View source for Historia Brittonum

{{Short description|History of the peoples of Great Britain, c. 828}}
{{distinguish|Historia Regum Britanniae}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{italic title}}
'''''The History of the Britons''''' ({{langx|la|'''Historia Brittonum'''}}) is a purported history of early Britain written around 828 that survives in numerous [[recension]]s from after the 11th century. The ''Historia Brittonum'' is commonly attributed to [[Nennius]], as some recensions have a preface written in that name. Some experts have dismissed the Nennian preface as a late forgery<!-- ([[David Dumville|Dumville]], 1985) --> and argued that the work was actually an anonymous compilation.{{efn|name=Koch-anon|"Dumville has argued that the Nennian Prologue is a later forgery, so the work should therefore be treated as anonymous" {{Harv|Koch|2006|p=927}}}}{{efn|name=mackillop-DND|"Formerly ascribed to one Nennius, ''Historia'' is now seen, thanks to the work of David Dumville, to be a compilation..." {{harv|Mackillop|2004|loc=''Historia Brittonum''}}}}

== Publication history ==

=== Manuscripts ===
At least 5 manuscripts preserve the ''Historia'', with the [[Harleian Library|Harleian]] being the most complete. The Chartres manuscript was the oldest until it was largely destroyed during the accidental bombing of the library in 1944.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Manuscripts of the ''Historia Brittonum''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nennius and the Historia Brittonum |url=http://www.vortigernstudies.org.uk/artsou/historia.htm |access-date=2025-06-21 |website=www.vortigernstudies.org.uk}}</ref>
!Siglum
!Library
!Shelfmark
!Date (century)
!Fate
!Source
|-
|Z
|[[:fr:Chartres#Chartres#Bibliothèques_de_Chartres|Chartres Municipal Library]]
|98
|{{Circa|900}}
|Destroyed during the [[May 1944 Chartres Municipal Library Fire|May 1944 Bombing of Chartres Municipal Library]] 
|<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Bisagni |first1=Jacopo |last2=Corrigan |first2=Sarah |last3=Kelly |first3=David |title=MS 98 (77) - BM - Chartres {{!}} Ireland and Carolingian Brittany: Texts and Transmission |url=https://ircabritt.nuigalway.ie/handlist/catalogue/43 |access-date=2025-06-21 |website=NUI Galway |language=en-IE}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=France, Chartres, Médiathèque L'Apostrophe - 98 (77) |url=https://arca.irht.cnrs.fr/ark:/63955/md54kk91j424 |access-date=2025-06-21 |website=arca.irht.cnrs.fr |language=fr}}</ref>
|-
|M
|[[Vatican Library|Vatican]]
|Reg. Lat. 1964
|11th
|
|<ref>https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Reg.lat.1964 {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2025}}</ref>
|-
|H
|[[British Library]]
|[[Harleian genealogies|Harleian MS 3859]]
|{{Circa|1100}}
|
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=London. British Library, Harley MS 3859 {{!}} IIIF Collections of Manuscripts and Rare Books |url=https://iiif.biblissima.fr/collections/manifest/0ba912975ed41467d1e6122568d57b29d1714e03 |access-date=2025-06-21 |website=iiif.biblissima.fr}}</ref>
|-
|C
|[[Corpus Christi College, Cambridge|Corpus Christi Library]]
|[[Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 139|139]]
|1164
|
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 139: Simeon of Durham OSB, Historia regum. Richard of Hexham OSA, De gestis regis Stephani et de bello standardii. John of Hexham OSA, Nennius |url=https://parker.stanford.edu/parker/catalog/qj220gv8417 |access-date=2025-06-21 |website=Parker Library On the Web - Spotlight Exhibits |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|P
|British Library
|[[Cotton library|Cotton]] Caligula A VIII
|12th
|
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=cotton ms caligula a viii |url=https://iiif.bl.uk/uv/#?manifest=https://bl.digirati.io/iiif/ark:/81055/vdc_100066146352.0x000001 |access-date=2025-06-21 |website=iiif.bl.uk}}</ref>
|}

== Overview ==
The ''Historia Brittonum'' describes the supposed settlement of [[Great Britain|Britain]] by [[Troy|Trojan]] settlers and says that Britain was named for [[Brutus the Trojan|Brutus]], a descendant of [[Aeneas]]. It was the "single most important source used by [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] in his [[pseudohistorical]] ''[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]''"<ref>{{Harvnb|Koch|2006|p=925}}</ref> and, through the enormous popularity of this latter work, the ''Historia Brittonum'' version of Britain's early history, including the Trojan origin tradition, was incorporated into subsequent [[chronicle]]s of the long-running history of the land, such as the [[Middle English]] ''[[Brut Chronicle|Brut of England]]'', also known as ''The Chronicles of England''.

The ''Historia Brittonum'' can be dated to about 829. The work was written no earlier than the "fourth year of [the reign of] king Mermenus" (who has been identified as [[Merfyn Frych ap Gwriad]], king of [[Kingdom of Gwynedd|Gwynedd]]). Historians have conservatively assigned 828 to the earliest date for the work, which is consistent with the statement in chapter 4 that "from the Passion of Christ 796 years have passed. But from his Incarnation are 831 years".<ref name="Koch 2006">{{Harvnb|Koch|2006}}, p. 926.</ref>{{sfn|Dumville|1974}}<ref>Higham, ''King Arthur: Myth Making and History'' (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 2002), p. 118.</ref>{{efn|The Prologue mentions "the 858th year of our Lord's incarnation, and in the 24th year of Mervin, king of the Britons", but presumably the preface was produced after the body of the work was written or was perhaps attached to a later revision.{{citation needed|date=February 2017|reason=quote and analysis}} }}

