Author Description

Kat Godeu (The Battle of the Trees), an enigmatic Middle Welsh poem attributed to the Taliesin persona, has received significant attention by scholars. The poem is noteworthy for its stunning and mysterious symbolism and for the wide range of interpretations it has engendered, some of which see the poem as encrypting ancient tree worship religions. Marged Haycock proposes that Kat Godeu is not about sacred grove mythology, but is instead the first Welsh example of mock-heroic poetry nested within a patchwork display of classical book-learning. This investigation supports Haycock's thinking, suggesting that all of the classical allusions in Kat Godeu are derived from a single source, Virgil's Aeneid.