Skip to main content

Reading Notes: Part B Welsh Fairy Tales

Similar to Part A of the Welsh Fairy Tales, Part B is a collection of short stories. A story that caught my attention from Part B of the unit was Melangell's Lambs. Reading the story made me somewhat surprised as there really were no lambs in the story. This is because the animals in the story are hares, or rabbits, and not lambs. However, because they were saved by Melangell, they were later referred to as her lambs. Perhaps there is just a cultural reference that I do not get, but this certainly surprised me when I was reading the story. Researching the Kingdom of Powys revealed to me that it was originally located in what is known today as the English West Midlands. Moreover the name Powys is of Latin origin and means dwellers of the country side. There really is not much significant of the kingdom other many battle and feuds that are part of their existence. Researching Melangell revealed to me that she is fact a saint who was venerated in 590. She even has a church dedicated to her in village in Wales where the Powys kingdom once ruled. A feast is held every 27th of May in her honor. Overall, it is clear that Melangell has much significance to the Powys kingdom and Welsh culture in general. I feel like in a potential retelling I could elaborate more on this to show the significance to the reader. I also feel like in a retelling that I could transition to the story to more modern prose. This would make it easier for there reader to understand but also give the new story a new perspective. Perhaps I could even the set the story in modern times. There is much that I could explore in the story. Overall, it was a great and short read.

Bibliography: The Welsh Fairy Book by W. Jenkyn Thomas with illustrations by Willy Pogány (1908).

Wikimedia: Melangell's church in Wales

Labels:

Comments

  1. Cate HowellNovember 8, 2019 at 4:18 PM

    Hi Neal,
    How strange that the story is called Melangell's Lambs but has no lambs in it! I guess this could refer to the way lambs are referenced biblically, like the vulnerable members of a flock guided by a shepherd who must protect them. I almost checked out the Welsh unit myself because I think I have some ancestry from there, but I ended up looking into the stories of Britomart, which were pretty cool!
    Thanks!
    - Cate

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introducing the RealNeal

Wow. It is crazy to think that I am already back in Norman for my junior year. While my first two years were full of unique experiences, I never imagined that I would be a writing a blog to begin my third year! To start off, I am psychology major on the pre medicine track. Ever since I took psychology in high school I found studying the mind and the way people act so interesting. However, I always had the goal of becoming a physician which explains the pre-med track.  Although I am an OU student, I still consider myself a proud Texan. I come from a relatively small town in East Texas where high school football is king and perhaps the most famous thing is that Matthew Mccounaughey graduated from my high school (he even came to our high school graduation this year to give a speech!). Wikimedia Commons : Longview High School Now some other facts about me. I am a huuuuuuggeeeeee tennis fan. I have been playing tennis since I was 7 years old, and played through out high schoo...
35 comments
Read more

Comment Wall

Welcome to the Greek mythology Common App comment section! Feel free to comment, share, or predict whose application will have the most success! Link to storybook : https://sites.google.com/view/greekcommonapp/home Wikimedia : Temple of Apollo, a major figure of the storybook
33 comments
Read more

Barcelona: My Favorite Place

A Christmas trip to Barcelona following my first semester at OU introduced me to a city that captured my heart. Because of my previous experience in highschool taking art history, I was engrossed in the modern architecture of the city, mainly of the work of acclaimed architect Antonio Gaudi.  Moreover, the night life and unique Catalan traditions conveyed a city with a blend of modern and traditional tastes.  Finally, as a huge soccer fan I was amazed by the sight of Camp Nou, the home of Barcelona FC and one of the cathedrals of soccer. (La Sagrada Familia; personal image) (Local food market; personal image) (Max Pixel:  Camp Nou , Home of FC Barcelona)
6 comments
Read more