The 19th-century [[Classics|classicist]] [[Theodor Mommsen]] divided the work into seven parts:{{ordered list
| type = upper-roman
| start = 0
| item1_style = list-style-type:none;|Preface (''Prefatio Nennii Britonum'')|The [[Six Ages of the World]] (''de sex aetatibus mundi'') (§1–6)|History of the Britons (''historia Brittonum'') (§7–49)|Life of [[Saint Patrick|Patrick]] (''vita Patricii'') (§50–55)|Arthuriana (§ 56)|Genealogies (''regum genealogiae cum computo'') (§c. 57–66)|Cities of Britain (''civitates Britanniae'') (§66<sup>a</sup>)|Wonders of Britain (''de mirabilibus Britanniae'') (§67–76)
}}

The work was the first source to portray [[King Arthur]], who is described as a ''[[dux bellorum]]'' ('military leader') or ''[[milites|miles]]'' ('warrior, soldier') and not as a [[king]]. It names the twelve battles that Arthur fought, but, unlike the ''[[Annales Cambriae]]'', does not give any actual dates.

The reference in the ''Historia Brittonum'' to Arthur carrying the image of [[St. Mary]] on his shoulders in a battle has been interpreted by later commentators as a mistranslation of Arthur bearing the image of Mary on his [[shield]]; the words in [[Welsh language|Welsh]] are very similar.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fletcher|1906}} points out this conflation of "shield" ({{langx|cy|ysgwyd}}, Middle Welsh: ''scuit'') and shoulder ({{langx|cy|ysgwydd}}), citing J. William's edition of the ''Annales Cambriae,'' (1860), p.xxiv; and Skene, ''Four Ancient Books''(1868), I, 55.</ref>

The text makes use of two narrative techniques that are generally considered not reliable by modern academic standards: synthesizing and synchronizing history. Synthetic history combines [[legend|legendary]] elements with fact, which makes the veracity of the text challenging to evaluate. Various specious causal connections and attempts to synchronize material from different sources and traditions also contribute to undermining the reliability of the chronicle.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Keller |first=James |author-link=<!--James Keller (scholar)--> |entry=Nennius |editor1-last=Lambdin |editor1-first=Laura C. |editor1-link=<!--Laura Cooner Lambdin-->|editor2-last=Lambdin |editor2-first=Robert T. |editor2-link=<!--Robert Thomas Lambdin--> |title=Arthurian Writers: A Biographical Encyclopedia |publisher=Greenwood |date=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AH_DEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA16 |pages=16–17 |isbn=<!--0313346836, -->9780313346835}}</ref>

=== Authorship, recensions and editions ===
The question of the nature of the text of the ''Historia Brittonum'' is one that has caused intense debate over the centuries. Some scholars have taken the position that treating the text as anonymously written would be the best approach as theories attributing authorship to Nennius have since been disputed by subsequent scholars.<ref>N.J. Higham, 'Early Latin Sources', in Helen Fulton ed, ''Blackwell Companion to Arthurian Literature'', (Oxford 2009) p. 31</ref>

====Classical debate====
Repudiating the so-called vindication of Nennius in 1890 by the Celtic scholar [[Heinrich Zimmer (Celticist)|Heinrich Zimmer]], Mommsen returned to the earlier view of a ninth-century Nennius merely building on a seventh-century original,{{sfn|Liebermann|1925|pp=29-30}} which he dated to around 680.<ref name="O Sayles, 1966 p. 4">G. O Sayles, ''The Medieval Foundations of England'' (London 1966) p. 4</ref> The historian [[Ferdinand Lot]] swiftly challenged Mommsen;{{sfn|Liebermann|1925|p=29}} but it was not until 1925 that the Anglo-Saxon scholar [[Felix Liebermann]] offered a major reconstruction of the Mommsen view, arguing that Nennius in fact first put the whole work into shape in the ninth century.<ref name="O Sayles, 1966 p. 4"/> Re-analysing the eleven manuscript variants of Mommsen, he produced a two-stemma analysis of their hypothetical descent, noting however that "Only one branch, viz. C2d2 of the second stem, preserves Nennius's name."{{sfn|Liebermann|1925|pp=33-34}} His overall conclusion (based on uniform particularities of style) was that "The whole work...belongs to Nennius alone", but this did not prevent him from recognising that "we must lower Nennius's rank as a historian...[but] praise his patriotic heart."{{sfn|Liebermann|1925|pp=32,42}}

====Recent re-assessments====
The Nennius question was re-opened in the 1970s by the historian [[David Dumville]], who revisited the [[stemmatics]] of the various recensions and published the Vatican version.<ref>Dumvillle, David, "'Nennius' and the Historia Brittonum", Studia Celtica 10/11 (Cardiff, 1975/6), 78-95</ref> Dumville called the Nennian preface (''Prefatio Nennii'') a late forgery,{{efn|name=Koch-anon}}{{efn|name=mackillop-DND}} and believes that the work underwent several anonymous revisions before reaching the forms that now survive in the various families of manuscripts.{{sfn|Dumville|1985|loc=Introduction}} Dumville's view is largely accepted by current scholarship, though not without dissent.<ref>{{Harvnb|Koch|2006}} "Although Dumville's case has been widely accepted, ..Field has since argued.."</ref> Peter Field in particular has argued for the authenticity of the preface, suggesting that it was left out of many recensions because it was seen as derogatory to British scholarship. However, Field believes Liebermann's earlier argument for Nennius's authorship<ref>{{Harvnb|Liebermann|1925}}</ref> still bears consideration.<ref>Norris Lacy, ''The Fortunes of Arthur'' (2005) p. 2</ref>

