Exploring Y Gododdin: The Welsh Epic & The Battle of Catraeth (Catterick)

Explore the fascinating historical and literary features of this acclaimed work of early Medieval Welsh literature and its connections to Yorkshire.

[@yvonnemason9137]

A superb explanation of this rather obscure poem. I'm a Medieval historian by training and I'll be using this video with my home educated Early Middle Ages students. It's great to see such learning, skill in communication and passion in a young historian. Well done!

[@CatherineWarr]

Thank you! Do check out my recent one on the Battle of Winwaed - it's shown how much I've improved since this video!

[@drewsmith8154]

Very precise scrutiny of the Goddodin. Great logicity. Very refreshing

[@Davlavi]

Would love to see more content on the relationship of Wales and York.

[@RhodriMcDonagh]

Great insight on y Gododdin, and well done on pronunciation!

[@michaelsommers2356]

I think the importance of the reference to Arthur is that it shows, if it is not a later interpolation, that by the time the poem was written, there was an Arthur who was a standard for prowess in battle. Since the name 'Arthur' seems to be very rare, if not unique, it probably refers to "King" Arthur.

[@janlloyd6138]

To me that is proof King Arthur Pendragon existed.

[@dave_hoops]

If you enjoy this, also try Britain's Hidden History Ross. Have you read Holy Kingdom by A.Gilbert?

[@marnih]

The Shining Company is a wonderful book written based on this poem. Thanks for your extra insight.

[@arrashealing]

I second The Shining Company by Rosemary as a must-read

[@samadrana6816]

I never learnt any of this before but it seems like a really interesting topic and one to read up on. Keep up the good work! 👍

[@thatguyinelnorte]

Fascinating! I am so happy I found your channel!!!

[@jordanmills8720]

Hey! I just found your channel through this video and subbed. Its great to see another young amateur local history enthusiast. Im from Northern Ireland and share a similar interest and we are discovering more about an ancient presence of people here from the mainland, dispelling the notion of a homogeneous Gaelic Ireland since time immemorial. The people would have been from the Old North and it explains why a lot of people in Northern Ireland today still feel more British than Irish. Thanks a million for your videos I look forward to more in the future and your book.

[@dannymcintyre3819]

That's a highly politicised comment and it is your opinion really, not based on any research or data. What is clear from sociological research is that people in northern Ireland who are protestants at one point did feel Irish. It was only later on after partition 1921/1922 and especially after the Troubles in the north from the 1960s onwards when Britishness in the north became ossified and many protestants no longer identified as Irish. Remember that the protestant / presbyterian Irish (aka Scots-Irish/Scotch-Irish/Ulster-Scots) who left for the United States actually identified as Irish when they first arrived in the Untied States. It was only after the great hunger and the arrival of millions of Catholic Irish into the United States that the presbyterian/protestant Irish wanted to differentiate themselves so came to be known as the "Scotch-Irish" due to their presbyterian Scots plantation roots in Ulster.

[@Bcfcuklhpwalker]

@@dannymcintyre3819 bs commie talk again Irish restarted Rome an rewrite Christianity when they re write the Bible an added a bloody man as god FFS so wtf was the other one gnostic text an kolbrin plus loads of information on Joseph the tin miner jesus grandmother being from britions an mass mirgration from the lands of Israel but before u start calling names only Catholic in USA were spainish who loved slavery an fought for it to continue ... something British stopped in 1820 lots of history with Dublin there an your Norse folks whole argument you bring is always bs

[@Bcfcuklhpwalker]

@@dannymcintyre3819 also proddys were in USA from 1620 way before potato famine an laws in place to keep you out way up til the 1890s even later always bs left made up history to Try an denied facts beging to think you guys are with them ash........Nazi hews from the start going way back yet throw your commies talk left right an center .funny how Scots Welsh England all adopt the common mans protesters faith you guys need to stop letting your hand be holded an critical think research an data FFS these guys rewriteing our history to this day

[@peanut2006100]

You are wonderful! My ancestors came from Yorkshire and I love history. Your channel is a lot of fun and interesting to watch. After reading your responses in the comments, I love youmore! We're you interested in writing books? Are you studying history at university? Thank you so much for the videos!

