Editing Nennius (section)

==Authorship of the ''Historia Brittonum''==
{{Main|Historia Brittonum}}
Nennius was traditionally credited with having written the ''[[Historia Brittonum]]'' {{Circa|830}}.<ref>Gransden, Antonia. ''Historical Writing in England''. Ithaca, New York: Cornell UP, 1974. 6</ref> The ''Historia Brittonum'' was highly influential, becoming a major contributor to the [[Matter of Britain|Arthurian legend]], in particular for its inclusion of events relevant to debate about the [[historicity of King Arthur]].<ref name=lambdin /> It also includes the legendary origins of the [[Picts]], [[Scoti|Scots]], [[St. Germanus of Auxerre|St. Germanus]] and [[Vortigern]], and documents events associated with the [[Anglo-Saxon invasion]] of the 7th century as contributed by a Northumbrian document.<ref>Marsh, Henry. ''Dark Age Britain: Some Sources of History''. Hamden, Connecticut: Archon Books, 1970. 84</ref>

Evidence suggests that the ''Historia Brittonum'' was a compilation of several sources, some of which are named by Nennius, while others are not. Some experts say that this was not the first compiled history of the Britons and that it was largely based on [[Gildas]]' ''[[De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae]]'' written some three centuries before.<ref>Gransden, Antonia. ''Historical Writing in England''. Ithaca, New York: Cornell UP, 1974. 7</ref>   Other sources included a ''Life of St Germanus'' and several royal pedigrees.<ref name="FS75-6">[[Frank Stenton|Stenton, Frank]]. ''Anglo Saxon England''. New York: Oxford UP, 1971. 75–76</ref>  Most other sources have not survived and therefore cannot be confirmed.  The surviving manuscripts of the ''Historia Brittonum'' appear to be redacted from several lost versions: information about Nennius contained in the ''Prologue'' and in the ''Apology'' differs, the ''Prologue'' containing an expanded form of the ''Apology'' that is only found in editions copied during the 12th century, leading experts to believe that later versions of the document were altered.<ref>Lee, Sidney, ed. "Nennius." ''Dictionary of National Biography''. XL. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1894. 218-19</ref>  The largest known edition contains seventy-six sections including the ''Prologue'' and the ''Apology''.  The work was translated into Irish by Giolla Coemgin in {{Circa|1071}} and is the earliest example of the original ''Historia Brittonum'',<ref>Lee, Sidney, ed. "Nennius." ''Dictionary of National Biography''. XL. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1894. 219</ref> that includes the author's name, Nennius.<ref>Gransden, Antonia. ''Historical Writing in England''. Ithaca, New York: Cornell UP, 1974. 9</ref>

Originally written as a history of the Britons in an attempt to document a legitimate past, the ''Historia Brittonum'' contains stories of legend and superstition alike.<ref name="Gransden, Antonia 1974">Gransden, Antonia. ''Historical Writing in England''. Ithaca, New York: Cornell UP, 1974. 11</ref>  The historical accuracy of the ''Historia Brittonum'' is at best questionable, but the document is internally consistent and provides information from and indirectly about Nennius' sources.<ref name="FS75-6" />   Some historians{{who|date=April 2014}} argue that the ''Historia Brittonum'' gives good insight into the way 9th century Britons viewed themselves and their past.<ref>Marsh, Henry. ''Dark Age Britain: Some Sources of History''. Hamden, Connecticut: Archon Books, 1970. 8</ref>  Nennius makes several attempts to trace the history of the Britons back to the Romans and Celts through his empirical observations of what he refers to as ''"The Marvels"'' or ''"Wonders of Britain"''.<ref name="Gransden, Antonia 1974"/>  These include ruins, landmarks and other aspects of the British countryside that Nennius deems worthy of documentation.  His explanation of the physical landmarks and ruins take on a mystical interpretation despite Nennius being a Christian monk.  Within the writing of Nennius is a sense of nationalist pride attempting to legitimise the people of Britain and embellish the past through legend much as the Romans used the story of ''[[Romulus and Remus]]'' to legitimise the founding of Rome.<ref>Gransden, Antonia. ''Historical Writing in England''. Ithaca, New York: Cornell UP, 1974. 8</ref>  One such example of Nennius stressing legend is in his accounts of Arthur and his twelve battles.  The ''Historia Brittonum'' would come to be the basis on which later medieval authors such as [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] would write the {{Lang|la|[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]}}, one of the early [[Welsh chronicles]] and romantic histories of King Arthur.<ref name=lambdin /><ref>Marsh, Henry. ''Dark Age Britain: Some Sources of History''. Hamden, Connecticut: Archon Books, 1970. 65</ref> Nennius however never refers to Arthur as a King instead calling him a "Dux Bellorum" who lead the kings of Britain in battle, a military commander.