Threeness

Threeness

‘In the Mabinogion, for example, a collection of prose stories compiled in Middle Welsh in the late eleventh and twelfth centuries, we encounter the “otherworld”, a place variously depicted as either paradisiacal or menacing. The otherworld is the source of fantastical narrative: within its shifting borders are found tales of vanishing babies; of superhuman kings so large, they can use their bodies to form bridges; of magical golden bowls and star-crossed lovers.

Some of the human cast members in Welsh myth resemble Marvel superheroes. But there are also tales of fantastic creatures, including magical ravens that croak prophetically about future events and are said to have shapeshifting abilities. There are interesting correlations between myths across different traditions, links forged between Wales and Ireland in particular, but also persistent tropes shared by numerous cultures, including “tripleism”, which plays a key role not only in Welsh myth, but also in Macbeth’s trio of witches and old nursery rhymes. Threeness is “an endemic part of British and European Iron Age and Roman provincial symbolism”.’

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