Third Branch of the Mabinogi

The Third Branch of the Mabinogi marks the third tale of The Mabinogion and the third instalment of The Four Branches of the Mabinogion, which are four tales strung together. This branch follows directly on from the Second Branch of the Mabinogi, where seven vassals to the former king of Britain, Bendigeidfran, had just buried his head at London. Without anywhere to go, Pryderi, son of Pwyll Pen Annwfn, hero of the First Branch of the Mabinogion, offers Manawyfn a place in his lands of Dyfed if he would marry his mother, Rhiannon, now that she was a widow. Upon meeting her, Manawyfn agrees and he become fast friends with Pryderi and a firm lover of Rhiannon. The three are joined by Pryderi's wife Cigfa, as a close bond between the four formed. Disaster hits the land, however, as they sit upon Gordsedd Arberth, when everyone in the land disappears, along with all of the homes and buildings save for the four heroes and their court. Unable to live in these lands for long, they travel to England to become craftsmen, but they are constantly driven out of towns by the other craftsmen who are jealous of the superior crafts of Manawydan. Upon returning to Dyfed, Pryderi enters a mysterious fortress and, upon touching a golden bowl with chains leadings to the sky, he is stuck within and unable to move nor speak. Rhiannon goes after him and, likewise, is trapped by the bowl. They are whisked away, leaving Manawydan to take care of Cigfa. While in England again, they return to Dyfed with wheat to sow. Producing the ripest of crops, Manawydan discovers his crops laid bare by an army of mice. He manages to catch one, the fattest and slowest of them, and vows he shall hang the mouse for all of the evil foisted upon him and his friends. While creating a scaffold upon Gordsedd Arberth, he is unexpectly approached first by a cleric, then a priest and finally a bishop; all of whom claim not to care for the mouse, but wish he would not degrade himself by hanging it. Ultimately, upon being determined to kill the mouse, the bishop starts to make outrageous offers for the mouse and when Manawydan demands the return of Pryderi and Rhiannon, the bishop agrees and is revealed to be the culprit behind the curse of Dyfed. He is Llwyd, and he sought vengeance upon Rhiannon and Pryderi, as son of Pwyll, for the shame that Rhiannon and Pwyll wrought upon Gwawl in the First Branch of the Mabinogion. Manawydan continues to add to his list of demands for the mouse's life, ensuring that his friends would be returning and unharmed, the lands restored and that Llwyd would take no vengeance for the actions of the day. Llwyd agreed to everything and when the mouse was released, it is revealed to be the beatiful, pregnant wife of Llwyd using his magic wand.

Pryderi and Manawydan
At the end of the Second Branch of the Mabinogi, seven men were tasked with burying the head of Brân the Blessed at London. Those seven men were; Pryderi son of Pwyll, Manawydan brother of Bendigeidfran, Glifiau son of Taran, Taliesin, Ynog, Gruddieu son of Muriel, and Heilyn son of Gwyn Hen. The Third Branch of the Mabinogi opens with these seven men upon the Gwynfryn (the site where now stands the Tower of London) in London, where they had just buried the head facing France as bidden by their deceased lord. Manawydan lamented that he, of all the seven, had no place to go, the only lord that was now landless. Pryderi reminded Manawydan that Caswallon had become king over Britain and though Caswallon had betrayed Manawydan in the past, he was Manawydan's cousin and that Caswallon surely would not refuse Manawydan, who had never asked for any land or territory - one of the Three Undemanding Chieftains. Manawydan, however, could not accept any man in the place of his brother, Brân, who they had just buried, as king of Britain. Pryderi then made a grand gesture; Manawydan should marry his mother, Rhiannon, and become lord of Dyfed in Pryderi's place. As he had recently become ruler of the seven cantrefs (a territorial division of land) of Dyfed, the lands would be Pryderi's in name but he would give over the benefits of rulership to Manawydan and Rhiannon. Pryderi also explained that he had recently married Cigfa, daughter of Gwyn Gloyw. Manawydan appreciated the gesture and hoped a close friendship with Pryderi would ensue. He agreed to visit Rhiannon and the realm. Pryderi assured Manawydan that this was the right choice and is certain that he would be pleased with Rhiannon, extolling her as a conversationalist and stated that she was an incredible beauty in her youth, but even with age she is still beautiful.