=== Compiler's approach ===
Various introductory notes to this work invoke Nennius's (or the anonymous compiler's) words from the ''Prefatio'' that "I heaped together (''coacervavi'') all I could find" from various sources, not only concrete works in writing but "our ancient traditions" (i.e. oral sources) as well.<ref>G. Ashe's entry under "Nennius", {{harvnb|Lacy et al. edd.|1986}} (Reprint 1987), ''Arth. Ency.'', p. 404: "..and matter that was probably oral rather than written that they seldom inspired much trust."</ref> This is quoted from the ''Apologia'' version of the preface.<ref>{{Harvnb|Mommsen|1898|p=143}} as variant preface in ''C<sup>2</sup>D<sup>2</sup>GL''; {{Harvnb|Giles|1847|loc=''Apologia'', I, p. 303}} "Ego autem coacervavi omne quod inveni tam de annalibus Romanorum..", English tr. in II, p. 384, "But I have got together all that I could find as well from the annals of the Romans."</ref> Giles's translation rendered this as "I put together", obscuring the fact that this is indeed a quote from the work and not from some commentator ''(See Morris's more recent translation as given in [[:wikiquote:Historia Brittonum|wikiquote: Historia Brittonum]])''. [[Leslie Alcock]] was not the first to draw attention to the phrase though he may have started the recent spate of interest.<ref>"like a cairn of stones, uneven and ill-fitting… as an example of the historian's art it is atrocious. But it has the virtue of its defects. We can see the individual stones of the cairn, and in some cases we can trace the parent rock from which they came, and establish its age and soundness" {{harv|Alcock|1971|p=32}}.</ref>

==Arthuriana==
The ''Historia Brittonum'' has drawn attention because of its role in influencing the legends and myths surrounding [[King Arthur]]. It is the earliest source that presents Arthur as a historical figure, and is the source of several stories which were repeated and amplified by later authors.

===Vortigern and Ambrosius===
The ''Historia'' contains a story of the king [[Vortigern]], who allowed the [[Saxons]] to settle in the island of Britain in return for the hand of [[Hengist]]'s daughter.<ref>{{cite wikisource |author=Nennius |authorlink=Nennius |author-mask=Nennius (Traditional attribution) |editor=W. Gunn |editor-link=William Gunn (writer) |translator=J. A. Giles |translator-link=John Allen Giles |title=History of the Britons: Chapters 31–38 |wslink=History of the Britons#1:31 |year=1848 |origyear=after A.D. 830}}</ref> One legend about Vortigern says he tried to build a stronghold near [[Snowdon]] called [[Dinas Emrys]], only to have his building materials disappear every time he tried. His advisers told him to sprinkle the blood of a fatherless boy on the site to lift the curse. Vortigern found such a youth in [[Ambrosius Aurelianus|Ambrosius]], who rebuked the wise men and revealed that the disturbance was caused by two dragons buried underground.<ref>{{cite wikisource |author=Nennius |authorlink=Nennius |author-mask=Nennius (Traditional attribution) |editor=W. Gunn |editor-link=William Gunn (writer) |translator=J. A. Giles |translator-link=John Allen Giles |title=History of the Britons: Chapters 40–42 |wslink=History_of_the_Britons#1:40 |year=1848 |origyear=after A.D. 830}}</ref>

The tower story is repeated and embellished by [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] in his ''[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]'', though he attributes it to [[Merlin]], saying "Ambrosius" is the sage's alternative name. Geoffrey includes Aurelius Ambrosius, another figure mentioned in the ''Historia'', as a king in his own right, and also includes other characters such as [[Vortimer]] and Bishop [[Germanus of Auxerre]].

===Arthur's battles===
Chapter 56 discusses twelve battles fought and won by [[King Arthur|Arthur]], here called ''dux bellorum'' (war leader) rather than king:

{{blockquote|At that time, the Saxons grew strong by virtue of their large number and increased in power in Britain. [[Hengist and Horsa|Hengist]] having died, however, his son [[Octa of Kent|Octha]] crossed from the northern part of Britain to the kingdom of Kent and from him are descended the kings of Kent. Then Arthur along with the kings of Britain fought against them in those days, but Arthur himself was the military commander ["dux bellorum"]. His first battle was at the mouth of the river which is called [[River Glen, Northumberland#Arthurian myth|Glein]]. His second, third, fourth, and fifth battles were above another river which is called Dubglas and is in the region of Linnuis. The sixth battle was above the river which is called Bassas. The seventh battle was in the forest of Celidon, that is Cat Coit Celidon. The eighth battle was at the fortress of Guinnion, in which Arthur carried the image of Holy Mary ever virgin on his shoulders; and the pagans were put to flight on that day. And through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and through the power of the blessed Virgin Mary his mother there was great slaughter among them. The ninth battle was waged in the City of the Legion. The tenth battle was waged on the banks of a river which is called Tribruit. The eleventh battle was fought on the mountain which is called Agnet. The twelfth battle was on [[Mount Badon]] in which there fell in one day 960 men from one charge by Arthur; and no one struck them down except Arthur himself, and in all the wars he emerged as victor. And while they were being defeated in all the battles, they were seeking assistance from Germany and their numbers were being augmented many times over without interruption. And they brought over kings from Germany that they might reign over them in Britain, right down to the time in which [[Ida of Bernicia|Ida]] reigned, who was son of [[Eoppa of Bernicia|Eobba]]. He was the first king in [[Bernicia]], i.e., in Berneich.<ref>{{citation |translator-last=Lupack |translator-first=Alan |url=http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/nennius.htm |title=The History of the Britons (Historia Brittonum) |publisher=The Camelot Project |access-date=26 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310014939/https://d.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/text/nennius-history-of-the-britons|archive-date=10 March 2016|chapter=56}}</ref>}}

