Chwedlau Cymru

If there is one thing Wales has never suffered from, it is a shortage of legends. Give Wales a mountain and it will attach a giant to it. Give it a lake and a mysterious maiden will emerge from the depths. Leave a cave unattended for five minutes and somebody will discover an enchanted king sleeping inside. Chwedlau Cymru by Claire Fayers gathers together these marvellous stories and presents them for a modern audience, proving once again that Welsh mythology has been cheerfully ignoring the laws of probability for centuries.

Within these pages lurk heroes, dragons, magical creatures, shape-shifters, giants, enchanted treasures and enough mysterious happenings to make an insurance assessor resign on the spot. This is a landscape where the ordinary and the extraordinary coexist quite happily, often separated only by a hill, a forest or an unfortunate decision.

Claire Fayers serves as an engaging guide through this rich world of folklore, introducing readers to tales that have echoed across Wales for generations. Some stories are noble and inspiring. Others are strange and bewildering. A surprising number involve people making spectacularly poor choices after encountering magical beings. The lessons are clear: be respectful, keep your promises and think twice before accepting gifts from mysterious strangers who emerge from lakes.

One of the joys of Welsh legends is their complete refusal to stay within sensible boundaries. English folklore often seems content with the occasional ghost or dragon. Welsh mythology, by contrast, frequently behaves as if someone challenged the storytellers to make every tale at least twenty per cent more magical than the last. Why have one giant when you can have several? Why have an ordinary king when you can have a sleeping king destined to return? Why settle for a normal hound when you can introduce a spectral one from the Otherworld?

The irony is that many of these stories were originally passed down as serious cultural traditions, preserving history, identity and values across generations. Today they can sometimes read like wonderfully imaginative fever dreams. Yet beneath the dragons and enchantments lie themes of courage, loyalty, greed, wisdom and human nature that remain surprisingly familiar.

Published in 2022, this edition makes these enduring tales accessible to a new generation of readers while retaining all the wonder and mystery that made them survive for centuries in the first place. Whether encountered for the first time or revisited as old favourites, the stories possess a timeless ability to transport readers into a Wales where anything might happen and frequently does.

This Good-condition copy is ideal for lovers of folklore, mythology, Welsh history and fantasy. It is equally suitable for younger readers discovering the legends of their homeland and adults who secretly suspect that modern life could benefit from a few more dragons.

There is also something delightfully reassuring about a book like this. In an age dominated by algorithms, smartphones and endless notifications, it reminds us that people once entertained themselves with stories involving enchanted cauldrons, magical animals and heroes embarking on impossible quests. Arguably, some of those stories make more sense than social media.

Perfect for anyone who enjoys myths, legends and the rich storytelling traditions of Wales. Read it by a fire, on a rainy afternoon, or while looking suspiciously at nearby lakes just in case somebody emerges offering life-changing advice.

Sold by Crappy Old Books, where ancient Welsh legends occasionally sit on the shelves between management textbooks and forgotten cookbooks, patiently waiting for their next adventure.

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