When they arrived at Arberth, in Dyfed, Cigfa and Rhiannon prepared for their arrival. Soon after conversing with Rhiannon, Manawydan had fallen in love with her and agreed to Pryderi's proposal. Upon learning of such a proposal, Rhiannon inquired to what it was and Pryderi explained that he had given her to Manawydan as wife. Rhiannon affirmed she would gladly agree to this proposal and they soon slept together. Pryderi had to travel to England to pay homage to the new king of Britain, Caswallon, but Cigfa explained that Caswallon was still in Kent, so Pryderi ought to remain in Dyfed until the high king was closer. Pryderi, Cigfa, Manawydan and Rhiannon went on a circuit of the cantrefs of Dyfed and developed a close bond between the four of them. Eventually, Pryderi made his journey across England, to Oxford, where he was thanked by Caswallon for paying homage.

Gordsedd Arberth
When Pryderi returned again to Arberth, a new feast period began again. One of those nights, Pryderi and his nobles went up to Gordsedd Arberth (which had been ascended by Pwyll Pen Annwyfn in the First Branch of the Mabinogi when he met Rhiannon . The supernatural qualities of this mound, make it a liminal point between the real world and the Otherworld .). There came a tumultuous noise, followed by a thick blanket of mist that blinded everyone on the mound. A moment passed in confusion and suddenly everything became bright again, but everything was gone. All of the animals, the houses, the people. The court buildings remained, but the were empty and desolate. Only the four of them, Pryderi, Manawydan, Cigfa and Rhiannon, remained atop of the mound. They first explored the court, but there was no one. They then explored the land, but again they found no people, nor homes, nor towns. They hunted and fished for food themselves, used bees for honey. For two years they lived this way, quite happy, but the third year came to be and they had grown weary of their circumstance. Manawydan devised that they should move to England and find some means of making a proper living.

Labouring in England
The four of them travelled to Hereford, where they took up the profession of saddlemaking. Manawydan made pommels and coloured them with blue enamel in the way that he had watched Llasar Llaesgyngwyd, which meant this was called "Llasar's Enamel" (likely a name given to this form of colouring during the period ). Llasar's Enamel became so popular in Hereford that soon the other saddlers were going out of business as everyone insisted on purchasing from Manawydan. Word reached Pryderi and Manawydan that these rival businessmen planned to murder them and they had to consider their options. Pryderi didn't want to leave the town and would rather kill these men in return, but Manawydan displayed a calmer approach by reminding the younger man that they would develop a bad reputation and be imprisoned for the act. So they travelled to a new town, where they took up the task of fashioning shields. Though they knew nothing of the craft, Manawydan decided they should try it. He coloured the shields with the same blue enamel and soon enough they were once again putting the other craftsmen out of business and they wanted to murder Pryderi and Manawydan. They again were warned of this threat and had to decide what to do. Pryderi was determined to kill their rivals, but Manawydan continued to show patience and drove the four of them onwards to the next town. In this new town, Pryderi suggested they take up the craft they had already done previously, but Manawydan wanted to take up shoemaking. He believed that shoemakers were of a more pleasant disposition and would not seek violence upon the pair. Manawydan sought the best Cordovan leather (leather produced in the Spanish city of Córdoba, especially for shoemaking ) and hired goldsmiths to fashion gold filigree shoe buckles. He watched and learnt the craft from them so that he could do it himself, earning a place as one of the Three Golden Shoemakers (the other two are Caswallon and Lleu Llaw Gyffes. The use of 'golden' could mean from the literal use of gold, or the metaphorical sense of a noble that creates shoes .). Eventually, the shoemakers in town saw they were going out of business and they arranged to murder Pryderi and Manawydan.

