Then they took the flowers of the oak,and the flowers of the broom,and the flowers of the meadowsweet,and from those they conjured up the fairest and most beautiful maiden that anyone had ever seen.Celtic mythology,Arthurian romance,and an intriguing interpretation of British history - these are just some of the themes embraced by the anonymous authors of the eleven tales that make up the Welsh medieval masterpiece known as the Mabinogion. They tell of Gwydion the shape-shifter,who can create a woman out of flowers; of Math the magician whose feet must lie in the lap of a virgin; of hanging a pregnant mouse and hunting a magical boar. Dragons,witches,and giants live alongside kings and heroes,and quests of honour,revenge,and love are set against the backdrop of a country struggling to retain its independence.Sioned Davies'lively translation recreates the storytelling world of medieval Wales and re-invests the tales with the power of performance.
MEDIA REVIEWS
Publisher: Oxford University PressISBN: 9780198815242Weight: 428 gDimensions: 224 x 144 x 31 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
Davies's prose is stark and fierce,the laconic dialogue spine-tingling,and she makes the page sing.An accurate and very lively version of the tales: it sounds modern and reads well.This fresh,energetic translation is a revelation and,for the first time,shows off The Mabinogion tales as what they were originally: splendid entertainment.The Mabinogion is famously magical. Enchantment glows on every page,but it does not here violate the laws of nature: it reveals them.An illuminating and relaxed translation...The Mabinogion are the cornerstone of medieval Welsh literature. They are gloriously inventive,highly dramatic,sometimes ferocious,sometimes lyrical,often witty,and ultimately profound in their understanding and revelation of human nature. In my estimate,Sioned Davies has done them and her modern readers proud.Davies's translation surpasses all its predecessors in accuracy and readability... (her) scholarly introduction is greatly superior to that of previous translators and can be recommended unreservedly.It may be said at once that the translation will have instant success. It will bring the tales to thousands of new readers,while its commentary will be a vital tool for scholars....By fuelling debate on this and other questions,Sioned Davies's splendid volume inaugurates a new age of Mabinogion studies....a frsh translation which clears away archaisms and preconceptions to privilege the clear voice of story...(and) which is linguistically rigorous yet ever awake to the requirements of both text and reader.
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