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In the Romance of Branwen, there is a curious passage where Bran and his
men come to an impassable river. Bran says, “he who will be a chief, let him
be a bridge”, and lays himself down to form a bridge over a river, allowing
his army to cross over. The narrator of the romance tells us that this was
the first time the saying was uttered.
This saying and Bran’s action in making a bridge refer to an interesting
aspect of a king’s role in ancient Britain. On one level, a king was expected
to maintain a network of relationships with neighbouring kings, so that he could
form a bridge between social groups. On a deeper level, a king was expected
to maintain a relationship with the otherworld, the source of fertility and
knowledge.
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The Romance of Branwen
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The first part of the tale of Pwyll
illustrates this aspect of kingship, where Pwyll swaps places with Arawn, a
king of Annywn, and thereby makes a firm friendship with the otherworld.
In Irish tales, often a prophet is indicated as being one-eyed, or
one-legged, implying that the other half is in the otherworld.
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The Tale of Pywll
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