Chapter One: Caduan Acquires by Treaty All Britain on This Side the Humber, and Edelfrid the Rest. #

¹ After this, all the princes of the Britons met together at the city of Legecester and agreed to make Caduan their king, so that under his command they might pursue Edelfrid beyond the Humber. Accordingly, as soon as he was crowned, they gathered from all parts and crossed the Humber. When Edelfrid received news of this, he entered into a confederacy with all the Saxon kings and went to meet Caduan. At last, as they were drawing up their troops for battle, their friends came and made peace between them on these terms: Caduan should possess that part of Britain which lies on this side of the Humber, and Edelfrid that which lies beyond it. As soon as they had confirmed this agreement by an oath made to their hostages, such a friendship began between them that they held all things in common [Acts 2:44; Acts 4:32]. Meanwhile, it happened that Edelfrid banished his own wife and married another, and bore such great hatred towards the wife he had banished that he would not allow her to live in the kingdom of Northumberland. Therefore, being with child, she went to King Caduan so that, through his mediation, she might be restored to her husband. But when Edelfrid could by no means be persuaded to consent, she continued to live with Caduan until she gave birth to the son she had conceived. A short time after her delivery, Caduan also had a son born to him by the queen, his wife. The two boys were then brought up together in a manner suited to their royal birth, one being called Cadwallo and the other Edwin. When they had nearly reached manhood, their parents sent them to Salomon, king of the Armorican Britons, so that at his court they might learn the art of war and other princely accomplishments. This prince therefore received them graciously and admitted them into close friendship with him, so that no one of their age in the whole court had freer access to the king or conversed with him more familiarly than they did. At last, he himself witnessed their exploits against the enemy, in which they greatly distinguished themselves by their valour.

Chapter Two: Cadwallo Breaks the Covenant He Had Made with Edwin. #

¹ In time, when their parents were dead, they returned to Britain, where they assumed the government of the kingdom and began to form the same friendship as their fathers had shared. Two years after this, Edwin asked Cadwallo for permission to wear a crown and celebrate the same solemnities as had formerly been observed in Northumberland. When they began negotiations on this matter beside the river Duglas, so that it might be settled according to the advice of their wise counsellors, Cadwallo happened to be lying on the other side of the river in the lap of a certain nephew of his named Brian. While ambassadors were negotiating between them, Brian wept and shed tears so plentifully that the king’s face and beard were wet with them. The king, imagining that it was raining, lifted his face and, seeing the young man in tears, asked him the cause of such sudden grief. “I have good reason,” he said, “to weep continually, as does the whole British nation, which has groaned under the oppression of barbarians ever since the time of Malgo and has not yet gained a prince who can restore it to its ancient flourishing state. Even the little honour it had left is diminished by your indulgence, since the Saxons, who are merely strangers and have always been traitors to our country, must now be permitted to wear the same crown as you. Once they attain royal dignity, it will greatly increase their glory in the country from which they came, and they will all the sooner invite their countrymen over for the utter destruction of our race. For they have always been accustomed to treachery and have never kept faith with anyone, which I think should be a reason for keeping them down, not for exalting them. When King Vortegim first retained them in his service, they pretended to live peacefully and fight for our country until they had an opportunity to practise their wickedness; then they returned evil for good [Psalm 35:12; Psalm 109:5], betrayed him and cruelly massacred the people of the kingdom. Afterwards they betrayed Aurelius Ambrosius, to whom, even after taking the most solemn oaths of loyalty, they gave a poisoned drink at a banquet. They also betrayed Arthur when, casting aside the covenant by which they were bound, they joined his nephew Modred and fought against him. Lastly, they broke faith with King Careticus and brought Gormund, king of the Africans, against him, through whose assaults our people were robbed of their country and the king was disgracefully driven out.”

Chapter Three: A Quarrel Between Cadwallo and Edwin. #

¹ At the mention of these things, Cadwallo regretted entering into this treaty and sent word to Edwin that he could by no means persuade his counsellors to consent to his request. They argued that it was contrary to law and ancient custom for an island which had always had no more than one crown now to be subject to two crowned rulers. This message enraged Edwin and caused him to break off the conference and withdraw into Northumberland, saying that he would be crowned without Cadwallo’s permission. When Cadwallo was told this, he declared through his ambassadors that he would cut off Edwin’s crowned head if he presumed to wear a crown within the kingdom of Britain.

