THE ELEMENT ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FAIRIES: An A-Z of Fairies, Pixies, and other Fantastical Creatures. Lucy Cooper

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      (Also Bendigeidfran.) Son of the Welsh sea god Llyr and brother of Branwen, Bran the Blessed, whose name means “raven” or “crow,” is featured in the ancient Welsh stories of the Mabinogion. He is described as a sea deity, a giant of such massive proportions that no house can accommodate him, a king of Britain, and the keeper of the magical cauldron of regeneration, which restores fallen warriors to life.

      One of the most famous stories of Bran tells of his struggles with the Irish.

      One day the Irish king Matholwch came to Bran the Blessed to make an alliance. Bran and his brother, Manawydan, agreed to grant the king their beautiful sister Branwen’s hand in marriage to forge a lasting peace between Britain and Ireland.

      Branwen consented and a great wedding celebration was held in the open air, for no building was big enough to contain the godlike proportions of Bran. There was much rejoicing, until Bran’s half-brother, Efnisien, arrived back to discover that the wedding had taken place without his knowledge. Flying into a rage because he had been left out of the proceedings, he attacked and mutilated King Matholwch’s horses. This act of cruelty was intended as an insult and Matholwch was greatly offended.

      In an attempt to make peace and appease his Irish guests, Bran offered various gifts of horses, silver, and gold, and eventually won them over when he promised to give them the magical cauldron of regeneration. King Matholwch accepted the gifts and returned to Ireland with his bride.

      At first all was well. Branwen was well received in Ireland and bore Matholwch a son, Gwern. However, as time passed, anger at Efnisien’s insult grew among Matholwch’s people. Matholwch himself took his resentment out on Branwen, banishing her from his chamber to work in the kitchen. No Briton who visited Ireland was allowed to return home lest Bran hear how badly his sister was being treated. But while chopping wood in the yard, the resourceful Branwen tamed a starling and, after years of patient teaching, trained it to carry messages for her. She tied a message to the bird’s leg to take to Bran, telling him of her plight.

      When the news reached Bran, he summoned a great fleet of ships and men to invade Ireland and rescue his sister. Too large to fit aboard any ship, he himself waded through the sea.

      The Irish were confounded when they saw what looked like a huge forest and strange mountain moving through the sea toward them. When Matholwch asked Branwen about this strange vision, she knew it was her brother coming to save her. When she told Matholwch that the forest was a fleet of ships and the great mountain behind it was her brother, the people of Ireland were afraid. They retreated across the River Shannon, destroying the bridge behind them, but when Bran reached the river he stretched his great body across it, allowing his men to cross over his back like a bridge.

      Backed into a corner, Matholwch sought to make amends. He offered his kingdom to Branwen’s son, Gwern, and proposed to construct a building large enough to house even Bran, where the Irish and British could meet to celebrate a lasting peace.

      Finally, Bran agreed and the great meeting-house was built. But Matholwch wasn’t true to his peace offer and hid armed men in sacks that were hung up inside the mighty house.

      When the two sides entered the house for the supposed peace meeting, Efnisien enquired what was inside the sacks. On being told they contained flour, he proceeded to squish the contents of each sack until all of the warriors were dead.

      Matholwch had been caught out by his own sly trick and had no choice but to continue with the peace talks. Gwern was crowned king and was popular with both sides, except for Efnisien, who jealously thrust the boy onto the fire, shattering the peace and provoking an outbreak of fighting.

      In the morning, the dead Irish warriors were placed in the cauldron of regeneration and rose to fight again.

      Seeing the bodies of his kinsmen scattered dead on the ground, in an act of remorse Efnisien threw himself down among the bodies of his enemies. As he was thrown into the cauldron, he stretched out his body, rupturing the cauldron and bursting his heart in the process.

      Once the cauldron was broken, Bran’s men gained the advantage, until the giant king was struck by a poisoned spear and mortally wounded. His dying wish was that his kinsmen cut off his head and bury it under the Gwyn Fryn, the White Mound or Tower near London, whence it would guard the land from invasion.

      When Branwen set foot back in Britain, her heart burst at the thought that she had been the cause of so much sorrow and destruction and she dropped dead.

      In Ireland, there were only five survivors, said to be pregnant women who gave birth to the five provinces of Ireland.

      Seven warriors remained on the Welsh side and they carried out Bran’s request, but it took them many years to reach their destination. Eventually arriving at Gwyn Fryn, they buried the head of the giant king facing the European mainland, where some say it remains as a protective spirit guarding the land of Britain from attack.

      Some believe that the Tower of London was built over the head. Today a legend that is sometimes associated with Bran’s remains is that as long as there are ravens in the Tower of London, the kingdom of Britain will not fall.

      Branwen

      Daughter of the Welsh sea god Llyr, sister of Bran the Blessed and Manawydan. Branwen, the “white raven,” is featured in the ancient epic stories of the Mabinogion, where she is described as one of the most beautiful women in the Isle of Britain.

      When the Irish king Matholwch took her as his bride but subsequently maltreated her, much fighting ensued between the Irish and the Britons, and Branwen died of heartbreak at the death and destruction that she believed she had caused.

      Briggs, Katharine (1898–1980)

      English folklore scholar Katharine Mary Briggs is best known for her numerous and comprehensive collections of fairy lore and folk tales of the British Isles. She was born in Hampstead, London, the daughter of Edward Briggs and Mary Cooper. The family originated from Yorkshire, where they had invested, with success, in coal mining. Her father was a watercolorist who particularly enjoyed painting Scottish scenery, and in 1911 the family moved to Perthshire.

      Briggs’ interest in stories began at an early age, possibly catalyzed by her father’s fondness for storytelling. She also heard many traditional tales recounted while living in Scotland. In 1918 she moved to Oxford, where she studied English at Lady Margaret Hall. She obtained her PhD after the Second World War with a thesis on folklore (Folklore in Jacobean Literature). She wrote extensively on the topic of folklore and her works remain among the most esteemed sources on British folklore and fairy lore today. Her publications include The Personnel of Fairyland (1953), the Anatomy of Puck (1959), Folktales of England (1965), the four-volume Dictionary of British Folk Tales in the English Language (1970–1971), and her comprehensive A Dictionary of Fairies, Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies and Other Supernatural Creatures (1976).

      Briggs served as president of the British Folklore Society for three years; an award was named in her honor after her death in 1980.

      Brighid

      See Brigit.

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