A brief glimpse of The Gododdin, the first known mention of Arthur.
(excerpt)
He cut down the centre and far wing.
He proved worthy, leading noble men;
He gave from his herd steeds for winter.
He fed black crows on the fort's
Wall, though he was not Arthur.
He made his strength a refuge,
The front line's bulwark, Gwawrddur.
(exerpt from http://faculty.arts.ubc.ca/sechard/492godo.htm)
I would like to briefly discuss the (possible) very first mention of Arthur. You will see why I say "possible" further on in this article. I only want to discuss this briefly because although it references Arthur, it is not about Arthur and only mentions him once. So, this does not really qualify as a piece of Arthurian literature. Y Gododdin is an elegy for the slain warriors of a Celtic tribe called The Gododdin (reminder: dd makes a soft th sound). The warriors commemorated in this poem perished around the year 600 in the battle of Catraeth and are recorded in a book called The Book of Aneirin. The events of this book occur around 600 and the poem was possibly composed by the bard Aneirin around that time. Scholars think that it may have been first put to paper around 900 and the Book of Aneirin itself has been dated to the 13th century. The actual dates of the poem are heavily contested.
The reason for the interest of Arthurian scholars is that Arthur is mentioned once near the end of the poem. It essentially states that a great warrior and leader by the name of Gwawrddur killed many men though he was no Arthur. This is important for two reasons. It means that if this poem does date to around 600 then everyone is already familiar enough with Arthur to understand a casual reference to him, even as a comparison. It also implies that this bard may be referencing a real man when he speaks of Arthur since the events of this poem would not have been long after battles and death of Arthur. Unfortunately, this cannot be used as hard evidence of a real persona. For one thing, there is the dating problem which I mentioned earlier. Another is that the line mentioning Arthur only appears in one of two extant manuscripts of this work, which brings to mind that it may be a later addition.
Regardless of the problems with this work, it still may be the oldest surviving Welsh poem in existence. There is still much to be enjoyed here. When you read it you are reading the words of a true medieval bard who has passed this down orally to other bards for hundreds of years before it even touched paper. You are also reading the elegies of men who fought to turn back the tide of the Angles, fought against overwhelming odds, and lost their lives doing so. You are hearing a piece of the deeds and struggles of actual warriors you will never know otherwise.
I have included a link to websites (below) that feature the full poem, which does not take too long to read. I would not say that this is "required" reading but I enjoyed it and you may as well. Also for completionists with deep pockets, I have offered a link to the book (click the picture) that features this and other medieval welsh poems published by the very same translator, Joseph P. Clancy. It unfortunately carries the price of a scholarly edition which may deter some.
Below is the only book I can find that features it in a professional format.
Clancy, Joseph P. Earliest Welsh Poetry. Macmillan, London & New York, 1970
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