“Blodeuwedd has a brother, and his name is Blodeuben.”
I’ve always been interested in the stories of the Mabinogion ever since my Grandmother used to tell them to me when I was small.
I’ve rewritten the story of Blodeuwedd so that she has a brother, Blodeuben, who becomes Gwydion’s lover.
“He lifted his arms and circled the remaining flowers, chanting under his breath. As he circled widdershins, the flowers began to glow again. He watched as the flowers melted together and formed the body and limbs of a beautiful young man, who sprung out of the pit into Gwydion's waiting arms.”
The Erlking is borrowed from German literature. In Wales he is
Y Gwernfrenin, and he’s here for your sons.
“Pwy sy'n marchogaeth mor hwyr trwy'r nos?
Y tad sydd yno, gyda'i blentyn tlos;
Mae'n meddwl mae’r bachgen yn iawn dan ei fraich,
Mae’n dal e’n dynn, trwy ystod y daith.”
“Who is that riding so late through the night?
The father holds his little son tight;
He thinks he’s safe, tucked under his arm,
He holds him tight, he’ll not come to harm."
The three sons of Gwydion and Gilfaethwy, born as a wolf cub, a fawn, and a wild boar piglet, are adopted by Math Mathonwy.
“Math then called the wolf and she-wolf, Gwydion and Gilfaethwy, and struck them both with his wand and they returned to their own trembling flesh.
Too scared to look at each other, unable to look at anything else.”
I wanted to make something that sounded and felt as Welsh as the tales that inspired it.
Diolch
Andy x
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