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The Mabinogion · 182 of 191 · tr. Lady Charlotte Guest

Tale TALIESIN-d

I will supplicate my Lord that I get refuge in him, A regard I may obtain in his grace; The Son of Mary is my trust, great in him is my delight, For in him is the world continually upholden. God has been to instruct me and to raise my expectation, The true Creator of heaven, who affords me protection; It is rightly intended that the saints should daily pray, For God, the renovator, will bring them to him.” And forthwith Elphin gave his haul to his wife, and she nursed him tenderly and lovingly. Thenceforward Elphin increased in riches more and more day after day, and in love and favour with the king, and there abode Taliesin until he was thirteen years old, when Elphin son of Gwyddno went by a Christmas invitation to his uncle, Maelgwn Gwynedd, who some time after this held open court at Christmastide in the castle of Dyganwy, for all the number of his lords of both degrees, both spiritual and temporal, with a vast and thronged host of knights and squires. And amongst them there arose a discourse and discussion. And thus was it said. “Is there in the whole world a king so great as Maelgwn, or one on whom Heaven has bestowed so many spiritual gifts as upon him? First, form, and beauty, and meekness, and strength, besides all the powers of the soul!” And together with these they said that Heaven had given one gift that exceeded all the others, which was the beauty, and comeliness, and grace, and wisdom, and modesty of his queen; whose virtues surpassed those of all the ladies and noble maidens throughout the whole kingdom. And with this they put questions one to another amongst themselves: Who had braver men? Who had fairer or swifter horses or greyhounds? Who had more skilful or wiser bards—than Maelgwn? Now at that time the bards were in great favour with the exalted of the kingdom; and then none performed the office of those who are now called heralds, unless they were learned men, not only expert in the service of kings and princes, but studious and well versed in the lineage, and arms, and exploits of princes and kings, and in discussions concerning foreign kingdoms, and the ancient things of this kingdom, and chiefly in the annals of the first nobles; and also were prepared always with their answers in various languages, Latin, French, Welsh, and English. And together with this they were great chroniclers, and recorders, and skilful in framing verses, and ready in making englyns in every one of those languages. Now of these there were at that feast within the palace of Maelgwn as many as four-and-twenty, and chief of them all was one named Heinin Vardd. When they had all made an end of thus praising the king and his gifts, it befell that Elphin spoke in this wise. “Of a truth none but a king may vie with a king; but were he not a king, I would say that my wife was as virtuous as any lady in the kingdom, and also that I have a bard who is more skilful than all the king’s bards.” In a short space some of his fellows showed the king all the boastings of Elphin; and the king ordered him to be thrown into a strong prison, until he might know the truth as to the virtues of his wife, and the wisdom of his bard.
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Themes
Anthropomorphismtheology

Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.

God is described with human-like actions such as instructing, protecting, and having a Son. [quarantine-w2: anthropomorphism x celtic — see rellm data/quarantine/dossiers.jsonl]

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Divine Providencetheology

Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.

Elphin's increase in riches and protection are attributed to God's instruction and expectation-raising. [quarantine-w1: divine_providence x celtic — see rellm data/quarantine/dossiers.jsonl]

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Frashokereticosmology

The final restoration/renovation of the cosmos.

God is explicitly referred to as 'the renovator' who will bring the saints to him.

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Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

God is depicted as actively instructing, protecting, and renovating rather than remaining an abstract principle. [quarantine-batch-1: living_god x celtic — see rellm data/quarantine/dossiers.jsonl]

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Logoscosmology

The divine reason, word, or ordering principle through which the universe was created; mediates between the transcendent God and the material world.

The Son of Mary is identified as the one in whom the world is continually uphelden.

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Prayerpraxis

Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward.

The passage opens with a direct supplication to the Lord and explicitly mentions the daily prayer of saints as rightly intended. [quarantine-w1: prayer x celtic — see rellm data/quarantine/dossiers.jsonl]

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Return To Sourcesoteriology

The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.

The prayer expresses a desire for refuge and the expectation that God will bring the faithful to him.

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