Chapter Four: Cadwallo Is Vanquished by Edwin and Driven Out of the Kingdom. #

¹ This caused a war between them, in which, after several engagements between their men, they finally met in person beyond the Humber and fought a battle in which Cadwallo lost many thousands of his followers and was put to flight. From there he marched hastily through Albania and crossed over to Ireland. But Edwin, after this victory, led his army through the provinces of the Britons, burning the cities before him and grievously afflicting the townspeople and country people. Throughout this exercise of cruelty, Cadwallo never ceased trying to return to his country with a fleet, but without success, because whichever port he sailed towards, Edwin met him with his forces and prevented him from landing. For a highly skilled soothsayer named Pellitus had come to Edwin from Spain, who, by the flight of birds and the courses of the stars, foretold all the disasters that would occur. By these means Edwin learned of Cadwallo’s return, prepared to meet him and shattered his ships, drowning his men and driving him away from all his ports. Cadwallo, not knowing what course to take, was almost in despair of ever returning. At last, it occurred to him to go to Salomon, king of the Armorican Britons, and ask for his assistance and advice to enable him to return to his kingdom. And so, as he was sailing towards Armorica, a violent storm suddenly arose, scattering the ships of his companions and, in a short time, leaving no two of them together. The pilot of the king’s ship was immediately seized with such great fear that, abandoning the stern, he left the vessel to the mercy of fortune; thus, throughout that night, it was tossed about in great danger by the raging waves. The next morning they reached a certain island called Gamareia, where they got ashore with great difficulty. Cadwallo was immediately overcome with such grief at the loss of his companions that, for three days and nights, he refused to eat and lay sick upon his bed. On the fourth day, he was seized with a very great longing for some venison and, having Brian summoned, told him of it. Brian therefore took his bow and quiver and went across the island, hoping that, if he came upon any wild beast, he might take it as prey. When he had walked over the whole island without finding what he sought, he was extremely distressed that he could not satisfy his master’s desire and feared that his illness would prove fatal if his longing were not fulfilled. He therefore devised a new plan and cut a piece of flesh from his own thigh, roasted it on a spit and carried it to the king as venison. The king, believing it to be real venison, began to eat it and was greatly refreshed, marvelling at its sweetness, which he thought surpassed that of any flesh he had ever tasted before. At last, when he had fully satisfied his appetite, he became more cheerful and, within three days, was completely well again. Then, when the wind became favourable, he prepared his ship and, raising the sails, they continued their voyage and arrived at the city Kidaleta. From there they went to King Salomon, who received them kindly and with all due respect; and as soon as he had learned the reason for their coming, he promised them assistance and spoke to them as follows.

Chapter Five: The Speech of Salomon, King of Armorica, to Cadwallo. #

¹ “It grieves us, noble youths, that the country of your ancestors is oppressed by a barbarous nation and that you have been ignominiously driven out of it. But since other men are able to defend their kingdoms, it is remarkable that your people should lose so fruitful an island be unable to withstand the nation of the Angles, whom our countrymen hold in contempt. While the people of this country lived together with yours in Britain, they held dominion over all the provincial kingdoms and could never be subdued by any nation except the Romans. Nor did the Romans accomplish this by their own power, as I have recently been informed, but through dissension among the nobility of the island. Even the Romans, though they held it under their rule for a time, were driven out in disgrace after the loss and slaughter of their rulers. But after the Britons came into this province under the leadership of Maximian and Conan, those who remained never afterwards had the good fortune to retain uninterrupted possession of the crown. For although many of their princes maintained the ancient dignity of their ancestors, their weak heirs who succeeded them, though greater in number, entirely lost it when their enemies invaded. Therefore, I am grieved by the weakness of your people, since we are of the same race as you, and the name Britons is shared by you and by the nation that bravely defends its country, which you see at war with all its neighbours.”

