The Chronicles of Prydain

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The Chronicles of Prydain is a five-volume series of children's fantasy novels by Lloyd Alexander. The stories follow the adventures of a young man named Taran, who has been awarded the honorific of Assistant Pig-Keeper but dreams of being a great hero, and his companions Princess Eilonwy, Fflewddur Fflam the wandering bard and king, and a creature called Gurgi.

The novels are inspired by Welsh mythology, particularly stories of the Mabinogion. They are not, however, simple retellings of those myths — a point Alexander himself makes in an author's note — various characters have been changed, and stories conflated, so a student of Welsh culture should be prepared for surprises as Arawn is made into an enemy, and Gwydion loses all of his negative characteristics. The Horned King has his roots in Cernunnos, although the Horned King is thoroughly evil and Arawn's champion.

The chronicles have been recognized by parents and teachers as valuable addition to the canon of classic children's literature from the 20th century. For many years since their publication The Chronicles of Prydain have held their own in sales and readership against other famous children's fantasy series such as The Chronicles of Narnia.

The Black Cauldron, an animated film loosely based on the first two books, was released by the Walt Disney Company in 1985; it survives still as a cult classic, though it is a poor adaptation of the books at best. As of 2005 Mr. Alexander has indicated that Disney still holds the film rights to all five of the Prydain books, but has no intention of creating any further adaptations, even though recent times have seen a marked rise in popularity for fantasy films, such as Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia. Many fans of the books, young and old, remain hopeful that a more faithful live-action realization of the books will eventually be produced.

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