In the past articles the eleven battles from Glein to Agned/Bregouin have been covered. Now we will look at the twelfth and last battle on Nennius' list: the battle of Badon. Though we have more information on Badon than Arthur's other battles, there is still not enough to be 100% certain as to the location or circumstances. We know that it was an important victory over a Saxon army, and that on a result it brought 40 years of Peace, or rather no major wars with the Saxons. It is the only battle of Arthur's that appears in three different 'Dark Age' sources. This makes us reasonably certain that it was indeed a historic battle

Badon seems to have resulted from a united effort an the part at the Saxons of southern Britain to either destroy the British army or raid/conquer the heartland of British resistance. Several Saxon leaders have a tradition of being present: Oesc of Kent was said to have fought and died at Badan. Cordic of Wessex death is about the time of Oesc and Badon and there it a tradition of the men of Wessex being at Badon. At this time Aelle of the South Saxons is said to have been the leader of the Saxons in Britain, the Dretwalda. The title may not have been used yet, but certainly the influence and power that it developed from would have been in its beginning stages. There may have been others present also such as Cynric (Cardic's "son" and successor) and Riede a chieftain who opposed Gwrontiut at Portsmouth ten to twenty years earlier.

On the British side, Arthur is the only loader Placed at Badon, though It Is possible that he was under the command of Ambrosium Aurielianus. Nonnius states that the 12th battle was on Mount Badon, In which nine hundred and sixty men fell in one day from one charge of Arthur, and no one overthrow them except himself alone." This statement may sound absurd if taken at face value, but if the charge was by Arthur and his men, it sounds more realistic. (It also sounds, like the pursuit of a routing enemy). <[1]

The Annales Cambriae has an entry for the Battle at Badon:

"517 The Battle of Badon In which Arthur carried the cross at our Lord Jesus Christ, for three days and three nights. on his shoulders, and the Britons were victorious." 

Again this entry specifically Puts Arthur at Badon. The Annales appears to make Badon a siege, or possibly a campaign in which contact was maintained with the Saxons for three days before the actual battle. There is some question as to how Arthur could carry the cross for three days and nights. There are several possibilities: the first is that the cross was a necklace that he wore and the second is that the original manuscript was not translated correctly and that the Welsh word for shield (scuit) was mistaken for shoulder (scuid). If the second is true, then he had a cross as a shield emblem -- which was a common practice at this time. The third possibility is that the monk translating the Annales took some liberties in explaining how the battle was won i.e. by devotion to God. In any case Arthur is placed at the Battle. [2]

Location?

There are several hypothases concerning the location of the actual battle site.

Norma Larre Goodrich in KING ARTHUR Places Mount Badonicus at Dumbarton. She believes that Arthur ruled the region between the two Roman Walls and that all his battles were fought in or about this area. Dumbarton is in the far north of Roman Britain and was the stronghold at the Kings at Alclut (later known as Strathclyde). But, if Badon was Dumbarton why would Oesc of Kent and the men of Wessex have a tradition of participating? They would have to leave their homes undefended and either sail around Cornwall, Wales, and Rheged or march through the Pennine kingdoms Rheged, and Strathclyde. Neither are very likely. Badon was in all probability fought in the south. [2]

Leslie Alcock in ARTHUR'S BRITAIN presents the idea that Badon was the British place-name top the region around Both. The later Welsh name for the area was Caer Vadon. To add to this he states that the British name for Badon would not be Pronounced Badon with a 'D' but Rathon. In Anglo-saxon this would be written . And in deed in 577 AD after the Saxon victory of Durham the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle tells of the capture of Badanceaster (Bath). It we accept this argument then the general- area for the battle of Mons Badonicus would be the region around Bath. [3]

John Morris in THE AGE OF ARTHUR narrows this down even further. He believed that Mons Badonicus was Salsbury Hill by Batheastan. He wrote that 'mons' is a single hill with a fairly steep slope on all sides. This would allow a force of dismounted cavalry to hold out against an infantry force several times their number. It the defenders were prepared for the attack they could hold out for several days, from s which the siege at Mount Badon may have come. As John Morris pictured it, Arthur took a defensive position on Solsbury hill and prepared for battle. He would have sent out small parties of mounted men to harass any foragers and/or the Saxon supply wagons. This coupled with the possibility of British reinforcements arriving would have had an adverse affect on the Saxon morale and could have turned the battle in the Britons favor. [1]

The Briton victory at Badon crippled the offensive power of the Saxons at the south for 40 years. During those forty years the British prospered,thouoh civil war was common. Generals, or as Guildus the monk called them, tyrants, had usurped legitimate authority and carved out small kingdoms of their own -- thus insuring or possibly admitting the loss of central authority in Subroman Britain.

SAXON BACKGROUND