Welsh folk tales are rich with magic and illusions.  From disappearing Otherworld portals, to giants that can wade across the sea and magic cauldrons that bring the dead back to life, these tales never fail to capture one's imagination and delightfully entertain while teaching the audience ancient customs, values, and morals.  These folk tales blend ancient Celtic beliefs with Welsh customs to provide the community with a moral compass and an understanding of who they are and why they value and respect the things they do.  Not the least of the things revered are nature and animals.  The Celts have always been deeply connected to the land and its animals, so it should come as no surprise to see animals humanized in their folk lore.  The Celts identified with animals; they used specific animals as totems, mimicked their behaviour and hunted them for survival.  Even their four seasonal festivals revolved around animal husbandry, and their gods and goddesses were often associated with particular animals.  Rather than viewing themselves as masters of nature, as we tend to do today, they saw themselves as part of nature – at best equal to the animals and vegetation their very survival depended on.  The practice of humanizing animals in Welsh folk lore would be a natural progress from ancient customs, for by portraying animals in this manner the audience, like their Celtic ancestors, is preserving ancient customs, learning the value of animals in human terms and learning to respect their lives as they would respect another human.

            The Celtic identification with animals survived from ancient times well into the Middle Ages, and can be best seen in their use of totem animals.  The Orkney Islands, for example, literally means ‘the island of the Boar tribe' while the Caereni and Lugi tribes translate, respectively, to the Sheep Folk and the Raven People.[1]  Their connection to their totem animals was not simply an animal that was adopted as a mascot; the animal was part of them, part of who they were as a people.  The people of the Orkney Islands, for example, saw the boar as more than just a powerful animal; the boar was a divine symbol in Celtic lands.[2]  This belief is further demonstrated by the inclusion of their totem animal in burial sites, such as at Isbister, and seen in the ancient ‘deer dance' ritual still performed in Staffordshire, England by the descendants of the Cornovii tribe (the ‘horned people').[3] This ancient ritual, where men attach deer antlers to their heads and attempt to mimic the deer, is reminiscent of the Welsh Mari Lwyd custom where men would dress as a horse or a deer and attempt to gain access to a woman's home.  Both the deer dance custom in Staffordshire and the Mari Lwyd custom in Wales immediately bring to mind the Celtic god, Cernunnos, and thus provide a connection between these rituals, the people performing them, and the animal deity their ancestors likely worshiped.  When you add to this the Irish story of Oisín – whose mother was originally a deer and who could himself change between human and deer forms – one is struck by the underlying consistency between the customs in various Celtic societies regarding the humanizing of deer.  Given the Celtic ancestry these three regions share, as well as some of the deities they have in common, it is difficult to ignore the role these deities – such as Cernunnos – play in the practice of humanizing animals in their folklore. It is quite likely that this is a practice passed down from their Celtic ancestors as a way to preserve the roles of their pagan gods well into the Christian period.

            While the origins of these customs have been lost, the imagery of deer and horses is prevalent in Welsh Folk lore, and may provide clues as to the original meaning behind these rituals.  In The Mabinogi, for instance, Rhiannon is portrayed to represent the Celtic goddess Epona, and is therefore repeatedly associated with horses.  The first time she appears she is riding a horse which Pwyll is inexplicably unable to overtake; her punishment for allegedly killing her son is to act as a horse and carry visitors on her back; and when she and her son are captured in an Otherworldly fort, she is forced to wear a collar from a donkey that had been carrying hay.  In her role in The Mabinogi, Rhiannon is portrayed as a human but is implicitly understood to be one of the many Celtic animal deities,[4] reinforcing the connection for the audience between humans and nature.  This connection with the horse would have been significant in Celtic societies; historically Celts went into battle mounted on horseback, and coinage from Iron Age Briton depicts many Celts riding bareback, indicating they were so in tune with the horse that they did not need reins to guide the animal in battle.[5]  Even today the horse is considered to be a majestic animal, possibly a lasting effect of the way they were portrayed in The Mabinogi through the beautiful and majestic Rhiannon.  By presenting an animal deity as a human the audience subliminally learns to revere that animal – in this case the horse – and to offer the same considerations to the animal as it would a human, in the way of their Celtic ancestors.

