of the fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, where Gwydyon and Gilwaethwy pay very scandalous attention to Goewin, and where Arianrod is represented like an adventuress in a French love-story? I do not think that the redactors were so scrupulous as Mr. Gruffydd would have us believe. Of course, Arawn did expect that Pryderi would be less abstinent than he was, but this feature is not isolated in folklore. We know that Siegfrid was also not supposed to pay merely platonic attentions to Brunhild, and for this calumny he had to pay dearly. In the Twin Brothers' story the same motive occurs. There can, of course, be no doubt that there had existed another shape-shifting motive in which the man (or woman) takes another shape to get access to the object of his admiration. So Arthur's father, Uther Penn Dragon (through Merlin's aid) came in the Duke of Din-dagwl's shape to the Duchess of Din-dagwl.[1] The story of Mongán belongs, of course, to the same group. It is, however, of importance that Mongán belongs to the Christian era, and so we must presuppose that some older tradition was applied to him. (We have many instances of the exchange of one person for another, so e.g. a story told in north Ireland (Donegal) about Cúchulainn is told in the south about Fionn mac Cumhail.) It is further to be noticed that Alexander the Great's birth story also has many motives similar to those of the Irish tale, so e.g. both Olympias and Philip are told that a supernatural being wishes to enter into union with Olympias, and Philip, on another day, is satisfied to hear from the expounder of dreams that the child to whom his wife Olympias is about to give birth is the son of the god Ammon. The fact that such a story existed, both in Wales and Ireland, does not, however, prove that the Mabinogi of Pwyll must be originally of the same kind; against this point of view
- ↑ Cf. further: Signy, Wolsung's daughter, wishing to have a son of entire Wolsung's blood, exchanged her shape with some magician, and slept in her shape with her own brother, Sigmund (Volsunga saga).