Many of these battle sites are obscure and cannot be identified with any certitude. Some appear in other Welsh literature, though not necessarily explicitly connected to Arthur. Some scholars have proposed that the author incorporated the list from a now-lost Old Welsh poem, based on the fact that some of the names appear to rhyme.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://yalebooks.yale.edu/2019/01/28/who-was-king-arthur/ |last=Higham |first=Nicholas J. |author-link=N. J. Higham |date=January 28, 2019|title=Who Was King Arthur? |quote="It has often been suggested that Arthur's campaigns derive from a battle-catalog-type poem in Old Welsh, of the kind which survive praising King Cadwallon of Gwynedd. That some of the battle names rhyme (Dubglas/ Bassas; Celidon/Guinnion) might be thought to support this hypothesis. Even so, there seems little likelihood that this poem—if it ever existed—was written close to the events by someone who was well-informed. Wars do not as a rule feature rhyming battle-names, so this looks like poetic licence."}}</ref> The odd description of Arthur bearing the image of the [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Virgin Mary]] on his shoulders at Guinnion might stem from a conflation of the Welsh word {{lang|cy|iscuit}} (shield) with {{lang|owl|iscuid}} (shoulders).{{sfn|Green|2007|p=19}} Others reject this as untenable, arguing that the author included battles not previously associated with Arthur, perhaps even made them up entirely.{{sfn|Green|2007|p=19-21}}

A similar story to that attached to Guinnion also appears in the ''[[Annales Cambriae]]''; here, Arthur is described as carrying "the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ on his shoulders for three days and three nights…", though here the battle is said to be Badon rather than Guinnion.{{sfn|Green|2007|p=26}} T. M. Charles-Edwards argues that these accounts both refer to a single source.{{sfn|Green|2007|p=28}} Other scholars, however, such as Thomas Jones and [[N. J. Higham]], argue that the ''Annales'' account is based directly on the ''Historia'', suggesting the name of the battle was switched from the unknown Guinnion to the famous Badon, and that the icon Arthur carries was replaced with a more common one.{{sfn|Green|2007|p=28}}

The Battle of Mount Badon is associated with Arthur in several later texts, but not in any that predate the ''Historia''.{{sfn|Green|2007|p=41}} It was clearly a historical battle described by [[Gildas]], who does not mention the name of the Britons' leader. He does however mention Aurelius Ambrosius as a great scourge of the Saxons immediately prior.{{sfn|Green|2007|p=31}} Of the other battles, only the Battle of Tribruit is generally agreed to be associated with Arthur in another early Welsh source.{{sfn|Green|2007|p=20}} Tribruit appears as ''Tryfrwyd'' in the Old Welsh poem ''[[Pa gur|Pa Gur?]]'', dating to perhaps the mid-ninth century. This poem follows the story of a battle against {{lang|owl|cinbin}}, or [[cynocephaly|dogheads]], whom Arthur's men fought in the mountains of ''[[Eidyn]]'' (Edinburgh); in the Tryfrwyd battle they spar with a character named Garwlwyd (Rough-Gray), who is likely the [[Gwrgi Garwlwyd]] (Man-Dog Rough-Grey) who appears in one of the [[Welsh Triads]].<ref>{{harvnb|Bromwich|2006|pp=73–74}}</ref><ref>For the discussion of Gwrgi Garwlwyd as a werewolf, see {{harvnb|Bromwich|2006|p=385}}.</ref>{{sfn|Green|2007|pp=84-85}} Arthur's main protagonist in the fight is [[Bedivere|Bedwyr]], later known as Sir Bedivere, and the poem also mentions the [[euhemerism|euhemerized]] god [[Manawydan]].{{sfn|Green|2007|pp=84-85}} "The City of the Legion" may be a reference to [[Caerleon]], whose name translates as such, but it might also refer to [[Chester]], the site of a large Roman base.<ref>[[Geoffrey Ashe|Ashe, Geoffrey]] (1991). "Annales Cambriae." In [[Norris J. Lacy|Lacy, Norris J.]] (Ed.), ''The New Arthurian Encyclopedia'', p. 65. New York: Garland. {{ISBN|0-8240-4377-4}}.</ref>

''Cat Coit Celidon'' is probably a reference to the [[Caledonian Forest]] (''Coed Celyddon'') which once covered the [[Southern Uplands]] of Scotland. Scholar Marged Haycock has suggested that this battle can be identified with the ''Cad Goddeu'', the "Battle of the Trees", best known from the tenth-century poem ''[[Cad Goddeu]]''.<ref>{{harvnb|Bromwich|2006|pp=218–219}}</ref>{{sfn|Green|2007|p=64}} Arthur is mentioned towards the end of this poem, and a fragment of a story about the battle preserved in manuscript Peniarth 98B states that the battle had an alternate name, ''Cad Achren'', which suggests a connection with the ''Caer Ochren'' raided by Arthur in the earlier poem ''[[Preiddeu Annwfn]]''.{{sfn|Green|2007|pp=62–64}}

Various writers have asserted that this chapter supports a [[historical basis for King Arthur]] and have tried to identify the twelve battles with historical feuds or locales (see [[Sites and places associated with Arthurian legend]]). On the other hand, Caitlin Green argues that the only identifiable battles linked explicitly with Arthur in Old Welsh sources are mythological, undermining any claims that the battles had a basis in history.{{sfn|Green|2007|p=67}}

