Historia Brittonum: HISTORIA BRITTONUM Edited by Theodore Mommsen

7 Brittannia insula a quodam Bruto consule Romano dicta. haec consurgit ab Africo boreali ad occidentem versus: dccc in longitudine milium, cc in latitudine spatium habet. in ea sunt viginti octo civitates et innumerabilia promontoria cum innumeris castellis ex lapidibus et latere fabricatis et in ea habitant quattuor gentes Scotti Picti Saxones atque Brittones.

7 The island Britannia is named from a certain Brutus, a Roman consul. This rises from the boreal Africus toward the west: it has a span of 800 miles in length, 200 in breadth. In it are twenty-eight cities and innumerable promontories, with innumerable castles built of stone and brick, and in it dwell four gentes: Scots, Picts, Saxons, and Britons.

8 Tres magnas insulas habet, quarum una vergit contra Armoriacas et vocatur insula Gueith: secunda sita est in umbilico maris inter Hiberniam et Brittanniam et vocatur nomen eius Eubonia, id est Manau: alia sita est in extremo limite orbis Brittanniae ultra Pictos et vocatur Orc. sic in proverbio antiquo dicitur, quando de iudicibus vel regibus sermo fit: 'iudicavit Brittanniam cum tribus insulis'.

8 It has three great islands, one of which faces toward the Armorican coasts and is called the island Gueith; the second is situated in the navel of the sea between Hibernia and Britannia, and its name is called Eubonia, that is, Manau; another is situated at the farthest boundary of the world of Britain beyond the Picts, and is called Orc. Thus in an ancient proverb it is said, when speech is made concerning judges or kings: 'he judged Britain with its three islands'.

9 Sunt in ea multa flumina, quae confluunt ad omnes partes, id est ad orientem, ad occidentem, ad meridiem, ad septentrionem, sed tamen duo flumina praeclariora ceteris fluminibus Tamesis ac Sabrinae quasi duo brachia Britanniae, per quae olim rates vehebantur ad portandas divitias pro causa negotiationis. Brittones olim implentes eam a mari usque ad mare iudicaverunt.

9 There are in it many rivers, which flow toward all parts, that is, toward the east, toward the west, toward the south, toward the north; yet two rivers are more preeminent than the other rivers, the Thames and the Severn, as if two arms of Britain, by which in former times barges were carried to convey riches for the purpose of trade. The Britons once, filling it from sea to sea, ruled it.

10 Si quis scire voluerit, quo tempore post diluvium habitata est haec insula, hoc experimentum bifarie inveni.

10 If anyone should wish to know at what time after the Deluge this island was inhabited, I have found this proof in a twofold way.

In annalibus autem Romanorum sic scriptum est. Aeneas post Troianum bellum cum Ascanio filio suo venit ad Italiam et superato Turno accepit Laviniam filiam Latini filii Fauni, filii Pici, filii Saturni in coniugium et post mortem Latini regnum obtinuit Romanorum vel Latinorum. Aeneas autem Albam condidit et postea uxorem duxit et peperit ei filium nomine Silvium.

But in the annals of the Romans it is written thus. Aeneas, after the Trojan war, came to Italy with his son Ascanius, and, Turnus having been overcome, he took Lavinia, daughter of Latinus son of Faunus, son of Picus, son of Saturn, in marriage; and after the death of Latinus he obtained the kingdom of the Romans or of the Latins. Aeneas moreover founded Alba, and afterwards took a wife, and she bore to him a son named Silvius.

Silvius autem duxit uxorem et gravida fuit et nuntiatum est Aeneae, quod nurus sua gravida esset et misit ad Ascanium filium suum, ut mitteret magum suum ad considerandam uxorem, ut exploraret quid haberet in utero, si masculum vel feminam. et magus consideravit uxorem et reversus est. propter hanc vaticinationem magus occisus est ab Ascanio, quia dixit Ascanio, quod masculum haberet in utero mulier et filius mortis erit, quia occidet patrem suum et matrem suam et erit exosus omnibus hominibus.

