Oxford (Oxfordshire) |
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As told in the Welsh epic the Mabinogion, during the reign of King Lludd ab Beli Britain was beset by three plagues. The first were the Corryaneid who were a race of faery folk. The second was a great shriek heard on May eve which turned milk and caused women to go barren. The third was that no matter how much food was in the cellars of the king's household, after the first meal no food was left. Lludd went to his brother Llevelys for advice on how to rid his land of three plagues. For the first plague, he was given some poisonous insects that would only affect the Corryaneid. The second plague was caused by two dragons fighting (the Red Dragon of the Britons and the White Dragon of the Saxons). The third plague was in fact a thieving giant which invaded his household at night and ate all the food. |