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History of the Britons

Nennius

Book Overview: 

Although the origin of this book is much debated it remains, perhaps, one of the earliest recorded histories of Britain. It was believed that Nennius wrote the book around 796AD. If indeed he wrote this record, Nennius is recognised as being a teller, and embellisher, of historic characters and events.
This book remains notable however, as one of the earliest that mention Arthur (The King of Arthurian legend).

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Book Excerpt: 
. . .hese increased to four thousand; but a mortality coming suddenly upon them, they all perished in one week. The second was Nimech, the son of...,(2) who, according to report, after having been at sea a year and a half, and having his ships shattered, arrived at a port in Ireland, and continuing there several years, returned at length with his followers to Spain. After these came three sons of a Spanish soldier with thirty ships, each of which contained thirty wives; and having remained there during the space of a year, there appeared to them, in the middle of the sea, a tower of glass, the summit of which seemed covered with men, to whom they often spoke, but received no answer. At length they determined to besiege the tower; and after a year's preparation, advanced towards it, with the whole number of their ships, and all the women, one ship only excepted, which had been wrecked, and in which were thirty men, and as many women; but when all had disembarked on the shore wh. . . Read More

Community Reviews

Probably quite inaccurate. Good effort though Nennius.

Nennius wrote this brief history of the Britons around 828 AD, although his prologue implies it was written in 858, and elsewhere it is implied it was compiled in the tenth century. Since it went through the hands of multiple scribes over the years it is possible that certain sections were written a

Usual caveats: I'm not considering the historical or philological value of the work, but is it a good read? Well, no. The author's intention has been to put down everything he knew, and this he does in an almost stream of consciousness fashion. The text is full of repetition and contradiction. Inter

I was going to move on to Le Morte d'Arthur but the book I found had 1300 pages! Is it really that long? It doesn't look that long...

So I saw this has 50 pages and was sold. While Monmouth thought he was the Homer of Britain, Nennius was very apologetic of his ignorance and deeply religious. This hi

Written around 828, I wanted to read this “history” of the britons because it's the first written record that mentions Arthur, though he is an impressive general in this text rather than a king. It also mentions Merlin as a young boy, but under the name of Ambrosius. From that perspective it was int

I read this with the intention of reading original source material of King Arthur. Overall I did enjoy it, although the majority of the Historia is about the lineage gymnastics used to trace back Briton kings back to Jerusalem. Some stuff about saints, names of the indigenous people of Briton, which

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