Editing Brân the Blessed (section)

== Role in ''Branwen ferch Llŷr'' ==
King Bran was sitting on the rocky shore at [[Harlech]] when he saw thirteen ships over the horizon coming from Southern [[Ireland]]. Soon the boat men came to shore declaring the fleet belonged to the Irish Lord Matholwch who came seeking Bran's sister Branwen's hand in marriage. Of course to Bran this union made sense, someone worthy of his sister had come forth and their union would bring forth a powerful alliance for the two kingdoms. Bran readily welcomed King Matholwch of Ireland ashore and gave him great hospitality. The wedding was decidedly set at the coast to Aberffraw. All this had to be set inside specially erected tents since no house had yet been built that could accommodate the giant King Bran. Soon after all the wedding and celebration took place Bran's half brother Efnysien returned to [[Wales]] and was puzzled to see so many foreign horses stabled. He asked whom the horses belonged and was enraged to find his sister had been given away without his consent. In his anger he maimed all the Irish horses by cutting their lips back to their gums, their ears down to their skulls, eyelids to eyeballs, and their tails to their rumps. Matholwch's courtiers advised him to see this as a calculated insult from the Welsh and was in the end persuaded to head back home in dudgeon. Bran sent his best messengers to attempt to sway Matholwch. He sent with them a stick of solid silver as tall as himself and as thick as a finger along with a plate made of gold the circumference of his face. He also offered to replace every horse maimed and begged Matholwch to see his family dilemma, Bran could not execute his own brother. He begged to meet with the Irish King face to face so that he might make a humble apology. The two kings met again, however during the meeting Matholwch expressed his feeling that Bran's compensation was too small. Bran could not stand for that, so he offered Matholwch a magic black cauldron that could bring the dead back to life on the condition they could not speak. Matholwch was astounded by this great gift and forgot all unpleasantries that had come before. The next morning the fleet of thirteen ships left for Ireland with Branwen and Matholwch side by side.
[[File:Gundestrupkarret3.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The [[Gundestrup Cauldron]] ]]

At first sight the Irish loved their new queen, and they brought many gifts to the castle celebrating Matholwch and Branwen's union and in due time Branwen bore a son Gwern and the realm once again rejoiced. A few years passed and the counselors began to reflect once again on the maiming of the horses. They believed that Matholwch had not acted like a man and probed him to take out this injustice on his wife Branwen. The council made him expel her from his court and forced her to work in the kitchen. In the kitchen she faced being bullied by the cook and stared at by the kitchen boys who even boxed her ears. This mistreatment continued on for three years, in that time Branwen had been taming a starling to help take her mind off things. One day she fastened a letter to the starling meant for her brother Bran pleading for help. The bird made its way to Wales and dove from the sky during one of Bran's legislative assemblies. What Bran read inside made him feel despair then fury. He declared war on the Irish to exact revenge for his beloved sister.

Bran led all his armies down the shore to Ireland. From the shore Matholwch's swineherds saw an awesome sight, an entire landscape it seemed moving towards Ireland. They soon saw Bran wading through the water ahead of the fleet since no ship could carry him. The Irish ran across the river Shannon and barred the way from the sea so that no ships could travel up the river. Just before Bran's troops landed they saw that the Irish had destroyed the bridge and blocked the river. At that moment Bran said “The man who would lead his people must first become a bridge”<ref>{{cite book |last1=Delaney |first1=Frank |title=Legends of the Celts |date=2008 |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers Ltd |location=Branwen, Daughter of llyr |isbn=978-0-34-041610-5 |page=68}}</ref> then he positioned himself across the flow so that his troops could march across. Matholwch's men seeing the Welsh advance successfully, said they would atone for the injustice done to Branwen by ensuring the kingship of Bran's nephew Gwern. That alone did not satisfy Bran, so they offered to build him a house that would accommodate his massive body. Bran only accepted after Branwen's plea, for she feared bloodshed. The house the Irish built however was a clever trick as they hid one hundred soldiers inside bags throughout the home instructed to jump out at the feast and kill the nearest Welshman. They did not however factor in Efnysien, who arrived at the house to inspect it, obviously expecting foul play. He went around and crushed the skull of every man hidden inside a bag. Soon after the great feast took place and Gwern went around charming his new-found relatives from Wales. Efnysien complained the boy had not greeted him, and then suddenly grabbed the boy by his heels and cast him head first into the huge fire. Branwen in a craze tried to leap into the fire, Bran stopped her knowing she would die too. He then protected his sister from the fight that broke out escorting her outside the house. The Welsh had the advantage until the Irish brought out their secret weapon, the black cauldron that could reanimate the dead. Efnysien seeing the great trouble he brought his country men he decided upon one last act of valour.

He hid himself in the bodies of the fallen Irish. When the cauldron attendants came along and threw him in, he spread his body out in all directions, shattering the cauldron but sacrificing himself in the process. During the great fight Bran took a fatal blow to the foot, and as he lay in his deathbed he gave his men these last instructions: “Cut my head off and take it to London. Eventually you must bury it in the state on the White Hill of London (thought to be the location where the [[Tower of London]] now stands), turning my head towards [[France]].”<ref>{{cite book |last1=Delaney |first1=Frank |title=The Legends of the Celts |date=2008 |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers Ltd |location=Branawen, Daughter of Llyr |isbn=978-0-34-041610-5 |page=72}}</ref> Ceremonially they cut off Bran's head and left Ireland. When they returned to Wales and Branwen had time to contemplate all that had happened, she died there on the spot of a broken heart. The men buried her where she fell and continued on their quest for London.