This lesson is reinforced throughout The Mabinogi.  For example, after Rhiannon's son disappears the night of his birth, his reappearance is connected with the birth of a stout colt; when Teyrnon saves his colt he also, inadvertently, saves Pryderi.  Because her son's survival ultimately rescues Rhiannon from the punishment and humiliation she was suffering from due to the false accusations, it can be inferred that the dedication Teyrnon displays in saving his colt on the night of its birth is what also saves Rhiannon and restores her status in society.  Moreover, in the fourth branch of The Mabinogi it is Gwydion's disrespectful act of a fraudulent gift of horses that leads to Pryderi's demise, thus reinforcing the connection that - whether negative or positive - the manner in which one connects themselves to an animal will correspond to the outcome.  The second branch of The Mabinogi provides more reinforcement that there will be disastrous results when horses are mistreated.  When Efnysien mutilates Matholwch's horses it sets into motion a series of malicious acts in which everyone loses.  By the time the battles are over two islands have been set to waste and countless lives had been lost.  So horrific was the outcome that Bran's heart broke and she also died.

            The humanization of animals abounds with Gwydion's role in Welsh folk lore.  First he uses magic to create horses and dogs out of fungus,[6] which he then uses as a ruse to trick Pryderi into giving him his herd of swine.  As a punishment for his treacherous acts, he and his brother are transformed into various beasts, once again reaffirming the concept of the interchangeability between humans and animals.  They are first turned into a stag and hind and through the course of the year they mate and a produce a fawn.  This fawn is transformed into a human boy, and the brothers are then transformed into a boar and sow, which once again mate and produce a piglet.  The piglet becomes another boy, and the brothers become a breeding wolf and bitch.  Once again, the wolf cub they produce is turned into human child and the brothers finally are turned back into their human form.  It cannot be coincidental that the three animals that became human boys were three of the most revered animals in Celtic culture – the stag, the wolf, and the boar.  Though The Mabinogi does not elaborate on what becomes of these three boys, we cannot exclude the possibility that there were other folk tales that have since been lost, elaborating on the lives of these boys and their association with their totem animals.[7]  Could these be the origin tales of three animal deities?  It is very possible, but short of a discovery of new literary evidence, we will never be able to answer that question.  The tales in The Mabinogi never again mention them and the audience is left to accept the fact that these three boys have animal origins, and the story continues with further humanization of animals in Gwydion's adventures.  His sister gives birth to twin boys, one of whom immediately takes to the water and provides a human element to the fish in the sea.  The other boy, Lleu, is raised by Gwydion, but through his wife's betrayal he becomes an eagle.  Interestingly, it is a pig that eventually leads Gwydion to Lleu, whence Gwydion is able to transform him back into his human form and punish the wife – whom Gwydion himself had created from flowers - by changing her into an owl.  Blodeuedd, then, had taken three different forms in her lifetime:  she started as a flower, became human, and then turned into an owl.  This reaffirms the notion that everything – nature, animals and humans – is equal and therefore interchangeable.  The role these forms of animals play in the tale are also representative of the way they are viewed in Celtic society.  The pig was a powerful and valued animal in Celtic societies, the eagle is considered wise and noble, and the owl is a dishonourable bird of the night. 

