Cad Goddeu (Middle Welsh: Kat Godeu, English: The Battle of the Trees) is a medieval Welsh poem preserved in the 14th-century manuscript known as the Book of Taliesin. The poem refers to a traditional story in which the legendary enchanter Gwydion animates the trees of the forest to fight as his army. The poem is especially notable for its striking and enigmatic symbolism and the wide variety of interpretations this has occasioned.
Some 248 short lines long (usually five syllables and a rest), and falling into several sections, the poem begins with an extended claim of first-hand knowledge of all things, in a fashion found later in the poem and also in several others attributed to Taliesin;
Bum cledyf yn aghat Bum yscwyt yg kat Bum tant yn telyn.
I was a sword in hand I was a shield in battle I was a string on a harp.
culminating in a claim to have been at "Caer Vevenir" when the Lord of Britain did battle. There follows an account of a great monstrous beast, of the fear of the Britons and how, by Gwydion's skill and the grace of God, the trees marched to battle: then follows a list of plants, each with some outstanding attribute, now apt, now obscure;
Gwern blaen llin, A want gysseuin Helyc a cherdin Buant hwyr yr vydin.
Alder, front of the line, formed the vanguard Willow and Rowan were late to the fray.
The poem then breaks into a first-person account of the birth of the flower-maiden Blodeuwedd, and then the history of another one, a great warrior, once a herdsman, now a learned traveller, perhaps Arthur or Taliesin himself. After repeating an earlier reference to the Flood, the Crucifixion and the day of judgment, the poem closes with an obscure reference to metalwork.
Interpretations
There are contemporary passing allusions to the Battle of Trees elsewhere in the mediaeval Welsh collections: The Welsh Triads record it as a "frivolous" battle, while in another poem of the Book of Taliesin the poet claims to have been present at the battle.
According to a summary of a similar story preserved in Peniarth MS 98B (which dates from the late sixteenth century) the poem describes a battle between Gwydion and Arawn, the Lord of Annwn. The fight broke out after the divine plowman Amaethon stole a dog, a lapwing, and a roebuck from Arawn. Gwydion ultimately triumphed by guessing the name of one of Arawn's men, Bran (possibly Bran the Blessed).
In the Mabinogi story of the childhood of Lleu Llaw Gyffes, Gwydion makes a forest appear to be an invading force.
The Cad Goddeu, which is difficult to translate because of its laconic allusiveness and grammatical ambiguity, was the subject of several nineteenth-century speculative commentaries and English renderings. Thomas Stephens held the poem to concern "a Helio-Arkite superstition, the metempsychosis of a Chief Druid, and a symbolical account of the Deluge".[1]Gerald Massey's monumental work on African origins suggested that the poem reflected Egyptian religion.[2]
David William Nash believed it was a poor-quality twelfth-century romance overlaying a romance or story of the Arthurian era and put together with other poetic fragments.[3]W. F. Skene rejected the antiquity of the prose account and thought the poem reflected the history of the north country during the Irish incursions.[4] Watson followed Skene and Ifor Williams posed the question 'What about the Battle of Celyddon Wood?'
Robert Graves took up a speculation that had been considered and rejected by Nash; that the trees that fought in the battle correspond to the Ogham alphabet, in which each character is associated with a particular tree. Each tree had a meaning and significance of its own, and Gwydion guessed Bran's name by the alder branch Bran carried, the alder being one of Bran's prime symbols. Graves argued that the original poet had concealed druidic secrets about an older matriarchal Celtic religion for fear of censure from Christian authorities. He suggested that Arawn and Bran were names for the same underworld god and that the battle was probably not physical but rather a struggle of wits and scholarship: Gwydion's forces could only be defeated if the name of his companion, Lady Achren ("Trees"), was guessed and Arawn's host only if Bran's name was guessed.
Graves, following Nash, accepted that the poem is a composite of several different sections, among which he named a Hanes Taliesin (History of Taliesin) and a Hanes Blodeuwedd (History of Blodeuwedd).
