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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
Article
“The (pregnant) mouse freed from the gallows: a ballad parallel for the conclusion of Manawydan fab Llŷr”
Periodical
Volume
129
Pages
302–315
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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
Contributors
Dennis Groenewegen
Page created
November 2020
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