Editing Gildas

{{Short description|British monk, writer and saint (c. 500 – c. 570)}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox saint
|honorific-prefix = Saint
|name=Gildas
|birth_date={{Circa|450–500}}
|death_date=570 (traditional)
|feast_day=29 January   
|venerated_in= [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]<ref>February 11 / January 29. https://www.holytrinityorthodox.com/htc/orthodox-calendar/</ref><br>[[Roman Catholic Church]]<br>[[Anglicanism|Anglican Communion]]
|image= Statue St-Gildas 07082.jpg
|imagesize= 250px
|caption= Statue of Saint Gildas near the village of [[Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys]] (France).
|birth_place=[[Kingdom of Strathclyde]]
|death_place=[[Rhuys]], Brittany
|titles=[[Abbot]]
|beatified_date=
|beatified_place=
|beatified_by=
|canonized_date=
|canonized_place=
|canonized_by=
|attributes=Monk holding a [[Celts|Celtic]] bell or writing in a book
|patronage=[[Welsh people|Welsh]] historians; [[Bell (instrument)|bell]] founders
|major_shrine=[[Glastonbury Abbey]] (destroyed)<br>[[Rhuys]] Church
|suppressed_date=
|issues=
|prayer=
|prayer_attrib=
}}

'''Gildas''' (English pronunciation: {{IPAc-en|'|g|I|l|d|ə|s}}, [[Breton language|Breton]]: ''Gweltaz''; {{Circa|450/500|570}}){{efn|name=dates|The composition of De excidio has been dated to between 479 and 484 by [[Nick Higham (historian)|Nick Higham]],<ref name=highami>Higham. English Conquest: Gildas and Britain in the fifth century. p. i and p. 141</ref> and between 515 and 530 by Thomas D. Sullivan.<ref name=sullivan171>Sullivan. De excidio of Gildas: its authenticity and date. p. 171</ref> This gives a birth date for Gildas around the middle of the fifth century.<ref name=ondb>Kerlouégan, Gildas</ref> However, [[David Dumville]] places it later at c. 500.<ref name=dumville1>Dumville. The chronology of De Excidio Britanniae pp. 61–84</ref>}}{{efn|name=date2|The date of Gildas death is taken from the ''[[Annales Cambriae]]'', this is regarded by François Kerlouégan  "as, at best, traditional".<ref name=ondb/>}} — also known as  '''Gildas Badonicus''', '''Gildas fab Caw''' (in [[Middle Welsh]] texts and antiquarian works) and '''''Gildas Sapiens''''' (Gildas the Wise) — was a 6th-century [[Britons (historic)|British]] monk best known for his religious [[polemic]] {{Lang|la|[[De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae]]}}, which recounts the history of the Britons before and during [[Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain|the coming of the Saxons]]. He is one of the best-documented figures of the Christian church in the [[British Isles]] during the [[Sub-Roman Britain|sub-Roman period]], and was renowned for his Biblical knowledge and literary style. In his later life, he emigrated to [[Brittany]], where he founded a monastery known as [[Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys]].

==Hagiography==

===Birthplace===
Differing versions of the ''Life of Saint Gildas'' exist, but both agree that he was born at a place called ''Arecluta'' which is described by the author as taking its name from a "certain river called the Clut, by which that district is, for the most part, watered."<ref name="Breeze">{{cite journal |last1=Breeze |first1=Andrew |title=Where was Gildas born? |journal=Northern History |date=2008 |volume=XLV |issue=2 |pages=347-349 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1179/174587008X322599 |access-date=28 December 2024}}</ref> This was long taken by historians to mean that Gildas was born in what is now [[Scotland]] on the banks of the [[River Clyde]].<ref name="Breeze" />

He is now thought to have his origins farther south.<ref>Kerlouégan, "Gildas"; Williams, "Gildas"</ref> His writing suggests a lack of familiarity with the geography of [[Kingdom of Strathclyde|Strathclyde]], but is more accurate with regards to southern Britain.<ref name="Breeze" /> Furthermore, Gildas shows a familiarity with classical Latin texts that historians such as [[Nick Higham (historian)|Nick Higham]] and [[E. A. Thompson|E.A. Thompson]] view as more likely to have been acquired further south, within the bounds of former [[Roman Britain]].<ref name="Breeze" /> Thompson suggested [[Chester]] as a possible birthplace, while the linguist Andrew Breeze suggests [[Arclid]], near [[Sandbach]] in [[Cheshire]], based on its plausible derivation from ''Arecluta''.<ref name="Breeze" />