Though Pryderi wished to fight these would-be murderers, Manawydan disagreed. This time he wanted them to return to Dyfed. There they resumed their previous lifestyle, using hounds to hunt game and fishing in the rivers. During one hunt the hound leapt in fright from a thicket and, as the two men approached, from within came a brilliantly white wild boar. Whenever the two men approached the wild boar, it would retreat a little ways, but would then wait there for them to continue pursuing it. In this manner the wild boar led them through the forest until they suddenly reached a large fortress that they could attest had not been there the day before. The hounds rushed into the fortress in pursuit of the wild boar, but soon there came no baying of dogs and only silence from within. Pryderi asserted that he would enter and find the dogs, but Manawydan advised caution, as he believed that this supernatural fortress was built by the same force that had cursed the land all those years ago on the Gordsedd Arberth. Pryderi, however, would not be swayed as he wanted the return of his dogs. Inside, Pryderi found neither hound nor boar. In the courtyard was a marble-work well with a golden bowl upon a marble slab. The bowl was tethered by chains that reached off into the sky, seemingly endless. He reached out and grabbed the bowl, but instantly found that he was stuck in place, unable to release the bowl nor move his legs. His lips were sealed shut, unable to shout out for help. Manawydan waited for him outside until the evening and he returned to the court at Arberth. Upon his arrival, Rhiannon chastised him as a poor companion to her son and went out herself to seek Pryderi. As the darkness drew on, she reached the fortress and went inside to find Pryderi stood at the well. He was unable to utter a warning as she approached and, seeing him holding the bowl, she, too, grabbed it and was rooted into place and unable to move nor speak. There they remained until night fell upon the land. A tumultuous noise erupted in their ears, which was followed by a descending fog - just as they recalled from Gordsedd Arberth. Then, as the mist disappeared, so too did the fortress, mother and son along with it.

Manawydan and Cigfa
Cigfa lamented the loss of her husband, but Manawydan reassured her that she need not fear him. He would not hurt her and would look after her in the absence of Pryderi and Rhiannon. He made oaths by God and by his loyalty to Pryderi. Cigfa was encouraged by this, but Manawydan was fearful that they had lost the hounds and would be unable to support themselves. Thus, the two of them returned to England. Manawydan resumed life as a shoemaker, again using important Spanish leather and fashioning gold buckles. As before, the other shoemakers in town went out of business and plotted to murder Manawydan. Upon learning this, Cigfa expressed herself in much the same manner as Pryderi had before her. She did not understand why they should tolerate this behaviour. Manawydan continued to show restraint and decided they would return to Dyfed again. However, this time he would return with a load of wheat that he would plant in the ground. While the wheat grew, he went fishing and he learnt to hunt without hounds, catching animals from their lairs in the earth. When the seasons passed, the wheat had grown splendidly, better than any had seen in the world. He would reap the wheat the following day and retired to bed. In the morning, however, he found the ears to have been broken off and carried away, leaving bare stalks in the ground. He was surprised by this and went to the next field, which he found to be in tact. He would reap that in the morning and he retired to bed. The next morning, this second field has likewise been laid bare and Manawydan despaired that the one responsible for the curse had come to destroy him too. He went to the third field to find it ripe with wheat. Rather than sleep, however, he determined to guard the wheat through the night and discover the wheat thief. As he waited, armed with his weapons, midnight struck and there was a tremendous noise. There, in the field, was an army of supernatural mice. Too many to count, they each climbed a stalk of wheat and stole the ears, leaving the stalk bare. Enraged, Manawydan charged forth. He spotted one especially fat mouse and pounced upon it. He trapped it within his glove and resolved to take it back to the court with him. There, he showed his catch to Cigfa and explained that in the morning he would hang the mouse. He would have hung all of them if he had the chance. Cigfa believed that hanging a mouse was beneath the station of a man such as Manawydan, but he was resolute that he would destroy the creature.

