The Anathemata

Mabinog’s Liturgy (continued)

Not Lalla, lalla, lalla1 

not rockings now

nor clovered breath for the health of him as under the straw’d crucks that baldachin’d in star-lit town where he was born, the maid’s fair cave his dwelling.

David Jones notes

1 See note 6 to page 185 above.

additional notes

Note the pun crucks/crux.

Also cf. the opening of one of the very many variants of the English popular ballad Barbara Allen: ‘In Scarlet Town, where I was born/There was a fair maid dwelling . . .’

comments

This nicely finishes the relationship between the Christ of Bethlehem and the Christ of Good Friday by referring to Mary.

semantic structures

glossary