NONaffArt is proud to be involved in the sculpture project at Cwmcarn Forest. The project explores the myths and legends surrounding Twmbarlwm which has a long and inspiring history in Welsh culture. NONaffArt have been busy working on this exciting project for the last couple of yearsto illustrate the myth of Bran and the bees.

Who was Brân?

Bran the Blessed was an ancient giant king of Britain and his name appears in both the ‘Mabinogi’ and in the lesser well known ‘Welsh Triads’ (Trioedd Ynys Prydein). The Character in the second branch of the Mabinogi called Bendigeidfranl (meaning “Blessed Crow”) is based on the legend of Bran.

Brân was a Silurian chieftain who walked the hills of Twmbarlwm in the mythical past of Welsh history. In the Welsh language the name Brân can be translated as ‘raven’ or ‘crow’.
Legend has it that Bran’s body was brought back to Wales after a battle with the King Matholwch of Ireland and it is buried under the mound (Twmp) at the top of Twmbarlwm with his and armour and his treasure. Legend says that Brân will rise out of the earth in the event of Wales ever being threatened with invasion from enemies outside its shores and defend against the invaders.

Brân’s Bees

Brân body is guarded by a swarm of bees which will attack anyone who disturbs the resting place of the king or tries to steal his gold. In Celtic lore, bees have been described as travellers between the two worlds of the real world and the Otherworld (Annwfn), and that they bringing messages from the Gods, and they are said to hold and give great wisdom and knowledge that they can pass on to humans.

Brân’s foot

Even though he won the battle against the Irish King, Brân was struck in the foot with a poisoned spear that would eventually kill him. Just before he died he called for his head to be removed from his body keeping it alive so that he would speak and share wisdom for seventy years before finally falling silent. His head was then taken to the White Tower in London by the only seven remaining survivors of the battle and buried facing towards the sea to ward off future invasion to the land.

The Cauldron of Rebirth (Pair Dadeni)

The cauldron in Celtic mythology is a conduit between the Celtic Otherworld (Annwfn in Welsh) and the real world. It represents regeneration, rebirth, and transformation and a link to the Celtic gods and the afterlife. It can also heal, confer knowledge, and even bestow immortality.

The cauldron of rebirth (Pair Dadeni) gave life to those that were dead when placed into it at the cost of them loosing their speaking voices. It had been a gift from Brân to Matholwch and Branwen (Brân’s sister) on their wedding. It was later used by the King of Ireland to restore life to his soldiers in the battle with Brân.

The cauldron was destroyed by Brân’s half-brother Efnysian when pretending to be a dead Irish warrior. He was thrown into it and stretched his body out, breaking it into four pieces and sacrificing his own life in the process.

The Myths

Local legend also says that If anyone disturbs a small burial mound at the top of Twmbarlwm mountain (near the Iron age hill fort built by the Silurian Celts) then they will be attacked by a swarm of bees in a curse to protect Bran’s resting place.

A later Welsh myth describes a battle that took place between wasps and the bees over a horde of treasure which was hidden at Twmbarlwm and being guarded and protected by the bees. This treasure was said to belong to Bran. It is said that he is waiting to rise out of the earth in defence of Wales when needed.

Bees have always had a connection to Twmbarlwm. Around 1880 the author Wirt Sikes wrote about a battle between bees and wasps in the book “British Goblins”. According to Sikes, bees were fairies in disguise, representing good, while wasps represented evil, and one could often find thousands of bodies of these winged creatures on the hilltop. In fact, it was reported in the 1860s that a huge swarm of bees and wasps were fighting above Twmbarlwm which brought renewed interest in the myths.

These tales have their origin in the Mabinogion (13th – 14th Century) and the Red Books of Hergest (c. 1382) which says that Bran, a great Silurian chieftain is buried on top of a hill waiting to rise-up and save Wales in time of trouble.