Gododdin (pronounced god-o-th-in), or Guotodin (Votadini in Latin), refers to both the people and to the region of a Dark Ages Brythonic kingdom south of the Firth of Forth, extending from the Stirling area to the Northumberland kingdom of 'Brynaich', and including what are now the Lothian and Borders regions of eastern Scotland. Those living around Stirling were known as the Manaw Gododdin. The Votadini were people in the eastern half of the ancient British kingdom of the North which included the modern South of Scotland and North of England. ... The Dark Ages (or Dark Age) is a metaphor with multiple meanings and connotations. ... Brythonic is one of two major divisions of Insular Celtic languages (the other being Goidelic). ... The Firth of Forth from Calton Hill The Forth Bridges cross the Firth The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotlands River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh, and East Lothian to... Stirling (Sruighlea in Gaelic) is a city in central Scotland, in the district of Stirling. ... Bernicia (Brythonic, Brynaich) was a kingdom of the Angles in northern England during the 6th and 7th centuries AD. It later merged with the kingdom of Deira to form the kingdom of Northumbria. ... Lothian (Lodainn in Gaelic) forms a traditional region of Scotland, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills. ... Scottish Borders (Crìochan na h-Alba in Gaelic) is one of 32 unitary council regions in Scotland. ... Scotland (Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is a country in northwest Europe and a constituent nation of the United Kingdom. ... Stirlingshire (Siorrachd Sruighlea in Gaelic) is a traditional county of Scotland, based around Stirling, the traditional county town. ...

Gododdin became an independent kingdom following the break-up of the ancient British kingdom of the North, from about 470. Its capital was probably at first the Traprain Law hillfort in East Lothian, moving later to Din Eidyn. Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh is still known as Dùn Èideann in Gaelic. Centuries: 4th century - 5th century - 6th century Decades: 420s - 430s _ 440s - 450s - 460s - 470s - 480s - 490s - 500s - 510s - 520s Years: 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 Events and Trends: 476 - abdication of Romulus Augustus Categories: 470s ... Lothian (Lodainn in Gaelic) forms a traditional region of Scotland, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills. ... Scottish Gaelic, Scots Gaelic, or just Gaelic (Gàidhlig; IPA: ), is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. ...

In the 6th century its southern neighbour 'Brynaich' was invaded by the Angles to become Bernicia. (5th century — 6th century — 7th century — other centuries) Events The first academy of the east the Academy of Gundeshapur founded in Persia by the Persian Shah Khosrau I. Irish colonists and invaders, the Scots, began migrating to Caledonia (later known as Scotland) Glendalough monastery, Wicklow Ireland founded by St. ... A map showing the general locations of the major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms The Anglo-Saxons were a group of Germanic tribes from Angeln—a peninsula in the southern part of Schleswig, protruding into the Baltic Sea, and what is now Lower Saxony, in the north-west coast of Germany—who... Bernicia (Brythonic, Brynaich) was a kingdom of the Angles in northern England during the 6th and 7th centuries AD. It later merged with the kingdom of Deira to form the kingdom of Northumbria. ...

Y Gododdin

The poem Y Gododdin by the bard Aneirin, composed at the time in Brythonic (an early Medieval Celtic language closely akin to Welsh), records the Gododdin expedition in about 600 to try to fend off Angle invaders. It survives as a 13th century manuscript known as the Book of Aneirin, and is well appreciated in Wales, but in Edinburgh where it is thought to have been composed, few have ever heard of the poem or of the Gododdin. A reference in the poem to Arthur hints at a link to Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh. See Bard (disambiguation). ... Aneirin, Aneurin or Neirin mab Dwywei (c. ... Brythonic is one of two major divisions of Insular Celtic languages (the other being Goidelic). ... A Celtic cross. ... Welsh redirects here, and this article describes the Welsh language. ... Centuries: 6th century 7th century 8th century Decades: 550s - 560s - 570s - 580s - 590s - 600s - 610s - 620s - 630s - 640s - 650s Years: 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 Events: Births: Deaths: 604 - Pope Gregory I the Great Categories: 600s ... A map showing the general locations of the major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms The Anglo-Saxons were a group of Germanic tribes from Angeln—a peninsula in the southern part of Schleswig, protruding into the Baltic Sea, and what is now Lower Saxony, in the north-west coast of Germany—who... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... National motto: Cymru am byth (Welsh: Wales for ever) Waless location within the UK Official languages English(100%), Welsh(20. ... Edinburghs location in Scotland Edinburgh viewed from Arthurs Seat. ... King Arthur is an important figure in the mythology of Great Britain, where he appears as the ideal of kingship in both war and peace. ... Arthurs Seat in a cloudless summer evening Arthurs Seat is the main peak of the group of hills which form most of Holyrood Park, a remarkably wild piece of highland landscape in the centre of the city of Edinburgh, about a mile to the east of the castle. ...

