A coiled serpent/Proud and merciless/With golden wings Out of Germany/It shall conquer/England and Scotland From the shores of the Scandinavian Sea to the Severn. Than shall the Britons be/Like prisoners, With status of aliens, To the Saxons. Their Lord they shall praise. Their language preserve, And their land they will lose - Save wild Wales.

Britain in the 5th century A.D. existed as a microcosm of a failing, decaying order, and the wars waged to maintain the survival of a culture are nowhere better illustrated than in the varied and passionate writings of the time. The disintegration of the controlling, centralizing government of Rome left a militarily exploitable vacuum in Britain which the Celtic, Romanized warriors tried to fill. The chroniclers provide us with contemporary insights into the hearts and winds of the leaders as well as the general populace of Britain.

From the Welsh poet Aneirin, we have the contemporary 5th- 6th century Gododdin, which exemplified the honor and prowess of the British warrior, who made seemingly hopeless attacks against extreme odds to win fame and glory. The writings of Gildas, who actually lived through the cultural collapse of the Roman- British civilization in the 6th century, note the moral decay and slide into decadence as "All the controlling influences of truth and justice were so shaken and overturned ... not even a remembrance of them is to be found", and this a mere forty years after the fateful, tide turning battle usually referred to as Mons Badonicus or Mount Badon.

Other tales, the Welsh Mabigani, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, the ecclesiastical writings of Bede and Nennius, the 10th century Annales Cambriae, as well as the later 11th- 12th century chronicles of Geoffrey of Monmouth, Henry of Huntindon, Caradac of Llangarfan and William of Malmesbury all tell the same story with regional and ethnic modifications of the futile resistance of the Britons, battling for survival against the pagan Germans, Scots and Pictish invaders.

In this period, we can sense a change in battlefield tactics, moving from the methodical Roman style unit cohesiveness to man-to-man combat where individual, not collective, skill at arms and prowess are exemplified, glorified and heralded. The general could no longer trust in his trained, well armored and loyal legions. The warriors of this period fought for many reasons, be it greed, a desire to protect their homes, loyalty to their commander, or a wish to gain honor on the field of battle. The interesting emphasis on victory being won not by superior leadership or tactics, but by God's will also is evidenced throughout the various ecclesiastical texts.

Hero Worship

At the same time, the hero-worship of the recent pagan past manages to permeate much of the writing as well, notably that based upon oral tradition; the Welsh, Scottish and Celtic poetry.

Throughout the century from 450-550 A.D., there would be this almost diametrically opposed interpretation of why the island kingdom of Britain fell to the barbarians invaders. The threads of historical fact are loosely woven throughout the early time--once the Romans left, the literacy rate fell drastically and government records became non-existant--yet with perseverance and a clinical eye for relationships between what existed before and what the final result was, we can make an assessment of leadership qualities qualities in the late 5th and early 6th centuries.

By weaving various texts, poems, chronicles and ecclesiastical 'histories' together, a composite of a battle can be established.

This framework provides the basis for my conjectural battle of Mount Badon, along with the actions of the Comes Britanniarum, possibly the Romano-British general referred to as Arturios. Where possible, the chroniclers themselves will tell their story in their own words, for as they experienced, we can only speculate.

More Defense of Britain

Defense of Britain 450-537AD: Introduction
Defense of Britain 450-537AD: State of 5th Century Britain
Defense of Britain 450-537AD: Invasions of the 5th Century
Defense of Britain 450-537AD: Battle of Mons Badonicus (Mt. Badon)
Defense of Britain 450-537AD: Aftermath of Battle of Mons Badonicus