Once upon a time, when Bran the Blessed was High King of Britain, he held his court at Harddlech and sat on a rock there that overlooked the sea. With him was his sister Branwen and his brother Manawydan, and they were all children of Llyr. Their mother, Penarddun, daughter of Beli Mawr, also had two other sons by Euroswydd, who had once imprisoned their father. Nisien and Efnisien were their half-brothers, and though Nisien was a good man, Efnisien was troublesome and a warmonger.
While they were gazing out across the sea, they spied thirteen ships sailing swiftly from the south of Ireland. Bran told his men to arm themselves and wait for the Irish on the beach to see why they were sailing toward the Island of the Mighty. When the ships neared, they could see that they were graceful and lovely, with beautiful designs embroidered on the sails. Then one ship pulled ahead of the others and there was a man at the prow holding a shield with the point upwards as a token of peace. Then the Britons took to their own ships and greeted the Irish in the water.
“Greetings, friends and welcome to you!” The Britons hailed. “Who leads this host, and why have you come?”
“We’re led by Matholwch, King of Ireland, and it is for his sake that we have come. He seeks the hand of Branwen, daughter of Llyr, and to ally himself with Bran, the High King. If Bran will have it, Matholwch would unite Ireland with the Island of the Mighty, that they might become stronger.”
Then Bran said that he would do all this gladly, and bade Matholwch and his company come ashore. They all feasted together in tents along the shore and made ties of friendship. Branwen and Matholwch sat together at the side of Bran the Blessed, and the whole company was filled with good cheer.
Now when Efnisien heard that his half-sister was being given in marriage, he was furious because he had not been consulted. He thought he would avenge his insult upon the Irish by mutilating their horses. He cut off the lips, ears, tails, and even what he could grasp of the eyelids. If his actions brought war with the Irish, so much the better, for Efnisien had a great love of war.
When Matholwch saw what had happened to his horses, he said, “These Britons are strange! First the High King gives me the hand of Branwen, one of the Three Matriarchs of this island, lovely beyond all others, and his beloved sister, and then he pays me an insult. If he wished to insult me, I would have though the insult would have been given before a woman of such surpassing quality. Come, we will leave without pressing the matter further.”
Bran inquired as to why his guest was leaving so suddenly, and was very wroth when he learned of what Efnisien had done. Bran said to Matholwch, “The maiming of your horses was done against my will and though you reckon it an insult, I resent it even more than you. The one who did the wicked deed is my mother’s brother, and it would be hard for me to put him to death, but I will repay you for what you have lost. I will give you a sound horse for every one that was injured, a tall staff of silver, and a broad plate of gold.”
Then Matholwch relented and stayed again among the Britons in the tents, but Bran noticed that his cheer was not as good as before and thought it was because the reparations were too small. Then he added unto the Irish King a magical cauldron, which was a treasure greater than all the others.
“It is a virtue of this cauldron that a man who is slain today may be thrown into it, and tomorrow he will be made well again and will have lost only the power of speech.”
“Where, Lord,” said Matholwch, “did you find such a treasure?”
“The giant Llasar Llaes Gyfnewid and his wife gave it to me when they moved here from Ireland, and it may be that they found it there.”
“I have known them well. I met the two giants coming up out of a lake, called the Lake of the Cauldron, and the man bore a huge cauldron on his back. He told me that his wife was heavy with child, and that in a month and a fortnight she would conceive a grown man, fully armed. I maintained them for a year without complaint, but then the whole country cried against them for their behavior. They were harassing everyone they came across, and soon I was given the choice between my dominions or friendship with the giants. Thereafter I sought out how I could expel them, but they could not be compelled to leave through force of arms because of their great strength. Instead, I summoned every smith in the land to build a chamber of iron, and to bring their bellows and bags of charcoal. I set a feast for the giant and his family in the iron house, and then shut them in while they were eating. The smiths piled the charcoal high against the walls and blew mightily on their bellows until the iron chamber was glowing white hot. Their children were perishing inside, but the iron was made soft in the flames and Llasar broke through the door by charging it with his shoulder. He and his wife alone escaped and left Ireland entirely.”
That night they continued in song, carousal, and storytelling. When the morning came, the Irish sailed away on their thirteen ships, and Branwen was with them. When Matholwch returned to his land, he held a great feast in honor of his wife and not one guest left without receiving some treasure from her hand. In time, Branwen became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who she named Gwern. He was a fine lad, well loved by all, and he went to be fostered by the best men in Ireland. Meanwhile, the minds of the Irish nobles turned again to the insult that was done to Matholwch in Britain, and they murmured against him. Then the men close to him began to taunt him endlessly for it, until Ireland was in an uprising and he would have no peace unless he avenged the insult. Thus he drove Branwen from their shared chamber, and forced her to cook for everyone at court. Then he ordered that everyday, when the butcher had finished cutting the meat and his hands were filthy, he should box Branwen’s ear. In that way, her punishment was carried out for the actions of her half-brother Efnisien.
Matholwch knew that the Britons would surely come to rescue Branwen and destroy Ireland if ever they heard how she was treated, so he forbade all travel to Britain and imprisoned any Britons that ventured to Ireland to trade. Eventually he banned all ships and coracles, so great was his fear that word of Branwen’s fate would reached Bran the Blessed.
Now Branwen eventually tamed a starling at the edge of her flour trough, and tied a note around the base of its wing that detailed the shameful things she endured. She sent the starling across the sea to the Isle of the Mighty, and it alighted on the rock at Harddlech, where Bran was sitting and watching the sea. When the bird shook its feathers, Bran saw the note and read all that had befallen his sister. He called all the Britons to arms and gathered a host to sail on Ireland. He left behind his son Cradawg to rule as steward in his absence, and seven knights to support him.
