Welsh mythology includes stories of kings, warriors, and magic users, often following family lines, and featuring creatures like dragons, giants, and fairies. The Mabinogion contains 11 well-preserved stories, while The White Book of Rhydderch and The Red Book of Hergest are among the oldest collections. The Arthurian legends may have originated in these stories.
There are several important elements to Welsh mythology, often involving the types of stories that were told, the characters and figures popular in these stories, or the creatures that appeared in them. The most popular of these ancient stories are found in a collection called The Mabinogion, which contains 11 stories that have been well preserved. Kings and warriors are commonly found in these stories, as are men and women who can perform magic, and many of these stories follow or involve family lines. There are also a number of creatures common in Welsh mythology, including dragons, giants, spirits and fairies.
Welsh mythology typically includes stories and legends told by Britons before the expansion of Christianity into the British Isles. These many myths and legends were probably told by itinerant bards and storytellers in what is now the United Kingdom. One of the oldest collections of Welsh mythology comes from two books, The White Book of Rhydderch and The Red Book of Hergest. A translation of the stories found in these two collections was made by Lady Charlotte Guest in the 19th century, entitled The Mabinogion and consisting of 19 stories.
Many of these stories share certain figures and characters. Welsh mythology often deals with stories following a particular family; one story might focus on the actions of a man whose son is the subject of the next story. Kings and warlords are also commonly the subject of stories in Welsh mythology. The Arthurian legends appear to have originated in a number of stories contained in the Mabinogion, including many of the same characters and events popularized in the later stories of Arthur, Merlin, Sir Percival and Yvain.
There are also a number of creatures found in Welsh mythology, and many of them have remained in Western culture and stories. Dragons, called dregiau, are quite popular in these stories, and the image of a red dragon has long been associated with the Britons, their leaders, and their fight against the Saxons. Giants and various spirits, including spirits of the dead and nature spirits, are also quite common as elements of these mythological stories. Welsh mythology, much like Celtic mythology, also includes fairies, called tylwyth teg or ‘the righteous people’, who continue to remain popular in modern fiction and fantasy art.
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