Hanging a Mouse
The next morning, he marched up Gordsedd Arberth and planted two forks into the mound. But even as he does so, he is unexpectedly approached by a cleric in threadbare, ragged clothes. Manawydan is taken aback as he had seen no one in the lands of Dyfed since that fateful day, save for his three companions. The cleric explained that he had been singing in England and that he was merely passing through this land. Upon asking his business, Manawydan explained he was hanging the thieving mouse. Like Cigfa, the cleric believed this was not the proper conduct for a man of Manawydan's station and that he should release the rodent. Manawydan refused, stating that the mouse must die for theft, according to the law. The cleric offered to pay Manawydan the pound he had been given as charity, but Manawydan continued to refuse. The cleric felt that he was degrading his station, but he left Manawydan to his task. As Manawydan laid the crossbeam of his hanging scaffold, another man approached, this time a priest with a well-equipped horse. Upon inquiring Manawydan's business, he explained he was hanging the mouse-thief. The priest, as with the cleric, stated that the mouse was worth nothing, but that a man of Manawydan's station should not handle a lowly creature in this manner. Thus he offered to buy the mouse for three pounds. Manawydan vehemently refused and the priest left. As Manawydan tied the rope around the rodent's neck, there came a bishop with his entourage and baggage. The bishop asked Manawydan's business and he explained he was going to hang the thieving mouse. The bishop also believed that a man of Manawydan's position should not degrade himself to destroying a lowly mouse and offered to buy the mouse for seven pounds. Manawydan refused. Upon this refusal, the priest offered twenty-four pounds. This large sum was also rejected. The priest rose his bargain and offered every horse he had, along with the seven loads of baggage. Manawydan refused. The priest then asked Manawydan to name his price. Manawydan demanded that Pryderi and Rhiannon be freed. The priest offered to do this, but Manawydan then deemed it not enough. He demanded that the priest remove the magic from the seven cantrefs of Dyfed. The priest agreed, but Manawydan deemed it not enough. He demanded to know who the true identity of the mouse. The priest confessed that the mouse was actually his wife.

The priest revealed that he was Llwyd, son of Cil Coed, and that he had placed the enchantment upon Dyfed to avenge Gwawl, son of Clud. During the First Branch of the Mabinogi, Gwawl was the rival of Pwyll Pen Annwfn, the father of Pryderi, who had sought Rhiannon. Using Rhiannon's plot, Pwyll had trapped Gwawl within a magic sack and beat him until he vowed to leave Rhiannon alone and not to take vengeance for being beaten by Pwyll. He went on to explain that his courtiers had devised the scheme to ravage the crops by asking that Llwyd turn them into mice for the first two nights. The third night, his wife and the ladies of the court had wanted to join in the games. His wife, however, was pregnant and too slow to escape Manawydan. Now that he had told all to Manawydan, Llwyd demanded she be released, but Manawydan refused. He then made a further amendment to his list of demands. He expected that there would never again be any spell upon the seven cantrefs of Dyfed. Llwyd agreed, but Manawydan refused to let her go. He also declared that they should never seek any vengeance upon Pryderi, Rhiannon or himself because of these events. Llwyd agreed and admitted that Manawydan had struck a wise bargain, lest Llwyd would have taken advantage of Manawydan's foresight. Manawydan still refused to release the pregnant supernatural mouse until he saw Pryderi and Rhiannon were free. When the two of them them appeared, the three were merrily reunited and sat upon the mound. Finally, Manawydan agreed to set the mouse free. With a magic wand, Llwyd turned the mouse back into the woman she had been; a fair and young lady. The province then sprang back to life as it had once been, filled with people and homes. Manawydan asked Llwyd what he had been done to Pryderi and Rhiannon while imprisoned. Llwyd stated that their punishments, which had been humiliating to both of them. Pryderi had the gate-hammers of the court around his neck (likely hammers used for knocking up the large doors of a fortress ), while Rhiannon had the collars of asses around her neck after the asses had been hauling hay for the day. Because of this, this branch of The Mabinogion was titled "The Collar and the Hammer" (this is the traditional title of the story and may suggest this was originally a separate tale within the collection and not one of the Four Branches ).

And so ends this branch of the Mabinogion.