The Mabinogion · 159 of 191 · tr. Lady Charlotte Guest
Tale MATH THE SON OF MATHONWY-d
And they fled unto the place which is still called Nantcall.
And thither did they follow them, and they made a vast slaughter of them there, so that they fled again as far as the place called Dol Pen Maen, and there they halted and sought to make peace.
And that he might have peace, Pryderi gave hostages, Gwrgi Gwastra gave he and three-and-twenty others, sons of nobles.
And after this they journeyed in peace even unto Traeth Mawr; but as they went on together towards Melenryd, the men on foot could not be restrained from shooting.
Pryderi dispatched unto Math an embassy to pray him to forbid his people, and to leave it between him and Gwydion the son of Don, for that he had caused all this.
And the messengers came to Math.
“Of a truth,” said Math, “I call Heaven to witness, if it be pleasing unto Gwydion the son of Don, I will so leave it gladly.
Never will I compel any to go to fight, but that we ourselves should do our utmost.” “Verily,” said the messengers, “Pryderi saith that it were more fair that the man who did him this wrong should oppose his own body to his, and let his people remain unscathed.” “I declare to Heaven, I will not ask the men of Gwynedd to fight because of me.
If I am allowed to fight Pryderi myself, gladly will I oppose my body to his.” And this answer they took back to Pryderi.
“Truly,” said Pryderi, “I shall require no one to demand my rights but myself.” Then these two came forth and armed themselves, and they fought.
And by force of strength, and fierceness, and by the magic and charms of Gwydion, Pryderi was slain.
And at Maen Tyriawc, above Melenryd, was he buried, and there is his grave.
And the men of the South set forth in sorrow towards their own land; nor is it a marvel that they should grieve, seeing that they had lost their lord, and many of their best warriors, and for the most part their horses and their arms.
The men of Gwynedd went back joyful and in triumph.
“Lord,” said Gwydion unto Math, “would it not be right for us to release the hostages of the men of the South, which they pledged unto us for peace?
for we ought not to put them in prison.” “Let them then be set free,” saith Math.
So that youth, and the other hostages that were with him, were set free to follow the men of the South.
Math himself went forward to Caer Dathyl.
Gilvaethwy the son of Don, and they of the household that were with him, went to make the circuit of Gwynedd as they were wont, without coming to the Court.
Math went into his chamber, and caused a place to be prepared for him whereon to recline, so that he might put his feet in the maiden’s lap.
“Lord,” said Goewin, “seek now another to hold thy feet, for I am now a wife.” “What meaneth this?” said he.
“An attack, lord, was made unawares upon me; but I held not my peace, and there was no one in the Court who knew not of it.
Now the attack was made by thy nephews, lord, the sons of thy sister, Gwydion the son of Don, and Gilvaethwy the son of Don; unto me they did wrong, and unto thee dishonour.” “Verily,” he exclaimed, “I will do to the utmost of my power concerning this matter.
§ Ask Guru about this passage →Themes
Ancestor Venerationpraxis
Ritual maintenance of relationship with the dead as ongoing presences whose favour is cultivated and whose offence is propitiated. Shinto uji-gami and obon, Norse disir and the alfablot, Celtic samhain and the feast for the deceased, Roman lares and parentalia, Chinese ancestor rites, Vedic śrāddha. Practice-coded rather than belief-coded: distinct from soul_migration (cosmological doctrine of soul-transmigration) and theosis_deification (deification trajectory); ancestor_veneration centres the living's ongoing ritual obligation to the dead.
The passage describes the burial of Pryderi and the sorrowful mourning of his people for their lost lord.
All passages →Word Power Incantationpraxis
The doctrine and practice that spoken or sung word carries causal-magical force — that uttering names, formulas, songs, or incantations alters reality directly rather than merely communicating about it. Vainamoinen's runo-songs that move mountains and command iron, Norse galdr, Vedic mantra, Shinto kotodama, the magician's barbarous names in the Greek Magical Papyri, Iamblichean arcane signatures and inexplicable symbols, biblical creation-by-word. Distinct from sacred_names (the ontological power of names themselves) and prayer (address to the divine); word_power_incantation is the magical-causal efficacy of the spoken word as such.
The text mentions Gwydion's 'magic and charms' as the cause of Pryderi's death, implying the causal efficacy of magical utterances or rituals.
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Shared concept: Ancestor Veneration — Ritual maintenance of relationship with the dead as ongoing presences whose favour is cultivated and whose offence is propitiated. (derived)
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