Lludd and Llefelys

One of the chapters found in the modern compilation of *The Mabinogion*. Following the brothers Lludd and Llefelys, sons of Beli the Great, and brothers to Caswallon and Nyniaw. After the death of Beli, Lludd became king of Britain, and made the city of London his favourite, rarely leaving the city, which is, according to the author, why the city has this name. Llefelys went to marry the only daughter of the deceased French king to become the new king of France. The reign of Lludd, however, came under threat from three "plagues" (great calamities). First, the invasion of the Coraniaid (probably meaning the Romans, who invaded Britain in the previous story under Emperor Maxen and defeated Beli), who had superhuman hearing as well as knowledge. Second was the terrible screech that struck the land every May's Eve, which caused men to faint and women to miscarry. The third was the loss of food and drink from the king's court, which disappeared without a trace, no matter how much food was prepared. At a loss, and with the threat of the Coraniaid over him, Lludd created a fleet of ships in silence and sailed for France to meet his wise brother. Llefelys created a bronze horn for them to speak without the Coraniaids overhearing them, though he had to purge the horn of demons with wine. Llefelys devised a series of plots to deal with each problem, and revealed the truth of them. The screech was caused by fighting dragons, while the missing food was a magician that used enchantment to put everyone to sleep so he could steal from Lludd. Lludd returned to Britain to act. He first used insects, crushed in water, as poison to kill the Coraniaids, under the pretence of making peace, which would only kill them, and not harm any Britons. He then must deal with the dragons, by locating the central point of the island (revealed as Oxford by the author, though not the case in reality) where he placed a vat of strong mead and a brocaded sheet. When the red dragon fought the white dragon, they became tired and fell into the mead as harmless pigs. They drank the mead and fell asleep, allowing Lludd to trap them in a stone chest and bury them in the place that became known as Dinas Emrys (connected to the legend of Merlin). Finally, as his brother had advised, Lludd remained on guard against the magician. When he heard music, sleep almost overcame him, but he used a bath of cold water to stay awake and fight the enchantment. He defeated the magician in combat, and granted him mercy to serve the king and make up for his crimes. His reign was thence peaceful to the end of his days.

## The Mabinogion

### Sons of Beli

Beli the Great, son of Manogan, had four sons; Lludd, Caswallon, Nyniaw and Llefelys. After Beli died (he was defeated by Emperor Maxen in The Dream of Emperor Maxen), his eldest son, Lludd, took his place and ruled well. Lludd renewed the walls of London and encircled the settlement with great towers. He commanded great homes to be built within London, to make it an enviable city to all. He was generous with his bounty, giving food and drink to any who asked. Because Lludd loved the city most and remained there most of the year, the city became nicknamed "Caer Lud", then "Caer Lundain". Foreigners called it "Llundain" and "Lwndrys" (an explanation for the name changing of London, "Caer" meaning fort). Lludd favoured Llefelys, the youngest of his brothers, best because Llefelys was wise and prudent. When the king of France died without a male heir, Lludd went to Llefelys to suggest he in wed the daughter of the deceased French king. The brothers went to France with their retinue and sent messages to the French nobles with the British king's proposal. It was agreed upon and Llefelys married the French queen and gained the French crown. He led the land to prosperity for as long as he lived.

### The Three Plagues

However, three great plagues fell upon the Island of Britain. The first calamity came in the form of the Coraniaid (perhaps meaning "Cesariaid", meaning Romans). So great was their hearing, they had great knowledge of the land and the people. The second calamity was a terrible, horrifying scream that would echo through the land, upon every hearth, every May's Eve. It caused people to faint, women to miscarry, young men and maidens to lose their senses and lands to be made barren of animals and plants. The third plague was the provisions of the king's court were made full, but after the first meal, none of the food was ever consumed by the court or the king, for it would disappear. Upon advice from his nobles, King Lludd sought advice from his brother, King Llefelys of France. Lludd built a fleet in secret, fearing the Coraniaid, and failed for France. Llefelys, disturbed to find a mysterious fleet sailing towards him, sent his own ships. When a single ship detached from the British fleet, Llefelys did likewise from his own fleet, and embraced his brother upon their meeting. Llefelys knew why his brother would come for advice, and Lludd asked if there was some way they could speak without the wind picking up their voices to alert the Coraniaid. Llefelys created a long bronze horn that would allow the brothers to speak directly to each other, without others, even the Coraniaid, overhearing them. However, no matter what they spoke, the words always sounded like insults and hate to the listener. Llefelys came to realise that demons inhabited the horn and he poured wine into it to cleanse it of the demons (in Welsh traditions, fairies were often exorcised using water to cleanse).