From Matholwch’s court, two men saw a great island in the sea, bristling with trees, in a place where they had never seen it before. There also saw a great mountain, with two lakes on either side of a ridge that was moving with great speed across the water. All these things they reported to Matholwch, and when he could not explain them, he called for Branwen, for she was very wise.
Branwen laughed when she looked out across the sea, and said, “The forested island you see is the host of the Britons, and each tree is the mast of a ship. The swift mountain is my brother, Bran, wading across the sea for there is no ship that can hold him. The two lakes are his eyes and the ridge between is his nose. They are coming to avenge the wrong that you have done me.”
Matholwch despaired knew that he could not match the might of the Britons, so he despaired and retreated behind the Shannon, destroying the bridges once he had crossed over. When the Britons came to the river, Bran lay across it like a bridge, saying “He that would be a leader, let him be a bridge.” Then all the warriors passed over Bran’s back and Matholwch knew he was undone. He surrendered and sought a way that he might reconcile with the Britons
Matholwch held a council to find how he might reconcile with Bran and spare Ireland his wrath. He offered that he would build a hall that could contain Bran the Blessed, for never had there been such a hall before. He would then feast the Britons and give over his crown to his son, Gwern. Bran assented to the proposal and awaited the building of the hall.
The Irish lords were displeased with their king’s plan, and conspired against the Britons. The Irish warriors hung large bags in the hall, then lay in wait until a time when they could best attack the unsuspecting Britons.
When the hall was completed, Efnisien had an Irishman show it to him before anyone else entered in. He noticed large hide bags on the wall and asked the Irishman what was inside. The Irishman told him that it was only flour, but when Efnisien reached his hand inside, he felt a man’s head. Efnisien squeezed until the warrior’s skull burst, and did likewise for all the warriors concealed in the bag. Even the men that wore iron helmets were no match for his strength, and they all perished.
Matholwch held the feast as planned, with Bran and all the Britons inside the great hall. There was a great fire in the midst of the hall, where the meat was roasted and the food was prepared for the celebration. When the crown was passing from Matholwch to Gwern, Efnisien knew that the war he had hoped for would never come to pass. In a madness of rage, he seized Gwern and cast him into the fire. The peace broke between the warriors of Britain and Ireland, and they fell upon each other with mighty blows. The Britons were felling the Irish in great numbers, but the Irish began casting their dead into the magic cauldron of the giant and they would emerge whole once more. The ardor of the Britons began to falter under the endless waves of Irish warriors and the battle turned.
Seeing his slain countrymen lying in heaps around him, Efnisien felt regret for what he had done. He threw himself among the Irish dead, and thinking him for an Irishmen, he was tossed in the magic cauldron. Efnisien stretched out his limbs and pressed against the cauldron’s iron sides, putting forth all of his great strength which, until then, he had only used for evil. The cauldron burst, and with it his heart, for the effort had been great. Thus passed Efnisien, son of Penarddun.
With the cauldron destroyed, the Britons killed all the Irish until the island was nearly depopulated. Still only Bran, Branwen, and seven other Britons remained: they were Pryderi, Manawydan, Glifieu son of Taran, Taliesin, Ynawg, Gruddieu son of Muriel, and Heilyn son of Gwyn the Old. After the battle, Bran the Blessed disclosed that he had been struck in the foot with a poisoned spear, and that they should strike off his head.
“My head,” he said, “will be company as good as it ever was when I was whole. Take my head with you to London, but first you must stop on your way at Harddlech. There you will feast for seven years and the birds of Rhiannon will sing to you the sweetest songs ever heard by men. Then you will stop at Gwales in Penfro, where you will stay four score years. There you will bide in forgetfulness and my head will remain uncorrupted until you open the door to Aber Henfelen. When you open that door, then all your sorrows will return to you as fresh wounds and you must finish your journey to London. Bury my head in the White Hill there, facing toward the continent.”
His men struck off his head, as he commanded, then journeyed back to the Island of the Mighty. Upon landing at Inis Mon, Branwen looked between Ireland and Britain and felt enormous sorrow for her son and all the others that had perished. She heaved a great sigh and died from the breaking of her heart. The seven remaining buried her near the banks of the Alaw, and continued on their journey.
At the first village, the survivors inquired what news there was in Britain. They learned that Bran’s son Caradawg and his seven knights had died and now Caswallawn son of Beli was crowned High King of Britain. The seven knights were slain by Caswallawn son of Beli Mawr while he wore a magic mantle that made him invisible save for his sword. Caswallawn didn’t wish to kill Caradawng, since he was his nephew, but when Caradawg saw his friends die, but could not see the man who killed them, and so he died of consternation. Caradawg was one of The Three Men who broke their hearts of consternation. Penderan Dyfed, who was a young lad with the men, fled into the forest.
After finally reaching Harddlech, the survivors feasted for seven years, and the birds of Rhiannon came and sang them the sweetest songs ever heard by men. Then they rose up and went to the island of Gwales, where they feasted in blissful forgetfulness for eighty years. There they were happy, and aged not, and the head of Bran was no more irksome to them than when he had been alive. Thus they were called the Assembly of the Wondrous Head, and they had peace for a time. Then one day Heilyn son of Gwyn was overcome with curiosity to see if the prophecy of Bran was true, and he opened the door that looked out on Aber Henfelen. Then their sorrows returned to them anew and they departed in pain for London. They buried the head of Bran the Blessed, High King of Britain, at White Hill, facing toward the continent as he had wished. It is said that no invasion against Britain was successful until a haughty king removed the head, wishing instead to defend the Island of the Mighty with his own prowess.