In the Second Branch of the Mabinogi (Branwen ferch Llŷr) Brân is presented as a son of Llŷr and Penarddun and brother to Brânwen, Manawydan, Nisien and Efnysien. He rules Britain as a giant-king and receives envoys such as Matholwch of Ireland in the course of a marriage alliance. Following insults and escalating violence (including the mutilation of horses and the death of Gwern) a war erupts; Brân is mortally wounded on Irish soil. Before he dies he instructs his companions to cut off his head and return it to Britain, where the head continues to act as a sacred, protective object when buried on the White Hill facing France.
Brân is repeatedly described as a giant who could not fit into ordinary houses and whose stature required specially erected tents for accommodation. In life he leads vast hosts and even wades the Irish Sea with his warriors. After his mortal wounding his severed head remains animate: it speaks, entertains the survivors for years at Harlech and in Gwales, and is finally buried on the Gwynfryn (White Hill) facing France as a protective relic.
As sovereign he marshals the island's forces, receives envoys and negotiates compensation. He offers a magic cauldron as compensation—an object that can restore the dead to life (with the limitation that the restored cannot speak). After his death his severed head continues to speak and entertain, preserves a liminal sanctuary-state for survivors (they remain unaware of eighty years passing in Gwales while entertained by the head), and when buried on the White Hill functions as an apotropaic guardian oriented toward external threat. He is also described in sources as being associated with the sea and with poetry and bards.
Weaknesses
- conditionmortal wounding in battle
- othersilencing of the head (the head eventually goes silent prior to burial)
Wards
- ritualburial of Brân's head on the Gwynfryn (White Hill) facing France
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Goewin
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Buchis
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Community Record
- [1]Brân the Blessed. Wikipedia, 'Brân the Blessed' (summary of the Second Branch of the Mabinogi and interpretive notes on head-cult, sea and bardic associations)wiki
- [2]Wikidata: Bran the Blessed (Q598810). Wikidata entry for Bran the Blessedother
- [3]Bran and the Fisher King (retelling/overview). Online retelling/overview of Bran narrative referenced in research notesother
- [4]Bran the Blessed — illustration and retellings (derivative materials). Modern illustration and retelling referencing the Bran head narrative (used as supporting descriptive material)other