Welsh Journals

Aegal References, Ttttms ani Conceptions in t§t maßinogion By T. P. ELLIS, M.A., I.C.S. (retd.), Author of" Welsh Tribal Law and Custom in the Middle Ages". THE texts of the Mabinogion throw occasional light upon the laws and customs (in the legal sense) of ancient Wales and the references contained in them are of some value, both for the corroborative evidence they afford of the system portrayed in the Codal survivals, and, occasion- ally, for the explanations of the law which the stories contain. Further, they may be of some assistance in de- ciding (with other evidence) the period or periods during which the laws and the stories took form. The succeeding notes, though it is not claimed that they are complete or exhaustive, contain most of the im- portant references there are to legal conceptions and terms to be found in the Mabinogion. They may be of some slight assistance to students of those stories. The Red Book text is used for the purposes of refer- ence, except where the White Book alone contains the matter referred to. I. CYFREITHIAU Y LLYS. As is well-known, the Codal survivals consist of two main divisions, the Cyfreithiau y Llys and the Cyfreith- iau y Wlad. There is no direct mention of the letter in the Mabin- ogion but the former are expressly mentioned on two occasions in the story of Kulhwch and Olwen.