[@michaelhaddon6372]

@@CatherineWarr well done I'm a bit of a self taught history buff but not at your level lol

[@pissedoff-is1mt]

I have written quite a lot of poetry myself and have found that people want to interpret the poem to their own narritive rather than just reading the words written.

[@keithgogarth4060]

It's a sad fact that our few of our English neighbours no very little about the histories of their Celtic neighbours

[@John-qd5of]

We have tried to be patient but when we read about history it tends to focus only on England.

[@keithagn]

Very interesting and enjoyable! Thank you! Regards from Canada.

[@thegheymerz6353]

I have been watching and reading for a few months now different sources on this late 6th century time period attempting to wrap my head around the culture/events of that time and it people. This concise video has given me the clearest picture yet. Thank you so much and i wish the best to you. Please keep up the good work!

[@andreapatterson8323]

I'd never heard of any of this before, although I had heard the name of the poet Aneirin. Completely fascinating. Thank you so much.

[@Aces8s]

Excellent. I enjoy your channel.

[@ChimozuFu]

I love your videos. Also this is my favourite poem so thank you for doing such a great explanation of it

[@ieuancilgwri3230]

Brilliant and superb, sensitive pronunciation. So insightful.

[@waltonsmith7210]

This poem issuch a tantalizing, fleeting glimpse at a lost world and culture.

[@harrypmay]

Yma o hyd 😉

[@gregizzo4191]

I really enjoyed that. Thanks

[@alexanderSydneyOz]

Re the location of Catraeth: Disclosure.. I have simply read about this poem, viewed some YT videos, and read a single translation - that of Rev John Williams, from 1852. (read for free the Gutenberg Press document) So, I am not going to add to debate with any assertions, based on such a lack of knowledge. BUT, said Rev John Williams expressed a view that "Catraeth" was in fact a still (somewhat) extant defensive ditch known as the "Catrail". That runs from "the vicinity of Galashels to Peel-fell". The Catrail appears to be not a defensive structure, as it is not substantial enough, but rather a border marker. This interpretation would make the Battle of Catraeth, a battle situated along the effective border between Gododdin territory, and that controlled by Anglo Saxons and their defector allies in Bernicia/Bryneich. Williams notes that the latter term was already in use by Cymry to refer to Britons who had aligned themselves with the Angles and Saxons. I note that Catterick is well south of this area, quite a distance from Edinburgh, and indeed well south of the already hostile eastern coastal areas to whom the Cymry were already opposed. After all, the existence of the Catrail attests to that, and could hardly mean anything else. I am in no position to assess the above versus the widely accepted location of Catterick, and relate it here as a counter point to the majority view.

[@Baud2Bits]

"Teribus ye teri odin" As a southerner who relocated to Hawick and spent some years trying to immerse myself in local history and the history of the 'borders' it is always good to see a video which touches on this history.

[@dave_hoops]

Thank you for a very interesting snd enjoyable presentation Catherine

[@ftumschk]

07:00 Interesting that scholars see "mead" as a reference to the gifts bestowed on the warriors by their lord, given that the Welsh for mead ("medd") looks to be related to the Welsh for a benefice or possession ("meddiant"). I'd never seen this possible connection before, so thanks for prompting the thought! PS: Your pronunciation was pretty good I must say :)

[@cymro6537]

The Welsh word for mead is ' medd' ,the Welsh word for being drunk is 'meddwi' literally ,to get 'meaded'

[@cisltd]

As your from Yorkshire. Another local battle that never gets told is the one of King Alfred of Northumberland and his father and he was buried in Driffield. Around 700AD

[@cjhobbyfly8597]

Its interesting you mention the word "mattins" being added later... the words "Lances" and "Knights" are words which came around later too, perhaps simply added in the 13th Century or used to replace words which might have been used in the 7th century, such as "Kontos" and "Milite or Comitatenses)

