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Branwen, Daughter of Llŷr is a major character in the Middle Welsh story known as the Second Branch of the Mabinogi, which is sometimes called the "Mabinogi of Branwen" after her.
Branwen is a daughter of Llŷr and Penarddun. She is married to Matholwch, King of Ireland, but the marriage does not bring peace.
When Matholwch returns to Ireland with his new bride, he consults with his nobles about the occurrences in the Isle of the Mighty. They are outraged and believe that Matholwch was not compensated enough for the mutilation of his horses. In order to redeem his honor, Matholwch banishes Branwen to work in the kitchens.
Branwen is treated cruelly by her husband Matholwch as punishment for Efnysien's mutilation of the horses, though not before she gives birth to an heir, Gwern. She tames a starling and sends it across the Irish Sea with a message to her brother and Brân brings a force from Wales to Ireland to rescue her.
Some see the giant Brân wading the sea and report this to Matholwch, who retreats beyond a river and destroys the bridges. However, Brân lays himself down over the river to serve as a bridge for his men, he said ("He would be a leader, let him be a bridge").
Matholwch, fearing war, tries to reconcile with Brân by building a house big enough for him to fit into in order to do him honour. Matholwch agrees to give the kingdom to Gwern, his son by Branwen, to pacify Brân. The Irish lords do not like the idea, and many hide themselves in flour bags tied to the pillars of the huge, newly built house to attack the Welsh.
Efnysien, inspecting the house prior to the arrival of Brân and his men, uncovers the men hidden in the bags and kills them all by crushing their heads one by one. At the subsequent feast to celebrate Gwern's investiture as King of Ireland, Efnysien, in an unprovoked moment of rage, throws his nephew Gwern into the fire. This causes chaos between the two countries, and they start fighting each other. The Irish forces at first appear to be losing, but by resurrecting their dead soldiers using the magical cauldron begin to win the battle. However, Efnysien sees what he has done, and regrets it. Disguised as a dead Irish soldier he is thrown into the magical cauldron, and pushes against its walls so that it breaks into four pieces. Efnysien dies in the attempt. The war is still extremely bloody, and leaves no survivors except for Branwen, Bran, and seven Welsh soldiers. They sail home to Wales.
Upon reaching Wales, they realize that Bran has been hit by a poisoned arrow to his leg, and he dies. Branwen, overwhelmed with grief for everyone she has lost, dies of a broken heart.
Brân had commanded his men to cut off his head and to "bear it even unto the White Mount, in London, and bury it there, with the face towards France." And so for seven years, his men spent feasting in Harlech, accompanied by three singing birds and Brân's head. After the seven years they go to Gwales in Penfro, where they remain for eighty years. Eventually, they go to London and bury the head of Brân in the White Mount. Legend said that as long as the head was there, no invasion would come over the sea to Britain.
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