Cad Goddeu

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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

Poem

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;

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;

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 medieval 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]

"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

Related Research Articles

In Welsh mythology, Amaethon was the god of agriculture, and the son of the goddess Dôn. His name means "labourer" or "ploughman", and he is cited as being responsible for the Cad Goddeu, or "Battle of Trees", between the lord of the otherworld, Arawn, and the Children of Dôn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwydion</span> Character from Welsh mythology

Gwydion fab Dôn is a magician, hero and trickster of Welsh mythology, appearing most prominently in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, which focuses largely on his relationship with his young nephew, Lleu Llaw Gyffes. He also appears prominently in the Welsh Triads, the Book of Taliesin and the Stanzas of the Graves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pryderi</span> Character of Welsh mythology

Pryderi fab Pwyll is a prominent figure in Welsh mythology, the son of Pwyll and Rhiannon, and king of Dyfed after his father's death. He is the only character to appear in all Four Branches of the Mabinogi, although the size of his role varies from tale to tale. He is often equated with the divine son figure of Mabon ap Modron, while Jeffrey Gantz compares him to Peredur fab Efrawg, who is himself associated with the continental figure of Sir Percival de Galles.

Lleu Llaw Gyffes is a hero of Welsh mythology. He appears most prominently in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, the tale of Math fab Mathonwy, which tells the tale of his birth, his marriage, his death, his resurrection and his accession to the throne of Gwynedd. He is a warrior and magician, invariably associated with his uncle Gwydion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blodeuwedd</span> Wife of Lleu Llaw Gyffes in Welsh mythology

Blodeuwedd, is the wife of Lleu Llaw Gyffes in Welsh mythology. She was made from the flowers of broom, meadowsweet and oak by the magicians Math and Gwydion, and is a central figure in Math fab Mathonwy, the last of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi.

Gronw Pebr "Gronw the Radiant" is a warrior, hunter and antagonist in Welsh tradition, appearing primarily in the fourth branch of the Mabinogi as the lord of Penllyn, the lover of Blodeuwedd and the murderer of Lleu Llaw Gyffes. He is also mentioned in the Welsh Triads and in the medieval poem Cad Goddeu.

Annwn, Annwfn, or AnnwfynAnnwvn, Annwyn, Annwyfn, Annwvyn, or Annwfyn) is the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn, it was essentially a world of delights and eternal youth where disease was absent and food was ever-abundant. It became identified with the Lutheran afterlife in paradise.

In Welsh mythology, Arawn was the king of the otherworld realm of Annwn who appears prominently in the first branch of the Mabinogi, and alluded to in the fourth. In later tradition, the role of the king of Annwn was largely attributed to the Welsh psychopomp, Gwyn ap Nudd - meaning "white" a possible kenning for his true name. However, Arawn's memory is retained in a traditional saying found in an old Cardigan folktale:

Modron ("mother") is a figure in Welsh tradition, known as the mother of the hero Mabon ap Modron. Both characters may have derived from earlier divine figures, in her case the Gaulish goddess Matrona. She may have been a prototype for Morgan le Fay from the Arthurian legend.

Gwern is a minor figure in Welsh tradition. He is the son of Matholwch, king of Ireland, and Branwen, sister to the king of Britain. He appears in the tale of Branwen, daughter of Llŷr, in which his murder at the hands of his sadistic uncle Efnysien sparks a mutually destructive battle between Britain and Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taliesin</span> Sub-Roman Welsh poet

Taliesin was an early Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the Book of Taliesin. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to have sung at the courts of at least three kings.

<i>Mabinogion</i> Earliest Welsh prose stories

The Mabinogion are the earliest Welsh prose stories, and belong to the Matter of Britain. The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, created c. 1350–1410, as well as a few earlier fragments. The title covers a collection of eleven prose stories of widely different types, offering drama, philosophy, romance, tragedy, fantasy and humour, and created by various narrators over time. There is a classic hero quest, "Culhwch and Olwen"; a historic legend in "Lludd and Llefelys", complete with glimpses of a far off age; and other tales portray a very different King Arthur from the later popular versions. The highly sophisticated complexity of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi defies categorisation. The stories are so diverse that it has been argued that they are not even a true collection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welsh mythology</span> Folk traditions developed in Wales and by the Celtic Britons elsewhere