===Life===
In his own work, he claims to have been born the same year as the [[Battle of Mount Badon]]. He was educated at a monastic centre, the College of St. Illtud, where he chose to forsake his royal heritage and embrace monasticism. He became a renowned teacher, converting many to Christianity and founding numerous churches and monasteries throughout Britain and Ireland. He is thought to have made a pilgrimage to Rome before emigrating to Brittany, where he took on the life of a [[hermit]]. However, his life of solitude was short-lived, and pupils soon sought him out and begged him to teach them. He eventually founded a monastery for these students at [[Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys]] in [[Brittany]], where he wrote ''De Excidio Britanniae,'' criticising British rulers and exhorting them to put off their sins and embrace true Christian faith. He is thought to have died at Rhuys and was buried there.

[[Image:St Gildas Fontaine 0708E.jpg|thumb|The spring of St Gildas in [[Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys]], Morbihan]]

===Biographies===
The First ''Life'' of Gildas was written in the 9th century by an unnamed monk at the monastery which Gildas founded in [[Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys|Rhuys]], Brittany.<ref name="The Life of Gildas by the Monk of Ruys">{{cite web|last=Williams|first=Hugh|title=The Life of Gildas by the Monk of Ruys|url=http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/gildas07.html|work=Two Lives of Gildas by a monk of Ruys and Caradoc of Llancarfan|access-date=18 February 2014}}</ref> According to this tradition, Gildas is the son of [[Caw of Strathclyde|Caunus]], king of [[Alt Clud]] in the ''[[Hen Ogledd]]'', the [[Brythonic languages|Brythonic]]-speaking region of northern Britain. He had four brothers; his brother Cuillum ascended to the throne on the death of his father, and the rest became monks. Gildas was sent as a child to the College of St. [[Illtud]] in [[Glamorgan]], under the care of St [[Illtud]], and was a companion of St [[Samson of Dol]] and St [[Paul Aurelian]]. His master Illtud loved him tenderly and taught him with special zeal. He was supposed to be educated in liberal arts and divine scripture, but elected to study only holy doctrine, and to forsake his noble birth in favour of a religious life.

After completing his studies under Illtud, Gildas went to Ireland where he was ordained as a priest. He returned to his native lands in northern Britain where he acted as a missionary, preaching to the pagan people and converting many of them to [[Christianity]]. He was then asked by Ainmericus, high king of Ireland ([[Ainmuire mac Sétnai]], 566–569), to restore order to the church in Ireland, which had altogether lost the Christian faith. Gildas obeyed the king's summons and travelled all over the island, converting the inhabitants, building churches, and establishing monasteries. He then travelled to Rome and Ravenna where he performed many miracles, including slaying a dragon while in Rome. Intending to return to Britain, he instead settled on the Isle of [[Houat]] off [[Brittany]] where he led a solitary, austere life. At around this time, he also preached to [[Saint Non|Nonnita (Non)]], the mother of [[Saint David]], while she was pregnant with the saint.<ref name=cna>{{Cite web |url=http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint.php?n=131 |title="Gildas the Wise", Catholic News Agency |access-date=27 January 2013 |archive-date=23 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223040759/http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint.php?n=131 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was eventually sought out by those who wished to study under him, and was entreated to establish a monastery in Brittany, which he did at a place now known as [[Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys]].

The second "Life" of Gildas was written by [[Caradoc of Llancarfan]], a friend of [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] and his [[Anglo-Normans|Norman]] patrons.<ref name="The Life of Gildas by Caradoc of Llancarfan ca. 1130-1150">{{cite web|last=Williams|first=Hugh|title=The Life of Gildas by Caradoc of Llancarfan ca. 1130–1150|url=http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/gildas06.html|work=Two Lives of Gildas by a monk of Ruys and Caradoc of Llancarfan|access-date=18 February 2014}}</ref> This is an entirely fictional account intended to associate Gildas with Glastonbury Abbey.<ref name=ondb/> It also associates him with [[King Arthur]]. Arthur kills Gildas's brother [[Hueil mab Caw|Hueil]], which causes enmity between them for a time. Hueil's enmity with Arthur is also mentioned in the Welsh prose tale ''[[Culhwch and Olwen]]'', written around 1100. A tradition in north Wales places Hueil's execution at [[Ruthin]], and the supposed execution stone, [[Maen Huail]], is preserved in the town square.<ref name=coflein>{{Watprn|coflein|306840|title=Maen Huail, St Peter's Square, Ruthin}}</ref> The Llancarfan life also contains the earliest surviving appearance of the abduction of the Guinevere episode, common in later Arthurian literature. Gildas secures the release of Guinevere after she had been abducted by Melvas, king of the "Summer Country", preventing war between him and Arthur.<ref name=Lambdin>[https://books.google.com/books?id=6LBFCZY-ml8C&dq=Gildas&pg=PA1 Lambdin, Laura C. and Lambdin, Robert T., ''Arthurian Writers: A Biographical Encyclopedia'', ABC-CLIO, 2008, p. 2]{{ISBN|9780313346828}}</ref>

