The Mabinogion

By: Sioned Davies - Translator

Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart

Then they took the flowers of the oak, and the flowers of the broom, and the flowers of the meadowsweet, and from those they conjured up the fairest and most beautiful maiden that anyone had ever seen.

Celtic mythology, Arthurian romance, and an intriguing interpretation of British history - these are just some of the themes embraced by the anonymous authors of the eleven tales that make up the Welsh medieval masterpiece known as The Mabinogion.

They tell of Gwydion the shape-shifter, who can create a woman out of flowers; of Math the magician whose feet must lie in the lap of a virgin; of hanging a pregnant mouse and hunting a magical boar. Dragons, witches, and giants live alongside kings and heroes, and quests of honor, revenge, and love are set against the backdrop of a country struggling to retain its independence.

Sioned Davies's lively translation re-creates the storytelling world of medieval Wales and reinvests the tales with the power of performance.

©2007 Sioned Davies (P)2018 Tantor

Decent content, poor performance

Easily one of the worst readings I’ve heard - flat, monotonous, utterly devoid of drama or feeling. It’s especially unfortunate, as the translator stresses at length the degree to which she rendered the Mabinogion to retain its oral character. I would strongly recommend sampling the other Audible version of this audiobook before making a purchase.

Good research item for fantasy writers.

Eleven Welsh myths and Arthurian romances comprise the Mabinogion. These are simple tales but have been springboards of ideas for fantasy writers for a century.
Modern translations of ancient myths and epics are clear & direct, no denying that. But they often lack love of verse and language, a touch of Tennyson or Coleridge.
A comparison may be that older translations are akin to the King James bible and newer ones to the NIV bible--or even the ERV.

Narrator sounds bored and irritated

This narrator sounds like someone is forcing him to read the stories. Very unpleasant listening and it distracts from the mythology.

A bit of a slog

Like many medieval stories, it moves slow and contains a lot of focus on manners and issues of honor. As a source for understanding the medieval mindset its ok (although I think le mort d'arthur is better). Interesting, but a bit of a slog to get through.

Fabulous

Fans of Icelandic saga, Arthurian legend, Homeric epic will love this audiobook. Even more than the printed book because it pronounces all the strange Welsh names of characters and places. There’s a strong echo of J.R.R. Tolkien in the stories. The Mabinogion is literally wonderful.

Vibrant New Translation Puts You In Wales!

I've read four different translations of the Mabinogion, and this is by far the most vibrant and alive!
Sioned Davies' new translation really focuses on the oral experience of listening to a wonderful story
being told aloud, putting you in Wales, a thousand years ago in a castle, with a hunk of roasted meat
and a tankard of ale, drawn in by the Celtic Bards, who were the best story tellers on Earth!

Earlier translations have their good points, but two qualities hold them back: 1. The morality of the Christian
translator, who tries to hide key story elements like a wife who's pleased that she finally gets laid after a year
after her husband changed forms with a human. That's gonna draw a laugh in any hall in the world if it's well told though
it's modified to fit modern subdued non-Welsh women. 2. The translators too often are readers and writers, not story tellers with a focus on the oral tradition. These stories are meant to be heard with the smell of fireplace smoke and ale on a cold misty night, not in a library.

So if you want the woman's touch, and a real Welsh woman who makes 'em come alive for you: this is the translation. Lady Guest loved the Welsh and saved it. But she was a Brit and hers reads like a junior high girl's version of the tales.

Tough names

Good Stories.
Hard names.
Good history.
Storytelling in this style, and especially with these names, can be tough to follow.

The Mabinogion: The Audiobook

The audio for this book matches the book and the story perfectly, and it helps for someone like me who has difficulty with pronouncing Welsh words correctly because it is not my native language, but I want to know it and learn it. The narrator was great, and I am grateful that he narrated this book because he really knew the stories and the words.

Entertaining translation, poor telling

I can only echo what others have said about the choice for the narrator.

Not a casual listen, but rather an academic endeav

In "The Mabinogion," the Welsh mythological tapestry is unfurled to reveal a world where the natural and the supernatural weave together, producing a fabric of tales that shimmer with enchantment. The audiobook promises a portal into a time where Gwydion's mastery of magic sees a maiden of flowers brought to life and where Math the magician's peculiar needs dictate courtly protocol.

Sioned Davies's translation is OK, but the stories may not that interesting to a modern reader.

As intriguing as these stories are, they may present a challenge to the modern listener. The narrative structure and cultural nuances of "The Mabinogion" are deeply rooted in medieval Welsh society. Its style can come across as archaic and its plot mechanisms repetitive. Phrases like "I swear by/to God" punctuate the tales frequently, emphasizing the solemnity of the characters' vows and the weight of their words.

For those unaccustomed to the narrative cadence of yesteryear, "The Mabinogion" might indeed seem tedious. The stories operate on a principle akin to an adventure game, where one quest leads to another in a seemingly endless cascade of tasks. To some, this might stretch patience thin and lead to a listening experience that feels more like a marathon than a sprint.

In sum, this audiobook is a double-edged sword. It's a vibrant resurrection of stories that form the bedrock of Welsh literary heritage, but it also bears the marks of its age. This is not a casual listen, but rather an academic endeavor, requiring patience and an interest in the past. If one can tune in to its peculiar frequency, "The Mabinogion" is a treasure trove of mythic lore that still resonates with the power of its original oral recitations.