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'''Gildas''' fuit monachus [[Britanni|Britannus]] et scriptor in [[lingua Latina]].
'''{{Infobox Saint
|name=Saint Gildas
|birth_date=c. [[494]] or [[516]]
|death_date=c. [[570]]
|feast_day=[[29 January]]
|venerated_in= [http://www.orthodoxwiki.org/ Orthodox Church]; [[Roman Catholic Church]]; [[Anglicanism|Anglican Communion]]
|birth_place=traditionally [[Kingdom of Strathclyde|Strathclyde]] in modern [[Scotland]]
|death_place=[[Street, Somerset]] or [[Rhuys]], [[Brittany]]
|titles=[[Abbot]]
|beatified_date=
|beatified_place=
|beatified_by=
|canonized_date=
|canonized_place=
|canonized_by=
|attributes=monk holding a [[Celt]]ic bell or writing in a book
|patronage=[[Welsh people|Welsh]] [[historian]]s; [[Bell (instrument)|bell]] founders
|major_shrine=[[Glastonbury Abbey]], now destroyed, or [[Rhuys]] Church, extant.
|suppressed_date=
|issues=
|prayer=
|prayer_attrib=
}}
 
==LifeVita==▼
'''Saint Gildas''' (c. [[494]] or [[516]] – c. [[570]]) was a prominent member of [[Celtic Christianity|the Celtic Christian church]] in [[Great Britain|Britain]], whose renowned learning and literary style earned him the designation '''Gildas Sapiens''' (Gildas the Wise). He was ordained in the Church, and in his works favored the [[Monasticism|monastic]] ideal. Fragments of letters he wrote reveal that he composed a ''Rule'' for monastic life that was a little less austere than the ''Rule'' written by his contemporary, [[Saint David]], and set suitable penances for its breach.
In oratione sua ''[[De excidio Britonum]]'' Gildas dicit se natum esse ipso anno [[proelium apud montem Badonicum|proelii apud montem Badonicum]]. Secundum ''[[Annales Cambriae]]'' id proelium anno [[516]] pugnatum est, sed nonnulli eruditi id erroneum esse praetendunt, et de ea re annum nativitatis Gildae rescribunt, alii ut 494, alii aliter.
 
De vita Gildae et de historia eius temporis fontes coaevales carent. Duae vitae hagiographicae exstant, una saeculo IX a quodam monacho [[Abbatia Ruiensis|abbatiae Ruiensis]] [[Armorica]]e, altera saeculo X a [[Caradocus Lancarbanensis|Caradoco Lancarbanensi]] scripta. Nonnullae res a scriptoribus ambobus traduntur, sed de senectute et morte Gildae omnino differunt: monachus Ruiensis enim Gildam coenobium Ruiense condidisse ibique mortuum asseverat, Caradocus autem eum [[Glastonia]]e mortuum praetendit.
▲==Life==
There are two Lives of Gildas: the earlier written by a monk of [[Rhuys]] in [[Brittany]], possibly in the [[9th century]], the second written by [[Caradog of Llancarfan]], a friend and contemporary of [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]], composed in the middle of the [[12th century]]. Caradog does not mention any connection with Brittany. Hence some scholars think that Gildas of Britain and Gildas of Rhuys were distinct personages. However on other details the two Lives complement each other.
 
===RhuysNexus Life=externi==
*[http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/gildas06.html ''TheVita Life of GildasGildae''] by [[CaradocCaradocus ofLancarbanensis|Caradoci LlancarfanLancarbanensis]].▼
The first Life written at Rhuys by an unnamed scribe says that Gildas was the son of ''Caunus'' (Caw), born in the district of ''Arecluta'' (Alt Clut or [[Kingdom of Strathclyde|Strathclyde]]). He was entrusted into the care of Saint ''Hildutus'' ([[Illtud]]) along with [[Samson of Dol|Samson]] and [[Paul Aurelian|Paul]], to be educated. He later went to ''Iren'' ([[Ireland]]) to continue his studies. Having been ordained, he went to [[Hen Ogledd|North Britain]] to preach to the unconverted. Saint ''Brigidda'' ([[Brigid of Kildare|Brigit]], died 524) asked for a token and Gildas made a bell which he sent to her. ''Ainmericus'', King of all Ireland (Ainmere, 566-569), asked Gildas to restore church order, which he did. He went to [[Rome]] and then [[Ravenna]]. He came to Brittany and settled on an island (Rhuys), where he lived a solitary life. Later, he built a monastery there. He built an oratory on the bank of the River Blavetum ([[River Blavet]]). Ten years after leaving Britain, he wrote an epistolary book, in which he reproved five of the [[Brython]]ic kings. He died at Rhuys on [[29 January]], and his body, according to his wishes, was placed on a boat and allowed to drift. Three months later, on [[11 May]], men from Rhuys found the ship in a creek with the body of Gildas still intact. They took the body back to Rhuys and buried it there.
 
