"Preiddeu Annwfn" or "Preiddeu Annwn" (English: "The Spoils of Annwfn") is a mysterious poem with sixty lines written in Middle Welsh. It is found in the Book of Taliesin. The poem describes a journey with King Arthur to Annwfn or Annwn, a magical land in Welsh tradition called the Otherworld.
"Preiddeu Annwfn" is one of the most famous medieval British poems. Parts or all of it have been translated into English by scholars such as R. Williams (in William Forbes Skene's Four Ancient Books of Wales), Robert Graves (The White Goddess), and others, including Roger Sherman Loomis, Herbert Pilch, John T. Koch, Marged Haycock, John K. Bollard, and Sarah Higley. Translating the poem is difficult because of its short and unclear style, unclear words, its survival in only one copy whose accuracy is uncertain, the lack of similar stories, and its connections to other poems and tales.
Some scholars, including Marshall H. James, have noted similarities between this poem and other medieval Welsh texts. For example, James points to a line in "Mic Dinbych" from the Black Book of Carmarthen that is very similar to a line in "Preiddeu Annwfn." Some scholars suggest the poem may be linked to the tradition that later inspired the grail stories in Arthurian literature. Haycock, in The Figure of Taliesin, says the poem is "about Taliesin and his pride in knowledge," while Higley describes it as "a metaphor of its own making—a poem about the material 'spoils' of poetic creation."
Manuscript and date
The poem is kept in a special book called the Book of Taliesin (Aberystwyth, NLW, MS Peniarth 2), which was created in the first part of the 14th century. However, it is very hard to find out when the poem itself was written. Experts believe it could have been written as early as the late 6th century, when the bard Taliesin lived, or as late as when the book was completed. Based on language features, Norris J. Lacy suggests the poem took its current form around AD 900. Marged Haycock points out that the poem has a formal feature also found in earlier poems in the Book of Taliesin, such as a pause that splits the lines into longer and shorter parts. She also says there is no strong evidence that the poem was written before the time of the Gogynfeirdd.
Text
The poem is divided into eight sections, each mostly using one rhyme but with different numbers of lines. The first section starts and the last ends with two lines that praise the Lord, usually seen as Christian. In the final two lines of each section except the last, the speaker describes a dangerous journey to Annwfn with Arthur and three groups of men, of whom only seven returned, likely bringing back "spoils" from Annwfn. Annwfn is called by several names, such as "Mound or Fairy Fortress," "Four Peaked or Cornered Fortress," and "Glass Fortress," though these may refer to different places. The cause of the tragedy is not clearly explained.
Each section except the last two begins with the speaker talking in the first person. The first starts with "I praise the Lord," the second and third with "I am honoured in praise," and the next three say "I do not merit little men" who depend on books and lack understanding. The last two sections describe groups of monks who also rely on the words and knowledge of others, lacking the experience the poem mentions.
Between these beginnings and ends, the first six sections briefly mention the journey. The first section describes Gweir, who is imprisoned in the walls of a fortress, a character linked by Rachel Bromwich to Gwair, one of "Three Exalted Prisoners of Britain" from Welsh Triads. He is chained and sings before the spoils of Annwfn until Judgment Day. The second section describes the cauldron of the Chief of Annwfn, decorated with pearls, and how it was taken, likely being the "spoils." The third and fourth sections mention challenges with the forces of Annwfn, while the fifth and sixth describe a large, richly decorated ox that may be part of Arthur's spoils.
The first section also mentions Pwyll, a legendary prince of Dyfed, who in the first branch of the Mabinogi becomes the Chief of Annwfn after helping its king, Arawn, and is credited with owning a cauldron.
The speaker may be Taliesin himself, as the second section says, "my poetry, from the cauldron it was uttered, from the breath of nine maidens it was kindled, the cauldron of the chief of Annwfn." Taliesin's name is connected to a similar story in his birth legend. A song is heard in the fourfold fortress, which seems to be Annwfn. Gweir was imprisoned in endless song before a cauldron that first produced poetry when breathed on by nine maidens, similar to the nine muses of classical stories. Just as the cauldron "does not boil the food of a coward," the song it inspires is "honoured in praise," too great for ordinary people.
