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Bibliography

For an introduction to Mabinogi scholarship over the last 200 years, click here to read a concise bibliographic essay (1998).

For a list of published works (by year) see the list below. Please email the site editor if there are any titles that you believe should be included in this list.

subject keyword, author name, etc.



2003

McKenna, Catherine 'Revising Math: Kingship in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi', Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 46 (Winter 2003) pp. 95-118

 

2002

Millersdaughter, Katherine 'The Geopolitics of Incest: Sex, Gender and Violence in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi' Exemplaria 14. (October 2002) pp. 271-272

 

2001

Hall, Alaric 'Gwyr y Gogledd? Some Icelandic Analogues to Branwen Ferch Lyr' Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 42 (2001) pp. 27-50

Roberts, Brynley F. 'Where were the Four Branches of the Mabinogi Written?' in The Individual in Celtic Literature - CSANA Yearbook 1 ed. Joseph Falaky Nagy (Dublin: Four Courts Press 2001) pp. 61-73

Sims-Williams, Patrick 'Clas Beuno and the Four Branches of the Mabinogi' in 150 Jahre "Mabinogion": Deutch-Walische Kulturbeziehungen ed. Bernard Maier and Stefan Zimmer with Christine Bakte (Tübingen, 2001) pp. 111-127

1997

Breeze, Andrew 'Did a woman write the Four Branches of the Mabinogi?' Studi Medievali 38 (1997) No. 2 (Dec.) pp. 679-705

Lea, A.E. '"Lleu Wyllt" (The Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi and Welsh stories of Myrddin Wllyt: an Early British prototype of the legend of the wild man?)' Journal of Indo-European Studies 25 (1997) pp. 35-47

Ito Morino, S. 'The Sense of Ending in the Four Branches of the Mabinogi' Zeitschrift fur Celtische Philologie 49 (1997) pp.341-348

Winward, Fiona 'Some Aspects of the Women in The Four Branches' Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 34 (1997)

 

1996

Sullivan, C.W. III (ed.) The Mabinogi - A book of essays New York: Garland Press, 1996

Comment: A compendium of recent scholarship in the field of Mabinogi. Recommended for the serious scholar.

 

1992

Mac Cana, P. The Mabinogi (second edition) Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1992

Comment: Includes a summary of the plot-structure Four Branches and a rounded discussion of the various critical approaches employed in its interpretation. This small book is recommended for the time-pressed scholar or general reader.

Welsh, Andrew 'Manawydan fab Llyr: Wales, England and the "New Man"', in Celtic Languages and Celtic Peoples: proceedings of the Second North American Congress of Celtic Studies, 1989 ed. C. J. Byrne et al. (Halifax, 1992) pp. 369-382

 

1991

Sims-Williams 'The Submission of Irish Kings in Fact and Fiction: Henry II, Bendigeidfran, and the Dating of the Four Branches, Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies 22 (Winter 1991), pp. 31-61

Welsh, Andrew 'Branwen, Beowulf, and the Tragic Peaceweaver Tale' in Viator: Medieval and Renaissence Studies 22 (1991), pp. 1-13

 

1990

Keefer, Sarah Larratt 'The Lost Tale of Dylan in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi' Studia Celtica 24-25 (1989-1990) pp. 26-37. (Republished in Sullivan (1996) op. cit. pp.79-98)

Koch, John 'Bran: Brennos: An instance of Early Gallo-Brittonic History and Mythology' Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies 20 (Winter 1990) pp. 1-20

Sullivan, C.W. III 'Inheritance and Lordship in the Math' Transactions of the Honourable Society of the Cymmrodorian (1990) pp. 45-63. Reprinted in: Sullivan (1996) op. cit., pp. 347-366

Welsh, Andrew 'Doubling and incest in the Mabinogi' Speculum 65 (1990) pp. 344-363

 

1989

Davies, Sionedd Pedeir Keinc Y Mabinogi Aberystwyth: Gwasg Pantcelyn, 1989

Comment: A scholarly analysis of the Four Branches.

