Bibliography

Hill, Thomas D., and Kristen Mills, “The (pregnant) mouse freed from the gallows: a ballad parallel for the conclusion of Manawydan fab Llŷr”, Folklore: The Journal of the Folklore Society 129:3 (September, 2018): 302–315.

journal article

Citation details

Contributors

Hill (Thomas D.)

Mills (Kristen)

Article

“The (pregnant) mouse freed from the gallows: a ballad parallel for the conclusion of Manawydan fab Llŷr”

Periodical

Folklore: The Journal of the Folklore Society 129:3 (2018)

Volume

129

Pages

302–315

BibTeX

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Description

Abstract (cited)

In the concluding episode of the Third Branch of the Mabinogi, the Welsh nobleman Manawydan takes the (pregnant) mouse that he has captured to the magically significant site Gorsedd Arberth and prepares to hang her for theft, according to the law. As he prepares the gallows, various figures attempt to intervene until finally a ‘bishop’ redeems his transformed wife by disenchanting the land, freeing Manawydan’s companions, and swearing not to take vengeance. We argue that this scene is strikingly similar to the famous ballad widely attested all over Europe, ‘The Maid Freed from the Gallows’, a parallel which not only illuminates this episode in the Mabinogi, but also suggests how the Welsh storyteller used traditional material in shaping these narratives.

Subjects and topics

Headings

Welsh literature folklore, mythology and popular culture

Sources

Texts

web page identifiers

page name: Hill and Mills 2018 folklore129adba

page url: https://codecs.vanhamel.nl/Hill_and_Mills_2018_folklore129adba
redirect: https://codecs.vanhamel.nl/Special:Redirect/page/50273
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Contributors

Dennis Groenewegen

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