[@ftumschk]

@@CatherineWarr I think it's the translator. Having checked the original online, "mattins" is an attempt to translate the Brythonic/Welsh word "plygain", which can mean any morning religious service, or even the dawn itself; it's conceivable that "the hour of [plygain]" might just mean "sun-up". The words translated as "lance" are "gwayw" and "llain", which would be more commonly translated as "spear" and "blade". Likewise, "knight/knights" is "marchog/marchogyon", which literally just means "horseman". Whilst "marchog" eventually became the Modern word Welsh for knight, it can denote any kind of horseman, and it doesn't carry the noble connotations of the word "knight" as we've seen in English since mediæval times. In fact, "marchog" also means "jockey" in Modern Welsh, which is about as far removed from the concept of a mediæval knight as we can get :)

[@madeleinebullock3063]

Which translation are you reading?

[@slydawgg]

I live near the battlefield and moutainbike between 2 saxon burial mounds still there.There is another 1/4 mile away all in a line so maybe the battlefront.The line goes NNW to SSE….Its also the time of King Arthur so maybe the person the story is based around was there.Just a thought.

[@markjerry7127]

Nice one! I didn't know that. Why is it known as a Welsh - (An old English derivative word for foreigner or foreign lands) - poem, and not a Brittonic, Cumbric, or Cymric one? Before the subjugation of the north, was it not known to the Angles and the Saxons as North Wales, and Cornwall as West Wales? Cheers.

[@markjerry7127]

@@CatherineWarr Nice one! I had to look up Wittgensteinian. I think what confuses me is why would a conquered nation adopt the derogatory moniker of the aggressor when they have a perfectly good name for themselves/ourselves (whatever), but I think I may have answered my own question; they were conquered, and had no say in the matter. I suppose. Easy’!

[@albiondp4488]

@@markjerry7127 Since man could etch a sign into a tablet and cause it to have meaning, it's meaning has been in favour of the victors.

[@ieuancilgwri3230]

There’s also some evidence that those peoples were called the Britons collectively, Bede certainly refers to them as such. The term Britons also shows up in the Anglo Saxon Chronicles and early records of the East and West Saxons. You also have regions or petty Kingdoms, such as Rheged (NW England roughly) and Strathclyde going on until 9th and 11th century. There are are geographic names in the regions outlining, an example being the Stone of the Britons not far from Loch Lomond, which would have been part of Strathclyde. And of course, in Wales the term ‘British’ or Brythoneg was hung onto for many years as a memory and aspiration to reclaim the Island as a whole. Cadwallon was known as a Champion of the Britons, and was probably active 30/40 years after Y Gododdin ….

[@Bcfcuklhpwalker]

@@ieuancilgwri3230 love to my Welsh English Scotland brothers sisters .. but them Romans who got convert by paddy an restarted Rome because vandles collapse it seriously have some answering to do either with term brothonic these replace it with Celt then run there bloody gums about that when true Celts are us either tho that term highly suspicious use again to stop reference to cymu becuase. they all think there was no England before Germans came because of the holy Roman empire

[@BobCratchit-773]

​@@ieuancilgwri3230These are Aneirin's words in Old Welsh/Brythonic. Y Gododdin - Aneirin canu kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZa2qpdqoZl6Y7ssi=QKwbgbLa_HI41VMb

[@brettmercer8727]

Mead or Mead Hall is probably related to Meet or Meeting Hall so your theory makes sense. So they made plans for a year. Looking at that; Made is also close to Mead, isn't it? 🤔

[@gordonbryce]

Nice one!

[@giorgiaolivotto8442]

Hi there, great video, very insightful! Still, I don't know a lot about this period in this area and I need some clarifications. So, if I understand correctly, this poem is written by a bard in a Celtic language. It's a memorial to remember the chiefs of some (one or more??) Celtic reigns of the British Island trying to fight off the Anglo Saxon settlers who had already established a couple of reigns on the eastern coast, right?

