THIS IS NOT A RETELLING OF THE MABINOGION.
THIS IS NOT A COMPANION GUIDE.
THE HISTORY OF THE UK: THE MABINOGION
Celtic Myth, Sovereignty, and the Spirit of Cymru
In the hills and hollows of ancient Wales, stories were not just told - they were lived.
This groundbreaking volume explores the mythic logic, historical echoes, and symbolic structures behind The Mabinogion, offering readers an immersive passage into the Celtic mind and the sacred land it inhabited.
This richly illustrated and carefully structured book brings together the worldview, cosmology, and ancestral memory encoded within Welsh myth. It is designed for scholars, readers of myth, artists, educators, and lovers of ancient lore - especially those who seek to understand why these stories mattered to a people for whom the visible and invisible worlds were inseparable.
BOOK STRUCTURE
Part I - The Celtic Soul of WalesExplore the roots of Brythonic identity: language, land, grove, and syncretic Christianity.
Part II - The Four Branches of the MabinogiFollow the central narrative cycles - sovereignty, honor, kinship, transformation - with context, insight, and cultural framing.
Part III - Mythic Heroes and Enchanted JourneysEnter the dreamscapes of Culhwch, Macsen, Owain, and Rhonabwy - and what they reveal about time, fate, and the poetic landscape.
Part IV - Themes, Symbols, and Cultural LegacyFrom shapeshifting to oral tradition, gender fluidity to postcolonial identity - this section unpacks what endures and why.
APPENDICES AND GLOSSARIES
This extensive reference section includes:
Glossary I - Latin alphabetical orderGlossary II - Native Welsh alphabetical orderGenealogical Tables of the Four BranchesChronological Overview: From Oral Tradition to ManuscriptLegendary Map of CymruThe Characters Guide: Pwyll, Rhiannon, Branwen, and others
The Mythic Glossary - a symbolic lexicon in eight parts:
FULLY ILLUSTRATED
Every section of this volume is accompanied by original, hand-crafted illustrations inspired by traditional Celtic and medieval aesthetics. These artworks serve not just as decoration, but as symbolic guardians of each theme explored. From moss-cloaked kings and sacred beasts to mythic realms and divine tokens, the imagery gives visual form to the essence of the Mabinogion's mythic world.
Even the cover features a guardian: a figure of living wood and sacred moss, part-human and part-land, representing the eternal bond between sovereignty and nature.
WHO THIS BOOK IS FOR
If you're looking for the original medieval text - this is not the book.
If you're looking for a scene-by-scene companion - also not here.
But if you seek to explore the cultural logic, mythic structure, spiritual depth, and symbolic richness of the Welsh tradition - this book was made for you.
Related Subjects
History