4 h 38 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What remains when warriors lose the battle, but their names refuse to fade?
In Y Gododin: A Poem of the Battle of Cattraeth, a lord named Mynyddog Mwynfawr gathers chosen warriors. They belong to the Gododdin, a Brittonic people from what is now south east Scotland. Their world holds feasting halls, mead, horses and spears. They ride south to Catraeth, where a far larger enemy awaits.
Credited to Aneirin, the poem remembers these men through short laments rather than a single unfolding plot. Each piece honours a warrior or a small group, measuring them by courage and loyalty rather than victory. Grief gives the praise its force. Preserved in the Book of Aneirin, the poem also raises questions about how its words change across centuries.
What you’ll discover
- A hall before battle Enter a warrior world where feasting and generosity stand beside the prospect of war.
- Names held in memory Meet fallen men through separate tributes that keep each warrior distinct within the loss.
- Honour beyond victory Explore praise rooted in courage and loyalty, even when the battle ends in defeat.
- A chain of laments Follow linked memorial songs whose power comes from remembrance rather than a straight narrative.
- The roots of Welsh poetry Discover an early poetic voice whose age and changing words still invite scholarly debate.
Is it for you?
This is for readers who like early poetry, Celtic history, or the roots of British legend, and for anyone curious how a defeat can become a monument in words. It may suit you less if you want a single plot with a clear line.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A lost kingdom speaks through song
- A year of feasting leads to war
- Each stanza names a fallen man
- Honour matters more than winning
- How the poem sounds and is built
- Why the poem still matters today
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- Large print hardcover
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Y Gododin: A Poem of the Battle of Cattraeth
by Aneirin
Welsh laments mourn warriors after a lost battle.
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Language: English
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A lost kingdom speaks through song
The Gododdin were a Brittonic people. Their language was an ancestor of Welsh, and they lived in what is now south east Scotland. Their stronghold is thought to have been Din Eidyn, the fort that became Edinburgh. This was the period after Roman rule had gone, when British kingdoms stood beside the growing English kingdoms of the east and south.
This region is often called the Old North, in Welsh Yr Hen Ogledd. The Welsh of later centuries remembered it as a lost homeland of heroes and poets. Aneirin is said to have belonged to this world. Another poet, Taliesin, is linked to it too. Their work was kept alive in Wales long after the northern British kingdoms had vanished.
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Questions about Y Gododin: A Poem of the Battle of Cattraeth
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What is Y Gododdin about?
It is a series of elegies for warriors of the Gododdin, a British people of south east Scotland, who feasted in their lord's hall and then rode to fight at Catraeth. Each stanza mourns and praises named men.
Who was Aneirin?
Aneirin was an early Welsh poet, traditionally placed in the late sixth century, and the author named in Y Gododdin. Welsh tradition counts him among the earliest poets of the Britons, alongside Taliesin.
Where was Catraeth?
Catraeth is usually identified with Catterick in North Yorkshire, though scholars cannot be certain. The poem gives few details of the place, and the battle is poorly attested in other early sources.
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