Chapter Six: Cadwalo’s Answer to Salomon. #

¹ When he had concluded his speech, Cadwallo, who was somewhat embarrassed, answered him in this manner: “Royal Sir, descended from a line of kings, I give you many thanks for your promise to assist me in recovering my kingdom. But I am far from thinking it remarkable, as you say, that my people have failed to maintain the dignity of their ancestors since the time when the Britons came to these provinces. For the noblest men of the whole kingdom followed those leaders, leaving only the baser sort to enjoy their honours. Having suddenly been raised to high rank, they became puffed up beyond their station and, growing wanton through riches, gave themselves up to such fornication as is not even named among the Gentiles [1 Corinthians 5:1]; and, as Gildas the historian testifies, they were guilty not only of this vice, but of every enormity to which human nature is liable. What chiefly contributed to the complete overthrow of all goodness was their hatred of truth and those who upheld it, their love of lies and those who invented them, their acceptance of evil as good, their veneration of wickedness as grace and their reception of Satan as an angel of light [2 Corinthians 11:14]. Kings were anointed, not for the sake of God, but because they were more cruel than the rest; and soon afterwards they were murdered by those who had anointed them, without any investigation, and others still more cruel were chosen in their place. But if any of them showed any mildness or appeared to favour truth, all their malice and weapons were directed against him as though he were the destroyer of Britain. In brief, things pleasing and displeasing to God carried equal weight among them, unless the worse things carried greater weight. All affairs were therefore conducted contrary to the public safety, as though the true physician of all had left them without a cure. Thus everything was done without discretion, not only by secular men, but also by the Lord’s flock and its pastors. It is therefore no wonder that such a degenerate race, so hateful to God for its vices, lost a country which it had so grievously corrupted. For God was willing to execute his vengeance upon them by allowing a foreign people to come against them and drive them from their possessions. Nevertheless, it would be a worthy deed, if God permitted it, to restore our subjects to their ancient dignity and prevent the reproach that might be cast upon our race—that we were weak rulers who made no effort in our own defence. I ask your assistance all the more freely because you are of the same blood as we are. For the great Malgo, who was the fourth king of Britain after Arthur, had two sons named Ennianus and Runo. Ennianus begot Belin; Belin begot Jago; Jago begot Caduan, who was my father. Runo, who after his brother’s death was driven out by the Saxons, came to this province and gave his daughter in marriage to Duke Hoel, the son of that great Hoel who shared in Arthur’s conquests. She bore Alan; Alan begot Hoel, your father, who while he lived was a terror to all Gaul.”

Chapter Seven: Brian Kills Edwin’s Magician. #

¹ Meanwhile, while he was spending the winter with Salomon, they resolved that Brian should cross over into Britain and find some way to kill Edwin’s magician, lest he should use his customary art to inform him of Cadwallo’s coming. Having arrived at Hamo’s Port with this purpose, he disguised himself as a poor man and made himself an iron staff sharpened at the end, with which he might kill the magician if he happened to meet him. From there he went to York, where Edwin was then residing; and, having entered the city, he joined the poor people who waited for alms before the king’s gate. As he went to and fro, his sister happened to come out of the hall with a basin in her hand to fetch water for the queen. She had been captured by Edwin at the city of Worcester, when, after Cadwallo’s flight, he was carrying out his attacks upon the provinces of the Britons. As she passed Brian, he immediately recognised her and, bursting into tears, called to her in a low voice. At this, the damsel turned her face and was at first uncertain who it could be, but when she came nearer, she discovered that it was her brother and nearly fainted for fear that, through some unfortunate accident, he might be recognised and captured by the enemy. She therefore refrained from greeting him or speaking familiarly with him, but, as though discussing some other matter, told him about the state of the court and pointed out the magician he was seeking, who at that very moment was walking among the poor people while alms were being distributed to them. As soon as Brian had identified the man, he instructed his sister to slip secretly out of her apartment the following night and meet him near an old church outside the city, where he would conceal himself while waiting for her. Then, having dismissed her, he pushed his way into the crowd of poor people in the place where Pellitus was arranging them. The moment he came within reach of him, he raised his staff and stabbed him beneath the breast, killing him instantly. Having done this, he threw away his staff and passed among the others without being recognised or suspected by any of the bystanders, and by good providence reached the hiding place he had appointed. When night came, his sister did everything she could to get out, but was unable to do so because Edwin, terrified by the killing of Pellitus, had placed a strict guard around the court, and those guards, making a thorough search, refused to let her leave. When Brian discovered this, he withdrew from that place and went to Exeter, where he assembled the Britons and told them what he had done. Afterwards, having sent messengers to Cadwallo, he fortified that city and sent word to all the British nobility that they should bravely defend their cities and towns and joyfully await Cadwallo’s arrival to relieve them shortly with auxiliary forces from Salomon. When this news spread throughout the whole island, Peanda, king of the Mercians, came to Exeter with a very great army of Saxons and besieged Brian.

