Brân

Brân (Bran) was the king of Britain or Wales. Bran was the son of Llyr and Penarddun, daughter of Beli son of Mynogan, who was ruler of Britain. Bran had a sister named Branwen (Bronwen); a brother named Manawyddan and two half-brothers - Nissyen and Evnissyen.

Bran was more of a king than a god in the Welsh myths. Bran seemed to rule from London. Bran was a giant so that no buildings were large enough to shelter him. An elaborate, giant tent or pavilion was erected to shelter Bran. Bran was taller than the tallest tree, and could wade through the sea like the Greek hunter Orion, with only his head above the water surface.

Mallolwch (Matholwch), king of Ireland, came to Britain seeking a wife. Bran offered his beautiful sister Branwen to the Irish king, whom he married.

It was the quarrelsome Evnissyen's acts towards Mallolwch which led to mistreatment of Branwen by her husband and the disastrous war between Britain and Ireland.

In the fighting, Bran received a wound from a poison-smeared spear. Before he was even wounded, he was called the "Pierced Thighs". His body was too large to be shipped back to Britain for burial, so Bran asked his brother Manawyddan to sever his head and bury it on White Hill in London. He also informed his brother that his head would keep him company in the hall of Gwales. His head would be able to talk.

However when Manawyddan returned to Wales, he found that his cousin Casswallawn had taken over power in Britain. Casswallawn had caused the death of Caradawg, the son of Bran. Manawyddan with six other survivors stayed in Gwales, possibly in Cornwall. He kept his brother's head for eighty years in Gwales so that the court became known as the Assembly of the Wondrous Head. They forgot all about the sorrow and losses in the disastrous war as long as they stayed in this hall.

Once the door of the hall was opened, their memories of their sorrow and losses would return. After this, they went to White Hill and buried Bran's head on the mound.

See Branwen Daughter of Llyr for the full story.

In the Welsh Triads, Bran was named as one of the "Three Blessed Kings of Britain".

With the involvement of the Cauldron of Rebirth and his nickname as Pierced Thighs, some scholars believed that this tale was a forerunner of the Grail legend since there are similarities between his name and Bron, the brother-in-law of Joseph of Arimathea. As the Rich Fisher, he was the Keeper of the Grail.