We will only read one story from The Mabinogion -- the charming and strange tale "Culhwch and Olwen." (Pronounce the noble lad's name "Kulhookh").
Please read the following:
The tale itself, "Culhwch and Olwen, Jones & Jones translation.pdf". Use the PDF version on our Canvas server
The Wikipedia articles on "The Mabinogion" and "Culhwch and Olwen." Again, please use the PDF versions on our Canvas server.
Ashley, Chapter 8, pp. 207-223: a discussion of "Culhwch and Olwen" and how Ashley fits it into the Arthur legends and the Arthur of history.
"What Man Is the Porter?" ("Pa Gwr yv y Porthaur?"), a short, strange, incomplete poem that deals with Arthur;
Ashley, Chapter 8, pp. 236-239, a discussion of "Pa Gwr."
There is more Arthurian literature in Welsh. But we must move on. The works above give us a good taste of what their is.
Clearly the early Welsh, in the centuries after Arthur's life but before Geoffrey of Monmouth's version (we will study Geoffrey soon), had many legends and stories about Arthur. Much of this is magic and fantastical. But it does show that the "Welsh", as we will call the Britons from now on, had come to consider Arthur their national hero and had attached many heroic stories to his name.
Writing Assignment: Discuss Ashley's use of "Culhuch and Olwen" and "Pa Gwr" in terms of his (and our own) search for the Arthur of history.
Write a paragraph (or more) on the position of women in "Culhwch and Olwen." This is important in itself of course. But it is also important in that the role of women in the Arthurian literature of the High Middle Ages -- the "Arthur" that shapes the figure with which we are familiar -- is similar to, and different from, the depiction of women in these early Welsh works.
Write 350 words or a bit more.
Email to your group and to me.