Editing Battle of Badon (section)

===Geoffrey of Monmouth===
[[Geoffrey of Monmouth]]'s c. 1136 ''[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain'') was massively popular and survives in many copies from soon after its composition.<ref>The earliest two being the Cambridge 1706 II.I.14 and Berne Stadtbibliotek MS 568, both apparently from the year of composition. Cf. Griscom, Acton. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=gsQ-nT2taacC&pg=PA22 The Historia Regum Britanniae of Geoffrey of Monmouth]''. Longmans, Green, & Co., 1929. Accessed 7 February 2013.</ref> Going into (and fabricating) much greater detail, Geoffrey closely identifies Badon with [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]], including having [[Merlin]] foretell that Badon's baths would lose their hot water and turn poisonous.<ref>Thompson. VII.iii.</ref> He also mixes in aspects of other accounts: the battle begins as a Saxon siege and then becomes a normal engagement once Arthur's men arrive; Arthur bears the image of [[Mary, mother of Jesus|the Virgin]] both on his shield and shoulder. Arthur charges and kills 470, ten more than the number of Britons ambushed by [[Hengist and Horsa|Hengist]] near [[Salisbury]].

Elements of the Welsh legends are added: in addition to the shield ''[[Pridwen]]'', Arthur gains his sword, ''[[Excalibur|Caliburnus]]'' (Excalibur), and his spear, ''[[Excalibur#Arthur's other weapons|Ron]]''. Geoffrey also makes the defence of the city from the Saxon sneak attack a holy cause, having [[Dubricius]] offer absolution of all sins for those who fall in battle.<ref name=HRBeng>Thompson, Aaron & al. (trans.) ''[http://www.yorku.ca/inpar/geoffrey_thompson.pdf History of the Kings of Britain]'', IX.iv. In Parentheses, 1999. Accessed 6 February 2013.</ref>