Paganism
UK: mythical giant to hold up bridge?
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Menai Bridge (Pont Grog y Borth), Wales, U.K. The legends of the collection of Welsh tales, the Mabinogion, are still very much alive in the principality, including a proposal for a new bridge held up by a statue of the mythical giant Brân the Blessed. The proposed bridge is to cross the Menai Straits, separating the island of Anglesey (Ynys Môn) – often seen as the last stand of Britain’s Druids against the Romans – from the North Welsh mainland. The most famous tale involving this giant hero/god concerns the marriage of his sister, Branwen. Hoping for an alliance with other countries and tribes, Brân gave his sister Branwen’s hand in marriage to King Matholwch of Ireland – a common practice among tribes, to cement alliances. This was not a completely popular move and Bran’s brother, Efnisien, was furious – perhaps because he wanted Branwen for himself (incest being not unknown in such legends and depending whether Efnisien was, in fact, a foster brother).