Marged Haycock and Mary Ann Constantine reject the idea that Cad Goddeu encodes ancient pagan religions as Graves believed but rather see it as a burlesque, a grand parody of bardic language. Francesco Bennozo argues that the poem represents ancient fears of the forest and its magical powers. Trudy Carmany Last suggests that Cad Goddeu is a Celtic variant of Virgil’s Aeneid.[5]
Other uses
A track titled "Cad Goddeau" appears on the 1984 album Eostre by the British band Zoviet France.
Singer-songwriter Tori Amos was inspired by the story of Cad Goddeu for her song "Battle of Trees", which appears on Night of Hunters, a narrative concept album, presented as a 21st-century song cycle. This song, a variation on Erik Satie's Gnossienne No. 1,[6] uses references to Cad Goddeu to reflect on the power of language as a battle-ready weapon.[7]
Soviet and later Russian rock group Aquarium recorded a song "Kad Goddo" on their album Deti Dekabrya, 1986, quoting some of the lines directly from the poem.
Tim Powers has the protagonist of his book The Drawing of the Dark, Brian Duffy, utter a few verses of the Cad Goddeu to evoke ancient beings to fight with him.[8]
Facing Welsh / English translation, "Battle of the Scrub", in Poems from the Book of Taliesin (1916)
January 06, 2023
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Cad Goddeu Middle Welsh Kat Godeu English The Battle of the Trees is a medieval Welsh poem preserved in the 14th century manuscript known as the Book of Taliesin The poem refers to a traditional story in which the legendary enchanter Gwydion animates the trees of the forest to fight as his army The poem is especially notable for its striking and enigmatic symbolism and the wide variety of interpretations this has occasioned Contents 1 Poem 2 Interpretations 3 Other uses 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksPoem EditSome 248 short lines long usually five syllables and a rest and falling into several sections the poem begins with an extended claim of first hand knowledge of all things in a fashion found later in the poem and also in several others attributed to Taliesin Bum cledyf yn aghat Bum yscwyt yg kat Bum tant yn telyn I was a sword in hand I was a shield in battle I was a string on a harp culminating in a claim to have been at Caer Vevenir when the Lord of Britain did battle There follows an account of a great monstrous beast of the fear of the Britons and how by Gwydion s skill and the grace of God the trees marched to battle then follows a list of plants each with some outstanding attribute now apt now obscure Gwern blaen llin A want gysseuin Helyc a cherdin Buant hwyr yr vydin Alder front of the line formed the vanguard Willow and Rowan were late to the fray The poem then breaks into a first person account of the birth of the flower maiden Blodeuwedd and then the history of another one a great warrior once a herdsman now a learned traveller perhaps Arthur or Taliesin himself After repeating an earlier reference to the Flood the Crucifixion and the day of judgment the poem closes with an obscure reference to metalwork Interpretations EditThere are contemporary passing allusions to the Battle of Trees elsewhere in the mediaeval Welsh collections The Welsh Triads record it as a frivolous battle while in another poem of the Book of Taliesin the poet claims to have been present at the battle According to a summary of a similar story preserved in Peniarth MS 98B which dates from the late sixteenth century the poem describes a battle between Gwydion and Arawn the Lord of Annwn The fight broke out after the divine plowman Amaethon stole a dog a lapwing and a roebuck from Arawn Gwydion ultimately triumphed by guessing the name of one of Arawn s men Bran possibly Bran the Blessed In the Mabinogi story of the childhood of Lleu Llaw Gyffes Gwydion makes a forest appear to be an invading force The Cad Goddeu which is difficult to translate because of its laconic allusiveness and grammatical ambiguity was the subject of several nineteenth century speculative commentaries and English renderings Thomas Stephens held the poem to concern a Helio Arkite superstition the metempsychosis of a Chief Druid and a symbolical account of the Deluge 1 Gerald Massey s monumental work on African origins suggested that the poem reflected Egyptian religion 2 David William Nash believed it