==''De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae''==
{{Main article|De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae}}
Gildas is best known for his [[polemic]] {{Lang|la|[[De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae]]}}, which recounts the sub-Roman history of Britain, and which is the only substantial source for history of this period written by a near-contemporary, although it is not intended to be an objective chronicle.<ref name="Lambdin" />

The work is a sermon in three parts condemning the acts of his contemporaries, both secular and religious.<ref name=butler>[http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/GILDAS.HTM Butler, Rev. Alban, "The Lives or the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints", Vol. I, D. & J. Sadlier, & Company, 1864]</ref> The first part consists of Gildas' explanation for his work and a brief narrative of [[Roman Britain]] from its conquest under the [[Roman Empire|Principate]] to Gildas' time. He describes the doings of the Romans and the [[Groans of the Britons]], in which the Britons make one last request for military aid from the departed Roman military. He excoriates his fellow Britons for their sins, while at the same time lauding heroes such as [[Ambrosius Aurelianus]], whom he is the first to describe as a leader of the resistance to the [[Saxons#Saxons in Britain|Saxons]]. He mentions the victory at the [[Battle of Mons Badonicus]], a feat attributed to [[King Arthur]] in later texts, though Gildas does not mention who led the battle.

Part two consists of a condemnation of five British kings, [[Constantine (Briton)|Constantine]], [[Aurelius Conanus]], [[Vortiporius]], [[Cuneglasus]], and [[Maelgwn Gwynedd|Maelgwn]]. As it is the only contemporary information about them, it is of particular interest to scholars of British history. Part three is a similar attack on the clergy of the time.

The works of Gildas, including the ''Excidio'', can be found in volume 69 of the ''[[Patrologia Latina]].''

''De Excidio'' was usually dated to the 540s, but the historian [[Guy Halsall]] inclines to an "early Gildas" c. 490.<ref>{{cite book|first=Guy|last=Halsall|author-link=Guy Halsall|title=Worlds of Arthur: Facts & Fictions of the Dark Ages|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, UK|year=2013|page=54|isbn=978-0-19-870084-5}}</ref> Cambridge historian Karen George offered a date range of c. 510–530 AD.<ref>George, Karen, Gildas's De excidio Britonum and the early British church, Studies in Celtic History 26, Boydell Press, 2009, p. 125.</ref> Gildas states that he was 44 when he wrote the work.<ref>Dark, p. 36</ref>

==Veneration==
Gildas' [[relics]] were venerated in the abbey which he founded in Rhuys, until the 10th century, when they were removed to [[Berry, France|Berry]]. In the 18th century, they were said to be moved to the cathedral at [[Vannes]] and then hidden during the [[French Revolution]]. The various relics survived the revolution and have all since been returned to [[Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys]] where they are visible at various times of the year at a dedicated "treasury" in the village. The body of Saint Gildas (minus the pieces incorporated into various reliquaries) is buried behind the altar in the church of Saint Gildas de Rhuys.<ref name="pourmenadenn-e-ruiz.fr tresor">{{Cite web | url=http://pourmenadenn-e-ruiz.fr/tresor.php | title=Pourmenadenn-e-ruiz - Promenade a Rhuys - Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys - l'Eglise - le Trésor}}</ref>

The gold and silver covered relics of Saint Gildas include:

* A reliquary head containing parts of the saint's skull<ref name="pourmenadenn-e-ruiz.fr tresor"/>
* An arm reliquary containing bone pieces, topped with a blessing hand<ref name="pourmenadenn-e-ruiz.fr tresor"/>
* A reliquary femur and knee<ref name="pourmenadenn-e-ruiz.fr tresor"/>

The embroidered [[mitre]] supposedly worn by Gildas is also kept with these relics.<ref name="pourmenadenn-e-ruiz.fr tresor"/> Gildas is the patron saint of several churches and monasteries in Brittany, and his feast day is celebrated on 29 January.

===Further traditions===
Gildas is credited with a [[hymn]] called the ''Lorica'', or ''Breastplate'', a prayer for deliverance from [[evil]], which contains specimens of [[Hiberno-Latin]]. A proverb is also attributed to ''Gildas mab y Gaw'' in the ''Englynion y Clyweid'' in Llanstephan MS. 27.