            Like Gwydion in Welsh folk lore, the Irish Tuan takes the form of several different animals, including a deer, a boar, an eagle and a salmon, showing that this theme is common in all Celtic lore, not just that of the Welsh.  Tuan, while in the form of a salmon, is said to have been consumed by the wife of King Cairell, thereby impregnating and being reborn to her, thus linking the Irish character of Tuan not only to the Welsh Gwydion but also to the Welsh story of Taliesin.[8]  Taliesin is said to be Gwion, reincarnated and reborn to Ceridwen after she ate him at the conclusion of a long chase in which they each changed forms four times (he becomes a hare, a fish, a bird and finally a grain of wheat while she chases him in the form of a greyhound, an otter, a hawk and finally a hen, whence she ate the grain of wheat).  Taliesin then claims to have been many things, including a stallion, an eagle, a dog and a salmon, among many other animals and objects.  Once again, we see Welsh folk lore humanizing some of the more revered animals in society by linking them to a person, teaching the audience that not only are these animals equal in status to people as noble as Gwydion, Lleu, Rhiannon, or Taliesin, they are interchangeable with them.  In other words, at any given point a respected member of society, or a goddess or deity of some sort, may come to you in the form of an animal.  The obvious lesson is that one should not view these animals as being subservient, but rather respect them and see their qualities as you would a human.  In doing so, you recognize the strength, courage, and wisdom in an animal.  You learn to identify with specific animals based on shared attributes, and mimic other animals that have qualities you admire.  The animals are members of the community; idealistic members whose qualities should be emulated and their lives valued.

            This theme is especially pronounced in the story of Culhwch and Olwen.  In order to wed Olwen, the daughter of the giant Ysbaddaden, Culhwch must perform a series of impossible feats.  These feats are accomplished with the help of the legendary Arthur, as well as some intermittent assistance from animals who serve as guides. One of the many tasks to complete is that he must free Mabon, son of Modron, from his imprisonment.  The names Mabon and Modron, once again, connect the story to the gods; for ‘Mabon' is derived from the Celtic god Maponos and ‘Modron' from the goddess Matrona.[9]  As the task is undertaken by Arthur and his entourage, he brings with him an interpreter who is able to speak with all the animals of which they are to encounter.  The first animal to offer assistance was a bird, who led them to a stag. The stag in turn led them to the owl who led them to the eagle. The eagle brought them to the salmon, which then carried two of Arthur's men on its shoulders to the prison in which Mabon was being held. Throughout the adventure, not only were the animals able to speak to Arthur's men, they were willing and eager to assist in any way possible, reinforcing a positive connection between nature and the gods for the audience. The fact that it was the salmon who ultimately had the knowledge they were looking for is reminiscent of the Irish folk lore regarding Fionn Mac Cumhal and the Salmon of Knowledge, which shows another connection to the two society's common Celtic heritage.  Following the release of Mabon, Arthur and his men undertake the task to seek two whelps from Rhymhi.  The narrative goes on to explain that Rhymhi has taken the form of a wolf-bitch, but once she and her whelps were surrounded by Arthur and his men they were disenchanted and restored to their own shapes,[10] once again reaffirming the notion that animals and humans were interchangeable in Celtic societies.  The entire tale of Culhwch and Olwen is laced with portrayals of humanized animals until it culminates with the elaborate pursuit of Twrch Trwyth; a pursuit which causes great carnage and provides no clear victor.  Even the legendary Arthur was apparently unable to capture or kill this great boar!  This detail supports the claim that Twrch Trwyth was a king who had been transformed into a boar for his sins.[11]  Moreover, as Patrick Ford has pointed out, the name Culhwch itself means ‘swine' or ‘pig', and therefore this story was perhaps once part of a Celtic folklore regarding the swine god.[12]  If he is correct, we have yet another example of Welsh folklore using the humanization of animals to provide a connection between humans, animals and gods.

