The Battle of Catraeth was a great battle between the Northern British and the Anglo-Saxons. Historians think Catraeth is almost certainly Catterick in Yorkshire. It was an old Roman town near an important north-south Roman road junction. Details of the battle are recorded in an ancient poem written by a famous Welsh bard called Aneirin. The oldest written version existing today was copied in the 13th century. The language used shows it was composed around AD 600. This was probably soon after the battle. Catraeth had been taken by the Anglo-Saxons of Deira (Yorkshire). The British wanted it back. King Mynnyddog of Gododdin (Lothian) gathered a large army at Din Eityn (Edinbugh Castle). Warriors came from many different early British kingdoms. For a year, they feasted in the great hall and prepared for battle. They eventually marched south to Catraeth and clashed with the Deirans, but the battle was a disaster for them. The poem says there were 300-400 British against 50,000-100,000 Anglo-Saxons. Can this really be true? All the Britons were killed except three. Deira became even stronger and quickly took over all of East and North Yorkshire.