Nennius

Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast)

Ed. by Hugh Magennis, Queen's University Belfast
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.2: Welsh Writing and Culture, 400-present.
Vol. editors: Kirsti Bohata (Swansea University), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele), Rita Singer (Aberystwyth University)

Dates

Born c. 800
Died c. 850
Activity c. 828-c. 850

Places

Born in Wales
Active in Wales

Activities

Primary

Historian / Chronicler
Scholar

Resources

Nennius' Works

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Nennius was a Welsh scholar who lived and worked in the ninth century. He is traditionally credited as being the author of the important historical document the

Historia Brittonum

[

History of the Britons

], a brief history of Britain from Roman times to the 680s, with assorted supplementary material (including an account of the Ages of the World and various genealogies). The

Historia

is celebrated as being the earliest source to mention (King) Arthur, who is presented as a powerful British war-lord who fought a series of successful battles against the invading Anglo-Saxons (in the late fifth century).

In fact, Nennius was one of a number of redactors of the Historia Brittonum, which had been composed anonymously some time before his particular version and can be dated to 828-9. The version

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375 words

Citation: Magennis, Hugh. "Nennius". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 August 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3320, accessed 21 November 2024.]