The Cauldron of Rebirth
	In the Romance of Branwen, Bran is the keeper of a magical cauldron which he gives to Branwen's new husband, the king of Ireland: "I will give you a cauldron, with the property that if one of your men is killed today, and be placed in the cauldron, then tomorrow he will be as well as he was at his best, except that he will not regain his speech." Bran tells the king that a giant hag had given him the cauldron after she and her husband had escaped from a burning house of Iron in Ireland. Later in the story the Irishmen use the cauldron to revive their warriors in the battle against Bran until Bran's half-brother breaks it at the cost of his life.	The Romance of Branwen
	Cauldrons in British Mythology There are other cauldrons in British myth with connections to Bran. One is the cauldron of Cerridwen, the fount of inspiration from which Taliesin obtains his bardic gifts. Another is the cauldron which provides endless food for the brave, a prototype of the grail. A verse from Taliesin's poem The Spoils of Annwn refers to the cauldron of the chief of Annwn, the underworld: "I am renowned, resplendant is my song that was heard. In the four-cornered fort, four sided, my poetry was uttered from the cauldron. By the breath of nine maidens it was kindled. It was the cauldron of the Chief of Annwn that was sought - a ridge of pearls around its brim. It does not boil a coward's food: it was not destined (to do so)." - Adapted from Koch & Carey, The Celtic Heroic Age	Taliesin and Bran The Grail
	The cauldron myths are connected to the idea of a fecund underworld, a hidden source of growth and richness. The cauldron of inspiration bestows wisdom and knowledge, the cauldron of plenty is a source of sustenance and healing, and Bran's cauldron is a source of life itself. The cauldron is perhaps symbolic of the mother's womb, a gateway to the underworld, from which new life emerges, and to which the dying return. Rituals of initiation can be a second birth, achieved after a visit to the underworld. Of course the newly-born cannot speak, so that the mysteries of the underworld remain hidden to all but those who dare to enter.
	The king 'cooked' in the cauldron Giraldus Cambrensis describes the initiation of a king in Ulster: "...a white mare is led into the middle of the assembly. The one who is to be raised up ... while having intercourse with the mare like a beast, proclaims that he is also a beast. Immediately after, with the horse having been killed and cooked in water, a bath is prepared for the new king in the same water. He sits in the water, surrounded by his people, all eating the meat of the mare which is brought to them. He doesn't use a cup or even his hands to drink the broth, but puts his mouth in the broth all around and swallows." - Giraldus Cambrensis, Topographia Hibernie, tr Philip Freeman, from Koch & Carey, The Celtic Heroic Age
	Bran the healer Robert Graves finds remarkable resemblances between Bran and Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine. Like Bran, Asclepius is associated with the crow, or raven - a scavenging bird with the gift of prophesy. As a child, Asclepius was rescued from a bonfire in which his mother and her paramour perished, which echoes both Gwern's fate in the Romance and the story of the giant hag who gave the cauldron to Bran. After a life devoted to healing, Asclepius raised a man from the dead, and was struck down by Zeus in a fit of jealousy. Asclepius is represented in Greek art with a dog beside him and a staff in his hand around which twine oracular snakes. A supplicant would visit the temple of Asclepius, and after fasting and purification, would spend the night sleeping in the temple, in what was called incubation, and Asclepius would send a dream which was interpreted to give the remedy. (Source: Robert Graves, The White Goddess, p.52)	Gwern