Cad Goddeu (The Battle of the Trees)

Cad Goddeu is a sixth century Welsh poem from Llyfyr Talyessin (English: ‘The Book of Taliesin’). It is set during a battle fought between Gwydion and Arawn, the god of the underworld, Annwn, in which Gwydion animates the trees of the forest to fight for him. According to a summary of the story preserved in Peniarth MS 98B, the fight breaks out after the divine plowman Amaethon, steals a dog, a lapwing, and a roebuck from Arawn, and Gwydion ultimately triumphs by guessing the name of one of Arawn’s men, Bran (possibly Bran the Blessed).

Robert Graves, who speculated that Arawn and Bran were names for the same underworld god, wrote that the battle was probably not meant as a physical one but rather a struggle of wits and scholarship. Gwydion’s forces can only be defeated if the name of his companion, Lady Achren, was guessed (her name meant ‘Trees’), and Arawn’s host can only be defeated if Bran’s name is guessed (which Gwydion did). By Graves’ interpretation, the trees who fight in the battle correspond to characters in the Druidic alphabet known as Ogham, where each sound is represented by a pattern of notches and a particular tree. Each tree had a meaning and significance of its own, which is how Gwydion is able to win the battle: he guesses Bran’s name by the alder branch Bran carries, the alder being one of Bran’s prime symbols.

In creating my personal Sacred Tree set, I thought long and hard about the specific set of tress, plants and flowers that have had more than a passing association in my life. Eventually I decided that I would break the personal list intro five sections, each pertaining to a different area of memory and experience:

I GREATER TREES
Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)
Common Oak (Quercus robur)
Common Yew (Taxus baccata)
Silver Birch (Betula pendula)
Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus)

II LESSER TREES
Common Hawthorn (Crateagus monogyna)
Rowan, Mountain Ash (Sorbus aucuparia)
Rhododendron (Rhododendron ponticum)
Weeping Willow (Salix babylonica)
Common Hazel (Corylus avellana)

III FRUITS
Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus)
Pear (Pyrus communis)
Apple (Malus pumila)
Black Mulberry (Morus nigra)
Fig (Ficus carica)

IV FOREST
Holly (Ilex aquifolium)
Common Ivy (Hedera helix)
Bryony (Bryonia dioica)
Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum)
Nettle (Urtica dioica)

V FRAGRANTS
Rose (Rosa)
Magnolia (Magnolia x soulangeana)
Laburnum (Laburnum anagyroides)
Heather (Calluna vulgaris)
Honeysuckle (Lonicera albiflora)

All of the above have played some part in my childhood, adolescence or adulthood either playing in the nearby environs of Hainult Forest, or later on my tours around the British Isles, and most especially North Wales and Cornwall. Here is the poem that was inspired by these plants and groupings, plus a little hint as to why they found their place on this list.

• My own private Cad Goddeu
After collating the list of the twenty-five most important trees, plants and shrubs to me in the various stages of my life, I took a broad overview of the metre in The Battle of the Trees and constructed the following poem based upon a 6/6/6/8/8/6 structure.

Trees Of Life, Trees Of Night

I
Silver scrolls of birch bark
Record the roots of trees
Sycamore; timeless oak,
Faceless king of a thousand years;
Churchyards of yew; horse chestnut
Conquers playgrounds of youth.

II
Lost in Brythonic groves
In hawthorn’s hiding house;
Where weeps willow; where runs
Rowan; while hazel hedges maze;
Hoary, the arches beside the lane
Where rhododendrons roam.

III
Garden walls hold wonders –
Picking blackberry, stained
Fingers; plucking apples;
Pears; and wild fig, the dark lord of
Elegance; while black mulberry bleeds
Quality, maturity.

IV
In the forest, boys play
As bracken serves as beds;
So nettles sting bare flesh;
Discovering bryony,
The flower of my innocence;
Crowned with holly thorns;
Ivy, carpet for under a wizard’s feet.

V
The end of wildness here
At hand, the park enthroned
Rose for romance; heather
Cloys; as honeysuckle rambles
Gold haired laburnum; magnolia,
Fragrance of my mother’s dress.

Comments

Greetings, Wonderful Poem and Great Post :D
I thought that you might like my
Taliesin's Battle Of The Trees machinima film,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0gduIjXOU4
Bright Blessings By Stone and Star,
Celestial Elf ~

Posted by: Celestialelff | 09/14/2011 at 09:09 AM