Chapter Eight: Cadwallo Takes Peanda, and Routs His Army. #

¹ Meanwhile, Cadwallo arrived with ten thousand men whom King Salomon had provided for him, and with them he marched directly towards the siege against King Peanda. But as he advanced, he divided his forces into four parts, and then made no delay in joining battle with the enemy, in which Peanda was immediately captured and his army routed. Finding no other means of securing his own safety, he surrendered himself to Cadwallo and provided hostages, promising that he would assist him against the Saxons. After this victory over him, Cadwallo summoned his nobility, who had long been in a state of decline, and marched into Northumberland against Edwin, continually devastating that country. When Edwin was informed of this, he assembled all the petty kings of the Angles and, meeting the Britons in a field called Hevefeld, immediately gave them battle, but was killed, together with almost all his people, as well as Offirid, his son, and Godbold, king of the Orkneys, who had come to assist them.

Chapter Nine: Cadwallo Kills Osric and Adan in Battle. #

¹ Having thus gained the victory, Cadwallo marched through the provinces of the Angles and committed such outrages against the Saxons that he spared neither age nor sex; for, having resolved to eradicate the whole race from Britain, he subjected everyone he found to extreme tortures. After this, he fought a battle with Osric, Edwin’s successor, and killed him together with his two nephews, who ought to have reigned after him. He also killed Adan, king of the Scots, who came to their assistance.

Chapter Ten: Oswald Routs Peanda in Battle, but Is Killed by Cadwallo Coming Upon Him. #

¹ Their deaths allowed Oswald to succeed to the kingdom of Northumberland; but Cadwallo drove him, together with the others who had caused him trouble, as far as the wall which the Emperor Severus had formerly built between Britain and Scotland. Afterwards, he sent Peanda, king of the Mercians, and the greater part of his army to the same place to give him battle. But when Oswald was besieged one night by Peanda at the place called Hevefeld, that is, the Heavenly Field, he erected our Lord’s cross there and commanded his men to say these words in a very loud voice: “Let us all kneel down and pray to the Almighty, living and true God [1 Thessalonians 1:9] to defend us from the proud army of the king of Britain and his wicked leader Peanda. For he knows how justly we wage this war for the safety of our people.” They all therefore did as he commanded and advanced against the enemy at daybreak, gaining victory through their faith. When Cadwallo heard this news, he was inflamed with rage, assembled his army and pursued the holy King Oswald; and in a battle which he fought against him at a place called Bume, Peanda broke in upon him and killed him.

Chapter Eleven: Oswin Submits to Cadwallo. Peanda Desires Leave of Cadwallo to Make War Against Him. #

¹ After Oswald and many thousands of his men had been killed, his brother Oswin succeeded him in the kingdom of Northumberland, by giving large presents of gold and silver to Cadwallo, who now possessed the government of all Britain, made peace with him and submitted to him. Then Alfrid, his brother, and Oidwald, his brother’s son, began an insurrection; but, being unable to hold out against him, they fled to Peanda, king of the Mercians, asking him to assemble his army and cross the Humber with them so that he might deprive Oswin of his kingdom. But Peanda, fearing to break the peace which Cadwallo had established throughout the kingdom of Britain, delayed beginning any disturbance without his permission until he could somehow persuade him either to make war upon Oswin himself or to allow Peanda to do so. At a certain Pentecost, therefore, when Cadwallo was celebrating that festival in London and, for greater solemnity, wore the crown of Britain, all the kings of the Angles except Oswin were present, together with all the dukes of the Britons. Peanda approached the king and asked him why Oswin alone was absent when all the princes of the Saxons were present. Cadwallo answered that his sickness was the cause; to which Peanda replied that Oswin had sent to Germany for more Saxons in order to avenge the death of his brother Oswald upon them both. He further told him that Oswin had broken the peace of the kingdom, being the sole cause of war and dissension among them, since Edelfrid, king of Northumberland, and Oidwald, his brother’s son, had been harassed by him in war and driven from their own country. He also asked permission either to kill Oswin or to banish him from the kingdom.

