A cornerstone of Welsh mythic tradition, this enchanting new edition of the Mabinogion brings Lady Charlotte Guest's classic 1877 translation back into the light.
Drawn from the medieval Welsh corpus, this collection includes the revered Four Branches of the Mabinogi and some of the earliest surviving stories of King Arthur. Offering insight into the world behind the words, six thoughtful essays introduce the history and endurance of these ancient narratives, while Lady Guest's own notes, journal entries, and personal reflections reveal the passion of the first woman to carry these tales into English.
A treasury of Celtic lore, Lady Guest's Mabinogion invites readers to wander deep into the origins of Welsh storytelling, where the old magic still stirs.
"To the true lovers of the marvellous, who follow with eager, breathless, and soul-absorbing interest the narrative of the extraordinary adventures, the daring exploits, and the astounding supernatural agencies and transformations, which impart so powerful and fascinating a charm to the earlier romances of all nations, the perusal of the world before us will be sure to furnish a rich and delightful treat." --The Literary Gaze, 26th October 1839
"Genuine popular legends possess a high literary value, and must always be received with interest, although they may aspire to no greater elevation than that of a mere nursery tale; and amongst the most valuable which modern research has brought to light must be placed 'Lady Guest's Mabinogion.' The tales are curious additions to the stock of undoubted Celtic remains. It is interesting to trace in their supernatural machinery the close connection which subsists between the marvels of the East and of the West; and to find not only some of the wonders, but actually some of the incidents, which amused our childhood in the 'Arabian Nights, ' told with earnest faith and wild poetry by the Welsh bards of the twelfth century." --Atheneum
"The labours of Lady Charlotte Guest in editing and publishing "The Mabinogion," an ancient Welsh work of fiction, have given high satisfaction to her countrymen, as well as to the literati in general." --The Albion, 21st September 1839
"Lady Charlotte Guest is doing more to popularize and make the English reader acquainted with old Welsh national literature than all the other living antiquaries in the principality, boastful as some of them are of its treasures." -- The Monthly Review, September 1840
Lady Charlotte Guest (1812-1895) was an English aristocrat and talented linguist. She's best known for producing the first English translation of the 'Mabinogion' in modern print format. She published multiple bilingual editions of the medieval compendium of Welsh folk tales between 1838 and 1849, before becoming the first to publish an edition of the 'Mabinogion' featuring only English translations of the tales in 1877.