Скачать книгу - The Mabinogion

First told orally by unknown generations of Welsh storytellers, «The Mabinogion» was subsequently written down in the 13th century in the form of a collection of prose tales. These stories draw on pre-Christian Celtic myth, folklore, and Welsh history and tradition to tell a magical set of stories that reach back to the Iron Age and Arthurian romance. These eleven tales are set in both the land of Wales and a dim otherworld, with a wide cast of vibrant characters who bring their dreamlike world to life. From two brothers who scheme to kidnap a virgin to a chieftain who roams foreign lands when his own is spellbound, «The Mabinogion» is full of magicians and shape-shifters, witches and giants, dragons and knights, all of whom interact in a country struggling to preserve its independence. With tales of Arthurian quests of honor and stories of revenge and love, «The Mabinogion» is a fantastical collection of myth, legend, and romance that has fascinated and entertained readers since medieval times.

Composed in a golden age of Celtic storytelling in the thirteenth century or earlier, this collection of 12 Welsh prose tales is a masterpiece of European literature. Though written down in the Middle Ages, these stories are thought by scholars to be probably much older, perhaps going back to the dawn of Celtic civilization.They fall naturally into several groups: the Mabinogion (stories) proper, composed of the four tales of Pwyll, Branwen, Manawyddan, and Math; the two short pieces The Dream of Maxen Wledig and Lludd and Llevelys; the incomparable Kilhwch and Olwen, one of the earliest Arthurian tales in Welsh; The Dream of Rhonabwy, a romantic look back to the heroic age of Britain; and the three Arthurian romances proper: The Lady of the Fountain, Peredur the Son of Evrawc, and Geraint the Son of Erbin, with their abundant evidence of Norman-French influences. Also included is Lady Guest's translation of Taliesin, the story of the famous bard. Destiny, magic, chance, knightly feats of arms, love, and betrayal — all are here in these ancient, beautifully crafted stories, sure to delight scholars, students, general readers, and any lover of myth and legend.