The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 edition
Maxen Wledig
Maxen sleeps during a hunt and dreams of a journey across mountains, rivers and sea to a splendid hall. There he encounters a maiden whose beauty becomes the centre of his longing. On waking, he withdraws from the pleasures and duties of his household, seeking sleep because it restores her presence. His counsellors propose sending messengers to find the landscape of the dream.
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In the sources
Principal account
LiteraryMaxen sleeps during a hunt and dreams of a journey across mountains, rivers and sea to a splendid hall. There he encounters a maiden whose beauty becomes the centre of his longing.
Further detail
LiteraryOn waking, he withdraws from the pleasures and duties of his household, seeking sleep because it restores her presence. His counsellors propose sending messengers to find the landscape of the dream.
Context & interpretation
This entry follows the narrative in Charlotte Guest’s 1877 collection, including its particular spellings and arrangement of tales. Characters, enchantments and explanations of place names are presented as features of these stories; the translation alone does not establish their historical reality or a single original religious meaning.
Original passages
Source 1
The Mabinogion
head ; and so Maxen slept. And he saw a dream. And this is the dream that he saw. He was journeying along the valley of the river towardsOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 edition; active reader leaf 469
Exact passage checked against active scan text and original-leaf mapping; scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0240-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0240-E001-P0469
- Original scan leaf
- 470
- Recorded leaf number
- 470
- Current Reader position
- 461
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
The Mabinogion
not with them there ; neither could he be persuaded to do any thing but sleep. And as often as he slept, he beheld in his dreams theOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 edition; active reader leaf 471
Exact passage checked against active scan text and original-leaf mapping; scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0240-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0240-E001-P0471
- Original scan leaf
- 472
- Recorded leaf number
- 472
- Current Reader position
- 463
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
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