Welsh, Andrew 'Traditional Tales and the Harmonizing of Story in Pwyll Pendeuic Dyuet' Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies 17 (Summer 1989) pp. 15-41

 

1988

Davies, Sionedd 'Pedeir Keinc Y Mabinogi - The Case for Multiple Authorship' in Proceedings of the First North American Congress of Celtic Studies, 1986, ed. G. W. MacLennan (Ottawa, 1988) pp.443-459

Welsh, Andrew 'The Traditional Narrative Motifs in The Four Branches of the Mabinogi' Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies 15 (Summer, 1988) pp.51-62

Valente, R. L. 'Gwydion and Aranrhod: Crossing the borders of Gender in Math' Bulletein of the Board of Celtic Studies 35 (1988) pp. 1-9

 

1987

Koch, John T. 'A Welsh Window on the Iron Age' Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies 14 (Winter 1987) 17-52

 

1985

Wood, Juliette 'The Calumniated Wife in Medieval Welsh literature' Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies 10 (1985) pp.25-38. Reprinted in Sullivan (1996) op. cit. pp. 61-78

 

1983

Bollard, J.K. 'The Role of Myth and Tradition in the Four Branches of the Mabinogi' Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies 6 (1983) pp. 67-86 Reprinted in: Sullivan, 1996, (infra.) pp. 277-302

 

1982

Ford, P.K. 'Prolegomena to a Reading of the Mabinogi: "Pwyll" and "Manawydan"' Studia Celtica 16-17 (1981-1982): pp.110-125 Reprinted in: Sullivan (1996), infra, pp. 197-216

Hanson-Smith, Elizabeth 'Pwyll Pen Annwfn: Narrative Structure' Studia Celtica (1981-1982) pp. 126-134 Reprinted in : Sullivan (1996), op. cit. pp. 153-162

Sims-Williams, Patrick 'The Evidence for Vernacular Irish Literary Influence on Early Medieval Welsh Literature' in Ireland and Early Medieval Europe: Studies in Memory of Kathleen Hughes ed. Dorothy Whitelock, Rosamund Mckitterick and David Dumville Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982 pp.235-257

 

1981

McKenna, Catherine 'The Theme of Sovereignty in Pwyll'' Bulletein of the Board of Celtic Studies 29 (1980-1981) Reprinted in : Sullivan (1996), op. cit. pp. 303-330

 

1978

O'Coileain, Sean 'A Thematic Study of the Tale of "Pwyll Pendevic Dyfed"' Studia Celtica 12-13 (1977-1978) pp. 78-82

Gantz, Jeffrey 'Thematic Structure of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi' Medium Aevum 47 (1978) pp.247-254 Reprinted in: Sullivan (1996), op. cit. pp. 265-274

Sims-Williams, Patrick 'The Riddling Treatment of the "Watchman device" in Branwen and Togail Bruidne Da Derga' Studia Celtica 12/13 (1978-1979) pp. 78-111

 

1977

Ford, P.K. The Mabinogi and other Welsh Tales (Berkley: University of California Press, 1977)

Comment: Translation of the Four Branches, Culhwch and Olwen, Hanes Taliesin and Cad Goddeu (The Battle of the Trees), with a concise and up-to-date general introduction.

 

1976

Gantz, Jeffrey The Mabinogion London: Penguin Classics, 1976

Comment: Translation of the 'Mabinogion' tales (cf. Jones 1974; Guest 1849 infra.). Less accurate though more readable than the Jones edition. Includes map and introduction.

 

1975

Bollard, J. K. 'The Structure of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi' Transactions of the Honourable Society of the Cymmrodorion (1974-1975) pp. 250-276

Hamp, E. P. 'Mabinogi' Transactions of the Honourable Society of the Cymmrodorion (1974-1975) pp. 243-249

 

1974

Jones, G. & Jones T. (trans.) The Mabinogion (rev. ed.) London and New York: Everyman Library

Comment: The most literal translation of the 'Mabinogion' tales (inc. The Four Branches). Introductory essay is now slightly out of date.

 

1973

Gruffydd, R. Geraint (ed.) Meistri'r Canrifoedd: Ysgrifu Gan Saunders Lewis (Cardiff, 1973)

Comment: Includes the complete collection of Saunders Lewis' contraversial essays (1969-1971) on the dating of the Mabinogi.

