Y Gododin: A Poem of the Battle of CattraethAneirin
History
Y Gododin: A Poem of the Battle of Cattraeth
Aneirin
Cattraeth, Battle of, Catterick, England, ca. 600 -- Poetry
The engagement commenced on a Tuesday, and continued for a whole week,
the last four days being the most bloody. {7b} For some time both
parties fought gallantly, and with almost equal success; fortune perhaps
upon the whole appearing to favour the Cymry, who not only slew a vast
number of their adversaries, but partially succeeded in recovering their
lost dominions. {7c} At this critical juncture a dwarfish herald arrived
at the fence, proposing on the part of the Saxons a truce or compact,
which, however, was indignantly rejected by the natives, and the action
renewed. {7d} The scales now rapidly turned. In one part of the field
such a terrible carnage ensued, that there was but one man left to scare
away the birds of prey, which hovered over the carcases of the slain.
{7e} In another, where our Bard was stationed, a portion of the allied
army, owing to the absence of its general, became panic stricken. {7f}
Aneurin was taken prisoner, hurried off to a cave or dungeon, and loaded
with chains. {7g} At length a conference was submitted to, which was
held at a place called Llanveithin, at which Aneurin, who had been
forcibly liberated by one of the sons of Llywarch Hen, insisted upon the
restoration of part of Gododin, or the alternative of continuing the
fight. The Saxon herald met the proposal by killing the British Bard
Owain, who was of course unarmed. {7h} Such a violation of privilege
excited then the whole energies of the Cymry, who rose as one man, and
gave the entire scene a more bloody character than it had yet presented.
Victory, however, at length proclaimed in favour of the usurpers, and so
decisively, that out of the three hundred and sixty three chieftains that
went to the field of Cattraeth, three only returned alive, Cynon, and
Cadreith, and Cadlew of Cadnant, besides Aneurin himself. {7i} The
number of common soldiers that fell must be conjectured.
We have said that the battle commenced on a Tuesday; it would appear from
two passages, namely, where the meeting of reapers in the hall of Eiddin,
{7j} and the employment of Gwynwydd in protecting the corn on the
highlands, {8a} are spoken of, that the time of year in which it occurred
was the harvest.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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