In ''[[Bonedd y Saint]]'', Gildas is recorded as having three sons and a daughter. Gwynnog ap Gildas and Noethon ap Gildas are named in the earliest tracts, together with their sister Dolgar. Another son, Tydech, is named in a later document. [[Iolo Morganwg]] adds Saint [[Cenydd]] to the list.

The scholar [[David Dumville]] suggests that Gildas was the teacher of [[Finnian of Moville]], who in turn was the teacher of St [[Columba]] of [[Iona]].

== See also ==
* [[Gildas the Albanian]]
* [[Procopius]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite book|last=Dark |first=Ken  |title= Britain and the End of the Roman Empire|publisher=Tempus Publishing |location=Stroud, UK|year=2000|isbn=978 0 7524  2532 0}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |last=Dumville |first=David N. |author-link= David Dumville|editor1-last=Dumville |editor1-first= David|editor2-last=Lapidge|editor2-first=Michael|encyclopedia= Gildas: New Approaches|title= The Chronology of De Excidio Britanniae, Book 1 |year=1984 |publisher=Boydell Press |location=Martlesham|isbn=978-0-85115-403-9 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Higham |first=N.&nbsp;J. | author-link=N. J. Higham|year=1994 |title=English Conquest: Gildas and Britain in the fifth century |publisher=Manchester United Press |isbn=978-0-7190-4080-1 |location=Manchester}}
*{{cite encyclopedia |first=François|last = Kerlouégan| publisher = Oxford University Press | encyclopedia= Oxford Dictionary of National Biography | title= Gildas [St Gildas] (fl. 5th–6th cent.)| year = 2007 | url = http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/10718?docPos=1| access-date=  14 March 2015|doi=  10.1093/ref:odnb/10718  }} {{ODNBsub}}
* {{Cite book|first=Thomas D. | last=Sullivan|title=De excidio of Gildas: its authenticity and date|year=1978|publisher=Brill|location=New York|isbn=978-90-04-05793-7}}
*{{cite encyclopedia|author-link=Ann Williams (historian)|last=Williams|first= Ann|title=Gildas author fl. mid-sixth century|year=1991|editor-first=Ann|editor-last= Williams|editor2-first= Alfred P. |editor2-last=Smyth|editor3-first= D. P.|editor3-last= Kirby |encyclopedia=A Biographical Dictionary of Dark Age Britain|publisher= Seaby|isbn=978-1-85264-047-7}}
{{Refend}}

== Further reading ==
* Luca Larpi, ''Prolegomena to a New Edition of Gildas Sapiens «De Excidio Britanniae»'', Firenze, Sismel – Edizioni del Galluzzo, 2012 ([[:it:Società internazionale per lo studio del Medioevo latino]])
* Miller, Molly. "Bede's use of Gildas." ''English Historical Review'' (1975): 241–261. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/566923in JSTOR]
* [[Michael Winterbottom (academic)|Winterbottom, Michael]] ed. and trans., (1978) ''Gildas: The Ruin of Britain and Other Works'', Phillimore, Chichester

==External links==
{{commons category|Saint Gildas}}
{{wikisource author}}
{{wikiquote}}
* {{PASE|93350|Gildas 1}}
* {{Gutenberg author |id=759}}
* {{Internet Archive author}}
* {{OL author|1628262A}}
* {{Librivox author |id=16833}}
*[http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/gildas07.html ''The Life of Gildas''] by A Monk of Rhuys.
*[http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/gildas06.html ''The Life of Gildas''] by [[Caradoc of Llancarfan]].
*[http://www.bartleby.com/211/0501.html Gildas and ''The History of the Britons''] commentary from ''[[The Cambridge History of English and American Literature]]'', Volume 1, 1907–21.
*[http://www.vortigernstudies.org.uk/arthist/vortigernquotesgil.htm Vortigernstudies: Gildas (sources)]
*{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Gildas}}

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[[Category:400s births]]
[[Category:500s births]]
[[Category:570 deaths]]
[[Category:6th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:6th-century historians]]
[[Category:Arthurian characters]]
[[Category:Arthurian legend]]
[[Category:Medieval Welsh literature]]
[[Category:Northern Brythonic saints]]
[[Category:Southwestern Brythonic saints]]
[[Category:Sub-Roman writers]]
[[Category:Medieval Welsh saints]]
[[Category:Medieval Breton saints]]
[[Category:6th-century Welsh people]]
[[Category:Last of the Romans]]
[[Category:6th-century writers in Latin]]
[[Category:6th-century Breton people]]