            Swine are featured throughout The Mabinogi, as is the idea of animals helping humans and humans changing into animal form.  In the example already discussed, regarding Gwydion's fraudulent gift of horses given to Pryderi in the fourth branch, it was in exchange for Pryderi's swine that Gwydion created his ruse.  In the tale the swine are described as a new type of animal whose meat is better than beef.[13]  The theft of these swine, and Gwydion's attempt to escape with them, is offered as explanation for several place-names in Wales, and it was to regain possession of these swine for which Pryderi led his men into war.  In the second branch of The Mabinogi, Bendigeidfran led his men to wage war on Ireland after a starling delivered a message to him from his sister, Branwen.  Here again we not only see an animal intentionally helping a benevolent character in the tale – which is reminiscent of the series of animals who helped Arthur and his men in the tale of Culhwch and Olwen – but it is also implied that Branwen was able to communicate with the bird, for how else could she have taught the starling to recognize Bendigeidfran – a man the bird had never before seen?  Then, in the third branch, in addition to Rhiannon's horse-like treatment while she was held captive in the Otherworld, we see Manawydan treat a mouse as a human criminal – complete with his construction a noose in order to execute the mouse for her crime – only to then discover that the mouse was in fact a pregnant woman who had been transformed into the form of a mouse.  In addition to the moral lessons that can be inferred from this passage, this story further provides guidance to the audience on proper methods regarding the harvesting of wheat and corn; for there is archaeological evidence that these crops were stored in granaries on top of stilts which served to keep it safe from vermin.[14]

            The crime the mouse of the third branch of The Mabinogi had committed was that she partook in the destruction of Manawydan's crops, which illustrates the importance of nature, agriculture and farming in Celtic society.  This is also attested to by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his History of the Kings of Britain when he claims the Welsh are descendants of the Trojan, Brutus, who chose to live a pastoral life in the wilderness, and compared them to the likes of wild animals.[15]  Peredur, in the tale of Peredur son of Efrog is also said to have been taken to the wilderness by his mother when he was a small boy in order to raise him and ensure his survival.[16]  Likewise, Welsh poems regarding the life of Myrddin describe him as a wild man living in the Caledonian Forest[17] "keeping fellowship with animals",[18] and in the magical world of King Arthur, Arthur himself is depicted as a part of the wilderness.  He is portrayed as a man with no genealogy, who lives outside the norms of society with his warriors, and whose adventures explain the place-names in nature[19] of which ‘Carn Cafall', ‘Arthur's Seat', and ‘Arthur's Oven' are just a few examples.  Perhaps the most convincing detail that suggests Arthur represented nature is the name of his court, ‘Kelli Wic', which literally means ‘the forest grove'.[20]  The great King Arthur, therefore, was akin to the king of the forest; the king of the animals' domain.  This is consistent with the pre-Christian Celtic religion in which one of the most fundamental features were the sanctuaries associated with the land's natural topography,[21] not to mention the sacred oak groves in which pagan religious ceremonies were said to have taken place.

            The Welsh folklore surrounding Arthur is remarkably similar to that of the Irish Fionn Mac Cumhal.  Both of these Celtic legends led their band of warriors on magical adventures through the wildest parts of the country and were considered two of the bravest heroes in their society.  This is perhaps an elaborate representation of the common Celtic custom of emulating wild animals and viewing them as part of society despite their living apart from the people.  For even their greatest heroes, who were larger than life and could perform impossible feats, lived with the wild animals.  Furthermore, while the Welsh Arthur has his Irish parallel in Fionn, Arthur's companion, Cai, can be the Welsh counterpart to Ireland's Cú Chulainn, showing once again the ancient Celtic roots to these Welsh tales.  Like Cú Chulainn, Cai could hold his breath for days, he could make himself as large as the trees, and exhorted enough heat from his body to keep dry even in the rain.[22]  They were beyond human.  They were heroes who lived in the woods with the animals, who emulated, stalked, and hunted the animals.  They were successful because they – both figuratively and literally – became the animals.  They mimicked the animal's behaviour and thought process in order to gain the animal's stealth and strength, and often when one looked into the eyes of these heroes, they could see the soul of an animal.