Silvius, moreover, took a wife and she was pregnant, and it was announced to Aeneas that his daughter-in-law was pregnant, and he sent to Ascanius his son, that he should send his magus to consider the wife, to explore what she had in the womb, whether a male or a female. And the magus considered the wife and returned. On account of this vaticination the magus was killed by Ascanius, because he told Ascanius that the woman had a male in her womb and that he would be a son of death, because he would kill his father and his mother and would be hateful to all men.

sic evenit: in nativitate illius mulier mortua est et nutritus est filius et vocatum est nomen eius Bruto.

thus it came to pass: at his birth the woman died, and the son was nurtured, and his name was called Brutus.

Post multum intervallum iuxta vaticinationem magi, dum ipse ludebat cum aliis, ictu sagittae occidit patrem suum non de industria, sed casu. et expulsus est ab Italia et arminilis fuit et venit ad insulas maris Tyrreni et expulsus est a Graecis causa occisionis Turni, quam Aeneas occiderat, et pervenit ad Gallos usque et ibi condidit civitatem Turonorum, quae vocatur Turnis. et postea ad istam pervenit insulam, quae a nomine suo accepit nomen, id est Brittanniam et implevit eam cum suo genere et habitavit ibi.

After much interval, in accord with the vaticination of the mage, while he himself was playing with others, by a stroke of an arrow he killed his father not by industry, but by chance. And he was expelled from Italy and was an exile, and he came to the islands of the Tyrrhenian sea, and he was driven out by the Greeks on account of the killing of Turnus, whom Aeneas had killed, and he came through as far as the Gauls, and there he founded the city of the Turones, which is called Turnis. And afterwards he reached this island, which took its name from his own name, that is, Britain, and he filled it with his own race and dwelt there.

ab illo autem die habitata est Brittannia usque in hodiernum diem.

But from that day Britain has been inhabited up to the present day.

11 Aeneas autem regnavit tribus annis apud Latinos. Ascanius regnavit annis xxxvii. post quem Silvius Aeneae filius regnavit annis xii, Postumus annis triginta novem, a quo Albanorum reges Silvii appellati sunt, cuius frater erat Britto.

11 Aeneas, moreover, reigned for three years among the Latins. Ascanius reigned for 37 years. after whom Silvius, the son of Aeneas, reigned for 12 years, Postumus, for 39 years, from whom the kings of the Albans were appellated Silvii, whose brother was Britto.

quando regnabat Britto in Brittannia, Heli sacerdos iudicabat in Israhel et tunc arca testamenti ab alienigenis possidebatur. Postumus frater eius apud Latinos regnabat.

when Britto was reigning in Britain, Eli the priest was judging in Israel, and at that time the ark of the covenant was possessed by foreigners. Postumus, his brother, was reigning among the Latins.

12 Post intervallum multorum annorum non minus dccc Picti venerunt et occupaverunt insulas, quae vocantur Orcades, et postea ex insulis vastaverunt regiones multas et occupaverunt eas in sinistrali plaga Brittanniae, et maneant ibi tertiam partem Brittanniae tenentes usque in hodiernum diem.

12 After an interval of many years, not fewer than 800 Picts came and occupied the islands which are called the Orcades, and afterwards from the islands they laid waste many regions and occupied them in the left-hand region of Britain, and they remain there, holding a third part of Britain, even to the present day.

13 Novissime autem Scotti venerunt a partibus Hispaniae ad Hiberniam. primus autem venit Partholomus cum mille hominibus de viris et mulieribus et creverunt usque ad quattuor milia hominum et venit mortalitas super eos et in una septimana omnes perierunt et non remansit ex illis etiam unus. secundus venit ad Hiberniam Nimeth filius quidam Agnominis, qui fertur navigasse super mare annum et dimidium et postea tenuit portum in Hibernia fractis navibus eius et mansit ibidem per multos annos et iterum navigavit cum suis et ad Hispaniam reversus est.