===Mirabilia===
Attached to the ''Historia'' is a section called ''De mirabilibus Britanniae'' (or simply ''Mirabilia'' for short, a Latin word meaning 'marvels, miracles'). It gives a list of 13 topographical marvels, or wonders of Britain,<ref>The count might be fourteen (see the English translation of the full ''Mirabilia'' in {{harvnb|''Cambrian Quarterly''|1830|pp=60 ff.}}) it is thirteen in the Irish version, {{Harvnb|Todd|1848}}, cf. p.114n, where Todd makes comparison with the "[[Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain|Thirteen tlysau]], i.e. jewels".</ref>{{efn|The original Latin text proper only counts up to the fourth "Quartum miraculum", and thereafter just keeping adding "another miracle (''Aliud miraculum'')". Note that in Mommsen's edition, the text of the so-called ''Nennius interpretatus'' (Zimer's Latin translation of the Irish ''Historia Brittonum'') is given on a parallel column.}} followed by a few marvels of [[Anglesey]] (''Menand insulae'' or Mona) and of Ireland.<ref>For English translation of the full Mirabilia including the Anglesey and Irish wonders, see {{harvnb|''Cambrian Quarterly''|1830|pp=60 ff.}}</ref> The ''Mirabilia'' section is thought to not be part of the original work, but to have been composed shortly after (early 9th cent.).{{Refn|G. Ashe's entry under "Nennius", {{harvnb|Lacy et al. edd.|1986}} (Reprint 1987), ''Arth. Ency.'', p. 406<ref name="ArthEncy-Nennius"/> and {{harvnb|Lacy et al. edd.|1991}}, ''New Arth. Ency.'',{{URL|1=https://archive.org/details/newarthurianency00lacy/page/342/mode/2up?q=%22paw-print%22 |2=p. 343}}: "An appendix of ''Mirabilia'' ("Marvels") may be a little later than the rest of the book, but not much".}}{{Better source needed|reason=For such a broad statement, more modern sources are needed ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=May 2024}}

Two of the marvels are Arthurian lore (Chapter 73 of the ''Historia'').<ref name="higham2018" /> Old editions give "Troynt" as the name of the great boar and "Anir" as the name of Arthur's tragic son in the Harleian manuscript, but Fletcher suggested the variant readings "Troit" and "Amr" be preferred<ref>"Two names in the ''Mirabilia'' should be replaced by better variant readings, Troynt by Troit, and Anir by Amr" {{Harv|Fletcher|1906|p=320 fn.}}.</ref> since they are closer to the Welsh forms of those names.
 
The first concerns Arthur's dog, Cabal ([[Cavall]] in Welsh), and the footprint it left while chasing the boar Troynt (→Troit) ([[Twrch Trwyth]] in Welsh):
{{blockquote|There is another marvel in the region which is called [[Buellt|Buelt]]. There is a mound of stones there and one stone placed above the pile with the pawprint of a dog in it. When Cabal, who was the dog of Arthur the soldier, was hunting the boar Troynt, he impressed his print in the stone, and afterwards Arthur assembled a stone mound under the stone with the print of his dog, and it is called the Carn Cabal. And men come and remove the stone in their hands for the length of a day and a night; and on the next day it is found on top of its mound.<ref name="History of the Britons: Chapters 73">{{cite wikisource 
|last=Nennius (Traditional attribution) 
|authorlink=Nennius 
|translator=Alan Lupack 
|title=History of the Britons: Chapter 73 
|wslink=History of the Britons#1:73 
|origyear=after A.D. 830
}} ([http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/nennius.htm Alternative source] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110317042932/http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/nennius.htm |date=17 March 2011 }}) 
— See also a slightly different annotated translation quoted at [[Twrch Trwyth]].</ref>{{efn|A text and translation of this passage was given in Lady [[Lady Charlotte Guest|Charlotte Guest]]'s notes to her translation of [[Culhwch ac Olwen|Kilhwch ac Olwan]], and her book ran a facsimile of the Latin text of the above passage from Harley MS 3859.}}
}}
 
The second concerns Arthur's son Anir or Amr ([[Amhar]] in Welsh) and his sepulchre:
{{blockquote|There is another wonder in the region which is called [[Ergyng|Ercing]]. A tomb is located there next to a spring which is called Licat Amr; and the name of the man who is buried in the tomb was called thus: [[Amhar|Amr]](←Anir). He was the son of Arthur the soldier, and Arthur himself killed and buried him in that very place. And men come to measure the grave and find it sometimes six feet in length, sometimes nine, sometimes twelve, sometimes fifteen. At whatever length you might measure it at one time, a second time you will not find it to have the same length—and I myself have put this to the test.<ref name="History of the Britons: Chapters 73"/>}}

==Germanus==
Chapters relating events in the life of Saint [[Germanus of Auxerre]] claim to be excerpts from a (now lost) biography of the saint. The document includes a collection of traditions about [[Saint Patrick]], as well as a section describing events in the North of England in the sixth and seventh centuries, starting with a paragraph about the beginnings of [[Literature of Wales (Welsh language)|Welsh literature]]:<ref>ch. 62:</ref>

{{blockquote|At that time, Talhaiarn Cataguen was famed for poetry, and [[Aneirin|Neirin]], and [[Taliesin]] and Bluchbard, and Cian, who is called Guenith Guaut, were all famous at the same time in British poetry.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/society/language_poetry.shtml|title=Early Welsh poetry| publisher=BBC|date=11 August 2008}}</ref>}}

