Now, I must confess, my knowledge of Welsh myth and legend is sparse to say the least, mainly echoes through Tolkien and what little knowledge I have of Arthurian legend. I was completely unaware of the Mabinogion, but will say that this artwork has piqued my interest.
The artist is Margaret Jones, and she has done a fantastic job with this map, and is apparently also the illustrator of an edition of the Mabinogion. The poster itself doesn't seem to be widely available but it is out there (I found a couple of places) if you want it. I just might have to get one myself.
The Welsh Arthurian tales are more magical and more primal than the English ones you know better. Most of the Mabinogi (the form that seems to be correct in the Welsh, but which was transformed to "Mabinogion" by scribes) is not Arthurian. There is a hot scholarly debate over the dating of the part that is, i.e., whether the Welsh or the Norman Arthurian stories are earlier.
ReplyDeleteThat is a gorgeous map. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAye, it is that.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. (And informative! The combination is regrettably rare, and to be treasured.)
ReplyDeleteIndeed, Jaed. There's a book titled "Envisioning Information" by Edward R. Tufte. Great book. I think this is something worthy of being in that book as a great example of information communication.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful rendering! I'm familiar with the name and existence of the Mabinogion, but that's about it.
ReplyDeleteAll of Tufte's books are worth reading, especially his "Visual Display of Quantitative Information". I heard him lecture once. Really interesting.
ReplyDeleteThe Lloyd Alexander Prydain series for children - the fifth one won the Newbery award - is based on Welsh mytholgy. I read it aloud to my boys and I am now starting on the oldest granddaughter.
ReplyDeleteDo not see "The Black Cauldron" by Disney, supposedly based on the first and second books. I am more of a defender of Disney than others are, but not this one.
Using the myths and legends of various cultures and tracing it back to a Common Root source, what I propose as the splintering of the Tower of Babel, has been interesting. Perhaps the Welsh have some goods.
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