Battle of Badon

The Battle of Badon, also known as the Battle of Mons Badonicus,^[a] was purportedly fought between Britons and Anglo-Saxons in Post-Roman Britain during the late 5th or early 6th century.^[1] It was credited as a major victory for the Britons, stopping the westward encroachment of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms for a period.

The earliest known references to the battle, by the British cleric Gildas, date to the 6th century. It is chiefly known today for the supposed involvement of the man who would later be remembered as the legendary King Arthur; although it is not agreed that Arthur was a historical person, his name first appears in the 9th-century Historia Brittonum, where he is mentioned as having participated in the battle alongside the Brittonic kings as a war commander, though is not described as a king himself. Because of the limited number of sources, there is no certainty about the date, location, or details of the fighting.^[2][3]

Almost all scholars agree that this battle did take place. Gildas, who wrote within living memory of the battle, does not mention Arthur or the names of other British leaders who took part. He also omits the names of the Saxon leaders. Gildas also does not describe it as an actual battle, but rather as a siege. It remains unclear whether the Saxons were besieging the Britons or the Britons were besieging the Saxons.^[4]

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).