The Cauldron of Awen | Series 7 Episode 1: Cardiganshire

The long-heralded first County Episode of Three Ravens Series 7 is finally here and is all about the historic county of Cardiganshire on the west coast of Wales!

Unable to resist discussing a local saint, Eleanor begins by introducing us to Carantoc, a dragon-slaying local hero who lost a special altar, apparently. Luckily King Arthur was about to find it for him.

Despite maybe having stolen it in the first place...

After that, we whip through Cardiganshire's history, including its mythical ancient king Ceredig - from whom the county gets its Welsh name 'Ceredigion' - to its conquering by gold-hungry Romans, resistance to the Normans, and the devastation wrought upon it by Cromwell's New Model Army.

Sparsely populated and extremely rural, Cardiganshire is rich with mythology, such as the drowned lands of Cantre’r Gwaelod, an astonishing number of ghost animals (including an overly-affectionate spectral pig), giants with toothache, child-stealing fairies, and the 'Beast of Bont.'

Yet, there's one tale that stands head and shoulders above the others: the birth of Taliesin, the legendary Dark Age Brythonic poet who has since come to define key aspects of Welsh national character.

Consequently, despite this week's 'Treasure of Wales' being the Holy Grail, the chewed-up remnants of which are currently located at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, and a plethora of other legends from Devilish goings-on to portentous Corpse Candles that augur doom, what choice did Eleanor have but to tell her take on that very story?

Her version, entitled "The Cauldron of Awen," is a wild and poetic ride that bridges land and sea, vast spans of time, and transformations from human to animal and back again.

About Three Ravens 🔮

Three Ravens is a completely independent English myth and folklore podcast where we share stories, celebrate folk culture, and fall backwards through the hedgerows of history.

Hosted by real-life couple Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux, and mostly recorded at our home in rural Sussex in southern England, Three Ravens is rated 4.8/5 from over 500 reviews and has grown by word of mouth care of our lovely listener community ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’

We release three episodes a week, on Mondays, Thursday and Saturdays, through which we explore folktales, folkways, fairy stories, folk songs, mythology, local heritage, seasonal customs and traditional beliefs.

Our research inspires our retellings of stories from across history and culture, with episodes standing alone but connected together across over 500 chatty, mostly light-hearted, swear-free installments driven by passion, kindness and curiosity.

Now ranked as an all-time Top 5 podcast across several categories by Goodpods, charting in the Spotify, Apple and Rephonic UK Fiction Top 10 across 2024, 2025 and 2026, if you’re interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen in…

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