Welsh mythology consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of the predominantly oral societies Celtic mythology and history were recorded orally by specialists such as druids. This oral record has been lost or altered as a result of outside contact and invasion over the years. Much of this altered mythology and history is preserved in medieval Welsh manuscripts, which include the Red Book of Hergest, the White Book of Rhydderch, the Book of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin. Other works connected to Welsh mythology include the ninth-century Latin historical compilation Historia Brittonum and Geoffrey of Monmouth's twelfth-century Latin chronicle Historia Regum Britanniae, as well as later folklore, such as the materials collected in The Welsh Fairy Book by William Jenkyn Thomas (1908).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Book of Carmarthen</span> Welsh manuscript

The Black Book of Carmarthen is thought to be the earliest surviving manuscript written solely in Welsh. The book dates from the mid-13th century; its name comes from its association with the Priory of St. John the Evangelist and Teulyddog at Carmarthen, and is referred to as black due to the colour of its binding. It is currently part of the collection of the National Library of Wales, where it is catalogued as NLW Peniarth MS 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Book of Taliesin</span> Medieval Welsh manuscript

The Book of Taliesin is one of the most famous of Middle Welsh manuscripts, dating from the first half of the 14th century though many of the fifty-six poems it preserves are taken to originate in the 10th century or before.

The Battle of Arfderydd was fought in medieval Britain in AD 573, according to the Annales Cambriae. The opposing armies are identified in a number of Old Welsh sources but vary between them, perhaps suggesting several allied armies were involved. The main adversaries appear to have been Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio and either the princely brothers Peredur and Gwrgi or King Rhydderch Hael of Strathclyde. Gwenddoleu was defeated and killed in the battle. His bard, Myrddin Wyllt, reportedly went mad and ran into the forest. He is one of several proposed origins for the Arthurian character Merlin. The Welsh Triads refer to this battle as one of the "Three Futile Battles of the Island of Britain", along with the Battle of Camlann and the Battle of the Trees.

The Four Branches of the Mabinogi or Pedair Cainc Y Mabinogi are the earliest prose stories in the literature of Britain. Originally written in Wales in Middle Welsh, but widely available in translations, the Mabinogi is generally agreed to be a single work in four parts, or "branches." The interrelated tales can be read as mythology, political themes, romances, or magical fantasies. They appeal to a wide range of readers, from young children to the most sophisticated adult. The tales are popular today in book format, as storytelling or theatre performances; they appear in recordings and on film, and continue to inspire many reinterpretations in artwork and modern fiction.

<i>Preiddeu Annwfn</i> Medieval Welsh poem

Preiddeu Annwfn or Preiddeu Annwn is a cryptic poem of sixty lines in Middle Welsh, found in the Book of Taliesin. The text recounts an expedition with King Arthur to Annwfn or Annwn, the Otherworld in Welsh.

Caer Sidi is the name of a legendary otherworld fortress mentioned in Middle Welsh mythological poems in the Book of Taliesin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Celtic sacred trees</span> Variety of artifacts in Celtic culture

Many types of trees found in the Celtic nations are considered to be sacred, whether as symbols, or due to medicinal properties, or because they are seen as the abode of particular nature spirits. Historically and in folklore, the respect given to trees varies in different parts of the Celtic world. On the Isle of Man, the phrase 'fairy tree' often refers to the elder tree. The medieval Welsh poem Cad Goddeu is believed to contain Celtic tree lore, possibly relating to the crann ogham, the branch of the ogham alphabet where tree names are used as mnemonic devices.

References

  1. ↑ Thomas Stephens, Literature of the Cymry, 1848, quoted in Nash, op cit.
  2. ↑ Gerald Massey, Book of the Beginnings vol 1, reprinted 2002, Kessinger Publishing, ISBN   0-7661-2652-8, page 361.
  3. ↑ David William Nash, Taliesin, Or, The Bards and Druids of Britain: A Translation of the Remains, J. R. Smith, 1848.
  4. ↑ W. F. Skene, The Four Ancient Books of Wales, 1868, republished 2004 Kessinger Publishing, ISBN   0-7661-8610-5, page 206
  5. ↑ Trudy Carmany Last, 'The "Battle of the Trees": Arthur, the Prophecy of Virgil, and the "Aeneid"'
  6. ↑ Lesnie, Melissa. "Tori Amos: Classical Music Huntress". Limelight. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  7. ↑ Keefe, Jonathan. "Album Review: Tori Amos, Night of Hunters". Slant. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  8. ↑ Powers, Tim (1979). The Drawing of the Dark. US: Del Rey Books. ISBN   0-345-43081-6.
  9. ↑ 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.
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