==Associated works==
[[File:Jesus-College-MS-111 00293 147r (cropped) Enwau ac Anrhyfeddodau Ynys Prydain.jpg|thumb|The opening few lines of the [[Middle Welsh]] manuscript ''Enwau ac Anryfeddodau Ynys Prydain'' from the ''[[Red Book of Hergest]]'', which continued the wonders tradition of geographical descriptions of the Island of Britain after the ''Historia''<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McMullen |first1=A. Joseph |title=Enwau ac Anryfeddodau Ynys Prydain and a Tradition of Topographical Wonders in Medieval Britain |journal=Harvard University |page=40 |url=https://journal.fi/scf/article/view/6774 |access-date=21 July 2021}}</ref>]]
There are a number of works that are frequently associated with the ''Historia Brittonum'', in part because some of them first appear with the Harleian manuscript, and partly because, when the ''Historia Britonum'' is studied, these sources are eventually mentioned.
*The [[Frankish Table of Nations]] – Written around 520, this is a short genealogical text in the mould of the Biblical [[Table of Nations]]. Both tables are incorporated into the genealogical sections of the ''Historia''. The Frankish Table transmits to the ''Historia'' some information derived from [[Tacitus]]' ''[[Germania (book)|Germania]]'',<ref name="Goffart">{{cite journal |first=Walter |last=Goffart |authorlink=Walter Goffart |title=The Supposedly 'Frankish' Table of Nations: An Edition and Study |journal=Frühmittelalterliche Studien |volume=17 |issue=1 |doi=10.1515/9783110242164.98 |year=1983 |pages=98–130 |s2cid=201734002}} [Reprinted in ''Rome's Fall and After'' (Hambledon, 1989), pp. 133–166.]</ref>{{rp|98–130}} albeit in garbled form. It is probably [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] in origin.<ref name="Goffart"/>{{rp|117}}
*The ''[[Lebor Bretnach]]'' – An Irish translation of the ''Historia Brittonum''<ref>{{Harvnb|Todd|1848}}</ref> and a recension of the '[[Nennius|Nennian]]' ''Historia Brittonum''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T100028/index.html |title=The Irish version of the Historia Britonum of Nennius |work=Corpus of Electronic Texts |publisher=University College |location=Cork}} Text ID Number: T100028</ref>
*The ''[[Annales Cambriae]]'' – This is a chronicle consisting of a series of unnumbered years, from AD 445 to 977, some of which have events added. Two notable events are next to AD 516, which describes The Battle of Badon, and 537, which describes the [[Battle of Camlann]], "in which Arthur and [[Mordred]] fell." A version of this was used as a starting point for later Welsh Chronicles.
*Welsh Genealogies – One of many collections of Welsh genealogies, this documents the lineage of [[Hywel Dda]], king of Wales, and several of his contemporaries. The [[Pillar of Eliseg]] is frequently discussed in connection with these genealogies.
*[[Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies|Anglo-Saxon Genealogies]] – A collection of genealogies of the kings of five pre-Viking kingdoms: [[Bernicia]], [[Deira (kingdom)|Deira]], [[kingdom of Kent|Kent]], [[Kingdom of the East Angles|East Anglia]], and [[Mercia]]. A similar collection either derived from or sharing a similar source with this collection is found in the stand-alone [[Anglian collection]] of royal pedigrees, and embedded within annals of the [[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]].

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==Citations==
{{reflist|4|refs=
<ref name="ArthEncy-Nennius">{{cite encyclopedia|ref={{SfnRef|Lacy et al. edd.|1987}}|last=Ashe |first=Geoffrey |author-link=Geoffrey Ashe |entry=Nennius |editor1-last=Lacy |editor1-first=Norris J. |editor1-link=Norris J. Lacy |editor2-last=Ashe |editor2-first=Geoffrey |editor2-link=Geoffrey Ashe |editor3-last=Ihle |editor3-first=Sandra Ness |editor3-link=<!--Sandra Ness Ihle --> |editor4-last=Kalinke |editor4-first=Marianne E. |editor4-link=<!--Marianne E. Kalinke--> |editor5-last=Thompson |editor5-first=Raymond H. |editor5-link=Raymond H. Thompson |title=The Arthurian Encyclopedia |location=New York |publisher=Peter Bedrick Books |year=1987 |orig-year=1986 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YZMbAQAAMAAJ&q=paw-print<!--does not display the entry/pages noted--> |pages=404–406 |isbn=<!--0872261646, -->9780872261648 |quote=}}</ref>

<!--ref name="chadwicks1932">{{cite book|last1=Chadwick|first1=H. Munro |author1-link=Hector Munro Chadwick |last2=Chadwick |first2=Nora K. |author2-link=Nora K. Chadwick |title=The Growth of Literature |place= |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=2010 |orig-date=1932 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lA8QOhxzl14C&pg=PA210 |page=210n1 |isbn=1108016146, 9781108016148}}</ref>-->

<ref name="higham2018">{{cite book|last=Higham |first=Nicholas J. |author-link=N. J. Higham |title=King Arthur: The Making of the Legend |place= |publisher=Yale University Press |date=2018 |orig-date=1932 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dn11DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA204 |pages=204–207 |isbn=<!--0300240864, --> 9780300240863}}</ref>

<!--ref name="kasten2002">{{cite book|last=Kasten |first=Ingrid |authorlink=:de:Ingrid Kasten |chapter=1 The Western Background |editor1-last=Jackson |editor1-first=W. Henry |editor1-link=William Henry Jackson (germanist) |editor2-last=Ranawake |editor2-first=Silvia A. |editor2-link=Silvia A. Ranawake |title=The Arthur of the Germans: The Arthurian Legend in Medieval German and Dutch Literature |location=Cardiff |publisher=University of Wales Press |year=2020 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yWwDEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA22 |page=22 |isbn=1786837374, 9781786837370}}</ref>-->
}}