Analogues and interpretations
Two stories in particular, the tale of Bran the Blessed in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi and a story in Culhwch and Olwen where Arthur's group sails to Ireland on a ship called Prydwen to get the Cauldron of Diwrnach, are often compared to the poem being discussed.
In the Second Branch, Bran gives his magical life-restoring cauldron to his brother-in-law, Matholwch of Ireland, after Bran's sister, Branwen, marries him. Matholwch treats Branwen poorly, so Bran's men sail to Ireland to rescue her. During the battle, the cauldron is destroyed, which Matholwch used to bring his soldiers back to life. Many of Bran's men die, and only seven, including Taliesin and Pryderi, survive.
In Culhwch and Olwen, Arthur's group also sails to Ireland on Prydwen to retrieve the cauldron. This cauldron, like the one in Preiddeu Annwfn, is said to boil meat quickly for brave people but not for cowards. Arthur's warrior, Llenlleawc the Irishman, kills Diwrnach's entire group by swinging Excalibur. Taliesin and several Gweirs are also mentioned as part of Arthur's group.
Preiddeu Annwfn describes a sword, either "bright" or "of Lleawch," being raised to the cauldron, leaving it in the hands of "Lleminawc." Some scholars think this relates to Llenlleawc, but the connection is not certain. Higley suggests that a shared story might explain similarities in Welsh and Irish tales.
Sir John Rhys connected these Irish campaigns to the "western isles" of the Celtic otherworld, linking Preiddeu Annwfn to stories like Immram and Echtra. He also noted that the Isle of Lundy was once called Ynys Wair, a place where Gweir was imprisoned.
Culhwch also tells of Arthur rescuing Mabon ap Modron, a god of poetry after whom the Mabinogi are named, and mentions Gwynn ap Nudd, king of the Tylwyth Teg (fairies in Welsh lore), who rules over devils in Annwfn. Gwynn joins Arthur's group after Arthur helps him in a dispute over Creiddylad.
In the First Branch of the Mabinogi, Pwyll marries Rhiannon, and their son, Pryderi, receives pigs from Arawn. Later, Pryderi follows a white boar to a tower where he is trapped by a golden bowl in an enchanted mist along with Rhiannon and the tower itself. This story is similar to Gweir's imprisonment.
Roger Sherman Loomis noted that Preiddeu Annwfn's "Glass Fortress" resembles an Irish tale where the Milesians, ancestors of the Irish, attack a glass tower in the ocean. The tower's inhabitants do not speak to them, and most of the Milesians die in the attack.
Another fortress, "Caer Sidi," is linked to the Irish fairyland where the Tuatha Dé Danann live. This name appears in "Kerd Veib am Llyr," where the poet, speaking as Taliesin, claims to have been with Bran in Ireland. Bran and Manawyddan are sons of Llŷr.
Higley explains that Annwfn is often connected to the land of old gods who give gifts, including poetry (awen). Another poem, "Angar Kyfyndawt," describes Annwfn as a place deep below the earth, where awen is brought from the deep. In "Kadeir Teyrnon," three "awens" come from the ogyruen, similar to Taliesin receiving inspiration from three drops of the cauldron of Ceridwen.
These poems use stories from otherworldly tales, such as journeys, battles, imprisonments, and cauldrons, to represent mystical poetic knowledge. Robert Graves believed scholars struggle to interpret these myths.
Early translators linked Preiddeu Annwfn (with the Bran story) to the Grail stories, though with mixed success. Both Bran the Blessed and the Grail keeper, the Fisher King, have leg wounds and live in castles where time does not pass. The Grail in Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval is compared to Bran's cauldron, and like Preiddeu Annwfn, Grail stories often end with tragedy and loss.
Early scholars believed the Holy Grail had Celtic origins, but modern researchers like Richard Barber argue Celtic myths had little influence on the legend. R. S. Loomis suggested looking for shared themes between Grail stories and Celtic tales rather than direct connections, a view many modern scholars agree with.