The Mabinogion are the earliest prose stories of the literature of Britain. The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th-13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. The collection covers eleven prose stories of widely different types, offering drama, philosophy, romance, tragedy, fantasy and humour. There is a classic hero quest, "Culhwch and Olwen;" a historic legend in "Lludd and Llefelys," complete with glimpses of a far off age; and other tales portray a very different King Arthur from the later popular versions.
Scholars from the 18th century to the 1970s predominantly viewed the tales as fragmentary pre-Christian Celtic mythology, or international folklore. Since the 1970s an understanding of the integrity of the tales has developed, with investigation of their plot structures, characterisation, and language styles. They are now seen as a sophisticated narrative tradition, both oral and written, with ancestral construction from oral storytelling, and overlay from Anglo-French influences. It was Lady Charlotte Guest in 1838-45 who first published the full collection, bilingually in Welsh and English. The tales continue to inspire new fiction, dramatic retellings, visual artwork, and research.
This case laminate collector's edition includes a Victorian-inspired dust jacket.