In Celtic societies animals were an integral part of life.  The survival of their community depended on their relationship with animals and nature and a person's wisdom, strength and bravery seems to have come from their inner animal.  At least as far back as the Bronze Age, the British Celts were farmers.[23]  Sheep, ponies, pigs and dogs were all raised on the Celtic farm, which found natural adversaries in wolf, bear, lynx and wildcats[24] – which happen to be many of the same animals we now find humanized in Welsh folklore.  The people acquired everything they needed from their farms – milk, butter, wool, etc. – and they supplemented their diet with hunting.  The four seasons were determined by phases of animal husbandry and wealth was measure in terms of cattle.  The first (or last, depending on one's point of view) festival of the year was Samhain.  Samhain was perhaps the most important of the four festivals, for it marked the end of one year and the beginning of a new one, therefore being a somewhat liminal festival; not belonging to either the old or the new.[25]  Not surprisingly then, this is also the festival in which spirits are believed to roam free, and the custom from which the modern Halloween was derived.   Its significance in regards to the interaction with animals, however, is that this was the time in which the majority of animals were slaughtered in order to keep the people fed – thereby kept them alive - over the long winter.  During Samhain the spirits of the Otherworld were able to roam free and interact with the living.[26]  The feast of Samhain marked the end of summer when the community prepared for winter.[27]  Samhain was followed by Imbolc, which celebrated the first signs of new life in the animals.  This undoubtedly gave the people hope that the winter was nearing the end; the lactation of the ewes symbolized life – not only for the lambs soon to be born but also for the people themselves.  The rituals of Imbolc were believed to purify, or protect, the ewe and the lambs.[28]  The next major celebration was Beltane, which was when the herds were moved to the upland pastures. The mere fact that the Celts would have a festival to celebrate the rotation of cattle to their grazing fields speaks volumes of their importance in society.  The last festival was that of Lughnasa, which celebrated the harvesting of both crops and animals.  Thus, every major feast and festival in Celtic societies revolved around livestock.  It is not surprising, therefore, that they attached such a high value on their animals. 

Perhaps the most significant of these festivals, for our purpose, is that of Beltane.  During these festivals, large bonfires would be lit and the cattle would be led through these fires in order to protect them from disease.[29]   But could it have meant more than that? Given the role animals play in folklore – not just their humanization, but also how they are often used in connection with an otherworldly encounter – perhaps the custom was a ‘trial by fire', so to speak.  Perhaps it was meant not only to prevent disease, but also to ensure the people of the animals' purity; perhaps it demonstrated to them that these were not animals of the otherworld.  For instance, in the first branch of The Mabinogi Pwyll is out hunting when he comes upon a pack of red and white otherworldly hounds and the encounter leads to him having to spend a year in Annwfn.  In the third branch of The Mabinogi Pryderi is lured into a fort – which turns out to be a portal to the Otherworld – by a white boar and as a result he and his mother are held captive.  The legendary Arthur also has numerous encounters with the Otherworld and its animals.  Some of these encounters – such as Prieddeu Annwn – are obvious encounters with the Otherworld.  Other encounters, however, are more discrete, the Otherworld connection almost hidden in the tale.  In these cases the scenarios are not so obviously related to the Otherworld, nor are the details as elaborate.  First, in the story of Geraint son of Erbin, Arthur and his men are in pursuit of majestically appearing white stag when the stage is set for the heroic actions of Geraint, who ultimately wins the head of the stag which sets into motion a series of incredible events.[30]  In yet another tale, Arthur is affected more directly by an encounter with Otherworldly cattle.  The evidence of Arthur's encounter comes from an unlikely source, considering the implications.  In the Life of St Cadog there is an episode in which Arthur was said to have refused a git of cattle because they were not of a particular colour – red in front and white behind.[31]  It is the colour scheme that indicates the cattle he sought were Otherworldly, for the red and white combination on animals was frequently used in Celtic folklore as a clue to the audience that this was to be an Otherworld encounter.  This example is particularly interesting for its relevance to the Beltane custom previously discussed.  When Saint Cadog produced the red and white cattle Arthur had requested they turned to bracken as soon as Arthur took possession of them.[32]  Thus, Arthur had been fooled by cattle that were not of this world; cattle that had not been ‘purified' by fire.  This particular legend of Arthur also supports the connection between animals and Celtic religion.  It is ironic that this story comes from a saint's biography, even more so since it was supposedly the saint himself who conjured up the Otherworldly cattle.  Once again this suggests that these folklores were a way to preserve pagan Celtic beliefs in Christian times; for the cattle in this particular story represent the pagan Otherworld despite having been associated with a Christian saint.  However, it should be noted that it was not unusual for early Christian poetry to include Celtic nature poems as a major topic;[33] which serves as further evidence that pagan religious beliefs continued to be represented into the Christian era, however discrete this representation may have been.  The use of nature to do so supports the theory that the humanization of animals in folklore may have also been for this purpose.