===Llancarfan Life===
Caradog of Llancarfan, influenced by [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] and his [[Anglo-Normans|Norman]] patrons, and drawing on the Life of [[Cadoc|Cadog]] among other sources, paints a somewhat different picture including the statements that Gildas was educated in [[Gaul]], retired to a [[hermit]]age dedicated to the Trinity (at [[Street, Somerset|Street]]) near [[Glastonbury]] and was buried at [[Glastonbury Abbey]]. Some scholars who have studied the texts suspect the latter to be a piece of Glastonbury propaganda.
 
Caradog tells a story of how Gildas intervened between [[King Arthur]] and a certain King [[Maleagant|Melwas]] of the 'Summer Country' who had abducted [[Guinevere]] and brought her to his stronghold at Glastonbury, where Arthur soon arrived to besiege him. However, the peacemaking saint persuaded Melwas to release Guinevere and the two kings made peace.
Caradog also says that the brothers of Gildas rose up against Arthur, refusing to acknowledge him as their lord. Arthur pursued Huail ap Caw, the eldest brother, and killed him. Gildas was preaching in [[Armagh]] in Ireland, at the time, and he was grieved by the news.
 
===Further traditions===
A strongly held tradition in [[north Wales]] places the beheading of Gildas' brother, Huail, at [[Ruthin]], where what is believed to be the actual execution stone has been preserved in the town square. Another brother of Gildas, Celyn ap Caw was based at [[Garth Celyn]] on the north coast of [[Gwynedd]] together with the territory of land watching over the Copper Mountain on [[Anglesey]].
 
Gildas is credited with a [[hymn]] called the ''Lorica'', or ''Breastplate'', a prayer to be delivered from [[evil]], which contains interesting 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. The unreliable [[Iolo Morganwg]] adds Saint [[Cenydd]] to the list.
 
The scholar [[David Dumville]] suggests that Gildas was the teacher of [[Vennianus of Findbarr]], who in turn was the teacher of [[Columba|St. Columba]] of [[Iona]].
 
==''De Excidio Britanniae''==
{{wikisource author}}
Gildas' surviving written work, ''De Excidio Britanniae'' or ''On the Ruin of Britain'', is a sermon in three parts condemning the acts of his contemporaries, both secular and religious. The first part consists of Gildas' explanation for his work and a brief narrative of [[Roman Britain]] from its conquest under the principate to Gildas' time:
 
<blockquote>Concerning her obstinacy, subjection and rebellion, about her second subjection and harsh servitude; concerning religion, of persecution, the holy martyrs, many heresies, of tyrants, of two plundering races, concerning the defense and a further devastation, of a second vengeance and a third devastation, concerning hunger, of the letter to Agitius [usually identified with the patrician [[Flavius Aëtius|Aëtius]]], of victory, of crimes, of enemies suddenly announced, a memorable plague, a council, an enemy more savage than the first, the subversion of cities, concerning those whose survived, and concerning the final victory of our country that has been granted to our time by the will of God.
</blockquote>
In the second part, opening with the assertion "Britain has kings, yet they are tyrants; it has judges, yet they are undutiful", Gildas addresses the lives and actions of five contemporary rulers: [[Constantine of Cornwall|Constantine]] of [[Dumnonia]], [[Aurelius Conanus|Aurelius Caninus]], [[Vortiporius]] of the [[Demetae]] (now called [[Dyfed]]), [[Cuneglas|Cuneglasus]] apparently of 'the Bear's Home' (possibly 'the Bear's Stronghold' - Dinarth at [[Llandrillo-yn-Rhôs]] near [[Llandudno]]), and lastly Maglocunus or [[Maelgwn Hir ap Cadwallon|Maelgwn]]. Without exception, Gildas declares each of these rulers cruel, rapacious, and living a life of sin.
 
The third part begins with the words, "Britain has priests, but they are fools; numerous ministers, but they are shameless; clerics, but they are wily plunderers." Gildas continues his [[jeremiad]] against the clergy of his age, but does not explicitly mention any names in this section, and so does not cast any light on the history of the Christian church in this period.
 
