The most enigmatic Welsh monsters are the gwyllion (the "twilight wanderers"). Some say that they're fairy hags who lead travelers astray, others say that they're ghosts or wandering lunatics. Merlin learned prophecy from gwyllion he met as he wandered insane in the forest.
🎨 Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach
#FolkloreThursday #Mythology #Folklore #Celtic #Wales #Fairy #Ghost #Merlin #KingArthur #Arthurian
According to Welsh folklore, Merlin lives in an invisible tower of glass on Bardsey Island (off the Welsh coast). There he guards the 13 Treasures of the Island of Britain, including the fiery sword Dyrnwyn, King Arthur's invisibility cloak, and an enchanted chess set.
#FairyTaleTuesday #Mythology #Folklore #Wales #Celtic #KingArthur #Arthurian #Merlin
In Welsh folklore, Caer Sidi (Castle Revolving) was a castle of black glass guarded by fairies and ghosts. The building spun in an unending revolution, so that few could find its entrance. King Arthur and his greatest warriors tried to breach it, but only seven returned alive.
🎨 Jesse van Dijk
#FairyTaleTuesday #Mythology #Folklore #Wales #Celtic #KingArthur #Arthurian
"Woe to the red dragon, for his banishment hasteneth on. His lurking holes shall be seized by the white dragon, which signifies the Saxons whom you invited over; but the red denotes the British nation, which shall be oppressed by the white. Therefore shall its mountains be levelled as the valleys, and the rivers of the valleys shall run with blood. The exercise of religion shall be destroyed, and churches laid open to ruin."
- Geoffrey of Monmouth, "The History of the Kings of Britain"
#BookologyThursday #Mythology #Folklore #Medieval #Book #Literature #KingArthur #Arthurian #Arthuriana
In Welsh folklore, the Black Wyrm of the Barrow was a huge serpent who lived in a labyrinthine barrow. As a barrow is a pagan tomb, some scholars assume the Wyrm was inspired by a pagan god. It was slain by Peredur (Sir Percival), one of King Arthur's most Christian warriors.
🎨 Alan Lee
#WyrdWednesday #Mythology #Folklore #Wales #Celtic #KingArthur #Arthurian #Monster
The most common legend about King Arthur's fate is that he sleeps in Avalon. However, there is a Cornish legend that Arthur has been reincarnated as a raven who watches over Britain until he is most needed. Thus, for a long time it was taboo to kill a raven in Cornwall.
#FolkloreSunday #Folklore #Mythology #Cornwall #Wales #Celtic #KingArthur #Arthuriana #Arthurian
"He said, 'Good dog, Beaumont the valiant, sleep now, old friend Beaumont, good old dog.' Then Robin's falchion let Beaumont out of this world, to run free with Orion and roll among the stars."
- T. H. White, "The Sword in the Stone"
🎨 Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix
#BookologyThursday #Book #Fiction #Literature #KingArthur #Arthurian #THWhite
Just dropped two full reviews over on Fable:
📖 The Brothers Karamazov — messy, philosophical, full of gossip and grace
🐉 The Mabinogion — surreal, unyielding, dreamlike myth before myth made sense
If you're into books that punch through time, hit me up here:
👉 https://fable.co/the-bartender-948823755780?period_type=year
#BookReview #ReadingCommunity #FableReads #Mabinogion #Dostoevsky #Arthurian #MythosAndMeaning
Finished the final tale in The Mabinogion—Geraint and Enid.
The most straightforward of the bunch: less magic, more chivalry. Arthur shows up strong, and it’s long, but never dull.
Definitely felt some Orpheus & Eurydice vibes, a little Samson too.
Not my favorite, not my least. Just solid, noble storytelling. A fine end to this wild Welsh ride.
🌿🐉🛡️
#Mabinogion #WelshMythology #ReadingLife #Arthurian #AfternoonArtCritic #MythosAndMeaning
Peredur Son of Efrawg might be my favorite of the Mabinogion.
It’s Macbeth meets Parzival meets blood magic noir.
Peredur moves through madness, prophecy, severed heads, and witches — and never asks if he might be wrong.
Arthur says: “Because you never stopped to ask — look what you’ve done.”
That hit.
#Mabinogion #Arthurian #Peredur #MythicTrauma #Macbeth #GrailButMakeItViolent
Owain, or the Countess of the Fountain is Tyrell-coded as hell.
A sacred fountain that summons storms
A surreal forest kingdom ruled by a powerful widow
A lion companion born of compassion
Madness in the wild as redemption
It’s Pan + Lady of the Lake + emotional damage.
The forest heals, the court forgets.
Also: The Green Knight (A24) is a 5/5 film. Fight me about it.
#Mabinogion #Arthurian #Mythology #GreenMan #NatureMagic #WelshMyths #TyrellEnergy #A24
Okay, I mixed up The Dream of Maxen and The Dream of Rhonabwy — easy mistake.
One’s a mythic honeymoon.
The other’s a beautiful, empty nightmare.
Rhonabwy dreams of Arthur… who’s just playing chess while messengers beg him to act.
It’s Tywin Lannister energy.
Cold. Regal. Absolutely useless.
And screw it — you try pronouncing Gwalchmei.
#Mabinogion #Arthurian #MythicDecay #Power #Gwyddbwyll #WelshMyth #LannisterVibes
How Culhwch Won Olwen is like if Perseus, Achilles, and Hercules merged into one guy — and then outsourced all their quests to King Arthur.
Culhwch does nothing. Arthur assembles the mythic Avengers.
Tasks include:
Fighting a giant boar with scissors in its ears
Rescuing a demigod from time itself
Borrowing a barber
Peak mythic sidequest energy.
#Mabinogion #Arthurian #CelticLore #Mythology #HimboEnergy #ArthurianMultiverse #WelshMyths
Lludd and Llefelys is only 6 pages, but it goes deep:
Castor & Pollux meets Moses & Aaron
Red vs white dragons = spiritual warfare
A scream that causes miscarriages
A sleep-spell thief who steals feasts
Maybe even mythic surveillance
These old myths carry bloodlines of meaning. Wealth, power, fear — all wrapped in story.
#Mabinogion #Mythology #Arthurian #Dragons #Folklore #SpiritualWarfare #BrotherKings
Well, considering I spent the last 6 days in a crisis center, I got the opportunity to catch up on my Mabinogion readings.
While trapped in my own Winterfell crypt, I read The Dream of Macsen — and I swear GRRM has read it front to back.
Roman emperor dreams a woman into power
Marries her
Her brothers get roads and kingdoms
Seven years pass like a spell
It’s Lannister-coded as hell.
Tywin would’ve built those roads himself.
#Mabinogion #Mythology #Arthurian #GameOfThrones #CelticLore
If you see this, post a knight.
#arthurian #medievalsky
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:gvtnauh3uvychl46myirqtf2/post/3lxv572z6c227
In Welsh folklore, the border between worlds is often vague. Arthurian knights don't realize they've ridden into the Otherworld until they encounter progressively stranger things, such as one-legged giants, trees permanently aflame, or sheep that change colour when leaping across a river.
🎨 Martin Weatherhead
#FolkloreSunday #Folklore #Mythology #Wales #Celtic #Fairy #KingArthur #Arthurian
