WORLD BOOK DAY 2019

The Mabinogi: A Book of Essays
Edited by C. W. Sullivan III
First published 1996 by Garland Press
Reissued in 2015 by Routledge Revivals

The Lost Tale of Dylan in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi

"Throughout the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, the mystical Otherworld encroaches upon the realm of mortal kind, and one of the more powerful appearances of it takes the form of animals that participate in metamorphoses with human figures. These can signify an Otherworld incursion into mortal nature in several different ways. They can signal a thinning of the barriers between the realms of the Otherworld and this world; they can represent characteristics associated with the mysteries of fertility and tribal magic; and they can appear to enhance or, at times, take the place of the principal figures in the tales. It is this third role of Otherworld animals that I wish to concentrate on, because among the many named, and hence characterised animal shapes into which figures are transformed, we come across an unnamed animal whose dis-closure may shed light on the puzzle of the lost tale of Dylan in the Fourth Branch." - Sarah Larratt Keefer


The purpose of this collection, which was first published in 1996, is to provide both an overview of the major critical approaches to the Four Branches of the Mabinogi and a selection of the best essays dealing with them. The essays examine the origins of the Mabinogion, comparative analyses, and structural and thematic interpretations. This book is ideal for students of literature and Medieval studies.

Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction

Part 1: Origins
1. The Mabinogion and  Lady Charlotte Guest Rachel Bromwich
2. The Date of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi T. M. Charles-Edwards;

Part 2: Comparative Analysis 
3. The Calumniated Wife in Medieval Welsh Literature Juliette Wood
4. The Lost Tale of Dylan in the Fourth Branch of The Mabinogi Sarah Larratt Keefer
5. Branwen: A Study of the Celtic Affinities Patrick K. Ford
6. Manawydan fab Llyr: Wales, England, and the "New Man" Andrew Welsh;

Part 3: Structural Interpretations
7. A Thematic Study of the Tale Pwyll Pendeuic Dyuet Sean O Coileain
8. Pwyll Prince of Dyfed: the narrative structure Elizabeth Hanson-Smith
9. The Structure of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi J. K. Bollard
10. Prolegomena to a Reading of the Mabinogi: "Pwyll" and "Manawydan" Patrick K. Ford
11. Narrative Structure in Medieval Welsh Prose Tales R. M. Jones; Thematic Interpretations;
12. Thematic Structure in the Four Branches of the Mabinogi Jeffrey Gantz
13. The Role of the Myth and Tradition in The Four Branches of the Mabinogi J. K. Bollard
14. The Theme of Sovereignty in Pwyll Catherine A. McKenna
15. Gwydion and Aranrhod: Crossing the Borders of Gender in Math Roberta L. Valente
16. Inheritance and Lordship in Math C. W. Sullivan III

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