Mabinogi

[theswordmaiden]

Irish and Welsh names are IMPOSSIBLE, so I am forced to take notes when I read mythology. I'm too used to Greek and Roman myths. I have just finished the four branches of the Mabinogi as translated by Patrick K. Ford. Let me know if I got confused somewhere

Comments

[theswordmaiden]

It's cool to notice how many other things I begin to notice or understand, like place names, by reading old stuff.

I get most of my advice on picking translations from here: http://www.digitalmedievalist.com/bibs/welshlit.html
She knows her stuff.

Patrick K. Ford's translation The Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales is the one I'm reading now. It's loaded with introductions and footnotes, so I recommend that one the most. The only drawback is that it doesn't have the Welsh romances, which are normally included in the Mabinogion as a whole. But it does have the tale of Taliesin, which I wasn't able to find in the other books.

There's also Jeffrey Gantz's The Mabinogion, which I haven't read yet, but I've heard it's also a good modern English translation. Also it does contain the romances. However I also heard that he unnecessarily uses "non-standard spellings like Mallowch for Matholwch." I personally wouldn't like that; I prefer it to be more faithful to the original language.

There's a new translation, came out last year I think, by Sioned Davies. I haven't read that either, but I did hear from the Digital Medievalist that she is an excellent scholar and most likely her version is good.

The first translation I read was by Gwyn Jones and Thomas Jones, it's good but the language used is rather archaic and gave me trouble, so I won't read it again. :)

[madfedor]

[cue image of large hardwood tree with very wide, cylindrical trunk] Tank yew. :-)

[theswordmaiden]

Hah, that macro is just begging to be made.