarus 189) and it therefore could not be taken as a symbol of personal virtues by the Celts themselves. The restraint probably symbolizes the absence of fertility in human sense in the otherworld (ibid.)

The second part of the first branch tells the story of Pwyll, his wife Rhiannon and their son Pryderi. It begins with Pwyll again, this time sitting on the magic hill of Arberth which was known as a place where one could see miracles. While sitting there he sees a beautiful woman riding a horse. She is called Rhiannon and nobody is able to catch up with her. Later it turns out that she came to meet Pwyll and ask him to marry her. He readily agrees and they have a wedding feast a year later. There are, however, troubles to come. At first Rhiannon cannot get pregnant and later, when she gives birth to a child it disappears the very night after its birth. Rhiannon is unhappy and in addition to her grief she has to be punished for the alleged murder of her child of which she was accused by her maids. Her task is to sit at the gate of the castle and to offer every newcomer to carry him on her back to the castle.

At a different place in Wales lives a man called Teyrnon who has a mare that gives birth to a colt every year on the first of May. But every time the colt disappears nobody knows where to. One night when Teyrnon watches over the mare the colt disappears again and he finds a little boy instead. He takes care of him and after some time the boy starts to remind him of Pwyll. Teyrnon takes the boy to the castle and it turns out to be the lost son of Pwyll and Rhiannon. The son is given back to his parents, and he is given the name Pryderi (the end of my trouble)⁴ for this was what Rhiannon uttered when she saw him for the first time: “‘[…] the boy is the son of Pwyll, ’said Teyrnon. ‘I declare to Heaven,’ said Rhiannon, ‘that if this be true, there indeed is an end to my trouble’” (Guest, vol. III 36).

This part of the story turns the attention away from the otherworld and focuses more on the world of the mortals instead. However, some elements of the supernatural and magic appear in it as well. The magic can be found in the opening scene when Pwyll sits on the hill of Arberth where he meets Rhiannon. Such hills were not only the places inhabited by fairies but they could also be the entrance gates to the Celtic otherworld opening to the mortals usually on Beltene (1st May) or Samhain (1st November) so people could meet with the beings from the otherworld (Clarus 190).

Rhiannon is one of the otherworld beings; a brilliant horsewoman faster than anyone else who tries to catch her. Therefore, she is often connected with Epona, the Celtic goddess of horses and fertility. Epona became known on the British Isles only after the arrival of the Romans in 43 AD but her cult spread quickly in the Celtic environment where horses were widely used and worshipped as well (MacKillop 47). The connection between Rhiannon and Epona can be illustrated on the following examples as suggested by Jessica Hemming in her essay Reflections on Rhiannon and the Horse Episodes in “Pwyll”. The first reason for Rhiannon’s connection with horses and eventually with Epona is that she is a splendid horsewoman who, although riding quite slowly cannot be caught by another rider; then, after being accused of her child’s murder, she has to sit at the court’s gate and carry all visitors to the court on her back like a horse and finally, her son is probably abducted by the same creature which steals Teyrnon’s colts and is found in a stable together with the last colt stolen from Teyrnon (Hemming 20).
4.1.2 Second Branch of the Mabinogi

The second branch of the Mabinogi called Branwen, the Daughter of Llyr, focuses on the life of the family of Llyr, especially its three members: the giant Bendigeidfran (or Bran), his sister Branwen, and their brother Manawydan. The story begins with the marriage of Branwen and the Irish king Matholwch. At their wedding feast Efnisien, the half-brother of Branwen, mutilates Matholwch’s horses for he does not agree with the marriage. Matholwch gets angry and Bendigeidfran gives him new horses and a magic cauldron as a sign of their friendship and good relationship. The cauldron is magical for it can bring to life warriors killed in a battle. This is proved later in a battle between the Irish and the Welsh caused by the ill-treatment of Branwen on Matholwch’s court.

Matholwch is reconciled and returns to Ireland together with Branwen. At first everything takes its normal course and their marriage is happy. After some time, however, Matholwch’s men start to bear a grudge against Branwen because of their humiliation at her court during the wedding feast and they send her to the kitchen where she has to undergo her punishment. When Bendigeidfran learns about it, he immediately comes with his men to Ireland. He is so huge that he can wade the sea alongside the boats. Finally, the two countries face each other in a fierce battle in which the Irish have an advantage of the magic cauldron which brings their dead warriors back to life. The Welshmen start to win through only when Efnisien, the originator of all the distress jumps to the cauldron together with the Irishmen and stretches inside so that the cauldron explodes. The Welsh then return back home together with the head of Bendigeidfran who was killed in the battle. Before he died he ordered his men to cut off his head and to bury it at White Mount in London so that it can protect their country against invasion. The head had a special ability to remain alive and it kept company to the men who travelled with it to London for the whole journey. Branwen returns home as well but after realizing that two counties were destroyed because of her, she dies of inconsolable grief. The tale goes on saying that only five pregnant women survived in Ireland and later gave birth to five sons, who became the new rulers of Ireland and their offspring peopled the country (Guest, vol. III 39-60).

There are some motifs of Welsh mythology that appear in the story and that could be foregrounded here. Two of them are important for they are recurrent in Celtic mythology and it can be assumed that they were of special significance for the Celts. One is the magic cauldron that was given by Bendigeidfran to Matholwch as a symbol of their friendship and the other is the cut-off head of Bendigeidfran that was speaking although already separated from the body.

The magic cauldron has already appeared in Irish mythology as the possession of Dagda who brought it to Ireland as one of the four talismans of Tuatha Dé Danann. It seems that the concept of a magic cauldron was of special importance for the Celtic people on both sides of the Irish Sea. The cauldron usually comes from a different world and then helps the people in need; it feeds the hungry and gives life back to the dead. Ingeborg Clarus argues that the cauldron could be a symbol of the Celtic belief in the immortality of soul and the rebirth of man (221), she also says that: “new life or a new level of consciousness are impossible to accomplish without previous meeting with death through which man discovers the limits of his life, his mortality as well as the possibilities of his spiritual transformation”⁵ (ibid.)

The cut-off head which is able to think and speak after it has been separated from the rest of the body could be another symbol for the Celtic belief in the immortality of the soul. The head, as has been already said in the previous chapter, was of great importance and worship for the Irish Celts as the centre of a person’s power. The situation in Wales was naturally similar. Head-hunting was widespread among the Celts and as Clarus points out “it was a common habit to cut-off the head of the defeated warrior and to carry it away attached to one’s saddle”⁶ (49). Miranda Green adds that the cut-off heads of defeated enemies were often used as a symbolic protection against enemies (103). The motif of the cut-off head with supernatural abilities is thus one of the core themes of Celtic mythology and culture in general.