The Battle of the Trees
Also known as: Cad Goddeu, Battle of the Trees
A riddling Welsh poem in which Gwydion conjures an army of trees to fight a mythic battle linked to Amaethon’s theft and Arawn’s wrath, narrated in the voice of Taliesin.
Description
The poem known as Cad Goddeu, “The Battle of the Trees,” is a densely allusive composition from medieval Wales that catalogs tree-kind as warriors awakened by enchantment. In many readings Gwydion the magician raises the arboreal host to contend with forces of Annwn after Amaethon’s theft provokes war, while a bardic narrator—styled as Taliesin—threads incantatory stanzas through a sequence of cryptic boasts and nature-lore. The text interleaves martial imagery with arboreal properties (alder as vanguard, yew as venerable, oak as steadfast), implying a spell of naming and classification as power. Its compressed hints tie the poem to broader Dôn-family myth cycles and to bardic conceptions of inspired speech (awen), leaving an enigmatic, ritual-tinged portrait of magic, identity, and poetic authority.
Historiography
Cad Goddeu survives in Middle Welsh in the Book of Taliesin (Peniarth MS 2, National Library of Wales), a 14th-century manuscript whose contents likely compile earlier materials. The poem’s date and interpretation are debated: some view it as an esoteric bardic catalogue with mythic framing; others connect it to narratives involving Gwydion, Amaethon, and Arawn known from later prose. Modern scholarship emphasizes its learned natural lore, riddling poetics, and the editorial layers typical of the Taliesin corpus.
Date Notes
Preserved in the Book of Taliesin (Peniarth MS 2); composition earlier and debated. Traditional attribution to Taliesin is conventional rather than historical.
Major Characters
- Gwydion
- Arawn
- Amaethon
- Taliesin
- Lleu Llaw Gyffes
Myths
- Cad Goddeu—The Enchanted Trees March to War
- Gwydion’s Magical Naming and Victory
Facts
- The poem survives in the Book of Taliesin (Peniarth MS 2), a 14th-century manuscript.
- Its language is Middle Welsh and its attribution to Taliesin is traditional.
- Many readings link the battle to Gwydion aiding Amaethon against Arawn of Annwn.
- The poem personifies trees as warriors, assigning roles and qualities to each species.
- Alder is presented as a vanguard figure; yew is honored for age and strength.
- The text operates as a bardic catalogue where naming functions as magical power.
- Scholars note intertexts with Dôn-family myths and later prose of the Mabinogi.
- Riddling, incantatory stanzas reflect bardic claims to inspired speech (awen).
- Dating is disputed; composition likely predates the 14th-century manuscript.
- Interpretations range from nature-lore allegory to mythic narrative of a lost tale.