Arthurian Period Sources, Volume 7: Gildas: The Ruin of Britain and other Documents

Arthurian Period Sources #7

by Gildas, Michael Winterbottom (Editor)

Genres: History, Arthurian, Nonfiction

162 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 500

About the author

Gildas (Breton: Gweltaz; c. 500 – c. 570) - also known as Gildas the Wise or Gildas Sapiens - was a 6th-century British monk best known for his scathing religious polemic De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae (On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain), which recounts the history of the Britons before and during the coming of the Saxons. He is one of the best-documented figures of the Christian church in the British Isles during the sub-Roman period, and was renowned for his Biblical knowledge and literary style.

Gildas was born in what is now Scotland on the banks of the River Clyde, the son of a royal family. In his later life, he emigrated to Brittany where he founded a monastery known as St. Gildas de Rhuys.

Reviews

[Alys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well it's an important historical document and I trust that the translation was very good but the text is just boring. Once you've read the first half you've read it all really... I quite like Gildas's vibes though and I feel it's generally greatly improved if it's read in the voice of Mrs Bennet from Pride and Prejudice.

[Othy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good edition of a very good text. Gildas' Ruin of Britain is presented both in English translation as well as the original Latin, together with a few other interesting bits from his pen. The notes are thorough, but scanty, and I would hate to approach the text without having read other Chronicles (as Gildas uses few names). A wacky writer, Gildas is fun to read when he's telling history, though the long list of Bible quotes can get tiring to plow through in a sitting.

[Octavia Cade · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm shelving this as "Arthurian" even though it doesn't actually mention Arthur, or much to do with his mythos for that matter. It does very briefly mention the Battle of Badon, however - the first source to do so, I believe - and as a result it seems to be frequently listed as the earliest piece of Arthurian literature. That's certainly why I read it.

Everything else is ranting. Seriously. Gildas was apparently one of those monks who approved of pretty much nothing, and most of "The Ruin of Britain", included here, is precisely what you'd expect from such a title. Things were bad and getting worse, and it was all everyone's fault, moral decay of society, falling away from religion, blah de blah blah. The rest of the sources are pretty much religious in nature - Gildas ranting, still, against corrupt and ineffective priests, or providing instructions on how long they're supposed to starve themselves for various offenses from accidentally vomiting up a communion wafer to bestiality (I shudder to think what went on in his abbey). There's a lengthy panegyric in there about martyrs, of whom he actually does approve, with a strong undercurrent of "You should be so grateful for the chance to be eaten by lions, you hell-bound disappointment", but for the most part it's mainly fist-shaking, and is admittedly quite amusing. If he'd lived today he'd be writing indignant pieces of outraged offense for whichever tabloid would put up with his sneering at their after-work happy hour.

[Flint Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid translation, still in use thirty-some years later. Which is important as he and Patrick's two letters are our only two primary sources for the period. Why not a fifth star? One could ask that a person versed enough in the Latin of the period to make such a translation might have added notes on several aspects of the text; the nature of the Bible he used, hazy passages, double meanings, and what not. He did not.

[Curtis Runstedler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gildas is an extraordinary historian, but his complaints are legion. He presents a fascinating set of monastic rules which did not inspire as much as St David or St Benedict, but nevertheless they remain interesting. Gildas' historical accounts are well-researched, taken from the writings from predominantly Rufinus and other early historians, and he integrates his own acerbic commentary for vitriolic effect.

[Patrick\ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I simply love to read these old histories. This is a good one.