STORYTELLING RETREAT
October 3-8 • Hugh Lupton and Eric Maddern
Guest: Sioned Davies

Residential: £525 (single); £450 (shared) COURSE FULL

MATTER OF BRITAIN: The Four Branches of the Mabinogi

This is the fourth of Hugh and Eric’s ongoing, chronological ‘Matter of Britain’ series at Tŷ Newydd.

The roots of these tales go back to a prehistoric past of giants and goddesses. In the millennium between the Roman and Norman invasions of Britain the trunk grew, incorporating stories of Celtic tribal chieftains, the otherworld, tricksters and wizards, shapeshifting, a woman of flowers, terrible battles and magical cauldrons. Then, between the 11th and 13th centuries (when the Normans were invading Wales) the Four Branches were written down. It was an act of defiance. The redactor knew it was important to catch these stories while they were remembered to preserve the distinct Welsh language and cultural identity. He (it was probably a man, possibly a monk) tried to improve the stories and direct them to his medieval audience.

On this course we will resurrect the stories as oral tales and find out what they mean for us now. Unlike the redactor we will be lifting the written word from the page and giving it wings. We will also be visiting key sites in Gwynedd relating to the Fourth Branch.

Optional Extra
The previous weekend (30th September to 2nd October) we will meet in a venue in South Wales to visit sites of the First and Third Branches. It is not a Tŷ Newydd course and  there will be an additional cost for this, yet to be calculated. Please indicate, when booking, whether you would be interested in this optional extra.

Our visiting speaker
We are inviting Sioned Davies, author of the acclaimed recent translation of the Mabinogion and Professor of Welsh at Cardiff University.

This course is self-contained. Participants do not have to have attended the previous courses but storytelling experience is essential.
NOTE:  Some places are reserved for new and/or younger storytellers.