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Battle of Raith

Coordinates: 56°07′02″N 3°11′36″W / 56.117233°N 3.193417°W / 56.117233; -3.193417
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Battle of Raith
Date596 CE
Location
near Kirkcaldy, Scotland
56°07′02″N 3°11′36″W / 56.117233°N 3.193417°W / 56.117233; -3.193417
Result Decisive Angle victory
Belligerents
Angles Britons
Scots
Picts
Commanders and leaders
Áedán mac Gabráin
Strength
Unknown Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown

The Battle of Raith was the self-acknowleged invention of E W B Nicholson [1], Librarian at the Bodleian Library, Oxford. He was aware of the poem "Y Gododdin" and was frustrated that no-one had identified the location "Catraeth". He parsed the name as "cat", battle, and "Raeth" and he recalled that there was a place in Scotland called "Raith".

This was a brave attempt at identifying, albeit a misrepresentation of, the battle mentioned in the Book of Aneirin in Y Gododdin as Catraeth, cath being Gaelic for battle or fight.[2][3]. Today this is usually recognised as the Battle of Catterick.

Nicholson's proposition was given added circulation when it was recycled by Lachlan Macbean [4] in the local history Book "Kirkcaldy Burgh and Schyre" [5] which he co-authored and edited.

Nicholson's claim was that this battle was fought in 596 AD to the west of present-day Kirkcaldy. An invading force of Angles landed on the Fife coast[6] near Raith and defeated an alliance of Scots, Britons and Picts under King Áedán mac Gabráin of Dál Riata.


References

  1. ^ The Celtic Review, Vol. 6 No. 23 (Jan 1910) pp214-236
  2. ^ Kirkcaldy Burgh and Schyre, Lachlan Macbean (1924), pp42-43
  3. ^ "excerpt from ''Kirkcaldy Burgh and Schyre''". Electricscotland.com. Retrieved 2012-09-08.
  4. ^ see also https://hymnology.hymnsam.co.uk/l/lachlan-macbean
  5. ^ "Kirkcaldy Burgh and Schyre" pp42/3 published in 1924 by the Fifeshire Advertiser (Macbean was also the paper's Editor).
  6. ^ "596 A.D. - The Battle of Raith | made by young people at Makewaves". Radiowaves.co.uk. 2009-05-21. Archived from the original on 2012-12-23. Retrieved 2012-09-08. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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