From preservation of pagan Celtic customs to origin myths, the practice of humanizing animals in Welsh folklore served many purposes, but the common underlying theme was that they taught the audience something about their heritage.  The use of totem animals, such as the boar people of the Orkney Islands and the Cornovii ‘horned people', humanized animals as a way of preserving their ancient Celtic animal deities and pagan gods.  Likewise, Rhiannon represented the horse goddess Epona in The Mabinogi for a similar purpose.  Her role in story provided the audience with a human connection to an animal that held great importance in their society.  This is underlined by the role of Rhiannon's son, Pryderi; his life was saved as an infant because Teyrnon cared enough to save his colt, and his life ended as a result of Gwydion misusing his magic to present him with a false gift – a mirage of horses.  Gwydion and his brother, in the fourth branch of The Mabinogi possibly provide us with the origin tales of three animal deities – the stag, wolf and boar.  While this is merely an unproven theory, Gwydion's ability to shape-shift into various animals provides a further connection to other Celtic societies, by linking him to the Irish Tuan and the Welsh poet, Taliesin, thus providing evidence that the humanization of animals in folklore is a method of keeping ancient Celtic traditions alive.  It teaches generations of Celts the ancient custom of being able to recognize the strength and wisdom in animals and to emulate these attributes.  This is demonstrated by Manawydan in the third branch of The Mabinogi through his encounter with the pregnant woman in the form of a mouse.  The manner in which he handles the situation teaches the audience the importance of patience, determination and wisdom; for Manawydan was able to use these traits to turn the situation to his benefit. It also is an example of the use of folklore to portray the importance of agriculture in their society; the mice ravaging Manawydan's crops teach the audience of proper storage and harvesting techniques and demonstrate the value of those crops.  In this way the humanization of animals keeps people in touch with their history, for they descend from people who allegedly preferred to live a pastoral life in the woods with the animals.  Likewise, the four seasonal festivals were a reminder to the people of the importance of animals in such a society.  Finally, the use of colour in animals in folklore keeps the audience in touch with the pagan concept of the Otherworld, and thereby also maintaining knowledge of the pagan Celtic pantheon of gods and goddesses.  Overall, the practice of humanizing animals in Welsh folk lore was a natural progress from ancient customs, a way to preserve their Celtic customs, values and beliefs despite the changing world around them.

 

 

Bibliography

 

Dillon, Miles and Nora Chadwick. The Celtic Realms: The History and the Culture of the Celtic Peoples from Pre-History to the Norman Invasion.New Jersey: Castle Books. (2006)

Ford, Patrick K., The Mabinogi and other Medieval Welsh Tales. California: University of California Press (1977).

Gillingham, John. ‘The Context and Purposes of Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain', Anglo-Norman Studies 13.

Green, Miranda. The World of the Druids.London: Thames & Hudson (1997).

Jarman. A.O.H. ‘The Arthurian Allusions in the Black Book of Carmarthen', The Legend of Arthur in the Middle Ages.

Laing, Lloyd. Celtic Britain. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons (1979)

Moffat, Alistair, Before Scotland: The Story of Scotland before History. New York: Thames & Hudson (2005).

