Eric Maddern - Snowdonia Folk Tales

1 How the Dragons Were Buried at Dinas Emrys

2 Let He Who Would Lead be a Bridge

3 The Wizards of Gwynedd

4 The Emperor Dreams of Elen

5 Taliesin and the Birth of Inspiration

6 The Druid Prince

7 Merlin, Dragons and Prophecy

8 The Ancient Animals

9 Rhitta and the Cloak of Beards

10 Henwen and the Monstrous Cat

11 Peredur Embarks on His Adventure

12 The Death of Arthur

13 Merlin, Bardsey and the Thirteen Treasures of Britain

14 The Cave of the Young Men of Snowdonia

15 Padarn and Peris

16 Cybi and Seiriol

17 Dwynwen and Gwenfaen

18 Deiniol and Beuno

19 The Fairy Wife

20 The Fairy Harp

21 The Girl and the Golden Chair

22 Fairy Ointment

23 The Changeling

24 Lost Cow and Daughter

25 The Witches of Llanddona

26 Cadwaladers Goat

27 The Afanc

28 The Eagle and the Wren

29 The King with Horses Ears

30 The Drowning of Bala Lake

31 The Faithful Hound

32 The Harpist and the Key

33 Rhys and Meinir at Nant Gwytheyrn

34 A Wedding in the Dark

35 Maelgwn, Dragon of the Isle

36 Gruffydd the Wanderer

37 Madog, Discoverer of America

38 Llywelyn Fawr and Siwan

39 Owain Glyndrs War of Independence

40 The Red Bandits of Mawddwy

41 Marged the Mighty

42 The Mari Jones Walk

43 The Wreck of the Royal Charter

44 The Pass of the Two Stones

Im grateful to the Ty Newydd Writers Centre in Llanystumdwy for inviting Hugh Lupton and I to run retreats for storytellers over a twenty-year period. This gave us the chance to explore deeply many of the stories gathered in this book. Id particularly like to thank Hugh, who has a deep knowledge of story and myth, and is a brilliant poet and storyteller. He always came up with an original idea that helped make these retreats extraordinary. One of our star guest speakers was Ronald Hutton. Thanks to him for his insight, inspiration and storytelling masterclasses. The tale of Gruffydd the Wanderer is based on part of a talk he gave on the origins of The Mabinogion . Dafydd Davies-Hughes master-craftsman, genius designer-builder, excellent storyteller generously allowed us to tell stories in his Felin Uchaf roundhouse and has been a helpful mediator between me and the Welsh language and folklore. Gwyn Edwards has also kindly shared his local knowledge and passionate enthusiasm for the ancient mysteries of Wales. Thanks to Rob Collister, who has often guided me through these marvellous mountains; to Sue Mynall for her lovely illustrations; and to Alan Collinson, one of the last remaining professional cartographers in the UK, for his help with the map. Id like to honour the memory of my Nain and Taid Jane and Willie Evans from Pandy Tudur without whom Id never have landed in this wonderful part of the world; and also to thank my mum and dad, Alwena and Ralph Maddern, who passed on Taids tales and whose enthusiasm for Snowdonia has never waned. And behind them, all the raconteurs and lively older men who kept the tales alive until they could be written down in a bibliography of books. Thanks, too, to Angharad, whose love for Wales and for me has been a tremendous support. Finally, gratitude to Snowdonia itself, equal to any grand landscape in the world. I hope I have given it and its people a voice in this book.

Eric Maddern, 2015

Wales is noted for its tales of fancy A great place for spreading these tales was the special gathering known as nosweithiau llawen (pleasant evenings). A certain farmhouse would be fixed upon as the meeting-place, and the word would soon spread throughout the whole parish that a noswaith llawen would be held. The livelier section of the older men would take the lead, and the young men and women would gather round Drink and the harp were essential in these meetings; and once these enlivening elements had reached the heart and head of the orators, the evening would be considered in full swing. Lively songs were interspersed with amusing stories; the harpist would strike up one of the rousing Welsh melodies, and immediately a voice would chime in which spoke of love, of patriotism, or of deeds of bravery. He would then call for rest and a story. Then would one of the leaders call for silence, and the joviality would immediately cease. Every ear would attend to the raconteur while he related the story of the sport and daring of our forefathers and the feats of our ancestors on the battlefield. The magnificent pictures which were drawn of Arthur and his brave and noble knights roused the spirits of the young, and bred within them a courage and an independence which neither defeat nor tyranny could crush

Bedd Gelert: Its Facts, Fairies and Folklore
by D.E. Jenkins (1899)

Of all our native hills, Snowdon has the most astonishing wealth of cultural texture, which in itself argues long attraction No other mountain I know of [then the names of eleven world-famous peaks] nor any other of humanitys holy and legendary hills come with quite so much story attached.

Snowdon: The Story of a Welsh Mountain by Jim Perrin (2012)

Herein lie many of the stories attached to Snowdon and the surrounding land of Eryri (Snowdonia), Ynys Mn (Anglesey) and the Lln Peninsula. In short, the whole area covered by the old Kingdom of Gwynedd from the Great Orme to Bardsey Island, from Bala Lake to Holyhead.

This landscape is staggeringly beautiful. Extraordinary places exist here. It has been the canvas for human endeavour for thousands of years. Despite peripheral intrusions of modernity much of the wilder country has changed little in that time. In many areas its possible to see traces earlier peoples have left standing stones, burial mounds, hut circles, hill forts, house platforms, field boundaries, mottes and castle keeps. Standing among the ruins of these ancient times can be frustrating. I, for one, long to know more about the passions and beliefs of the people who lived back then, about the spirit that moved them to do what they did. And yet the stones are silent. Archaeologists can be of some help, but they are reluctant to go beyond the evidence, to venture into the realm of the imagination. Thats where the stories come in. The myths, legends and folk tales that have survived are windows into the worlds of our ancestors. A selection of such tales from Snowdonia is what you hold in your hand right now.

Most of the stories in this book have descended though the oral tradition. They are offered in roughly chronological order. The oldest, which came to be written down in The Mabinogion , reach back into prehistory and reveal glimpses of the mythic passions and practices of our Neolithic and Bronze Age forebears. There are also hints of the Druids whose heartland was Ynys Mn in, for example, the account of wizards who made a woman from flowers; the quest for the imprisoned great son of the great mother; Gwion Bachs transformations through hare, salmon, bird and wheat on his way to becoming the inspired poet, Taliesin.

An excerpt from the oldest story mentioning Arthur is here, along with other tales the Welsh bards told to keep the Arthurian legend firmly planted in Snowdonia. Magic, mystery, weirdness, hilarity, beauty and sorrow abound. There is even a prophecy uttered by Merlin 1,500 years ago which seems to be coming true today. The saints were hot on the heels of Arthur indeed one of them allegedly met him and their lives give a flavour of the courage and determination of those early holy men and women. Despite Christianitys best efforts, a belief in fairies persisted even until now. Stories of encounters with the Tylwyth Teg have shown remarkable resilience.