Representatıon Of The Welsh Culture In The Mabınogıon

Abstract

Since the formation of societies, people of each social establishment share a set of common values known as culture that defines who they are, where they come from, and what binds them together, and the Welsh as a Celtic community is a part of this perception. Although the Welsh culture and folklore were passed down orally, as time passed by, the oral tradition began to wane away. The contemporary knowledge on Celtic traditions has been derived from who came into contact with them, and consequently assimilated them and their culture. Nevertheless, thanks to the efforts and dedication of Lady Charlotte Guest who made the first translation (1849) from the Celtic, and many who followed her example, their tales were passed down to the present, in the Mabinogion, which, while preserving their essence as best as they can in twelve tales that stand as the living testament of the Welsh culture and folkloreAssuming that they were written between the twelfth and the thirteenth centuries, the tales do not only reflect the Welsh history and mythology, but also reflect how the Welsh define themselves through their socio-cultural norms. Among these twelve tales, the first four which are named as the “Four Branches of the Mabinogion” are of utmost importance due to their strong adherence to the Welsh culture. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate how the Mabinogion depicts the characteristics of the Welsh society within the scope of socio-cultural norms and fundamentals through their literature. The study is limited to the Four Branches of the Mabinogion which first used the term mabinogi (story/tale) to specify the tales and their unique properties that preserve and reflect the Welsh culture, society, and folklore the best way possible. Each tale, in a distinct approach, deals with how socio-cultural norms are perceived in order to present how particular kinds of socio-cultural fundamentals blend in to the tales. Consequently, it presents how deeply engraved the socio-cultural parameters are to the core of the tales as an integral part of the Welsh mythology and heritage that uses the mythology as a means of defining the Welsh community.