The Gwiber of Penmachno
The word "gwiber" in Welsh means viper or adder but many centuries ago the word actually meant "flying snake" . This is the story of how Wibernant (meaning "valley of the gwiber) which is near Penmachno got its name.
Category: Welsh Folktales
Pwyll, Lord of Dyfed
The story of Pwyll is found in the Mabinogion, a collection of old Welsh stories translated by Lady Charlotte Guest, and published in 1849. It describes how Pwyll the Lord of Dyfed meets the underworld king Arawn and how the two become close allies.
The Great Giant of Henllys
The original tale first appeared in The Athenaeum, published in 1847, and tells how a tyrannous figure became even more fearsome as a ghost after he had died. Three brave priests finally exorcise the ghost with a mix of magic and prayer.
Taliesin the Bard
This is the version translated by Lady Charlotte Guest, and published in 1849 in the collection of old Welsh tales entitled the Mabinogion. Traditionally Taliesin is placed in the time of Arthur, which is generally believed to be in the 6th century AD.
The Shepherd of Myddvai
This tale tells how a young shepherd won and lost a fairy bride from Lynn y Fan Fach (Van Vach), the fairy lake at the foot of Bannau Sir Gaer in the Brecon Beacons. This version was collected and told by Joseph Jacobs and appeared in his book Celtic Fairy Tales published in 1892 (David Nutt).
St Non’s Chapel and St David’s Peninsula
St David’s Peninsula is supposedly the landing place of Twrch Trwyth, the magical boar told in the story of Culhwch and Olwen in the Mabinogion, King Arthur features heavily in the story. It is also the place where St Patrick is said to have sailed for Ireland to convert them to Christianity.
The Lost Land of Wales
This tale is one of two stories of a similar theme attached to Cardigan Bay in Gwynedd. This story is the later one of the two and explains how a realm was lost to the sea through debauchery and drunkenness. There are traces of walls and roadways under the sea at Cardigan Bay, they can be seen at low tide and may have given rise to the legend of the ‘Lost Lowland Hundred’.
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