Snowdonia Folk Tales

About this book

Eric Maddern retells stories from the old kingdom of Gwynedd, ranging across Snowdonia, Anglesey and the Llŷn Peninsula. The collection draws on the Mabinogion, Arthurian tradition and Merlin’s legends, while also bringing in Druids, Taliesin, saints and the Tylwyth Teg, or Fair Folk.

Alongside mythic material are tales linked to places and people remembered in Welsh tradition, including the Beddgelert story, Llywelyn the Great, Owain Glyndŵr and Marged ferch Ifan. The stories are arranged roughly chronologically, moving from ancient traditions towards later legends and accounts preserved through oral storytelling. Sue Mynall’s illustrations accompany Maddern’s fresh retellings of this northern Welsh material.