Celtic Source

Many modern poets have found the awen in Taliesin's myth, not just in Wales but also beyond. Simon Lilly and Chris Martin are two such wordsmiths who have thrown themselves willingly into the cauldron. In this wide rangeing discussion we hear them read their own Taliesin-inspired poetry, and talk through some of the more powerful visions we find in this eternally abundant myth.

If you want to find out more about these two brilliant poets, you can find them online at https://simonhlilly.com and https://www.chrismartinpoet.com

More free materials, lectures, videos and podcasts at https://celticsource.online

Why is Taliesin a suitable guide to the world of Welsh myth? Here's a few reasons why.

There have been several decades of speculation about the relationship between these two mysterious mythic mothers who both founded divine lineages in Celtic myth. But what is their relationship? Are they the same or different?

There's not many folks who end up in my line of work, and I often reflect on how I've ended up here, why I'm still following the path of Celtic myth.

It all began with Taliesin, and I have a very distinct set of memories from my youth about those first tentative steps.

This is a recorded version of the introduction to the new book (and now course), Taliesin Origins.

https://celticsource.online/product/taliesin-origins-signed-paperback/

In this addendum to our long rangeing conversation about Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, poet and storyteller Tom Hirons talks about what brings some poems and stories to life.

Courses on Celtic myth: https://celticsource.online/courses-page

Dr Gwilym Morus-Baird and Tom Hirons venture into the pagan wilds of the English classic, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Many scholars have commented on the mixture of Christian and Pagan beliefs in the poem, but why did the anonymous author contrast the two types of belief so explicitly? The fourth part in the series. Courses on Celtic myth and folklore: https://celticsource.online/courses-page

The Mabinogi contain many influences and draw on many sources. In this last talk on Rhiannon's Mabinogi, we look at W.J. Gruffydd's conclusions about how the Mabinogi evolved, and take a brief look at later scholars who disagree with his basic premise.

An interlude from Rhiannon's Mabinogi series: To really understand a myth we need to understand the tradition in which it arises. So what is the broader tradition that Ceridwen's myth comes from?  

Courses on Celtic myth and folklore: https://celticsource.online/courses-page/

Both Rhiannon's and Branwen's stories in the Mabinogi express some of the most tragic themes in Celtic myth. They are also very similar to later folktales from other traditions. In comparing all of these stories we find some very interesting ideas and beliefs common to many of them.

Myths about immortal fathers and miraculous births are found in many cultures across the world, including the stories of the Welsh and the Irish. What does this widespread myth tell us about mythology itself?

In this second video on W.J.Gruffydd's classic of Celtic scholarship, Rhiannon we explore his comparison of the Irish story the Conception of Mongán with the Welsh story of Pwyll in Annwfn. What can this tell us about Celtic myth?

The story of Rhiannon is found in the first and third branches of the Mabinogi. One of the most important books written on the subject is Rhiannon by W.J. Gruffydd, one of Wales' most prominent poets and scholars of the 20th century. But why is his work so ingenious and contentious? This talk is the first in a series exploring this book in depth. Feel free to follow along as we work through the different sections.

Clearly, witchcraft — as part of the broader set of beliefs we call paganism — was an aspect of a nature religion in the folk culture of medieval Wales. But sometimes we need to be a bit careful with our terms . . .  Courses on Celtic myth and folklore: https://celticsource.online/courses-page

A recording of the first day of the Mabinogi Challenge.  

Over the course of 5 days we're working through a simple process by which you can begin to interpret and understand a short folk-tale from the Mabinogi tradition.   

0:00 The Welsh storytelling tradition. 

17:06 The Story of Llyn Barfog. 

32:35 Q&A. 

40:45 Challenge questions.  

If you want to take part, please join the Celtic Source Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/celticsource  

Courses on Celtic myth and folklore: https://celticsource.online/courses-page

In this second talk on Canu Llywarch Hen, the 9th century Welsh poems that tell the story of Llywarch the Old and his 24 sons, we talk through Llywarch's lament for his son, the fallen warrior Gwên. This second poem confirm's much of what was suggested in the previous episode, especially the notion that the heroic ideal isn't all it's cracked up to be.  