==References==
{{wikisourcelang|la|Historia Brittonum|''Historia Brittonum'' (ed. Mommsen)}}
{{Wikisource|History of the Britons|Giles tr. combined with composite trr. of Mirabilia}}
{{wikiquote}}

===Primary sources===
====Mirabilia only====
*{{citation|ref={{sfnRef|Cambrian Quarterly|1830}} |author=R |author-mask=R, tr. |year=1830 |title=The Wonders of the Island of Britain |journal=Cambrian Quarterly Magazine and Celtic Repertory |volume=2 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3KI2AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA60 60] ff}}
*{{citation|last=Barber |first=Richard |author-mask=[[Richard Barber|Barber, Richard]], tr. |title=On the Marvels of Britain|work=Myths and Legends of the British Isles|year=1999|location=New York|publisher=Barnes and Noble Books|pages=[https://archive.org/details/mythslegendsofbr0000unse/page/85 85–88]|isbn=0-7607-1959-4|url=https://archive.org/details/mythslegendsofbr0000unse/page/85}}

====Texts and translations====
*{{citation|editor-last=Gale |editor-first=Thomas |editor-link=Thomas Gale (classical scholar) |year=1691|title=Historiae Britannicae, Saxonicae, Anglo-Danicae, Scriptores XV. ex vetustis Codd. MSS. editi, (2 vols)|location=Oxford|publisher=E Theatro Sheldoniano|volume=1|page=93 ff|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1ChDAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA93|format=google}}
** reprinted, with emendations, in *{{citation|last=Bertram |year=1757 |title=Rerum Anglicarum Scriptores tres |location=Copenhagen}}
*{{citation|last=Gunn |first=((William, Rev.)) |author-mask=[[William Gunn (writer)|Gunn, William, Rev.]] ed., tr. |title=The "Historia Brittonum" <small>commonly attributed to Nennius, from a manuscript lately discovered in the library of the Vatican Palace at Rome; edited in the tenth century by Mark the Hermit; with an English version, facsimile..</small>|location=London|publisher=J. and A. Arch|year=1819|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CbosAAAAMAAJ|format=google}} (lacks Mirabilia)
*{{citation|editor-last=Stevenson |editor-first=Joseph |editor-link=Joseph Stevenson|title=Nennii Historia Britonum ad fidem codicum manuscriptorum|work=Publications of the English Historical Society|volume=4|publisher=sumptibus Societatis|year=1838|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VEUMAAAAIAAJ|format=google}}
*{{citation|last=Giles |first=J. A. |author-link=<!--John Allen Giles--> |author-mask=[[John Allen Giles|Giles, J. A.]] ed., tr. |title=Nennius: Historia Britonum |work=Six Old English Chronicles |location=London |publisher=Henry G. Bohn |year=1847 |volume=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dsQ9AAAAcAAJ|format=google}}
**[https://books.google.com/books?id=40AGAAAAQAAJ ''Nennius's History of the Britons'' (Giles tr.)] in ''Six Old English Chronicles'', 1, (1848) (Mirabilia section is edited but untranslated).
* {{citation|editor-last=Petrie|editor-first=Henry|chapter=Nennius|title=Monumenta Historica Britannica|publisher=G. E. Eyre & W. Spottiswoode|year=1848}}
*{{citation|last=Todd |first=James Henthorn |author-link=<!--James Henthorn Todd--> |author-mask=[[James Henthorn Todd|Todd, James Henthorn]] ed., tr. |title=Leabhar Breathnach annso sis (The Irish version of the Historia Britonum of Nennius)|location=Dublin|publisher=Irish Archaeological Society|year=1848|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rioNAAAAYAAJ|format=google}} (includes Mirabilia).
*{{citation |editor-last=Mommsen |editor-first=Theodore |chapter=Historia Brittonvm cvm additamentis Nennii|title=Chronica Minora |volume=3 |pages=111–222|series=Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctorum Antiquissimi xiii |location=Berlin |publisher=Weidmann |year=1898 |url=https://archive.org/details/chronicaminorasa13momm/ |format=Internet Archive}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=YlAqAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA111 google]
**[http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/histbrit.html Latin library]
*{{citation|first=Arthur W. |last=Wade-Evans |author-link=<!--Arthur Wade-Evans--> |author-mask=[[Arthur Wade-Evans|Wade-Evans, Arthur W.]] ed., tr. |year=1938|title=Nennius's "History of the Britons", together with "The annals of the Britons" and "Court pedigrees of Hywel the Good", also "The story of the loss of Britain"|location=London|publisher=Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge}}
*{{citation|editor-last=Morris |editor-first=John |author-link=<!--John Morris --> |author-mask=Morris, John, ed., tr. |title=British history; and the Welsh annals|year=1980|location=London and Chichester|publisher=Phillimore|series=History from the Sources|volume=8|isbn=978-0-8476-6264-7}}
*{{citation|editor-last=Dumville|editor-first=David N.|year=1985|title=The Historia Brittonum: The Vatican Recension|location=Cambridge|publisher=D.S. Brewer|volume=3|isbn=0-85991-203-5|lccn=84024211}}
*{{citation|editor-last=Dumville|editor-first=David N.|year=1988|title=The Historia Brittonum: The Chartres Recension|location=Cambridge|publisher=D.S. Brewer|volume=2|isbn=978-0859912020}}
*[[wikisource:History of the Britons]] (tr., composite of Gunn, Giles, and others).

