The Celtic Calendar - Main Essay

The Five Year Theme
in the Four Branches of the Mabinogion

In the Celtic calendar from first century BC Gaul, the structure upon which the luni-solar time reckoning was based was a five year solar cycle.  Briefly, every month corresponded to a lunation and there were twelve named months in each year; further, in the first and third years an extra month was inserted so that these years contained thirteen months. At the completion of five years, the sun and the moon returned to close alignment in the month of Samon.

The bronze tablet found at Coligny comprises an entire five year cycle. A millennium later, oral traditions of the Celts began to be recorded and what we call today the Four Branches of the Mabinogion appeared in two great books, The White Book of Rhydderch and The Red Book of Hergest.  In these four myths, several series of five year long tales are recorded.

We ask the question, "Has a Celtic tradition of Five Year Cycles been preserved in the structure of these Myths?"  The Four Branches are a very small sample to examine, and the stories probably relate to events centuries after the Celtic calendar as recorded in Gaul fell into disuse, but nevertheless it may remain a possibility that the Bards of Prydein preserved in the structure of their story-telling the importance that events or cycles should take five years to complete.  This simple hypothesis remains just that, but presented here are a series of Five Year tales from the Mabinogion, and the reader is invited to enjoin this speculation....

How Rhiannon married Pwyll found in the myth of Pwyll

• Year 1 Rhiannon declares her love for Pwyll
• Year 2 Pwyll looses Rhiannon to Gwawl
• Year 3 Pwyll regains Rhiannon from Gwawl
• Year 4 Prosperous marriage
• Year 5 Rhiannon gives birth to a son

How Rhiannon's son got his Name found in the myth of Pwyll

• Year 1 Gwri grows to the strength of a three year old
• Year 2 Gwri grows to the strength of a six year old
• Year 3 Gwri grows still stronger
• Year 4 Gwri is bargaining with the stable boys to water the horses
• Year 5 Gwri is presented to Rhiannon as her lost son and is named Pryderi

How Branwen was rescued from Mallolwch from the myth of Branwen

• Year 1 Branwen is given to Mallolwch
• Year 2 Branwen is honoured at the court of Mallolwch
• Year 3 Branwen is banished and takes a blow every day
• Year 4 Branwen raises the starling
• Year 5 Branwen is rescued

How Gwydion and Gilvaethwy were Punished from the myth of Math ap Mathonwy

• Year 1 Gwydion raids Dyved and Gilvaethwy rapes Goewin.
• Year 2 Gwydion and Gilvaethwy transformed to deer - produce offspring
• Year 3 Gwydion and Gilvaethwy transformed to wild pigs- produce offspring
• Year 4 Gwydion and Gilvaethwy transformed to wolves - produce offspring
• Year 5 Gwydion selects Arianrhod to replace Goewin, Arianrhod gives birth

How Arianrhod's son got his Name from the myth of Math ap Mathonwy

• Year 1 The infant son of Arianrhod grew to the size of a two year old.
• Year 2 At the end of his second year he could go to court by himself
• Year 3 The boy continues to grow stronger
• Year 4 At the end of his fourth year and was as big as a very advanced eight year old
• Year 5 Arianrhod named the boy Lleu Skilful Hand.

How Lleu avenged Goronwy from the myth of Math ap Mathonwy

• Year 1 Lleu is named and armed by Arianrhod
• Year 2 Lleu is married to Blodeuwedd
• Year 3 Goronwy spends a year preparing the spear
• Year 4 Lleu is speared by Goronwy
• Year 5 Lleu kills Goronwy and becomes Lord of Gwynedd

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