Chapter Twelve: Cadwallo Is Advised to Allow Peanda to Make an Insurrection Against Oswin. #

¹ This matter caused the king to deliberate at length and consult privately with his closest friends about what course to take. Among those who offered their proposals, Margadud, king of the Demetians, spoke as follows: “Royal Sir, since you have resolved to expel the race of the Angles from the coasts of Britain, why do you change your resolution and allow them to continue living peacefully among us? At the very least, you should permit them to quarrel among themselves and let our country owe its deliverance to their own civil conflicts. No faith should be kept with one who is treacherous and continually lays snares for the person to whom he owes fidelity. The Saxons have always behaved in this way towards our nation, from the very first time they came among us. What faith, then, ought we to keep with them? Let Peanda immediately have permission to march against Oswin, so that through this civil conflict and their destruction of one another, our island may be rid of them.”

Chapter Thirteen: Peanda Is Killed by Oswin. Cadwallo Dies. #

¹ By these and other words to the same effect, Cadwallo was persuaded to grant the permission requested. Peanda, having assembled a vast army, went to the Humber and, laying waste that country, began a fierce war against the king. Oswin was at last reduced to such an extremity that he was forced to promise him innumerable royal ornaments and other gifts beyond what anyone would believe, if he would cease ruining his country and return home without committing any further hostilities. But when no entreaties could persuade Peanda to do so, the king, hoping for divine assistance, gave him battle near the River Wiimed, although he had the smaller army, and, having killed Peanda and thirty other commanders, gained the victory. Peanda’s son Wulfred, by a grant from Cadwallo, succeeded to the kingdom and, joining with Eba and Edbert, two leaders of the Mercians, rebelled against Oswin; but at last, by Cadwallo’s command, made peace with him. At length, after forty-eight years had passed, that most noble and powerful king of the Britons, Cadwallo, having grown infirm through age and sickness, departed this life on the fifteenth of the calends of December. The Britons embalmed his body and, with wonderful skill, placed it within a brazen statue cast according to the measure of his stature. They set this statue up in full armour upon an admirably beautiful brazen horse over the western gate of London, as a monument to the victory mentioned above and as a terror to the Saxons. They also built beneath it a church in honour of St. Martin, in which divine ceremonies are celebrated for him and the others who departed in the faith.

Chapter Fourteen: Cadwallader Succeeds Cadwallo. #

¹ He was succeeded in the kingdom by Cadwallader, his son, whom Bede calls the youth Elidualda. At first, he governed with peace and honour; but after enjoying the crown for twelve years, he fell ill, and civil war broke out among the Britons. His mother was Peanda’s sister, born of the same father but a different mother, and descended from the noble race of the Genuisseans. For Cadwallo, after his reconciliation with her brother, made her his consort and had Cadwallader by her.

Chapter Fifteen: The Britons Are Compelled, by Pestilence and Famine, to Leave Britain. Cadwallader’s Lamentation. #

¹ During his illness, the Britons, as we said before, quarrelled among themselves and wickedly destroyed a rich country; and this was followed by another misfortune. For this besotted people was punished with a grievous and memorable famine, so that every province was left without any sustenance except what could be obtained by hunting. After the famine came a terrible pestilence, which in a short time destroyed such multitudes of people that the living were not numerous enough to bury the dead. Those who remained fled from their country in whole companies and went to lands beyond the sea; and while they were sailing, they sang in mournful, howling voices, “You have given us, O God, like sheep appointed for meat, and have scattered us among the heathen” [Psalm 44:11]. Cadwallader himself, during his voyage with his miserable fleet to Armorica, added this lamentation: “Woe to us sinners for our grievous impieties, with which we have never ceased to provoke God while we had time for repentance [Revelation 2:21]. Therefore, the vengeance of his power lies heavily upon us and drives us from our native soil, which neither the Romans of old, nor afterwards the Scots or Picts, nor even the treacherous Saxons with all their cunning, were able to do. But we have recovered our country from them so often in vain, since it was not the will of God that we should hold its government for ever. He who is the true Judge, seeing that we could by no means be reclaimed from our wickedness and that no human power could expel our race, chose to chastise our folly himself and has turned his anger against us, by which we are driven in crowds from our native country. Return, therefore, you Romans; return, Scots and Picts; return, Ambrons and Saxons. Look, Britain lies open to you, made desolate by the wrath of God, which you were never able to accomplish. It is not your valour that expels us, but the power of the supreme King, whom we have never ceased to provoke.”