Gildas's work is of great importance to historians, because although it is not intended primarily as history, it is almost the only surviving source written by a near-contemporary of British events in the fifth and sixth centuries. The usual date that has been given for the composition of the work is some time in the 540s, but it is now regarded as quite possibly earlier, in the first quarter of the sixth century, or even before that.<ref name=Fletcher_21>{{cite book |last= Fletcher|first= Richard|title= Who's Who in Roman Britain and Anglo-Saxon England|pages=21-22|year= 1989|publisher= Shepheard-Walwyn|isbn=0-85683-089-5}}</ref>
 
The vision presented in this work of a land devastated by plundering raiders and the misrule of corrupt and venial officials has been readily accepted by scholars for centuries, because not only did it fit the accepted belief of invading, destructive [[barbarian]]s who destroyed Roman civilization within the bounds of the former empire, but it also explained away the awkward question of why Britain was one of the few parts of the [[Roman Empire]] that did not acquire a [[Romance language]], as had [[French language|France]] and [[Spanish language|Spain]]. However, the student must remember that Gildas' intent in his writing is to preach to his contemporaries after the manner of an old testament prophet, not to write an account for posterity: while Gildas offers one of the first descriptions of the [[Hadrian's Wall]] -- albeit highly historically inaccurate -- he also omits details where they do not contribute to his message. Nonetheless, it remains an important work for not only [[Medieval]] but [[England|English]] history for being one of the few works written in Britain to survive from the [[6th century|sixth century]].
 
In ''De Excidio Britanniae'', Gildas mentions that the year of his birth was the same year that the Battle of [[Mons Badonicus]] took place in. The ''[[Annales Cambriae]]'' gives the year of his death as 570; however the ''[[Annals of Tigernach]]'' date his death to 569.
 
Gildas's treatise was first published in 1525 by [[Polydore Vergil]], but with many avowed alterations and omissions. In 1568 [[John Josseline]], secretary to Archbishop Parker, issued a new edition of it more in conformity with manuscript authority; and in 1691 a still more carefully revised edition appeared at Oxford by [[Thomas Gale]]. It was frequently reprinted on the Continent during the 16th century, and once or twice since. The next English edition, described by [[August Potthast]] as ''editio pessima'', was that published by the [[English Historical Society]] in 1838, and edited by the [[Rev. J. Stevenson]]. The text of Gildas founded on Gale's edition collated with two other [[MSS]], with elaborate introductions, is included in the [[Monumenta Historica Britannica]]. Another edition is in [[Arthur West Haddan]] and [[Will Stubbs]], ''Councils and ecclesiastical documents relating to Great Britain and Ireland'' (Oxford, 1869); the latest edition is that by [[Theodor Mommsen]] in [[Monumenta Germaniae Historica]] auct. antiq. xiii. (Chronica min. iii.), 1894.
 
==Legacy in the Anglo-Saxon Period==
Following the conquest of Britain described in ''De excidio'', Gildas continued to provide an important model for Anglo-Saxon writers both in Latin and in English. [[Bede]]'s ''Historia ecclesiastica'' relies heavily on Gildas for its account of the Anglo-Saxon invasions, and draws out the implications of Gildas's thesis of loss of divine favour by the Britons to suggest that this favour has in turn passed to the now Christianised Anglo-Saxons.
 
In the later Old English period, Gildas's writing provides a major model for [[Alcuin]]'s treatment of the Viking invasions, in particular his letters relating to the sack of [[Lindisfarne]] in 793. The invocation of Gildas as a historical example serves to suggest the idea of moral and religious reform as a remedy for the invasions. Likewise, Wulfstan of York draws on Gildas to make a similar point in his sermons.
 
==Other historical implications==
Gildas's work is important for reasons beyond the historical information he provides. It is clear that at the time when he was writing there was an effective (and British) Christian church. Gildas uses Latin to address his points to the rulers he excoriates; and he regards Britons, at least to some degree, as Roman citizens, despite the collapse of central imperial authority. By 597, when [[St Augustine]] arrived in Kent, what is now England was almost completely pagan, and the illiterate new rulers did not think of themselves as Roman citizens. Dating Gildas's words more exactly would hence provide a little more certainty about the timeline of the transition from post-Roman Britain to the rule of the Anglo-Saxons; a certainty that is would be the more valuable as precise dates and reliable facts are extremely scarce for this period.<ref name=Fletcher_21 /><ref name=Campbell_20>{{cite book |last= Campbell|first= John|coauthors= John, Eric & Wormald, Patrick|title= The Anglo-Saxons|pages=20-22|year= 1991|publisher= Penguin Books|isbn=0-14-014395-5}}</ref>
 
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
 
==See also==
*[[Groans of the Britons]]
*[[English historians in the Middle Ages]]
 
==External links==
{{wikisource author}}
{{wikiquote}}
*{{gutenberg author| id=Gildas | name=Gildas}} (In the English translation Mount Badon is called "Bath-hill".)
*[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/gildas-full.html ''De Excidio Britanniae''] translated by [[John Allen Giles]].
▲*[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)]
*[http://www.proto-english.org/part3.html Gildas & Vortigern ]
*[http://www.amdg.be/sankt/jan29.html Vie de saint Gildas / Sant Gweltaz, iconographie, sources, traductions FR, etc ]
 
{{1911}}
 
[[Categoria:Nati 516]]
[[Categoria:Scriptores CambriaeBritanniae]]
[[Categoria:Scriptores Latini mediaevales]]
[[Categoria:Sancti]]
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