Tales of Merlin, Arthur, and the Magic Arts

The original Welsh stories of these beloved characters and their world for the first time in English
 
The stories in Tales of Merlin, Arthur, and the Magic Arts deal with well-known figures from medieval Britain who will be familiar to many readers—though not from the versions presented here. These freshly translated tales emerge from the remarkable and enormous sixteenth-century Chronicle of the Six Ages of the World by the Welshman Elis Gruffydd.
 
Tales of Merlin, Arthur, and the Magic Arts revives the original legends of these Welsh heroes alongside stories of the continued survival of the magical arts, from antiquity to the Renaissance, and the broader cultural world of the Welsh. These stories provide a vivid and faithful rendering of Merlin, Arthur, and the many original folktales left out of the widespread accounts of their exploits.

Contents

Introduction: Elis Gruffydd and His Chronicle
Jerry Hunter
Translator’s Note
Patrick K. Ford

THE TEXTS

I. Earliest Times, Biblical and Ancient
   The Birth of Hercules
   The Birth of Alexander
   The Story of the Rood
   The Tower of Babel
   The Origins of Britain

II. Merlin and Arthur
    The Birth of Merlin the Prophet
    Merlin and the Threefold Death
    Merlin and the Dreams of Gwenddydd
    Merlin’s Prophecy and the Reign of Caswalldan
    Custennin and the Rise of Gwrtheyrn/Vortigern
    Gwrtheyrn and Saint Germain
    Gwrtheyrn and the Falling Castle
    Gwrtheyrn’s Reign, Hengist, and Horsa
    Merlin and Stonehenge
    Merlin Explains the Dragon Image
    Uthyr Defeats the Saxons, Arthur Is Born
    The Death of Uthyr Pendragon
    Merlin Helps Arthur in His Earliest Battles
    Arthur and the Sword in the Stone
    The Death of Merlin
    Huail Son of Caw and Arthur
    Arthur Dreams of the Loss of Kingship
    Arthur and the Round Table
    The Final Battle, Arthur Dies
    Arthur’s Cave Found
    Charlemagne and Arthur

III. Tales of Magic, Prophecy, and the Supernatural
     Maelgwn Gwynedd, His Wife, and the Ring
     The Story of Gwion Bach
     The Epiphany of Taliesin
     An Unfortunate Witch
     The Ring and the Necromancer
     Two Women and a Dead Husband
     A Sorcerer Who Fared Less Well
     Henry II: Piggyback Follies and an Ugly Priest
     The Prophesied Death of Edward I (the Confessor)
     Swearing on Bread in the Time of King Edward the Confessor
     The Reign of William II and His Death
     The Dream of Henry I and Matilda
     The Earl of Anjou Who Married a She-Devil
     Edward III and the Garter
     The Plague in the Time of Edward III
     Henry VI and His Gloves
     The Death of Edward I
     Llywelyn, Prince of Wales, and the Fool
     Richard I, the Lion, and the Heart
     Owain Tudur and Catherine de Valois and the Rise of the Tudors
     Henry VII and Necromancy
     Thomas More and the Garden of Pain
     Sir Thomas More and the Necromancer
     A Ghost Story for Henry VIII
     Rhobin Ddu
     Charles V and the Astronomer

Glossary