Description Y Gododdin 3: Madog
Brooch-adorned, earning mead, ready to die
In the vanguard, maiden?s man ? how he sighed ?
Split shield; he drew nigh amid cries of war,
Denied men mercy when they turned to fly,
Declined to retreat; blood-spurts left him blind
To loss of lives. Like reeds his foes lie
Severed. Never let any churl imply
That when Madog returned, battle-high
To camp, one in a hundred survived.
Old Welsh poem attributed to Aneirin, c. 600 A.D, paraphrased by Giles Watson, 2011. Scholars have debated the meaning of the last two lines. Some interpret them as implying that Madog never gave quarter to any enemy, but slew them all, whilst others think it is a commentary on the vast losses amongst his own men. There has also been some argument as to whether the poems imply a Christian or a Pagan outlook. Some scholars have asserted that Christian elements other stanzas of Y Gododdin are later interpolations by a Christian scribe, and have gone on to support their arguments with reference to this stanza, in which a lack of mercy for one?s foes is clearly regarded as a virtue ? a Pagan trait, apparently. This may, however, rest on too charitable an assessment of the ethics of Christian soldiery, even as early as the late sixth century A.D. In any case, this is an elegiac poem, like all of the others in Y Gododdin, since none of their soldiers survived the battle of Catraeth.
