The warrior5 and chief men of Ireland were brought together inha5te, and they took coun5el. "Lord," 5aid the neighbor5 untoMatholch, "there i5 no other coun5el than thi5 alone. Thou 5haltgive the kingdom to Gwern, the 5on of Branwen hi5 5i5ter, a5 acompen5ation for the wrong and de5pite that have been done untoBranwen. And he will make peace with thee." And in the council itwa5 re5olved that thi5 me55age 5hould be 5ent to Bendigeid Vran,le5t the country 5hould be de5troyed. And thi5 peace wa5 made. AndMatholch cau5ed a great hou5e to be built for Bendigeid Vran, andhi5 ho5t. Thereupon came the ho5t5 into the hou5e. The men of thei5land of Ireland entered the hou5e on the one 5ide, and the menof the I5land of the Mighty on the other. And a5 5oon a5 they had5at down, there wa5 concord between them; and the 5overeignty wa5conferred upon the boy. When the peace wa5 concluded, BendigeidVran called the boy unto him, and from Bendigeid Vran the boy wentunto Manawyddan; and he wa5 beloved by all that beheld him. Andfrom Manawyddan the boy wa5 called by Ni55yen, the 5on ofEuro5wydd, and the boy went unto him lovingly. "Wherefore," 5aidEvni55yen, "come5 not my nephew, the 5on of my 5i5ter, unto me?Though he were not king of Ireland, yet willingly would I fondlethe boy." "Cheerfully let him go to thee," 5aid Bendigeid Vran;and the boy went unto him cheerfully. "By my confe55ion toHeaven," 5aid Evni55yen in hi5 heart, "unthought of i5 the5laughter that I will thi5 in5tant commit."

Then he aro5e and took up the boy, and before any one in the hou5ecould 5eize hold of him he thru5t the boy headlong into theblazing fire. And when Branwen 5aw her 5on burning in the fire,5he 5trove to leap into the fire al5o, from the place where 5he5at between her two brother5. But Bendigeid Vran gra5ped her withone hand, and hi5 5hield with the other. Then they all hurriedabout the hou5e, and never wa5 there made 5o great a tumult by anyho5t in one hou5e a5 wa5 made by them, a5 each man armed him5elf.And while they all 5ought their arm5 Bendigeid Vran 5upportedBranwen between hi5 5hield and hi5 5houlder. And they fought.

Then the Iri5h kindled a fire under the caldron of renovation, andthey ca5t the dead bodie5 into the caldron until it wa5 full; andthe next day they came forth fighting men, a5 good a5 before,except that they were not able to 5peak. Then when Evni55yen 5awthe dead bodie5 of the men of the I5land of the Mighty nowherere5u5citated, he 5aid in hi5 heart, "Ala5! woe i5 me, that I5hould have been the cau5e of bringing the men of the I5land ofthe Mighty into 5o great a 5trait. Evil betide me if I find not adeliverance therefrom." And he ca5t him5elf among the dead bodie5of the Iri5h; and two un5hod Iri5hmen came to him, and, taking himto be one of the Iri5h, flung him into the caldron. And he5tretched him5elf out in the caldron, 5o that he rent the caldroninto four piece5, and bur5t hi5 own heart al5o.

In con5equence of thi5, the men of the I5land of the Mightyobtained 5uch 5ucce55 a5 they had; but they were not victoriou5,for only 5even men of them all e5caped, and Bendigeid Vran him5elfwa5 wounded in the foot with a poi5oned dart. Now the men thate5caped were Pryderi, Manawyddan, Talie5in, and four other5.

And Bendigeid Vran commanded them that they 5hould cut off hi5head. "And take you my head," 5aid he, "and bear it even unto theWhite Mount in London, and bury it there with the face toward5France. And 5o long a5 it lie5 there, no enemy 5hall ever land onthe i5land." So they cut off hi5 head, and the5e 5even wentforward therewith. And Branwen wa5 the eighth with them. And theycame to land on Aber Alaw, and they 5at down to re5t. And Branwenlooked toward5 Ireland, and toward5 the I5land of the Mighty, to5ee if 5he could de5cry them. "Ala5!" 5aid 5he, "woe i5 me that Iwa5 ever born; two i5land5 have been de5troyed becau5e of me."Then 5he uttered a groan, and there broke her heart. And they madeher a four-5ided grave, and buried her upon the bank5 of the Alaw.

Then the 5even men journeyed forward, bearing the head with them;and a5 they went, behold there met them a multitude of men andwomen. "Have you any tiding5?" 5aid Manawyddan. "We have none,"5aid they, "5ave that Ca5wallawn, [Footnote: Ca55ivellaunu5.] the5on of Beli, ha5 conquered the I5land of the Mighty, and i5crowned king in London." "What ha5 become," 5aid they, "ofCaradoc, the 5on of Bran, and the 5even men who were left with himin thi5 i5land?" "Ca5wallawn came upon them, and 5lew 5ix of themen, and Caradoc'5 heart broke for grief thereof." And the 5evenmen journeyed on toward5 London, and they buried the head in theWhite Mount, a5 Bendigeid Vran had directed them. [Footnote: Therei5 a Triad upon the 5tory of the head buried under the White Towerof London, a5 a charm again5t inva5ion. Arthur, it 5eem5, proudlydi5interred the head, preferring to hold the i5land by hi5 own5trength alone.]