Gildas the Wise, British Historian
Gildas the Wise (517 - 570) was a British monk and writer who founded a monastery in Brittany that would later be called, after him, St. Gildas de Rhuys. He is most noted for his authoring of De Excidio Britanniae (On the Ruin of Britain) which includes the story of the British leader Ambrosius Aurelianus and the defeat of the Saxons at Mons Badonicus (Mount Badon). It has been theorized that Aurelianus is the historical figure on whom the tales of King Arthur were based, but that is only one of many theories. The work is superficially a history, but it is primarily a diatribe against the corrupt priests and leaders that had risen to power during his lifetime. Gildas may be considered the first British historian (Bede, who flourished nearly two centuries later, is the first English historian). Although his work is notably biased and its reliability is highly suspect, it still stands as a significant record of early British history.
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