13 Lastly, however, the Scots came from the parts of Spain to Ireland. first, however, came Partholomus with one thousand people of men and women, and they increased up to four thousand people, and a mortality came upon them, and in one week all perished, and not even one of them remained. second came to Ireland Nimeth, a certain son of Agnomen, who is said to have sailed upon the sea for a year and a half, and afterwards he made harbor in Ireland, his ships broken, and he stayed there for many years, and again he sailed with his own, and returned to Spain.

et postea venerunt tres filii militis Hispaniae cum triginta ciulis apud illos et cum triginta coniugibus in unaquaque ciula et manserunt ibi per spatium unius anni. et postea conspiciunt turrim vitream in medio mari et homines conspiciebant super turrim et quaerebant loqui ad illos et numquam respondebant et ipsi uno anno ad oppugnationem turris properaverunt cum omnibus ciulis suis et cum omnibus mulieribus excepta una ciula, quae confracta est naufragio, in qua erant viri triginta totidemque mulieres. et aliae naves navigaverunt ad expugnandam turrim, et dum omnes descenderant in litore, quod erat circa turrim, operuit illos mare et demersi sunt et non evasit unus ex illis.

and afterwards there came three sons of a soldier of Hispania with thirty boats with them, and with thirty consorts in each boat, and they remained there for the span of one year. and afterwards they behold a glass tower in the middle of the sea, and they saw men upon the tower and sought to speak to them, and they never answered; and they for one year hastened to the oppugnation of the tower with all their boats and with all the women, except one boat, which was broken by shipwreck, in which there were thirty men and just as many women. and the other ships sailed to expugn the tower, and while all had disembarked on the shore which was around the tower, the sea covered them and they were drowned, and not one of them escaped.

et de familia illius ciulae, quae relicta est propter fractionem, tota Hibernia impleta est usque in hodiernum diem. et postea venerunt paulatim a partibus Hispaniae et tenuerunt regiones plurimas.

and from the family of that skiff, which was left behind because of the wreck, all Ireland has been filled down to the present day. and afterwards they came gradually from the parts of Spain and held very many regions.

14 Novissime venit Damhoctor et ibi habitavit cum omni genere suo usque hodie in Brittannia. Istoreth Istorini filius tenuit Dalrieta cum suis; Builc autem cum suis tenuit Euboniam insulam et alias circiter; filii autem Liethan obtinuerunt in regione Demetorum et in aliis regionibus, id est Guir Cetgueli, donec expulsi sunt a Cuneda et a filiis eius ab omnibus Brittannicis regionibus.

14 Lastly came Damhoctor, and there he dwelt with all his kindred down to today in Britain. Istoreth, son of Istorinus, held Dalrieta with his own; but Builc with his own held Eubonia, the island, and others round about; moreover the sons of Liethan obtained in the region of the Demetae and in other regions, that is, Guir Cetgueli, until they were expelled by Cunedda and by his sons from all the British regions.

15 Si quis autem scire voluerit, quando vel quo tempore fuit inhabitabilis et deserta Hibernia, sic mihi peritissimi Scottorum nuntiaverunt. quando venerunt per mare rubrum filii Israhel, Aegyptii venerunt et secuti sunt et demersi, ut in lege legitur. erat vir nobilis de Scythia cum magna familia apud Aegyptios et expulsus est a regno suo et ibi erat, quando Aegyptii mersi sunt, et non perrexit ad persequendum populum dei.

15 But if anyone should wish to know when or at what time Ireland was uninhabitable and deserted, thus the most expert of the Scots reported to me. When the sons of Israel came through the Red Sea, the Egyptians came and followed and were submerged, as is read in the Law. There was a noble man from Scythia with a great household among the Egyptians, and he was expelled from his kingdom, and he was there when the Egyptians were drowned, and he did not go forth to pursue the people of God.

