The Four Branches of the Mabinogi is a compliation of Welsh mythological tales found in the White Book of Rhydderch and the Red Book of Hergest, both dating to the middle of the fourteenth century.   The stories however, are older, the specific versions dating to around 1100 AD, and thus before the works of Geoffrey of Monmouth.  Parker writes:  “The Four Branches also relay aspects of a deeply pagan thought-world, which ultimately draws on traditions and beliefs from the Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures of prehistoric Britain, as well as those of the Celtic Iron Age and Romano-British eras.”  http://www.mabinogion.info/ The first branch tells the story of Pwyll, Lord of Dyfed.  Pwyll spends a year as Lord of  Annwn, the Underworld and then encounters Rhiannon, whom he marries.  I loved the following exchange between the two, in the initial stages Read more…