The Wooing of Crythor - adapted and narrated by Anne Maria Clarke

The Wooing of Crythor adapted & narrated by Anne Maria Clarke  Featuring AN SPEIC SEOIGHEACH  arranged & performed by Matt Francis with Chris Chambers. Produced by David Johnson

This short tale belongs to a cluster of magical stories from around the world concerning the adventures of ordinary mortals who somehow cross over into the land of Faerie - where everything is different and time as it is known to us here, ceases to have any meaning. J.R.Tolkien, who himself wrote several short tales on this theme, most notably Smith of Wootton Major has called it the Perilous Realm where one can become irretrievably lost - like Tam Lin in the famous Scottish ballad, who is captured by the Fairy Queen or Thomas the Rhymer who falls willingly under her spell and disappears for seven years.

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 And see not ye that bonnie road, Which winds about the fernie brae?
That is the road to fair Elfland, Whe[re] you and I this night maun gae.
 But Thomas, ye maun hold your tongue,Whatever you may hear or see,
For gin ae word you should chance to speak, You will neer get back to your ain countrie.

The Irish tell of another world too called Tir Nag Nog  - land of Eternal Youth, located beneath the hills - where the Tuatha de Dannon, the old gods of Ireland have their ancient home - and where Oisin went to live with his beloved Niamh for three hundred years, not realising so much time was passing by until he returned homesick only to discover that the great race of the Fianna was lost and gone and the once proud people had fallen into forgetfulness. Niamh, his beloved wife had warned him that if he stepped down from his horse – and placed his feet upon mortal ground he would never be able to return to Tir Na Nog– but he does he heed her caution and steps onto the beach – where upon the full weight of time falls down upon him and in a few short moments his youth is lost and he is transformed into an old, old man.

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The Welsh have their own version of the other-world called Annwn - where the Cauldren of inspiration may be found.Taliesin the great Welsh bard and seven of his brave men are said to have journeyed there on a great quest. After many days and nights of searching they came at last into the enchanted realm.

And there they were without stint and joyful. And not withstanding all the sorrows they had seen before their eyes and not withstanding that they themselves had suffered there came to to them no remembrance of this, or of any other sorrow in the world - and the sweet birds of goddess Rhiannan sang to them throughout and each song they heard - it was more lovely than before and very soon they no longer noticed the passing of time, nor could any tell of his fellow that he had grown older during that period.
But at the end of this wonderous span one of the seven is tempted to look through a forbidden door that leads back into the world - Oh and when he looked - he was conscious of every loss he had ever sustained and of every friend and kinsman he had missed and so were the remaining seven also. And straight away they made haste fom that place – which faded swiftly from view like a dream of the soul.

In the tale feautured here Crythor, a plain and ordinary Welsh man is drawn close to the faerie realm by his great love of music and finds himself suddenly in the company of a great troupe of fairy folk and their illustrious Queen who accompanies him on her golden fiddle and with whom he falls hopelessly in love and abandoning himself utterly... he leaps into her magic dancing ring ....

Some say such stories are cautionary tales - and the truth is that they are often fraught with danger ...and we should keep our wits about us.

But who in truth would resist the call of Faerie if it came - and who amongst us would really wish to do so? For then we would be living only half a life wouldn't we - impervious to the great beauty of those magical realms  that sing to us from beyond our everyday? 

much love

Anne Maria Clarke

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References:
Thomas the Rhymer - extract
Taliesin - The Mabinigion - extract

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