The Gododdin

Although considered to be part of the literature of Wales. The Gododdin was actually composed as a memorial to the tribe of the same name that was based in what is now the south east of Scotland. Including the modern city of Edinburgh. The Gododdin in its existing form is a medieval Welsh poem describing the disastrous defeat of the army of Gododdin at the battle of Catraeth which is believed to be Catterick in North Yorkshire.

                                       The Votadini

The Gododdin, the subjects of the poem , were formerly known as the Votadini by the Romans. They were a tribe based in what is now south eastern Scotland and Northumberland.  Though previously  under Roman influence.  it is thought that because of the building of the Antonine Wall in the 140’s AD just north of the territory of the Votadini. They had become a client kingdom of Rome tasked with helping to defend the Roman frontier. This meant that for centuries afterwards in literature they were regarded as the northern bulwark against the barbarians beyond. Their importance and that of Din Eidyn (Edinburgh) is reflected in the Y Gododdin poem.

                                         The Angles Attack

During these centuries of the post-Roman era the Votadini became known as the Gododdin. They were Brittonic or Welsh (from the Anglo-Saxon adjective wielisc meaning Roman) speaking tribe who were facing the advancing Angles of the Kingdoms of Deira and Benicia. Sources indicate that the Gododiin were under continuous pressure by the Angles from the sixth century onwards.

                                                    Aneirin

The poem itself is believed by historians to have been written by Aneirin. In the poem he describes the events leading up to the defeat of an elite band of 300 Gododdin and allied warriors. Around the year 600 at a site believed to be in the North of England. The poem is thought to have been written at some point between the 7th and the early 11th centuries And is written in both old and middle Welsh.

                                                      The Poem

The poem details the year of feasting at Din Eidyn. The modern Edinburgh before they rode to Catareth to eventual defeat and death of the 300 after several days battle.  Y Gododdin is similar to other heroic poetry of this period. In that it concentrates on the fates of the heroes involved in the fighting. There is no narrative of these current historic events offered by the poem. According to the Annals of Ulster a siege of Din Eidyn (Edinburgh Rock) took place in 638 AD by the Angles leading to the final collapse of the Gododdin kingdom.