Llefelys now told his brother the plan. He would give Lludd a set of special insects that had the ability to destroy the Coraniaid if crushed and put into water to make a poison. However, he would give additional insects for breeding, in case another plague (bad luck) should befall Lludd. Lludd should summon all people in Britain to a meeting under the pretense of making peace with the invaders, then sprinkle everyone with this poisoned water. He assured the British king that only the Coraniaid would be affected by this poison, his own people would remain safe and unhurt. He further explained that the second plague, the terrible scream, is a dragon native to Britain. The creature is screaming because a foreign dragon is waging battle against it, to take its territory. In order to resolve this problem, Lludd must measure the entirety of the British island, length and breadth, and locate the dead centre of the island. There, he was to dig a hole and within the hole put a barrel of the greatest mead within it, wrapped in a sheet of brocaded silk. Lludd must then keep watch himself, over the spot. He would soon witness the two dragons fighting, first in the shape of monstrous animals, and then he would see their true forms as they take flight (this episode is related in the well-known tale of the red dragon, representing Wales, versus the white dragon, representing the Saxons, as seen in *History of the Britons* - the red dragon is now on the Welsh flag). When the dragons tire, they would fall into the silk sheet, and into the vat of mead in the form of pigs. They would drink the mead, and fall asleep. Lludd should then tie the pigs into the sheet, place them both into a stone chest and bury it, relieving the island of the dragons forever. The third plague, was the power of a magician that was stealing Lludd's food. He would enchant everyone with sleep, then take the food for himself. Lludd would need to keep guard, and whenever he felt sleep overcoming him, he would need to step into a cold tub of water to keep awake.

### Resolution

With all plans in mind, Lludd returned to Britain to enact them. He first called forth the people of the island and used the crushed insects to poison and kill the Coraniaids, sparing the native people. He then had the length and breadth of the island measured and discovered the central point of the island was Oxford (it is not in reality). He then set about dealing with the dragons. The plan to trap the dragons as pigs in a chest worked. He found a place in Eryri that became known as Dinas Emrys (Emrys meaning Merlin, this is anachronistic to the period). The original name of the place was Dinas Ffaraon Dandde. Ffaraon Dandde ("Ffaraon" means "pharaoh" and "tandde" means fiery, referring to a character that was supposedly an Egyptian pharaoh) was one of the Three Chief Officers who Broke their Heart from Sorrow (the other two being Branwen and Caradog, both in the Second Branch). Finally, he had a grand feast prepared and during the third watch, as he waited with weapons, he heard music that lulled people to sleep. He threw himself into the cold bath several times to keep from sleep. Eventually a huge man, carrying a magical hamper (similar to the endless bag of Rhiannon in the First Branch) came in and took the food and drink into the bag, far more than such a bag should be able to accommodate. Lludd chased the magician and challenged him to combat. They fought, but Lludd was victorious and the man asked for mercy. Though doubtful, the magician promised to make up for his crimes and give back the amount that was stolen and to serve the king as a faithful vassal, to which Lludd agreed. Thus, Lludd, with the advice of Llefelys, broke the three plagues and restored peace to Britain, which he ruled peacefully until his death.

## References

### Literature

#### Academic Sources

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Page 111, Lludd and Llefelys, Sioned Davies, The Mabinogion, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018, ISBN: 978-0-19-881524-2.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Page 252, Explanatory Notes, Sioned Davies, The Mabinogion, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018, ISBN: 978-0-19-881524-2.
3. ↑ Page 112, Lludd and Llefelys, Sioned Davies, The Mabinogion, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018, ISBN: 978-0-19-881524-2.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Page 113, Lludd and Llefelys, Sioned Davies, The Mabinogion, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018, ISBN: 978-0-19-881524-2.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Page 253, Explanatory Notes, Sioned Davies, The Mabinogion, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018, ISBN: 978-0-19-881524-2.
6. ↑ Page 115, Lludd and Llefelys, Sioned Davies, The Mabinogion, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018, ISBN: 978-0-19-881524-2.