Chapter Sixteen: Cadwallader with His People Goes to Alan. The Saxons Seize All Britain. #

¹ With these sorrowful complaints, he arrived on the Armorican coast and went with his whole company to King Alan, the nephew of Salomon, by whom he was honourably received. Thus Britain, now deprived of its ancient inhabitants except for a few in Wales who had escaped the general mortality, became a frightful place even to the Britons themselves for the next eleven years. During the same period, it was no more favourable to the Saxons, who continued to die there without respite. Nevertheless, after the raging plague had ceased, those who remained followed their old custom and sent word to their countrymen that the island of Britain was now free of its native inhabitants and lay open to them if they would come over and inhabit it. As soon as they received this information, that odious people gathered an innumerable multitude of men and women, arrived in Northumberland inhabited the provinces that lay desolate from Albania to Cornwall. For there was now nobody to hinder them except the poor remnants of the Britons, who remained together in the thickets of the woods in Wales. From that time, the power of the Britons ceased in the island, and the Angles began their reign.

Chapter Seventeen: Cadwallader Is by the Voice of an Angel Deterred from Returning to Britain. #

¹ After some time, when the people had recovered their strength, Cadwallader, mindful of his kingdom, which was now free from the contagion of the pestilence, asked Alan for assistance in recovering his dominions. The king granted his request; but as Cadwallader was preparing a fleet, the loud voice of an angel commanded him to abandon his enterprise. For God was not willing that the Britons should reign any longer in the island before the time concerning Arthur which Merlin had prophetically foretold. The angel also commanded him to go to Rome to Pope Sergius, where, after doing penance, he would be enrolled among the saints. It also told him that the Britons, through the merit of their faith, would recover the island when the appointed time had come. But this would not be accomplished until they possessed his reliques and transported them from Rome to Britain. At the same time, the reliques of the other saints, which had been hidden because of the invasion of the pagans, would also be found; and only then would they recover their lost kingdom. When the holy prince had received this heavenly message, he went directly to King Alan and told him what had been revealed to him.

Chapter Eighteen: Cadwallader Goes to Rome and Dies. #

¹ Then Alan consulted several books, including the prophecies of the eagle that prophesied at Shaftesbury and the verses of Sibyl and Merlin, and searched them diligently to see whether the revelation made to Cadwallader agreed with those written oracles. When he could find nothing contrary to it, he advised Cadwallader to submit to the divine dispensation and, setting aside all thoughts of Britain, to carry out what the angelic voice had commanded him. But he urged him to send his son Ivor and his nephew Ini over to the island to govern the remaining Britons, lest a nation descended from so ancient a race should lose its liberty through the incursions of barbarians. Then Cadwallader, renouncing worldly cares for the sake of God and his everlasting kingdom, went to Rome and was confirmed by Pope Sergius. Being seized by a sudden illness, he was, on the twelfth of the calends of May, in the six hundred and eighty-ninth year of our Lord’s incarnation, freed from the corruption of the flesh and admitted into the glories of the heavenly kingdom.

Chapter Nineteen: The Two Britons, Ivor and Ini, in Vain Attack the Nation of the Angles. Athelstan the First King of the Angles. #

¹ As soon as Ivor and Ini had assembled their ships, they arrived on the island with all the forces they could raise and, for forty-nine years, fiercely attacked the nation of the Angles, but with little success. For the mortality and famine mentioned above, together with the deep-rooted spirit of faction among them, had caused this proud people to degenerate so greatly that they were unable to gain any advantage over the enemy. Now also overrun by barbarism, they were no longer called Britons, but Gualenses, Welshmen—a word derived either from Gualo, their leader, Guales, their queen, or their barbarism. But the Saxons managed their affairs with greater prudence, maintained peace and concord among themselves, cultivated their lands, rebuilt their cities and towns and, having thrown off the dominion of the Britons, ruled over all Loegria under their leader Athelstan, who was the first among them to wear a crown. But the Welshmen, having greatly degenerated from the nobility of the Britons, never afterwards recovered the monarchy of the island. On the contrary, through quarrels among themselves and wars with the Saxons, their country became a perpetual scene of misery and slaughter.

Chapter Twenty: Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Conclusion. #

¹ As for the kings who have succeeded among them in Wales since that time, I leave their history to Karadoc of Lancarvan, my contemporary, just as I leave the kings of the Saxons to William of Malmesbury and Henry of Huntington. But I advise them to remain silent concerning the kings of the Britons, since they do not possess that book written in the British tongue which Walter, archdeacon of Oxford, brought from Britain and which, being a true history published in honour of those princes, I have taken care to translate.