author
Aneirin
An early medieval Brythonic poet remembered for a single, powerful work, he stands near the beginning of Welsh literary history. His name is closely tied to Y Gododdin, a vivid series of elegies on fallen warriors from the Old North.
1 Audiobook
Y Gododin: A Poem of the Battle of Cattraeth
by Aneirin
About the author
Little can be known for certain about this 6th-century poet, and much of his life has to be pieced together from later tradition. Reliable reference works describe him as an early medieval Brythonic or Welsh poet, probably connected with the kingdom of Gododdin in what is now southeastern Scotland.
His lasting fame rests on Y Gododdin, the work attributed to him in medieval manuscript tradition. The poem commemorates warriors who died after the Battle of Catraeth and is often valued not only as literature, but also as one of the earliest surviving voices from the Brittonic-speaking world.
Because he lived so long ago, details about his biography remain uncertain, and even his name appears in different forms, including Aneirin, Aneurin, and Neirin. What has endured is the force of the poetry attached to his name and its importance in the story of early Welsh literature.