The poem tells of the Gododdin king (Mynyddog Mwynfawr) providing his warriors drawn from several British kingdoms with training in the form of a year's feasting and drinking mead in his halls in Din Eidyn, and gives a lyrical description of their beauty and honour, and of the tragedy of their heavy defeat at the Battle of Catraeth (thought to be Catterick in North Yorkshire). Although very different, it brings to mind the song Flowers of the Forest about a similarly ill-fated expedition in the 16th century. The poem has 99 verses; as a sample a translation of verses 1 and 11 is given below. Mead Mead is a fermented alcoholic beverage made of honey, water, and yeast. ... Map sources for Catterick at grid reference SE2497 Catterick refers to two settlements in the county of North Yorkshire, England. ... North Yorkshire is a county within the region of Yorkshire and the Humber in England. ... This Scottish folk song is a lament for the deaths of the King, many of his nobles, and over 10,000 men - the Flowers of the Forest - at the battle of Flodden Field in 1513, a significant event in the history of Scotland. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ...

Man in might, youth in years, courage in battle.
Swift, long-maned stallions under the thigh of a fine lad.
Behind him, on the lean, swift flank, his target, broad and bright,
Swords blue and bright, clothes fringed with gold-work.
There will be no reproach or enmity between us now
Rather I shall make you songs in your praise.

Men went to Catraeth at dawn: their high spirits shortened their life-spans.
They drank mead, gold and sweet, ensnaring; for a year the minstrels were merry.
Red their swords, leave the blades unwashed; white shields and four-edged spears,
In front of the men of Mynyddawg Mwynfawr.

• "Y Gododdin"-translation into English provides a better translation of the whole poem.

The fall of Gododdin

The Angle invasion continued, and by about 638 the capital of the Gododdin, 'Din Eidyn', had fallen to siege and was renamed Edinburgh. To what extent the native population was replaced is unknown. The region came under the rule of the Angles of Bernicia which became part of Northumbria, and by 954 was overrun by the Danish kingdom of York. Shortly afterwards this came under a unified England, then in 1018 Malcolm II brought the region as far as the River Tweed under Scottish rule. Centuries: 6th century 7th century 8th century Decades: 580s - 590s _ 600s - 610s - 620s - 630s - 640s - 650s - 660s - 670s - 680s Years: 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 Events: 632 - death of Muhammad and transfer of authority in Islam to first caliph. ... Edinburghs location in Scotland Edinburgh viewed from Arthurs Seat. ... The Anglo-Saxons refers collectively to the groups of Germanic tribes who achieved dominance in southern Britain from the mid-5th century, forming the basis for the modern English nation. ... Bernicia (Brythonic, Brynaich) was a kingdom of the Angles in northern England during the 6th and 7th centuries AD. It later merged with the kingdom of Deira to form the kingdom of Northumbria. ... Section from Shepherds map of the British Isles about 802 AD showing the kingdom of Northumbria Northumbria is primarily the name of an Anglian kingdom which was formed in Great Britain at the beginning of the 7th century, and of the much smaller earldom which succeeded the kingdom. ... Centuries: 9th century - 10th century - 11th century Decades: 900s - 910s _ 920s - 930s - 940s - 950s - 960s - 970s - 980s - 990s - 1000s Years: 950 951 952 953 954 955 956 957 958 959 Events Categories: 950s ... York is a city in northern England, at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss. ... Events Bulgaria becomes part of the Byzantine Empire. ... Malcolm II of Scotland (Máel Coluim mac Cináeda) (c. ... The River Tweed at Abbotsford, near Melrose The River Tweed at Coldstream The River Tweed (156 kilometres or 97 miles long) flows primarily through the Borders region of Scotland. ...

External links

• Free eBook of Y Gododin: A Poem of the Battle of Cattraeth at Project Gutenberg
• Ancient Lothian - Histories - Celtic Gododdin
• Kingdoms of British Celts - Goutodin
• "Y Gododdin"-translation into English
• Edinburgh Castle, and comment on "Y Gododdin"