[@CatherineWarr]

That's pretty much it!

[@giorgiaolivotto8442]

Thank you! Why has nobody ever told me anything about this poem? It's so cool!

[@alexanderSydneyOz]

Re "mead". My reading of the poem is firmly that "mead" wherever mentioned, plainly refers to an alcoholic drink, either explicitly or by clear implication. It also refers to imbibing wine. For both, references to drinking from a horn etc are repeated. I am not doubting or disputing other meanings of the word, but they do not seem to apply in this poem. There are numerous references which, at a simple reading, sound like men faring poorly because they were fighting while intoxicated from mead and wine. I see why this is a vexed question! Realistically, however, it is hard to credit the notion of men stumbling out days in a row, after an evening piss-up, and therefore all being killed. Given that part of the story is Mynyddawg entertaining/ persuading them for a year, and his great hall ie a predecessor to Edinburgh Castle, it indeed makes far more sense if the drinking was all done there, and was the warriors' downfall due to mistakenly thinking the campaign would be successful, due to the alcohol fueled courage. Re: how many of them were there? Well, it talks about 363, only 3 of whom survived. It seems fairly obvious these are simply the various group leaders who were feted in Eiddyn by Mynyddawg. So the total number of the Cymry forces was 363 x (how ever many they, on average, brought with them).

[@albiondp4488]

And i've been saying the vowels the english way for how long! lol, too much reading not enough listening (or studying phonetics for that matter). Great treatment of good ol' Aneirin!

[@therealunclevanya]

Is Y Gododdin written in Welsh or Old English? I think it confuses me a little as I love listening to Pais Dinogad which is considered Welsh but actually comes from Cumbria (Rheged). My daughter went to Uni in Wales and I heard it spoken by non native speakers a few times and thought it was a dreadful language, until I met a group of Welsh first language speakers and loved it. Like Erse (Irish) it s a sing song language. kzbin.info/www/bejne/goCrf6hri5ZkmKs

[@cymro6537]

Y Gododdin is written in an archaic Welsh -some say Cumbric , however , Cumbric and Welsh are of the same origin ,at the time of the battle they would have been mutually intelligible - the Welsh word for the Welsh language is *Cymraeg* spelled phonetically 'Come-raick' , immediately one can see that Cymraeg and Cumbric are one and the same...

[@albiondp4488]

@@cymro6537 I imagine at some point in the remote past they were all just regional dialects of a widely accepted (albeit fluctuating) langauge.

[@cymro6537]

@@albiondp4488 Agreed 👍

[@spaceghost4475]

@@cymro6537 Yes Cymraeg comes from Cumbric (old Welsh) this kid doesn't know much and can't even pronounce words or names properly.

[@spaceghost4475]

@@CatherineWarr "As I clearly do" you are so arrogant yet can't pronounce most of the words correctly. And because I don't have a video I can't have my opinion? Pipe down washi bach.

[@billysmith3841]

Im from Richmond near catterick and i know of a metal detectorist who found an anglian shield boss near catterick race course which is where the roman fort is. When i said how historically important it was it went missing. Such a shame

[@rhythmstic]

Welsh Bards were not given to embellishing ancient poems. They held office in the ancient Druidic system and were responsible for checking authenticity of 'blood lines', as well as carrying news and relating histories. They advised on law and custom but were responsible to their managing Druid. For them to embellish anything would have undermined their highly respected status. An example is found within the poem itself when the provocative murder of a Bard led to the Cymry taking the offensive out of rage, perhaps breaking ranks to do so. This led directly to their defeat. The 300 princes would have been expected to bring with them men at arms. If the Cymry were following the old Roman system they would have brought 80 men with them, basically a boatload. 6 Princes and their men would have been equivalent to a Roman cohort. 300 princes would have been 50 cohorts, about 5 Legions. Against a 50,000 strong opposing army this could only have been intended as a defensive force. After several failed attacks, and suffering much slaughter, slaying the Bard during a peace conference was clearly a deliberate ploy. It is doubtful that Catterick had anything to do with this battle. That was merely a haphazard guess by an English historian which has been typically widely but erroneously adopted, thus contributing to the fake history narrative currently being popularised.

