Book
III: The uir modestus
and the superbus tyrannus
The
documents are silent about Britain for almost
three decades after 410; it comes back to the
fore - not only in surviving Roman documents, but
also in Gildas’ sources, teased out of his
writing by quellenforschung - in 429, when
the Pelagian heresy seems for a while about to
take the island over. This book contains a wholly
historical analysis of Roman, Gildasian and other
sources, giving not only an account of the
Pelagian episode but also of the broader
British-Roman politics about 430.
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Gildas’
ch.21 is based on contemporary fifth-century
accounts of British politics, which imply that a
king or emperor, famous for personal mildness and
religious faith, was overthrown. I call this
document E, and argue that it was written by a
supporter of the overthrown emperor. I also argue
- from Gildas’ account - that Gildas had no
skill in chronology and was unable to reckon
successive dates, and that this flaw affected the
way he told his story, even though he had several
written sources.
The Mild King of
E is identified with the father of Ambrosius
Aurelianus or Aurelius Ambrosius, the hero of
Gildas and Geoffrey of Monmouth; he was
overthrown by legal means, but was allowed to
live on. His overthrower is the man who entered
legend as Vortigern. I also propose the
beginnings of a chronological scheme
The Pelagian
episode, I argue, is clearly alluded to in a
couple of sentences in Gildas’ ch.21. The
success of Pelagianism coincided with the
overthrow of the Mild King and was certainly
bound up with his opponents. Pelagianism was a
largely upper-class fad. The Pelagians were
condemned under Honorius’ Sacred Rescript of
418, which shows that Roman law still obtained in
Britain (these points owe a lot to
E.A.Thompson’s study of St.Germanus of
Auxerre). This allows us to date the overthrow of
the Mild King to 427/428.
Some at least of
the Pelagians fled to Ireland, where they
established a church structure of their own; it
was to react to this that Pope Celestine sent
Palladius to Ireland to establish a Catholic
diocese. At the end of this chapter, a
chronological scheme up to 437 is proposed.
History
of Britain, 407-597 is copyright © 2002, Fabio
P. Barbieri. Used with permission.
Comments
to: Fabio P.
Barbieri
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