Editing Historia Brittonum (section)

===Arthur's battles===
Chapter 56 discusses twelve battles fought and won by [[King Arthur|Arthur]], here called ''dux bellorum'' (war leader) rather than king:

{{blockquote|At that time, the Saxons grew strong by virtue of their large number and increased in power in Britain. [[Hengist and Horsa|Hengist]] having died, however, his son [[Octa of Kent|Octha]] crossed from the northern part of Britain to the kingdom of Kent and from him are descended the kings of Kent. Then Arthur along with the kings of Britain fought against them in those days, but Arthur himself was the military commander ["dux bellorum"]. His first battle was at the mouth of the river which is called [[River Glen, Northumberland#Arthurian myth|Glein]]. His second, third, fourth, and fifth battles were above another river which is called Dubglas and is in the region of [[Kingdom of Lindsey|Linnuis]]. The sixth battle was above the river which is called Bassas. The seventh battle was in the forest of Celidon, that is Cat Coit Celidon. The eighth battle was at the fortress of Guinnion, in which Arthur carried the image of Holy Mary ever virgin on his shoulders; and the pagans were put to flight on that day. And through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and through the power of the blessed Virgin Mary his mother there was great slaughter among them. The ninth battle was waged in the [[Caerleon|City of the Legion]]. The tenth battle was waged on the banks of a river which is called Tribruit. The eleventh battle was fought on the mountain which is called Agnet. The twelfth battle was on [[Mount Badon]] in which there fell in one day 960 men from one charge by Arthur; and no one struck them down except Arthur himself, and in all the wars he emerged as victor. And while they were being defeated in all the battles, they were seeking assistance from Germany and their numbers were being augmented many times over without interruption. And they brought over kings from Germany that they might reign over them in Britain, right down to the time in which [[Ida of Bernicia|Ida]] reigned, who was son of [[Eoppa of Bernicia|Eobba]]. He was the first king in [[Bernicia]], i.e., in Berneich.<ref>{{citation |translator-last=Lupack |translator-first=Alan |url=http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/nennius.htm |title=The History of the Britons (Historia Brittonum) |publisher=The Camelot Project |access-date=26 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310014939/https://d.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/text/nennius-history-of-the-britons|archive-date=10 March 2016|chapter=56}}</ref>}}

Many of these battle sites are obscure and cannot be identified with any certitude. Some appear in other Welsh literature, though not necessarily explicitly connected to Arthur. Some scholars have proposed that the author incorporated the list from a now-lost Old Welsh poem, based on the fact that some of the names appear to rhyme.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://yalebooks.yale.edu/2019/01/28/who-was-king-arthur/ |last=Higham |first=Nicholas J. |author-link=N. J. Higham |date=January 28, 2019|title=Who Was King Arthur? |quote="It has often been suggested that Arthur’s campaigns derive from a battle-catalog-type poem in Old Welsh, of the kind which survive praising King Cadwallon of Gwynedd. That some of the battle names rhyme (Dubglas/ Bassas; Celidon/Guinnion) might be thought to support this hypothesis. Even so, there seems little likelihood that this poem—if it ever existed—was written close to the events by someone who was well-informed. Wars do not as a rule feature rhyming battle-names, so this looks like poetic licence."}}</ref> The odd description of Arthur bearing the image of the [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Virgin Mary]] on his shoulders at Guinnion might stem from a conflation of the Welsh word {{lang|cy|iscuit}} (shield) with {{lang|owl|iscuid}} (shoulders).{{sfn|Green|2007|p=19}} Others reject this as untenable, arguing that the author included battles not previously associated with Arthur, perhaps even made them up entirely.{{sfn|Green|2007|p=19-21}}

A similar story to that attached to Guinnion also appears in the ''[[Annales Cambriae]]''; here, Arthur is described as carrying "the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ on his shoulders for three days and three nights…", though here the battle is said to be Badon rather than Guinnion.{{sfn|Green|2007|p=26}} T. M. Charles-Edwards argues that these accounts both refer to a single source.{{sfn|Green|2007|p=28}} Other scholars, however, such as Thomas Jones and [[N. J. Higham]], argue that the ''Annales'' account is based directly on the ''Historia'', suggesting the name of the battle was switched from the unknown Guinnion to the famous Badon, and that the icon Arthur carries was replaced with a more common one.{{sfn|Green|2007|p=28}}

The Battle of Mount Badon is associated with Arthur in several later texts, but not in any that predate the ''Historia''.{{sfn|Green|2007|p=41}} It was clearly a historical battle described by [[Gildas]], who does not mention the name of the Britons' leader. He does however mention Aurelius Ambrosius as a great scourge of the Saxons immediately prior.{{sfn|Green|2007|p=31}} Of the other battles, only the Battle of Tribruit is generally agreed to be associated with Arthur in another early Welsh source.{{sfn|Green|2007|p=20}} Tribruit appears as ''Tryfrwyd'' in the Old Welsh poem ''[[Pa gur|Pa Gur?]]'', dating to perhaps the mid-ninth century. This poem follows the story of a battle against {{lang|owl|cinbin}}, or [[cynocephaly|dogheads]], whom Arthur's men fought in the mountains of ''[[Eidyn]]'' (Edinburgh); in the Tryfrwyd battle they spar with a character named Garwlwyd (Rough-Gray), who is likely the [[Gwrgi Garwlwyd]] (Man-Dog Rough-Grey) who appears in one of the [[Welsh Triads]].<ref>{{harvnb|Bromwich|2006|pp=73–74}}</ref><ref>For the discussion of Gwrgi Garwlwyd as a werewolf, see {{harvnb|Bromwich|2006|p=385}}.</ref>{{sfn|Green|2007|pp=84-85}} Arthur's main protagonist in the fight is [[Bedivere|Bedwyr]], later known as Sir Bedivere, and the poem also mentions the [[euhemerism|euhemerized]] god [[Manawydan]].{{sfn|Green|2007|pp=84-85}} "The City of the Legion" may be a reference to [[Caerleon]], whose name translates as such, but it might also refer to [[Chester]], the site of a large Roman base.<ref>[[Geoffrey Ashe|Ashe, Geoffrey]] (1991). "Annales Cambriae." In [[Norris J. Lacy|Lacy, Norris J.]] (Ed.), ''The New Arthurian Encyclopedia'', p. 65. New York: Garland. {{ISBN|0-8240-4377-4}}.</ref>

''Cat Coit Celidon'' is probably a reference to the [[Caledonian Forest]] (''Coed Celyddon'') which once covered the [[Southern Uplands]] of Scotland. Scholar Marged Haycock has suggested that this battle can be identified with the ''Cad Goddeu'', the "Battle of the Trees", best known from the tenth-century poem ''[[Cad Goddeu]]''.<ref>{{harvnb|Bromwich|2006|pp=218–219}}</ref>{{sfn|Green|2007|p=64}} Arthur is mentioned towards the end of this poem, and a fragment of a story about the battle preserved in manuscript Peniarth 98B states that the battle had an alternate name, ''Cad Achren'', which suggests a connection with the ''Caer Ochren'' raided by Arthur in the earlier poem ''[[Preiddeu Annwfn]]''.{{sfn|Green|2007|pp=62–64}}

Various writers have asserted that this chapter supports a [[historical basis for King Arthur]] and have tried to identify the twelve battles with historical feuds or locales (see [[Sites and places associated with Arthurian legend]]). On the other hand, Caitlin Green argues that the only identifiable battles linked explicitly with Arthur in Old Welsh sources are mythological, undermining any claims that the battles had a basis in history.{{sfn|Green|2007|p=67}}