The Mabinogion Review
How does this handsomely bound new rendering by Sioned Davies, Chair in Welsh at Cardiff, compare with the standard edition widely used and often praised, Harvard professor Ford's? Will his "30th Anniversary" U of California paperback reissued edition find itself in a dead heat with Davies in this elegant Oxford U.P. offering? The race may prove a photo finish!
I compared their translations of a favorite passage of mine early on in the First Branch, Pwyll's tale. Arawn's just been reunited with his queen after the year's test by unwitting yet steadfast doppelganger Pwyll. She wonders, post-coitally after a long year's lapse, why it's been so long since her husband made love with her.
Here's Ford (1977 ed., p. 41) first at the starting line.
"Shame on me," she said, "if from the time we went between the sheets there was even pleasure or talk between us or even your facing me-- much less anything more than that-- for the past year!"
And he thought, "Dear Lord God, it was a unique man, with strong and unwavering friendship that I got for a companion." And then he said to his wife, "Lady," he said, "don't blame me. I swear to God," he said, "I haven't slept with you since a year from last night nor have I lain with you."
And he told her the entire adventure.
"I confess to God," she said, "as far as fighting temptations of the flesh and keeping true to you goes, you had a solid hold on a fellow."
"Lady," he said, "that's just what I was thinking while I was silent with you."
"That was only natural," she answered.
--You can feel the hesitant insertion of the teller's dramatic pauses implied with the "saids." These intensify rhythms of the poet's strong, confident prose. A few contractions and the well-placed dashes quicken the dialogue's pace. The language avoids the flowery exactitude and chivalric diction that marked Gwyn and Thomas Jones' 1949 Everyman edition. But, neither does Ford choose an entirely modern register. He keeps a slightly elevated style while emphasizing verve and a gently sophisticated voice for the couple.
--Compare and contrast Davies (2008 ed., p. 7). As in other pages I spot-checked, the two professors run neck and neck and overlap considerably-- a sign of how both scholars channel what Ford calls the "restraint" in this passage as well as its humor and tension.
"Shame on me," she said, "if there has been between us for the past year, from the time we were wrapped up in the bedclothes, either pleasure or conversation, or have you turned your face to me, let alone anything more than that!"
And then he thought, "Dear Lord God," he said, "I had a friend whose loyalty was steadfast and secure." And then he said to his wife, "Lady," he said, "do not blame me. Between me and God," he said, "I have neither slept nor lain down with you for the past year."
And then he told her the whole story.
"I confess to God," she said, "you struck a firm bargain for your friend to have fought off the temptations of the flesh and kept his word to you."
"Lady," he said, "those were my very thoughts while I was silent just now."
"No wonder!" she said.
--Davies in her preface emphasizes the "performative" qualities in her edition. In this passage, she appears to let the lines go longer rather than reining them in to English syntax. They drift away slightly before coming back to us. Perhaps this echo demonstrates Davies' own scholarship in the medieval Welsh interplay between orality and literacy. The author of two books on the Mabinogi, she stresses the "interactive" nature of the manuscript to be read aloud for the "acoustic dimension" embedded in the Welsh texts and through alliteration, tone, and beat, she tries to give us a feel for this tempo, albeit imperfectly conveyed perforce into our clunkier English.
--Both Davies and Ford include the four branches: Pwyll, Branwen, Manawydan, and Math. Both include Lludd & Llueyls. But, reflecting textual differences in the original manuscript anthologies, they also differ. Ford's tales attributed to Gwion Bach & Taliesin, Culhwch & Olwen, and his appendix on Cad Goddeu do not appear in Davies. She provides Peredur, The Dream of the Emperor Maxen, The Lady of the Well, Geraint, and Rhonawby's Dream.
--Both editors explain their textual choices and open with prefaces. They both add glossaries, pronunciation guides, and bibliographies. Ford situates the tales in Indo-European contexts and Davies delves into their delivery as recited stories. Ford begins each tale with a short introduction; Davies adds explanatory notes in a detailed appendix, keyed to asterisks in the body of the text. Davies keys her "Index of Personal Names" to pages in the text while Ford does not. For study and teaching, it looks like the competition may result in a dignified and spirited draw. Most serious readers doubtless will want to consult, as I have, both fine efforts side-by-side.
(This review, fittingly, is also on the Ford 1977 ed. listing on Amazon US. The UC press reissue has not yet been published. May both translations flourish.) Celtic mythology, Arthurian romance, and an intriguing interpretation of British history--these are just some of the themes embraced by the anonymous authors of the eleven tales that make up the Welsh medieval masterpiece known as the Mabinogion. They tell of Gwydion the shape-shifter, who can create a woman out of flowers; of Math the magician whose feet must lie in the lap of a virgin; of hanging a pregnant mouse and hunting a magical boar. Dragons, witches, and giants live alongside kings and heroes, and quests of honour, revenge, and love are set against the backdrop of a country struggling to retain its independence.
This new translation, the first for thirty years, recreates the storytelling world of medieval Wales and re-invests the tales with the power of performance.
Check price now
Related Products
Customer Reviews
Magic, War, Love - Cynthia - Los Angeles, CA
This is a group of 12 Welsh legends that feature King Arthur along with other kings. They were stories passed down orally and have mnemonic devices imbedded in them to aide in the telling so they sometimes sound odd to our modern ears. There is so much here that appears in current day literature. There are magical creatures and wells and rocks and carpets, shape shifting, giants, fierce warriors, fair maidens, unbelievably delicious food, and chesslike games, etc. everything that appears in modern day fairy stories and science fiction. The knights are always handsome, unless they're the bad knights and then of course they're hideous, the women are each more beautiful than the next. Decisions made quickly often have far reaching implications. There is a sense of immediacy. Anyone could die at any time or make a life long alliance. Magic, War, Love, that's what these stories are made of.
I alternated between this new translation of Davies and Charlotte Guest's Victorian one and enjoyed both however Davies gives a wealth of background information that I found very helpful.
ya pays ya money, ya takes ya choice. - Zadzaczadlin - United Kingdom
" `Lady,' asked he, `whence comest thou, and whereunto dost thou journey?' "I journey on mine own errand," said she, "and right glad am I to see thee." `My greeting unto thee,' said he. Then he thought that the beauty of all the maidens, and all the ladies that he had ever seen, was as nothing compared to her beauty." - Lady Charlotte Guest's translation (1838).
" `Lady,' he asked, `whence comest thou, and where art thou going?' "I go mine own errands," said she, "and glad I am to see thee." `My welcome to thee,' said he. And then he thought that the countenance of every maiden and every lady he had ever seen was unlovely compared with her countenance." - Jones & Jones (1948).
" `Lady,' he said, `where do you come from, and where are you going?' "Going about my business," she said, "and I am glad to see you." `My welcome to you,' he said. And then he thought that the face of every maiden and every woman he had ever seen was unattractive compared with her face." - Sioned Davies (2007).
Jul 05, 2010 21:04:04
0 comments:
Post a Comment