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Historia Brittonum‘The history of the Britons’

  • Cambro-Latin
  • prose
  • Cambro-Latin texts
Author
Ascribed to: NenniusNennius (fl. 9th century) – Welsh monk and student of Elvodugus (Elfoddw); best known from the prologue added to the Historia Brittonum, in which he is credited as the author of that work.
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Manuscripts
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Work in progress
Harleian recension
  • London, British Library, MS Harleian 3859 [s. xiex/xiiin]
    ff. 174v–190r, 195r–198r
     
    On ff. 190r-195r, the Annales Cambriae (A-text) and the so-called Harleian genealogies are interpolated.
  • London, British Library, MS Cotton Vespasian D xxi
  • London, British Library, MS Cotton Vespasian B xxv
Chartres recension
Vatican recension
  • Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Reg. lat. 1164
  • Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS lat. 11108
  • Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS lat. 8048
  • London, British Library, MS Additional 11702
Nennian recension
includes
  • Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 139 [s. xii]
    • London, British Library, MS Royal 13 B vii
    • Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 101
    • Cambridge, University Library, MS Ff i.27
      ff. 7–20
  • London, British Library, MS Cotton Caligula A viii
Gildasian recension
  • Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodley 163
Other
  • Leiden, University Library, MS BPL 20
  • Cambridge, University Library, MS Ff i.27
Language
  • Cambro-Latin
Date
9th century (original date of composition)
Form
prose (primary)
Textual relationships

Classification

Cambro-Latin texts

Sources

Primary sources Text editions and/or modern translations – in whole or in part – along with publications containing additions and corrections, if known. Diplomatic editions, facsimiles and digital image reproductions of the manuscripts are not always listed here but may be found in entries for the relevant manuscripts. For historical purposes, early editions, transcriptions and translations are not excluded, even if their reliability does not meet modern standards.

[ed.] [tr.] Morris, John [ed. and tr.], Nennius. British history and the Welsh annals, History from the Sources: Arthurian Period Sources 8, London: Phillimore, 1980.
[ed.] Dumville, David N. [ed.], The Historia Brittonum, vol. 3: The ‘Vatican’ recension, Cambridge: Brewer, 1985.
Dumville, David N., The Historia Brittonum, vol. 2: The ‘Chartres’ recension, Cambridge: Brewer, 1988.

Secondary sources (select)

Dumville, David N., “The historical value of the Historia Brittonum”, Arthurian Literature 6 (1986): 1–26.
Dumville, David N., “On the north British section of the Historia Brittonum”, Welsh History Review 8:3 (June 1977, 1976–1977): 345–354.
Dumville, David N., “II: On the north British section of the Historia Brittonum” [1977], in: Dumville, David N., Histories and pseudo-histories of the insular Middle Ages, Variorum Collected Studies Series 316, Aldershot: Variorum, 1990. 345–354.
Reprint
Dumville, David N., “St Patrick in the Historia Brittonum: three texts”, in: Dumville, David N., and Lesley Abrams (eds.), Saint Patrick, AD 493–1993, Studies in Celtic History 13, Woodbridge: Boydell, 1993. 221–232.
Dumville, David N., “Historia Brittonum: an insular history from the Carolingian age”, in: Scharer, Anton, and Georg Scheibelreiter (eds.), Historiographie im frühen Mittelalter, Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung 32, Vienna: Oldenbourg, 1994. 406–434.
Toorians, Lauran, “Over Angelen en Britten. Moreel kwaad als ‘politieke erfzonde’”, in: Burg, Cors van der, and Lourens Minnema (eds.), In de ban van het kwaad. Het kwaad in religieuze verhalen wereldwijd, Zoetermeer, 2004. 258–269.
Also offers several passages in (Dutch) translation.

page name: Historia Brittonum
page url: https://www.vanhamel.nl/codecs/Historia_Brittonum
redirect: https://www.vanhamel.nl/codecs/Special:Redirect/page/3892
numerical alternatve: https://www.vanhamel.nl/vhcodecs/index.php?curid=3892
page ID: 3892
page ID tracker: https://www.vanhamel.nl/vhcodecs/index.php?title=Show:ID&id=3892

Contributors
Dennis Groenewegen
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