was a poor quality twelfth century romance overlaying a romance or story of the Arthurian era and put together with other poetic fragments 3 W F Skene rejected the antiquity of the prose account and thought the poem reflected the history of the north country during the Irish incursions 4 Watson followed Skene and Ifor Williams posed the question What about the Battle of Celyddon Wood Robert Graves took up a speculation that had been considered and rejected by Nash that the trees that fought in the battle correspond to the Ogham alphabet in which each character is associated with a particular tree Each tree had a meaning and significance of its own and Gwydion guessed Bran s name by the alder branch Bran carried the alder being one of Bran s prime symbols Graves argued that the original poet had concealed druidic secrets about an older matriarchal Celtic religion for fear of censure from Christian authorities He suggested that Arawn and Bran were names for the same underworld god and that the battle was probably not physical but rather a struggle of wits and scholarship Gwydion s forces could only be defeated if the name of his companion Lady Achren Trees was guessed and Arawn s host only if Bran s name was guessed Graves following Nash accepted that the poem is a composite of several different sections among which he named a Hanes Taliesin History of Taliesin and a Hanes Blodeuwedd History of Blodeuwedd Marged Haycock and Mary Ann Constantine reject the idea that Cad Goddeu encodes ancient pagan religions as Graves believed but rather see it as a burlesque a grand parody of bardic language Francesco Bennozo argues that the poem represents ancient fears of the forest and its magical powers Trudy Carmany Last suggests that Cad Goddeu is a Celtic variant of Virgil s Aeneid 5 Other uses EditA track titled Cad Goddeau appears on the 1984 album Eostre by the British band Zoviet France Singer songwriter Tori Amos was inspired by the story of Cad Goddeu for her song Battle of Trees which appears on Night of Hunters a narrative concept album presented as a 21st century song cycle This song a variation on Erik Satie s Gnossienne No 1 6 uses references to Cad Goddeu to reflect on the power of language as a battle ready weapon 7 Soviet and later Russian rock group Aquarium recorded a song Kad Goddo on their album Deti Dekabrya 1986 quoting some of the lines directly from the poem Tim Powers has the protagonist of his book The Drawing of the Dark Brian Duffy utter a few verses of the Cad Goddeu to evoke ancient beings to fight with him 8 Duel of the Fates is a musical theme recurring in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and the Expanded Universe It was composed by John Williams and recorded for the film soundtrack by the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Voices This symphonic piece is played with both a full orchestra and a choir The lyrics are based on a fragment of Cad Goddeu and sung in Sanskrit 9 See also EditPreiddeu AnnwfnReferences Edit Thomas Stephens Literature of the Cymry 1848 quoted in Nash op cit Gerald Massey Book of the Beginnings vol 1 reprinted 2002 Kessinger Publishing ISBN 0 7661 2652 8 page 361 David William Nash Taliesin Or The Bards and Druids of Britain A Translation of the Remains J R Smith 1848 W F Skene The Four Ancient Books of Wales 1868 republished 2004 Kessinger Publishing ISBN 0 7661 8610 5 page 206 Trudy Carmany Last The Battle of the Trees Arthur the Prophecy of Virgil and the Aeneid Lesnie Melissa Tori Amos Classical Music Huntress Limelight Archived from the original on 28 September 2011 Retrieved 3 August 2011 Keefe Jonathan Album Review Tori Amos Night of Hunters Slant Retrieved 3 August 2012 Powers Tim 1979 The Drawing of the Dark US Del Rey Books ISBN 0 345 43081 6 Richard Dyer 1999 03 28 Making Star Wars sing again PDF The Boston Globe Archived from the original PDF on 2009 01 05 Retrieved 2009 12 06 External links EditSelect f 11 r for facsimile of original manuscript Welsh original Spanish translation Archived 2008 10 26 at the Wayback Machine From the Skene translation Excerpt from Peniarth ms98 in Welsh Facing Welsh English translation Battle of the Scrub in Poems from the Book of Taliesin 1916 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cad Goddeu amp oldid 1100979260, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
