Mabon and the Guardians of Celtic Britain: Hero Myths in the Mabinogion
The Mabinogion is the source of some of the oldest myths of the Celtic tradition. Though no actual text of the stories is included in this volume, Matthews, cofounder of the Foundation for Inspirational and Oracular Studies and author of 36 books, offers a companion to help elucidate the mythology. After a lengthy introduction discussing the Welsh storytelling tradition, she introduces each of the four branches of the Mabinogion. Each chapter begins with a synopsis of the story and is followed by detailed commentary on specific aspects. A third section extrapolates further, showing connections with other mythologies from Greek and Roman to Irish and British Arthurian traditions. Graphs and charts help to keep the complicated relationships and patterns of action in perspective. Unfortunately, the author assumes considerable knowledge on the part of the reader. Superscripts appear throughout the text, but they are merely references to numbered sources in the bibliography. Recommended for libraries that support strong folk studies collections.Katherine Kaigler-Koenig, Ellis Sch., PittsburghCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.