Feb 09, 2009
The oldest existing Welsh poetry was composed in the Welsh speaking kingdom of Gododdin [Romans called them the Votadini ] around Din Eidin, now Edinburgh, circa AD 600. "Y Gododdin" was composed by the Welsh poet, Aneirin , in Din Eidin, in the court of the king ,Mynyddog Mwynfawr [cannot get more Welsh than that!!] who ruled from his seat in Edinburgh, long before it became part of "Scotland". The Scots were Irish Gaels who did not even arrive in Argyll , from IRELAND until the 5th century.
The Old English classic is Beowulf , from circa AD 900. It was written in Old English or Anglo Saxon....a VERY GERMANIC language, foreign to modern day English speakers. It is very unlike Chaucer, in Middle English. French was the lanuage of England's ruling class from 1066 to about 1370 , so the Middle English which emerged later had 10000 words of French added to English's German base.
Yet "Y Gododdin" is 300 years older than Beowulf and is STILL understood by Welsh speakers. It has tight rhyme; strict metre and is full of alliteration .......and it dates from AD 600
Look at these lines:-
Ceredig caradwy gynran,
Ceimiad yng nghad gofaran,
Ysgwyd eurgwydr cadlan,
Gwaewawr uswydd anghyfan,
Cleddyfal dywal diwan,
Mal gwr cadwai wyalfan,
Cyn cystudd daear,cyn affan,
O ddaffar diffynnai ei fan,
Ys deupo cynnwys yng nghyman,
Can Drindod yn undod gyfan.
EVERY single line rhymes [ C is always hard...as in concrete{ scuse the pun} F in Welsh is pronounced as V . FF is pronounced F ] with the same ending throughout the ten lines. There is also internal rhyme and alliteration throughout, plus strict metre.
It is about the battle of Catraeth [Catterick] , when the Welsh of Gododdin in Edinburgh were defeated by far greater numbers of Germanic Angles from Northumbria, who had invaded from North Germany earlier.
In English, without rhyme:-
" Ceredig, lovable chieftain,
A ferocious fighter in battle,
Gold-chased shield of the battlefield,
With spears splintered, shattered,
And a furious ,powerful sword-stroke,
Like a man, kept his position,
Before the grief of burial, before the suffering,
Purposefully, he defended his post,
May he be welcomed among the host,
With the Trinity in full unity"
That is one VERSE of "Y Gododdin". There are almost 100 verses. It was composed around AD 600, after the battle of Catraeth . This written version was from the "Book of Aneirin" written in 1400. It may have been oral poetry for the preceding 800 years, but earlier written versions are probably lost. The rhyme and alliteration enabled it to be "sung" by the bards who were always welcomed and celebrated at the courts of Welsh leaders. The first Eisteddfod , or musical and poetic competition was held in Cardigan Castle in 1176 . Eisteddfodau are still held all over Wales to this day.