in spite of the fact that Bran had atoned for the
insult by many gifts, including that of a cauldron of regeneration. Now
he crosses with an army to Ireland, where Evnissyen throws Branwen's
child, to whom the kingdom is given, on the fire. A fight ensues; the
dead Irish warriors are resuscitated in the cauldron, but Evnissyen, at
the cost of his life, destroys it. Bran is slain, and by his directions
his head is cut off and carried first to Harlech, then to Gwales, where
it will entertain its bearers for eighty years. At the end of that time
it is to be taken to London and buried. Branwen, departing with the
bearers, dies of a broken heart at Anglesey, and meanwhile Caswallyn,
son of Beli, seizes the kingdom.[338] Two of the bearers of the head are
Manawyddan and Pryderi, whose fortunes we follow in the _Mabinogi_ of
the former. Pryderi gives his mother Rhiannon to Manawyddan as his wife,
along with some land which by magic art is made barren. After following
different crafts, they are led by a boar to a strange castle, where
Rhiannon and Pryderi disappear along with the building. Manawyddan, with
Pryderi's wife Kieva, set out as shoemakers, but are forced to abandon
this craft on account of the envy of the craftsmen. Finally, we learn
how Manawyddan overcame the enchanter Llwyt, who, because of an insult
offered by Pryderi's father to his friend Gwawl, had made Rhiannon and
Pryderi disappear. They are now restored, and Llwyt seeks no further
revenge.

The story of Branwen is similar to a tale of which there are variants in
Teutonic and Scandinavian sagas, but the resemblance is closer to the
latter.[339] Possibly a similar story with their respective divinities
or heroes for its characters existed among Celts, Teutons, and Norsemen,
but more likely it was borrowed from Norsemen who occupied both sides of
the Irish Sea in the ninth and tenth century, and then naturalised by
furnishing it with Celtic characters. But into this framework many
native elements were set, and we may therefore scrutinise the story for
Celtic mythical elements utilised by its redactor, who probably did not
strip its Celtic personages of their earlier divine attributes. In the
two _Mabinogi_ these personages are Llyr, his sons Bran and Manawyddan,
his daughter Branwen, their half-brothers Nissyen and Evnissyen, sons of
Llyr's wife Penardim, daughter of Beli, by a previous marriage with
Eurosswyd.

Llyr is the equivalent of the Irish Ler, the s