Cyfarwydd as Poet in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi

Abstract

On two occasions in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi , the figure of Gwydion presents himself in a court as a poet and provides entertainment, presumably in prose, in the form of cyfarwyddyd , a term that has been variously interpreted as ‘stories’ and ‘lore’. Little attention has been paid, however, to the episode in which Gwydion actually composes and recites poetry, the three englynion that he addresses to his nephew Lleu. This article examines those englynion —their vocabulary, function, and effect—and discusses the possible intentions of the Fourth Branch author in representing the magician Gwydion as an accomplished poet.