=== Secondary sources ===

====General and dictionaries====
*{{citation|ref={{SfnRef|Lacy et al. edd.|1986}}|editor1-last=Lacy |editor1-first=Norris J. |editor1-link=Norris J. Lacy |editor2-last=Ashe |editor2-first=Geoffrey |editor2-link=Geoffrey Ashe |editor3-last=Ihle |editor3-first=Sandra Ness |editor3-link=<!--Sandra Ness Ihle --> |editor4-last=Kalinke |editor4-first=Marianne E. |editor4-link=<!--Marianne E. Kalinke--> |editor5-last=Thompson |editor5-first=Raymond H. |editor5-link=Raymond H. Thompson |year=1986|title=The Arthurian Encyclopedia |location=New York |publisher=Garland |isbn=0-87226-164-6|author-link=Norris J. Lacy|url=}} (Reprint, paperback: {{URL|1=https://archive.org/details/arthurianencyclo00lacy|2=preview}}, Peter Bedrick Books, 1987)
*{{citation|ref={{SfnRef|Lacy et al. edd.|1991}}|editor1-last=Lacy |editor1-first=Norris J. |editor1-link=Norris J. Lacy |editor2-last=Ashe |editor2-first=Geoffrey |editor2-link=Geoffrey Ashe |editor3-last=Ihle |editor3-first=Sandra Ness |editor3-link=<!--Sandra Ness Ihle --> |editor4-last=Kalinke |editor4-first=Marianne E. |editor4-link=<!--Marianne E. Kalinke--> |editor5-last=Thompson |editor5-first=Raymond H. |editor5-link=Raymond H. Thompson |title=The New Arthurian Encyclopedia|location=New York |publisher=Garland |year=1991 |isbn=0-8240-4377-4|author-link=Norris J. Lacy|url=https://archive.org/details/newarthurianency00lacy}};
*{{citation|last=Koch |first=John Thomas |author-link=John T. Koch |title=Celtic culture: a historical encyclopedia|year=2006|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-440-0|pages=925–|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f899xH_quaMC|format=preview}}

====Manuscript catalogues====
* {{cite web|title=Manuscripts Catalogue|publisher=British Library|url=http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/manuscripts/main.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130815223808/http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/manuscripts/main.asp|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-08-15|access-date=2012-03-07}}
* {{citation|last=Hardy|first=Thomas Duffus|title=Descriptive catalogue of materials relating to the history of Great Britain|volume=1, part 1|year=1862|location=Longman|publisher=Longman|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Mo9dzBFtQEC|format=google}} ( Rolls Series:Rerum Britannicarum medii Ævi Scriptores (Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland during the Middle Ages)), p.&nbsp;318- (#776-).

====Critical studies====
*{{citation |last=Alcock |first=Leslie |author-link=Leslie Alcock |title=Arthur's Britain: History and Archaeology AD 367-634| year=1971 |location=London |publisher=Penguin}}
*{{citation |last=Bromwich |first=Rachel |author-link=Rachel Bromwich |year=2006 |title=Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain |publisher=University Of Wales Press |isbn=0-7083-1386-8}}
*{{citation |last=Dumville|first=David N.|year=1974|title=Some aspects of the chronology of the ''Historia Brittonum''|journal=Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies|volume=25|issue=4|pages=439–45}}
*{{citation |last=Fletcher|first=Robert Huntington|title=The Arthurian material in the chronicles|work=Studies and Notes in Philology and Literature|volume=10|year=1906|pages=32–4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CdwWAAAAYAAJ|format=google}} [https://archive.org/details/arthurianmateri00fletgoog Alt URL],
*{{citation |last=Green |first=Thomas |author-link=<!--Thomas Green--> |year=2007 |title=Concepts of Arthur |location=Stroud, Gloucestershire |publisher=Tempus |isbn=978-0-7524-4461-1}}
*{{citation |last=Higham |first=N.J. |author-link=N. J. Higham |year=2002 |title='King Arthur: Myth Making and History|location=London|publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul}}
*{{citation |author-last=Liebermann |author-first=Felix |author-link=Felix Liebermann |editor-last=Little |editor-first=Andrew G. |title=Nennius the author of the Historia Brittonum|work=Essays in Medieval History presented to T. F. Tout |location= Manchester |year=1925 |pages=25–44 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EjKg3UoCJeIC&pg=PA25 |format=preview |isbn=9780836904277}}
*{{citation |last=Mackillop |first=James |author-link=James MacKillop (author) |year=2004 |chapter=Historia Brittonum |title=A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology |edition=online |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780198609674 |chapter-url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198609674.001.0001/acref-9780198609674}})

==Further reading==
*P. J. C. Field, 'Nennius and His History' ''Studia Celtica''f 30 (1996) 159-65

==External links==
* [http://www.kmatthews.org.uk/history/hb/historia_brittonum1.html Keith Fitzpatrick-Matthews's reconstructed original text]
* [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/nennius-full.html ''Historia Brittonum'' in English]
* [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/histbrit.html ''Historia Brittonum'' in Latin]
* [http://www.vortigernstudies.org.uk/artsou/historia.htm Vortigern Studies, Robert Vermaat]
* [http://www.wondersofbritain.org/index.html ''The Wonders of Britain'': The ''de mirabilibus britanniae'' section, with details]
* [http://www.heroofcamelot.com/docs/Nennius-Historia-Brittonum.pdf ''The Historia Brittonum'' in a freely-distributable PDF document]
* {{librivox book | title=History of the Britons | author=NENNIUS}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:9th-century history books]]
[[Category:Arthurian literature in Latin]]
[[Category:Sub-Roman Britain]]
[[Category:Welsh chronicles]]
[[Category:Welsh mythology]]
[[Category:9th-century books in Latin]]