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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.

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In Kat Godeu and the Aeneid, Trudy Last leaves no stone unturned, nor tree left rooted, in her pursuit of showing that The Battle of the Trees is a retelling of Virgil's story of Aeneas. She breaks down both works in detail and compares them line by line. The only conclusion one can deduce from Trudy's examination of both poems is that Kat Godeu is indeed a true retelling of Virgil's Aeneid. Glyn Hnutu-healh, Editor-in-Chief, Circle of Logres: Encyclopaedia Arthuriana.

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Trudy Last received her Master's degree in English from West Chester University. She divides her time between the Boston suburbs and Bar Harbor, Maine.

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