 

1970

Charles-Edwards, Thomas 'The Date of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi' Transactions of the Honourable Society of the Cymmrodorion (1970) pp.263-293. Reprinted in Sullivan (1996) op.cit pp. 19-57

 

1961

Jackson, Kenneth H. The International Popular Tale and the Early Welsh tradition (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1961)

Comment: Includes an influential discussion on the influence of international folklore on the content of the Four Branches and the other Mabinogion stories.

 

Thomson, Dereck S. Branwen uerch Lyr (Dublin: The Dublin Insitute for Advanced Studies 1973)

Comment: Middle Welsh text of the Second Branch, with notes and introduction. Includes extensive glossary, cf. Thomson (1957).

 

1958

Mac Cana, Pronsias Branwen Daughter of Llyr: A study of the Irish Affinities (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1958)

Comment: Strong emphasis on the supposed Medieval Irish influences on the Mabinogi. The 'Irish affinities' - are many cases best regarded as analogues rather than sources (cf. Sims-Williams 1978; Mac Cana 1992). Nonetheless, Mac Cana assembles an impressive array of parallels from the Medieval Gaelic literary tradition - which deserve recognition, however one chooses to interpret them.

 

1957

Thomson, R.L. Pwyll Pendeuic Dyuet (Dublin: The Dublin Insitute for Advanced Studies 1973)

Comment: Middle Welsh text of the First Branch, with notes and introduction. Includes extensive glossary, cf. Thomson (1961 above).

 

1953

Gruffydd, W. J. Rhiannon: An Enquiry into the Origins of the First and Third Branches of the Mabinogi (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1953)

Comment: A complex reconstruction of the evolution of the First and Third Branches from their putative mythical origins. Ingenious but flawed (cf. Gruffydd 1928).

 

1951

Williams, Ifor Pedeir Keinc y Mabinogi (second edition) (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1958)

Comment: The standard edition of the White Book Text, still used today. Introduction and textual notes notes in Modern Welsh.

 

1929

Ellis, T.P.and Lloyd, J. The Mabinogion: A new Translation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1929)

Comment: A less well-known translation of the Mabinogion into modern English

 

1928

Ellis, T. P. 'Legal References, Terms and Conceptions in The Mabinogion' Y Cymmrodor XXXIX (1928) pp. 88-148

Gruffydd, W. J. Math fab Mathonwy: An Enquiry into the Origins of the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1953)

Comment: A complex reconstruction of the evolution of the Fourth Branch from its putative mythical origins. While Gruffydd's method has been convincingly criticised, his extensive collection of narrative analogues from the Medieval Celtic world and elsewhere makes this book a useful resource for the Mabinogi scholar of today (cf. Gruffydd 1928).

 

1913

Gruffydd, W.J. 'The Mabinogion' Transactions of the Honourable Society of the Cymmrodorion (1912-1913) pp. 14-80

 

1911

Lloyd, E. J.'The Mabinogion as literature' The Celtic Review VII 1911, pp. 220-248

 

1910

Arnold, Matthew On the study of Celtic literature and other Essays (London: J.M.Dent & Sons; New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1910)

Comment: Contains the oft-cited comparison between the Mabinogi and 'the ruins of Halicarnassus or Ephesus'. This view has since been largely displaced by a more sympathetic reading of the text as an integral entity of synchronic interest. Arnold's essay nonetheless is of some interest for an understanding of the historical development of Mabinogi scholarship.

 

1896-1900

Anwyl, Edward 'The Four Branches of the Mabinogi' Zeitschrift fur Celtische Philologie, I (1896) pp. 277-293; II (1898) pp. 124-133; III (1900) pp. 123-134

 

1838-1849

Guest, Lady Charlotte The Mabinogion from the Llyfr Coch o Hergest, and other ancient Welsh manuscripts, with an English Translation and Notes 3 vols. (London: s.n., 1838-1849)

 

1829

Pughe, William Owen 'The Mabinogi: Or, the Romance of Math ab Mathonwy' The Cambrian Quarterly Magazine and Celtic Repository I 1829 pp. 170-179

 

1795

Pughe, William Owen 'The Mabinogion, or Juvenile Amusements, being Ancient Welsh Romances' Cambrian Register For the Year of 1795, pp. 177-187