Courses on Celtic myth and folklore: https://celticsource.online/courses-page

Canu Llywarch Hen, the sequence of 9th century Welsh poems about the tragedy of Llywarch the Old and his 24 sons, is one of the most important works in Welsh literature. But far from joining in with the pomp and pageantry of traditional praise poetry, instead it reveals a darker side of the hero myth so beloved by the nobility.  

Courses on Celtic myth and folklore: https://celticsource.online/courses-page

Canu Heledd ('The Song of Heledd') is a sequence of 9th century Welsh poems commemorating the loss of territory to Saxons when they invaded the kingdom of Powys. The main character in these dramatic verses is Heledd, sister of Cynddylan, one of the noblemen who died defending against the attack. But Heledd is more than a voice of grief in the poetry, she also embodies the land of Powys itself.

Who wrote The Four Branches of the Mabinogi? That's a question numerous Celtic scholars have attempted to answer over the years, but none have been able to provide definitive proof to support their claims. This lack of evidence has prompted others to venture beyond the usual suspects of monks and clerics and instead consider more uncommon candidates such as Gwenllian, warrior princess of Wales . . .

Robert Graves' White Goddess is one of the most popular books ever written on modern Celtic mysticism, but as well as entrancing countless modern readers it has also enraged many Celtic scholars.

Perhaps one of its greatest successes was introducing Kat Godeu ('The Battle of the Trees') to an English audience. Few had ever heard of this obscure medieval Welsh poem from the 14th century Book of Taliesin. But Graves' version has done little to clarify what the poem actually means.

In this podcast I talk through the main problems with Graves' version and suggest another way of understanding this ambiguous Welsh text.

This video is in answer to two questions sent in from The Taliesin Tradition course: 

- what is the bardic craft of classical Welsh poetry? 

- what evidence is there for human to animal transformations in Celtic art?  

You can follow The Taliesin Tradition course (as well as several others) with a subscription to the website:  

https://celticsource.online/courses-page/ 

Next Tuesday (16th) is the beginning of The Native Tales course, also available with the same subscription.  

https://celticsource.online/the-native-tales/

Concluding this short series on Welsh Arthurian poems we take a look at the broader use of the 'enchanted fortress' motif and see how it's used to evoke several different themes, both sociological and mythological.

Continuing with this short series on Welsh Arthurian poems, this talk takes a look at Preideu Annwfyn (The Spoils of Annwfn), one of the better known poems from the medieval Book of Taliesin. Like many other Taliesin poems from this period, it is a strange, ambiguous and multilayered text, and although many commentators have attempted to pin its ultimate meaning down, it remains a largely mysterious poem. In this talk we touch on at least some of the more definite things that can be said about it, and dwell in the mystery of all the things that can't!  Correction: the Historia Brittonum was written down in the 8 hundreds not the eighth century! 828 is the general consensus.

'The Discourse of Arthur and the Eagle' is a 12th century Welsh poem that was very popular in the Welsh oral and written tradition. Even though it's a poem about Christian learning, it also draws on a far more pagan mythology.

When we compare Welsh folktales about giant witches and their stone cairns to stories about the Cailleach of Ireland and Scotland, we find some very interesting similarities.

In recent decades, several authors on Celtic myth and spirituality have been  accused of misrepresented the cultural history of Wales. But what of Welsh scholars? Are they also misrepresenting Welsh history, intentionally obscuring pagan influences?

In this last in the series on Welsh folklore, we look at the peculiar phenomena of the Giant's Beard and what it could have stood for in the ancient past.

A very frequently asked question amongst modern druids is what (if anything), can be taken from the work of Iolo Morganwg, the founding father of modern druidry and notorious forger of ‘ancient’ texts? The answer may surprise you.

This neolithic tomb on Ynys Môn isn't the only cairn to be named after a giant witch . . .

What happened to the Celtic gods of Iron Age Europe? Where are they in later Celtic folklore?

Peniarth 118, a Welsh manuscript written in 1600, describes many of the traditional giants and witches of Wales. It also confirms that King Arthur and his knights had a very long relationship with these monstrous, otherworldly figures.

The Witch can often be a cartoonish character in folklore, not just in Wales but across the world. But there is also a mythological quality to the witch as an embodiment of death.