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Historia Brittonum‘The history of the Britons’

  • Cambro-Latin
  • prose
  • Cambro-Latin texts
Author
Ascribed to: NenniusNennius ... al. Ninnius
(fl. 9th century)
Welsh monk and student of Elvodugus (Elfoddw); best known from the prologue added to the Historia Brittonum, in which he is credited as the author of that work.
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Manuscripts
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Work in progress
Harleian recension
  • London, British Library, MS Harley 3859 [s. xiex/xiiin]
    ff. 174v–190r, 195r–198r
    On ff. 190r-195r, the Annales Cambriae (A-text) and the so-called Harleian genealogies are interpolated.
  • London, British Library, MS Cotton Vespasian D xxi
  • London, British Library, MS Cotton Vespasian B xxv
Chartres recension
Vatican recension
  • Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Reg. lat. 1164
  • Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS lat. 11108
  • Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS lat. 8048
  • London, British Library, MS Additional 11702
Nennian recension
includes
Gildasian recension
  • Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodley 163
Other
Language
  • Cambro-Latin
Date
9th century (original date of composition)
Form
prose (primary)
Textual relationships
Related: Historia regum BritanniaeHistoria regum BritanniaeGeoffrey of Monmouth's pseudohistorical narrative of the kings of Britain, from the foundation of Britain to the Anglo-Saxon conquest.Lebor BretnachLebor BretnachMiddle Irish adaptation of the Historia Brittonum ascribed to NenniusLebor gabála ÉrennLebor gabála Érenn
Associated items
Historia Brittonum (Gildasian recension)Historia Brittonum (Gildasian recension)

An abridged recension of the Historia Brittonum, commonly termed ‘Gildasian’ or ‘pseudo-Gildas’ because of its erroneous attribution to Gildas. It is close to the Harleian recension of the text and was in wide circulation during the later middle ages, from the 12th century onwards, so much so that David Dumville has called it the ‘vulgate’ recension.

Classification

Cambro-Latin textsCambro-Latin texts
...

Sources

Primary sources Text editions and/or modern translations – in whole or in part – along with publications containing additions and corrections, if known. Diplomatic editions, facsimiles and digital image reproductions of the manuscripts are not always listed here but may be found in entries for the relevant manuscripts. For historical purposes, early editions, transcriptions and translations are not excluded, even if their reliability does not meet modern standards.

[ed.] [tr.] Morris, John [ed. and tr.], Nennius. British history and the Welsh annals, History from the Sources: Arthurian Period Sources 8, London: Phillimore, 1980.
[ed.] Dumville, David N. [ed.], The Historia Brittonum, vol. 3: The ‘Vatican’ recension, Cambridge: Brewer, 1985.
Dumville, David N., The Historia Brittonum, vol. 2: The ‘Chartres’ recension, Cambridge: Brewer, 1988.

Secondary sources (select)

Dumville, David N., “The historical value of the Historia Brittonum”, Arthurian Literature 6 (1986): 1–26.
Dumville, David N., “On the north British section of the Historia Brittonum”, Welsh History Review 8:3 (June 1977, 1976–1977): 345–354.
Dumville, David N., “II: On the north British section of the Historia Brittonum” [1977], in: Dumville, David N., Histories and pseudo-histories of the insular Middle Ages, Variorum Collected Studies Series 316, Aldershot: Variorum, 1990. 345–354.
Reprint
Dumville, David N., “St Patrick in the Historia Brittonum: three texts”, in: Dumville, David N., and Lesley Abrams (eds.), Saint Patrick, AD 493–1993, Studies in Celtic History 13, Woodbridge: Boydell, 1993. 221–232.
Dumville, David N., “Historia Brittonum: an insular history from the Carolingian age”, in: Scharer, Anton, and Georg Scheibelreiter (eds.), Historiographie im frühen Mittelalter, Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung 32, Vienna: Oldenbourg, 1994. 406–434.
Toorians, Lauran, “Over Angelen en Britten. Moreel kwaad als ‘politieke erfzonde’”, in: Burg, Cors van der, and Lourens Minnema (eds.), In de ban van het kwaad. Het kwaad in religieuze verhalen wereldwijd, Zoetermeer, 2004. 258–269.  
Includes a translation of Historia Brittonum, chapters 36-42 and 47-48.
Also offers several passages in (Dutch) translation.
web page identifiers
Contributors
Dennis Groenewegen
Page created
May 2011, last updated: August 2021
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