[@thegreatdictator7457]

It always makes me think of the brilliant album by Test Dept. I saw the concert in Hamburg back then.. Album: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aH7FiGOEftuFnKssi=gkmaepXMDPJdNRp2 Live: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmmxoZ-OhZuohtEsi=Yr0m9zYHSxc0Qi6k

[@whyukraine]

Is that where your name is from? The Catherrick War?

[@dave_hoops]

Thank you for your presentation Catherine... please see Britain's Hidden History Ross for more on King Arthur

[@dave_hoops]

Have you read Holy Kingdom by A.Gilbert?

[@dave_hoops]

Hey no worries Catherine I only mention it because much of the book is about King Arthur, and you talked about him briefly in your presentation here 👍

[@col4574]

Now thats some tie

[@TheBlackAce2]

Just finished The Shining Company by Rosemary Sutcliff about the The Battle of Catraeth. That's a very snazzy outfit, by the way.

[@dave_hoops]

Why do you keep deleting my comment re Britain's Hidden History Ross, are you afraid of views that may differ from yours?

[@CatherineWarr]

I'm not deleting any comments. You've commented four times about them.

[@dave_hoops]

​​​@@CatherineWarrThanks for replying, I didn't realise you were actually really there. Before these ones, I tried making the same comment 5 - 6 times that was immediately deleted by someone. Have you read Holy Kingdom by A.Gilbert ? (Edit: just corrected spelling mistake 😊) I only mention because it looks at the king Arthur 'legend' from a different angle

[@PicRic]

Ooh, I like that, "our Homer".

[@jayb8439]

👍👍👍

[@Lornicopia]

I'm a Goddodin

[@englishminor]

Best translation?

[@DoctorCymraeg]

Not too bad pronunciation either 👏👏👏

[@red88ization]

its the history of wales not yorkshire

[@SyawishRehman]

I literally didn’t understand a single word in the first 10 seconds.

[@MichealMyres1]

Listen then nugget

[@spaceghost4475]

You can't pronounce any of the words or names properly, Wales didn't even exist at the time of the poem and the warriors came from the Kingdom of Gwynedd.

[@cymro6537]

@@CatherineWarr Being a first language Welsh speaker I can attest that you do indeed pronounce the Welsh words pretty accurately. I'm being hyper critical here ,but for 'Gododdin' , as Welsh speakers, we'd pronounce Gododdin just as you do except that the second letter 'o' would be with an open vowel sound : 'oh' (rhyming with 'saw' )rather than the rounded vowel 'Owe' sound.So - phonetically at least,it would be pronounced "God - oh- thin". Additionally, for *Catraeth* the 'raeth' in Catraeth would rhyme with 'Fife'. But anyway, thanks for the video - really interesting. Subbed. Dymuniadau gorau am y flwyddyn Newydd 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿✨. Best wishes for the New year.👍

[@cadarn1274]

Only a few of the warriors are identified as from Gwynedd. Some are said to be from the South. Most were likely from Southern (modern day) Scotland, the land of the "Gododdin" the poem is named after.

[@oskareriksson2202]

I discovered now you channel, (i'm a wargamer and pseudo historian from Italy, that love the story of the romano british warlords) and looking for goddodin poem i caught your video! congraulations for your channel and nice suit! by a vintage joke! BTW... 50.000 warriors is a little bit too much for the anglosaxons in that period, i'll say 5000-7000 more or less, and that the 300 votadinii was accompanied by a small number of infantry peasants. My personal knowledge of late roman warlords and sub roman britain, in late antiquity\dark ages that was the numbers these nordic warlords could field usually. The max was 10.000-15.000 usually, or a few more in the biggest cases. To me, but maybe i'm wrong.