Padel, O.J. ‘The Nature of Arthur', Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 27

Rees, Alwyn and Rees, Brinley, Celtic Heritage: Ancient tradition in Ireland and Wales.New York: Thames and Hudson (1998).

Snyder, Christopher. The World of King Arthur. London: Thames & Hudson (2011).

Squire, Charles. Celtic Myth and Legend. New Jersey: New Page Books (2001)

 

 

[1] Alistair Moffat, Before Scotland: The Story of Scotland Before History. Thames & Hudson, pg. 123-124

[2] Christopher Snyder. The World of King Arthur. Thames & Hudson, pg. 24

[3] Alistair Moffat, Before Scotland: The Story of Scotland Before History. Thames & Hudson, pg. 82

[4] Patrick Ford. The Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales. University of California Press, pg. 36.

[5] Lloyd Laing. Celtic Britain. Charles Scribner's Sons, pg. 30-31.

[6] Charles Squire. Celtic Myth and Legend. New Page Books, pg. 309.

[7] Patrick Ford. The Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales. University of California Press, pg. 90.

[8] Anlwyn Rees and Brinley Rees. Celtic Heritage: Ancient tradition in Ireland and Wales. Thames and Hudson, pg. 229

[9] A.O.H. Jarman. ‘The Arthurian Allusions in the Black Book of Carmarthen', The Legend of Arthur in the Middle Ages. Pg. 106.

[10] Patrick Ford. The Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales. University of California Press, pg. 149.

[11] Christopher Snyder. The World of King Arthur. Thames & Hudson, pg. 24.

[12] Patrick Ford. The Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales. University of California Press, pg. 119.

[13] Patrick Ford. The Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales. University of California Press, pg. 92.

[14] Lloyd Laing. Celtic Britain. Charles Scribner's Sons, pg. 40.

[15] John Gillingham. ‘The Context and Purposes of Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain', Anglo-Norman Studies 13. pg. 110

[16] Sioned Davies. The Mabinogion.OxfordUniversity Press, pg. 65

[17] A.O.H. Jarman. ‘The Arthurian Allusions in the Black Book of Carmarthen', The Legend of Arthur in the Middle Ages. Pg. 103.

[18] Christopher Snyder. The World of King Arthur. Thames & Hudson, pg. 95.

[19] O.J. Padel. ‘The Nature of Arthur', Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 27. pg. 12-13.

[20] O.J. Padel. ‘The Nature of Arthur', Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 27. pg. 12.

[21] Myles Dillon and Nora Chadwick. The Celtic Realms. Castle Books, pg. 137

[22] A.O.H. Jarman. ‘The Arthurian Allusions in the Black Book of Carmarthen', The Legend of Arthur in the Middle Ages. Pg. 108.

[23] Lloyd Laing. Celtic Britain. Charles Scribner's Sons, pg. 37.

[24] Lloyd Laing. Celtic Britain. Charles Scribner's Sons, pg. 39.

[25] Lloyd Laing. Celtic Britain. Charles Scribner's Sons, pg. 40.

[26] Miranda J. Green. The World of the Druids.Thames and Hudson, pg. 36.

[27] Alistair Moffat, Before Scotland: The Story of Scotland Before History. Thames & Hudson, pg. 184 – 186.

[28] Miranda J. Green. The World of the Druids.Thames and Hudson, pg. 35.

[29] Lloyd Laing. Celtic Britain. Charles Scribner's Sons, pg. 41.

[30] Sioned Davies. The Mabinogion.OxfordUniversity Press, pg. 139-178.

[31] O.J. Padel. ‘The Nature of Arthur', Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 27. pg. 7.

[32] O.J. Padel. ‘The Nature of Arthur', Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 27. pg. 7.

[33] A.O.H. Jarman. ‘The Arthurian Allusions in the Black Book of Carmarthen', The Legend of Arthur in the Middle Ages. Pg. 102.