First told orally by unknown generations of Welsh storytellers, ''The Mabinogion'' was subsequently written down in the 13th century in the form of a collection of prose tales. These stories draw on pre-Christian Celtic myth, folklore, and Welsh history and tradition to tell a magical set of stories that reach back to the Iron Age and Arthurian romance. These eleven tales are set in both the land of Wales and a dim otherworld, with a wide cast of vibrant characters who bring their dreamlike world to life. From two brothers who scheme to kidnap a virgin to a chieftain who roams foreign lands when his own is spellbound, ''The Mabinogion'' is full of magicians and shape-shifters, witches and giants, dragons and knights, all of whom interact in a country struggling to preserve its independence. With tales of Arthurian quests of honor and stories of revenge and love, ''The Mabinogion'' is a fantastical collection of myth, legend, and romance that has fascinated and entertained readers since medieval times.