The Mabinogion Set
The Fractal Structure of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi
Author(s) Natalia I. Petrovskaia
Language: English
Genre(s): Medieval, Welsh and Celtic Studies
- April 2026 · 264 pages ·216x138mm
- · Paperback - 9781837723355
- · eBook - pdf - 9781837723362
- · eBook - epub - 9781837723379
The Mabinogion Set is a book about the most famous of medieval Welsh stories: the Four Branches of the Mabinogi. It is also a book about a mathematical phenomenon: fractals. Fractals are mathematical patterns that repeat at every scale, and this study argues that, like natural fractals (snowflakes, tree branches), the Four Branches of the Mabinogi have a repeating structure. In putting forward this new theory, The Mabinogion Set proposes a new type of structural analysis: formal narrative topology, which pays attention not to themes or plot elements but to patterns of repetition within a story. The author also explores the implications of a topological analysis of the Four Branches on our understanding of their possible oral or written origins, authorship, transmission, memorability and performance.
Contents
Figures
Tables
Acknowledgments
PART I: THE FOUR BRANCHES AND FRACTALS
Chapter 1: Introduction
Mathematics and the Mabinogion Set
Studying Fractal Narrative Structure
The Structure of This Book
Chapter 2: Introducing the Mabinogion Set
Linear and Non-Linear Narratives
The Non-Linearity of Medieval Welsh Narratives
The Topology of Textual Fractals
PART II: FRACTAL STRUCTURES IN THE FOUR BRANCHES OF THE MABINOGI
Chapter 3: The First Branch of the Mabinogi (Pwyll)
First Branch Episode I
First Branch Episode II
First Branch Episode III
Chapter 4: The Second Branch of the Mabinogi (Branwen)
Second Branch Episode I
Second Branch Episode II
Second Branch Episode III
Chapter 5: The Third Branch of the Mabinogi (Manawydan)
Third Branch Episode I
Third Branch Episode II
Third Branch Episode III
Chapter 6: The Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi (Math)
Fourth Branch Episode I
Fourth Branch Episode II
Fourth Branch Episode III
PART III: SPEAKING ABOUT MATH… AND MATH
Chapter 7: Why Four Branches?
The Immanent Whole
Triads and Tetrads
Questions of Unity
Is the Fourth Branch Special?
Chapter 8: The Mabinogion Set, Orality and Memory
Oral Composition?
Oral Performance
A Question of Memory
Chapter 9: Conclusions. Triads Everywhere
The Law of Three and Numerical Patterns in Other Narrative Traditions
What Topological Analysis Tells Us
Whither now?
Abbreviations
Bibliography
Manuscripts
Primary sources
Secondary Sources
