The Fates of the Princes of Dyfed and Book of the Three Dragons by Kenneth Morris
"The Fates of the Princes of Dyfed" and "Book of the Three Dragons" are two novels by Kenneth Morris that draw inspiration from the medieval Welsh prose collection known as the Mabinogi. While published sixteen years apart and featuring different characters, both works explore themes of myth and legend rooted in Welsh Celtic culture. In "The Fates of the Princes of Dyfed," Morris utilizes the First Branch of the Mabinogi as a foundation, expanding its narrative significantly while incorporating original elements to enhance the story's depth. This novel reflects traditional storytelling methods and employs familiar motifs, such as quests and magical items.
Conversely, "Book of the Three Dragons" is a more loosely structured tale that integrates characters and themes from various Welsh sources, including other branches of the Mabinogi. The central character, Manawydan, embarks on a quest to protect his world from evil, navigating challenges that blend original and traditional elements. Morris's works not only celebrate Welsh mythology but also signify an evolution in his writing style, influencing later fantasy authors. Overall, these novels serve as a bridge between medieval Welsh narratives and contemporary fantasy literature, showcasing the enduring legacy of Celtic storytelling.
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The Fates of the Princes of Dyfed and Book of the Three Dragons
First published:The Fates of the Princes of Dyfed (1914) and Book of the Three Dragons (1930)
Type of work: Novels
Type of plot: Fantasy—mythological
Time of work: The mythological past
Locale: Wales
The Plot
Although The Fates of the Princes of Dyfed and Book of the Three Dragons were published sixteen years apart and, for the most part, feature different casts of characters, they are closely related. They both use the medieval Welsh prose pieces known as the Mabinogi as their immediate source. The First Branch of the Mabinogi provides the basic plot and characters for the first of these two books; in the second, Kenneth Morris uses characters and plot elements from several branches of the Mabinogi and from other medieval Welsh tales to add depth and texture to a plot essentially of his own creation.
The two novels also are related by their use of medieval materials in contemporary fantasy fiction. As with many fantasy novels, the presence of materials from medieval sources, the most popular of which are the Arthurian materials, not only signals the fantastic nature of the story but also is an integral part of the fantastic cosmology of the story. Morris use of the Welsh Celtic materials as the basis for his fantasies set both the style and the tone adopted by a number of later writers—Evangeline Walton, Lloyd Alexander, Alan Garner, and Nancy Bond, among others—who would make use of those same materials during the 1960’s and 1970’s.
In The Fates of the Princes of Dyfed, Morris first novel, material from the First Branch of the Mabinogi occupies approximately one third of the narrative. That material is almost unchanged from its source. Pwylls journey to the Otherworld, his fight with Hafgan, his two wedding feasts, and the birth, disappearance, and return of his son, Pryderi, essentially are the same in Morris novel as in the Mabinogi. Morris expands on his source, taking fewer than twenty pages from the original and turning them into almost one hundred pages in his novel.
The remaining two-thirds of the book contain episodes and plots of Morris own invention, written according to traditional formulae. For example, the year between the first and second marriage feasts of Pwyll and Rhiannon occupies a sentence or two in the First Branch, but Morris inserts a minor quest, three chapters long, into that space.
Pwyll needs an unfillable sack or basket for the second feast. In the First Branch, Rhiannon gives him the sack, and he has but to wait out the year. In The Fates of the Princes of Dyfed, however, Pwyll must spend the entire year looking for it. The structure of the episode Morris creates fits with the original Mabinogi because it comes from the same traditional cultural matrix of myth and legend as do the Welsh Celtic materials that compose Morris source. The Grail quest of Arthurs knights is an obvious analogue but is only the best known of many. The smaller details of the episode come from folktale and legend as well: The unfillable sack or basket is a traditional motif in a variety of folktales, and three, the dominant number in the episode, is a common and portentous number in folklore. Toward the end of the episode, there are three days left for Pwyll to complete the mission, three different sorrows to be lightened, and three different men trying to fill the basket with three different things. The third man, trying to fill the basket with the third thing to assuage the third sorrow, succeeds—on the third day.
Book of the Three Dragons is based much more loosely on the Mabinogi. In the sixteen years following publication of The Fates of the Princes of Dyfed, Morris writing matured. Morris uses materials from the Four Branches in this novel but also uses materials from other Welsh Celtic sources, particularly “The Dream of Macsen Wledig,” “The Dream of Rhonabwy,” and “Culhwch and Olwen.”
Shortly after the story opens, Manawydan (who, it is discovered, is Pryderi from the first novel) is given the choice between immortality with the gods and preventing a new evil from destroying the world in which he now lives. He chooses the latter course and spends the rest of the novel on a quest to free the Island of the Mighty from the evil threatening it.
Unlike the first novel, in which sections from the Mabinogi are alternated with sections of Morris invention, Book of the Three Dragons interweaves his materials with incidents and motifs from the Mabinogi. Morris most obvious borrowing from the Mabinogi, the three crafts of Pryderi and Manawydan from the Third Branch, are changed from the original. In the middle of the original Third Branch, Manawydan and Pryderi, accompanied by their wives, leave Dyfed, which has been placed under an enchantment, to seek a livelihood elsewhere. In turn, they try saddlemaking, shieldmaking, and shoemaking in episodes that contrast Pryderis hotheadedness with Manawydans good sense. In adapting these scenes for Book of the Three Dragons, Morris removes everyone but Manawydan and changes the cause as well as the purpose of the three crafts. In Morris book, Manawydan must produce a pair of boots, a sword, and a shield of the “Subtle Craft” to trade for the iron gloves of Gwron-Brif-fardd-Prydain, which Manawydan will need in the ultimate battle.