Book
I: The world of Saint Gildas
The
first book approaches Gildas as our most
important single source, using an array of
interpretative techniques - literary analysis,
study of assumptions and of the intended public, quellenforschung,
comparison with other writers - to extract as
much historical information from his The ruin
of Britain as possible. His "Roman"
legends are treated as legends, and used as a
source for his social and political ideas; but
they are also shown to embody contemporary
echoes.
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Gildas
culture and Latinity are analyzed in the context
of his time, especially in comparison with his
younger contemporary Gregory of Tours,
establishing the nature and social context of the
culture from which he arose.
This argues that
the early chapters of Gildas so-called
historical section represent in effect nothing
else than a well-developped Celtic myth with
strong parallels with the much later legends of
Nennius and The dream of Maxen Wledig
(from The Mabinogion). It also establishes
Gildas and his cultures attitude to the
Roman past.
Gildas is shown
to be aware of the campaigns of Justinian I.
There is evidence that Justinian aimed to invade
Britain; that Gildas and his contemporaries knew
it; and that it was Justinian, not the Saxons
(whom Gildas regarded as defeated at Mons
Badonicus) that Gildas intended his readers to
fear. A definite date is also proposed for the
writing of The Ruin of Britain, (561)
which agrees with the traditional dates of Mons
Badonicus (516/8) and of Gildas death in
Irish annals (570). I also argue that Gildas was
familiar with an eyewitness account of the Saxon
wars (which I call "L"), and that his
work is to be understood largely as a reaction to
it.
Close analysis
of Gildas description of four of his five
tyrants, showing that each is described in a
different and personalized light, and that the
description of each presupposes different sources
of information - in other words, that Gildas did
not merely make up his charges.
Analysis of
Gildas description of Maglocunus. I argue
that Gildas evidence about this king, and
later notices, suggest that Maglocunus/Maelgwn
was not based in Gwynedd or Anglesey, but was a
Gododdin conqueror of the North the centre of
whose power must have been in Brigantia
(Yorkshire+ Lancashire).
Gildas
view of the kings of his time, especially in its
racial and social aspects.
Dense analysis,
using concepts from social anthropology and a
comparison with the poems of the historical
Taliesin, of the Celtic background to the
Gildasian idea of the king. It is important to
understand the distance of the Gildasian idea of
society from anything Roman, the more so because
we will encounter the concepts involved over and
over again.
History
of Britain, 407-597 is copyright © 2002, Fabio
P. Barbieri. Used with permission.
Comments
to: Fabio P.
Barbieri
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