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are said to have suffered a catastrophic defeat. Koch breaks with the long-held view that the disaster at
Catraeth was a battle against the Angles of Deira and Bernicia and points to the participation of warriors from Rheged. He equates the two battles of the poems, suggesting that they both refer to
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may have been composed in the 11th century or later. Moreover, the
Gododdin are not mentioned in the poem and the presumed presence of Picts hinges on an unnecessary emendation for a word which makes sense on its own right. Responding to Koch's perception of the 6th-century
181:, prince of Rheged, in which he led his warband in defence against a host of invaders at a site called Llech Gwen in Gwen Ystrad (Gwen valley). The heavy, prolonged fighting is said to have taken place since dawn at the entrance to a ford. Sir
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as a possible but distant milieu for the production of literature, Isaac says that a "'heroic age' cannot produce literature, because a 'heroic age' is itself produced through literature".
228:"manes of their horses" (line 22). This description would fit the Picts but rules out the Saxons, who fought on foot. However, the emendation is not universally accepted.
224:". Ifor Williams offers some support for their identification as Picts, pointing out that the adversaries are envisaged as horsemen, to judge by the allusion to
262:, are shown assisted by the Pictish troops (see above) but are not otherwise named. The Gwen Ystrad poem would then present a victor's view of the same event.
269:, classifying its language as what he calls 'Archaic Neo-Brittonic', a form of Old Welsh spoken in the 6th century, which he regards as the language in which
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was originally composed. However, on re-editing the poem, Graham Isaac argues against Koch's methods and conclusions and suggests instead that
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Williams 1968, p. 41. Various locations have been proposed for Gwen Ystrad by early commentators â e.g. Winsterdale near
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However, Koch's interpretation of the poem has been challenged on a number of counts. He relies on an early date for
200:" (line 1), a place often equated with Catterick (North Yorkshire), and the enemy forces as the "men of Britain" (
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237:, Koch argues that the Gwen Ystrad poem offers a vital clue for an understanding of the 6th-century
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Put in the mouth of a first-person eyewitness, the poem glorifies a victory by
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Koch 1997, p. xxvi-xxix; Isaac 1998, p. 69, citing Morris-Jones, "Taliesin."
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a conflict between the dynasty of Urien, i.e. the
Coeling or descendants of
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165:, a series of poems attributed to the 6th-century court poet of Rheged,
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The
Gododdin of Aneirin. Text and Context in Dark-Age North Britain
434:) â but these are no more than speculations. Williams 1968, p. 31.
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204:, line 6), who have come in large numbers to attack the land. Sir
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132:, prince of Rheged; men of Catraeth; men of Britain or Pictland
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suggests that the personal name GwÊn may lie behind the forms
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late 6th century; possibly between 1050 and 1150 (Isaac 1998)
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The
Triumph Tree: Scotland's Earliest Poetry, AD 550â1350
545:and the Northern Heroic Age of the Sixth Century."
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561:Williams, Ifor, Sir (tr. J.E. Caerwyn Williams).
97:lines in end-rhyme, (usually) of 9 syllables each
345:They wish peace, for they found the way barred,
196:Urien's champions are described as the "men of
113:Battle at Llech Wen, Gwen Ystrad (unidentified)
363:And quick groupings, ranks closed, for battle.
231:In the commentary to his edition of the poem
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348:Hands crossed, on the strand, cheeks pallid.
384:Battle's the lot of those who serve Urien.
294:Round a battle-winning lord, cattle-raiser.
303:Eager for war, true leader of Christendom.
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369:Rheged's lord, I marvel, when challenged.
351:Their lords marvel at Idon's lavish wine;
339:At the ford I saw men stained with blood
315:Land's protector, your foe when he came.
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381:Carry, warriors, shields at the ready;
330:Joyous, wrathful, the shout one heard.
306:Prydain's men, they came in war-bands:
375:When he fought his foes at Llech Wen.
366:Battle's cloak, he'd no mind to flee,
354:Waves wash the tails of their horses.
324:And after morning's fray, torn flesh.
300:Constrains rulers and cuts them down,
193:, but the site cannot be identified.
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342:Down arms before a grey-haired lord.
309:Gwen Ystrad your base, battle-honer.
619:Battles involving the Anglo-Saxons
378:Routing does in fury delights him.
336:A thin rampart and lone weary men.
318:Like waves roaring harsh over land
312:Neither field nor forest shielded,
291:Catraeth's men set out at daybreak
157:heroic poem found uniquely in the
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357:I saw pillaging men disheartened,
558:. Cardiff and Andover, MA, 1997.
548:Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies
360:And blood spattered on garments,
372:I saw splendid men around Urien
586:, now considered unreliable),
327:I saw hordes of invaders dead;
321:I saw savage men in war-bands.
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614:Battles involving the Britons
333:Defending Gwen Ystrad one saw
297:Urien he, renowned chieftain,
161:, where it forms part of the
588:Celtic Literature Collective
254:, and the Gododdin, who in
28:"The Battle of Gwen Ystrad"
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604:Medieval Welsh literature
536:The Earliest Welsh Poetry
390:By death's strict demand,
146:The Battle of Gwen Ystrad
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551:36 (Winter 1998): 61-70.
474:Koch 1997, pp. xxvi-xxx.
456:Williams 1968, pp. 38-9.
501:Isaac 1998, pp. 69-70.
465:Isaac 1998, pp. 69-70.
396:Unless I praise Urien.
609:6th-century conflicts
563:The Poems of Taliesin
393:I shall not be joyful
387:And until I die, old,
483:Koch 1997, p. xxvi.
81:(NLW MS Peniarth 2)
543:Gweith Gwen Ystrat
534:Clancy, Joseph P.
510:Isaac 1998, p. 69.
492:Isaac 1998, p. 69.
275:Gweith Gwen Ystrat
267:Gweith Gwen Ystrat
256:Gweith Gwen Ystrat
239:Battle of Catraeth
140:Gweith Gwen Ystrat
22:Gweith Gwen Ystrat
206:John Morris-Jones
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59:Middle Welsh
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580:Translation
445:Y Cymmrodor
428:Wensleydale
286:Translation
191:Gwen Ystrad
89:heroic poem
41:Ascribed to
598:Categories
420:Gala Water
416:Windermere
403:References
280:heroic age
271:Y Gododdin
260:Y Gododdin
243:Y Gododdin
234:Y Gododdin
187:Llech Gwen
126:Personages
94:Verse form
151:Old Welsh
33:Author(s)
624:Taliesin
258:, as in
252:Coel Hen
247:Gododdin
198:Catraeth
167:Taliesin
105:32 lines
51:Language
45:Taliesin
582:- (the
529:Sources
214:Prydein
173:Content
110:Setting
36:unknown
432:Camden
426:) and
218:Prydyn
102:Length
424:Skene
222:Picts
179:Urien
130:Urien
86:Genre
208:and
65:Date
216:to
153:or
57:or
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430:(
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