Prince of Annwn (Collier Nucleus Fantasy & Science Fiction)

by Evangeline Walton

Paperback, 1992

Status

Available

Call number

813.52

Publication

Scribner Paper Fiction (1992), 192 pages

User reviews

LibraryThing member Jim53

This is Walton's somewhat modernized version of the first branch of the Mabinogion, the Welsh mythology. It primarily describes the adventures of Pwyll, prince of Dyved, who becomes a brother of our world's Gray Man (Arawn, or Death) and returns to serve as king. After a couple of years of his

kingship, Dyved has a bad year, and Pwyll is blamed because he has not taken a wife and started a family. He must spend a night on the haunted hill that has arisen over the barrow of Dyved's first king. There he has a vision and pursues a wife from another realm.

Walton's language is a mix of modern and older styles, and the going is pretty easy. Pwyll is shown having several epiphanies, but we do not see him really change as a character. He remains the mythic hero who sees feats of arms as his worthiest endeavors. The series could possibly serve as an introduction to the Mabinogion's stories for those who are not familiar with them and do not want to read the original. I didn't find this version captured my interest other than to see how she dealt with the material.

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LibraryThing member wealhtheowwylfing

A lyrical, earthy retelling of the Mabinogion (medieval Welsh tale). I was surprised to find I liked the hero of the story--medieval heroes are generally either terribly stupid or complete prigs, and Pwyll is not bright but brighter than many of his countrymen. This, the first part of Walton's

four-part retelling, seems mostly concerned with the transition between the old, pagan ways and Christianity, which is to come. I wish the oracles and gods had spent a little less time fortelling what would happen in the twentieth century (pollution, we don't respect the Mother Earth, we fly and harness lightning), but it's overall a good, fast read of an ancient myth.

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LibraryThing member DinadansFriend

I view this as a redaction rather than a translation of the first Branch of the Mabinogion. It is readable and deals with the mythic question of death, as a theme. Well worth the reading but don't use it as a scholarly text regarding the Mabiogion, the professionals will never take you seriously.

I've read it twice, the last time in 2008.

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LibraryThing member threadnsong

This is a brilliant re-telling of the First Branch of the Mabinogion, that mysterious tale of ancient Wales that has been translated both well and not-so-well over the centuries. Evangeline Walton does a marvelous job building out the drama, the language, and the tension that the bards conveyed. It

is a tale as hold as humanity: human Pwyll, Prince of Dyved, meets with Arawn, Lord of Death and the Underworld called Annwn. Here, they switch places and both their aspects are changed. Pwyll even rides the Grey Horse of Arawn while Arawn rides Pwyll's horse. And there are the tasks that only Pwyll can do in place of Arawn in order to save humanity from destruction of warring tribes while Pwyll also gets to take Arawn's seat in his kingdom for a year and a day.

As the tale of Pwyll unfolds into the tale of Rhiannon with her birds, Pwyll brings his Ninety-Nine Companions to the Mound of Gordsedd Arberth where they seek, in charmed slumber, to join the first King of Dyved and his daughter, Rhiannon, so that Pwyll might marry her and thereby gain a Queen and an heir. Three times they climb the Mound, and three times the Old Druid seeks to murder him with his sickle, only to be thwarted in his lust for absolute and continued power and control. Walton's ability to bring ancient tales to a modern audience are most welcome with this volume.

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