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This page links through to versions of various legends, folk-tales and poems of the Brythonic Celts. The majority of the sources are Cymric though there are Breton and Cornish tales recounted here as well. Wherever possible the tales have been translated from original sources in their native language. (The flags depicted below are the national symbols of Cymru (Wales), Breizh (Brittany) and Kernow (Cornwall), respectively.)
The nature of what constitutes a myth, a legend or a folk-tale is a rather confused one and in case you were wondering about the difference between a myth, a legend and a folk-tale, the dictionary definitions (based on the Oxford English Dictionary) are given below. It should be noted that the folk-tale is part of the collected oral knowledge of a people and is therefore a component of the knowledge usually known as folklore.
Folklore /'fəʊklɔr/ Folklore is the body of verbal expressive culture, including tales, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs current among a particular population and preserved within the oral tradition of that culture, subculture, or group. The academic and usually ethnographic study of folklore is known as folkloristics.
Legend /'lɛdʒ(ə)nd/ Deriving from the Old French légende and medieval Latin legenda [literally things to be read]) a Legend represents a traditional tale, popularly regarded as historical. The original legends were the medieval lives of the saints, however as more ancient tales were written down during the medieval period the term became applied to all such pseudo-historical tales.
Mythology /'mıɵɒlədʒi/ Deriving from the Latin mythologia, itself derived from Greek muthologica [literally the knowledge or exposition of myths]) a Myth being a traditional story, either wholly or partially fictitious, providing an explanation for, or embodying, a popular idea concerning some natural or social phenomenon or some religious belief or ritual. The term is often specifically employed for tales involving supernatural persons, actions, or events.
Contents range from the ancillary materials recorded in the Four ancient books of Wales to translations of the ancient Cymric poetry to native folk-tales such as those of Ker-Ys and the Gwrach-y-Rhibyn. If you are looking for information on Cymric legends, however, the material can be found by following the Texts and Translations link. Though many of the tales told here will be familiar, others will, I hope, be entirely new; representing local tales that I heard as a child. I should also note that, for the most part, I am excluding tales of the 'ghost story' type unless there is some underlying legend and the tale has a long pedigree. In addition you will encounter some purely local legends as well as unfamiliar local variants of far more familiar tales.
Further Reading
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