In compiling this information about pre-Christian deities of the Silurians, we wanted to find stories that took place locally. On further reading, you will find links to those places in the stories of the great Welsh mythology of the Mabinogi and the characters from the four branches of the book known as Pwyll, Branwen, Manawydan and Math.

 

This immensely important work was handed down from ancient history in the oral tradition in poetry by the Druids. It was then told to early Celtic monks, who they transcribed them into two books.

 

The first volume was entitled Y Llyfr Coch Hergest (The Red Book of Hergest), which is an extensive collection of Welsh legends, histories, learned texts and poems and is kept in Oxford. The original ancient manuscripts that these were taken from were written here in Wales in Welsh.

 

The second volume was called Y Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch (The White Book of Rhydderch). This is also a collection of Welsh legends and poetry named for its original binding and author (although it is now re-bound in two volumes). It represents the oldest extant version of the collection of Cymry tales generally known as The Mabinogion in English, and it is currently housed in the National Library of Wales.

 

These tales took place here in Wales. It is our history handed down from the oral tradition in complicated poems. Some of these famous stories happened here, in Cwmbran! Bran Fendigaid (who, some people believe, gave ‘Cwmbran’ it’s name – valley of Bran, not ‘Crow Valley’ as it’s usually translated) was from Gwent.

 

The events in those tales unfolded in this area before the Saxons or the Normans arrived on our island – hundreds of years before English was a language or England was even a country. It was also before the Scots, the tribe from Ulster, had set a foot in the north. At that time, the mighty island of Prydein (Britain) was made up of Welsh-speaking tribes, who lived everywhere in Britain. The deities of the Silurians were their deities too.

 

These are the goddesses and gods of our ancient religion of Cymry and the tales of the triads, Trioedd Ynys Prydein, the mighty island of Prydein (that is now called Britain).