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Aneirin | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Poet |
| Notable work | Book of Aneirin, includingY Gododdin |
Aneirin (Welsh pronunciation:[aˈnɛirɪn]), also rendered asAneurin orNeirin andAneurin Gwawdrydd, was anearly MedievalBrythonicwar poet who lived during the 6th century. He is believed to have been abard or court poet in one of theCumbric kingdoms of theOld North, probably that ofGododdin atEdinburgh, in modernScotland. From the 17th century, he was usually known as Aneurin.[1][2]
Some records indicate that Aneirin was the son of Caunus (or Caw) and brother toGildas.[3] According to this version of his life, he was born atDumbarton on theRiver Clyde. However, some scholars debate this parentage, and contend that these records are of later invention and are erroneous. Whoever his father was, Aneirin's mother, Dwywei is mentioned inY Gododdin. She may be the same lady who, according to Old Welsh pedigrees, married King Dunod who is generally thought to have ruled in theWest Riding of Yorkshire.
TheWelsh Triads describe Aneirin as "prince of bards" and "of flowing verse".[This quote needs a citation]Nennius praises him amongst the earliestWelsh poets orCynfeirdd, a contemporary ofTalhaearn,Taliesin, Bluchbardd and Cian. References to Aneirin are found in the work of thePoets of the Princes (Beirdd y Tywysogion), but his fame declined in the later Middle Ages until the re-assertion ofWelsh identity by antiquarian writers of theTudor period. Today, the reputation of his poetry remains high, though the exact identity of the author is more controversial.[citation needed]
The works attributed to Aneirin are preserved in a late 13th-centurymanuscript known as theBook of Aneirin (Welsh:Llyfr Aneirin). The language has been partially modernized intoMiddle Welsh, but other portions inOld Welsh indicate that at least some of the poetry dates from around Aneirin's time, and its attribution, therefore, may well be genuine. The work would have survived through oral transmission until first written down, perhaps in the 9th century.
Aneirin's best known work isY Gododdin, a series of elegies for the warriors of the northernBrittonic kingdom of Gododdin who, in about 600, fell against theAngles ofDeira andBernicia at theBattle of Catraeth (probablyCatterick, North Yorkshire). The poetry abounds in textual difficulties and consequently interpretations vary. One stanza contains what may possibly be the earliest reference toKing Arthur, as a paragon of bravery with whom one fallen warrior is compared – the identification is, however, conjectural. The poem tells us that Aneirin was present at this battle and, having been taken prisoner, was one of only two or four Brittonic survivors; he remained a captive until his ransom was paid by Ceneu apLlywarch Hen.
An English Translation, with Copious Explanatory Notes; a Life of Aneurin; and Several Lengthy Dissertations Illustrative of the "Gododin," and the Battle of Cattraeth
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