illi autem, qui superfuerant, inierunt consilium, ut expellerent illum, ne regnum illorum obsideret et occuparet, quia fortes illorum demersi erant in rubrum mare, et expulsus est. at ille per quadraginta et duos annos ambulavit per Africam, et venerunt ad aras Filistinorum per lacum Salinarum et venerunt inter Rusicadam et montes Azariae et venerunt per flumen Malvam et transierunt per Maritaniam ad columnas Herculis et navigaverunt Tyrrenum mare et pervenerunt ad Hispaniam usque et ibi habitaverunt per multos annos et creverunt et multiplicati sunt nimis et gens illorum multiplicata est nimis. et postea venerunt ad Hiberniam post mille et duos annos, postquam mersi sunt Aegyptii in rubrum mare, et ad regiones Darieta, in tempore, quo regnabat Brutus apud Romanos, a quo consules esse coeperunt, deinde tribuni plebis ac dictatores.

Those, however, who had survived, entered into a counsel to expel him, lest he besiege and occupy their kingdom, because their strong men had been drowned in the Red Sea, and he was expelled. But he for forty-two years walked through Africa, and they came to the Altars of the Philistines by the Lake of Salt, and they came between Rusicada and the mountains of Azaria, and they came by the river Malva, and they passed through Mauretania to the Pillars of Hercules and sailed the Tyrrhenian Sea and arrived as far as Spain, and there they lived for many years and grew and were multiplied exceedingly, and their nation was multiplied exceedingly. And afterwards they came to Ireland after one thousand and two years, after the Egyptians were drowned in the Red Sea, and to the regions of Darieta, in the time when Brutus ruled among the Romans, from whom consuls began to be, then tribunes of the plebs and dictators.

et consules rursum rem publicam obtinuerunt per annos ccccxlvii, quae prius regia dignitate damnata fuerat.

and the consuls in turn held the commonwealth for 447 years, the royal dignity having previously been condemned.

Brittones venerunt in tertia aetate mundi ad Brittanniam; Scotti autem in quarta obtinuerunt Hiberniam. Scotti autem, qui sunt in occidente, et Picti de aquilone pugnabant unanimiter et uno impetu contra Brittones indesinenter, quia sine armis utebantur Brittones. et post multum intervallum temporis Romani monarchiam totius mundi obtinuerunt.

Britons came in the third age of the world to Britain; but the Scots in the fourth obtained Ireland. The Scots, moreover, who are in the west, and the Picts from the north, were fighting unanimously and with a single impetus against the Britons unceasingly, because the Britons were using no arms. and after a great interval of time the Romans obtained the monarchy of the whole world.

16 A primo anno, quo Saxones venerunt in Brittanniam usque ad annum quartum Mermini regis supputantur anni cccxxviiii. a nativitate domini usque ad adventum Patricii ad Scottos ccccv anni sunt. a morte Patricii usque ad obitum sanctae Brigidae sexaginta anni.

16 From the first year in which the Saxons came into Britain up to the fourth year of king Mermin, 329 years are computed. From the Nativity of the Lord up to the Advent of Patrick to the Scots there are 405 years. From the death of Patrick up to the obit of Saint Brigid, 60 years.

a nativitate Columbae usque mortem Brigidae quattuor anni sunt. initium compoti: viginti tres cycli decemnovennales ab incarnatione domini usque ad adventum Patricii in Hiberniam et ipsi annos efficiunt numero ccccxxxviii, et ab adventu Patricii usque ad cyclum decemnovennalem, in quo sumus, viginti duo cycli sunt, id est, ccccxxi sunt, duo anni in ogdoade usque in hunc annum, in quo sumus.

from the nativity of Columba up to the death of Brigid there are four years. the beginning of the computus: twenty-three decemnovennial cycles from the Incarnation of the Lord up to the advent of Patrick into Ireland, and these themselves make up, in number, 438 years; and from the advent of Patrick up to the decemnovennial cycle in which we are, there are twenty-two cycles, that is, there are 421, two years in the ogdoad up to this year, in which we are.

17 Aliud experimentum inveni de isto Bruto ex veteribus libris veterum nostrorum. tres filii Noe diviserunt orbem in tres partes post diluvium. Sem in Asia, Cham in Africa, Iafeth in Europa dilataverunt terminos suos.

17 I have found another testimony about this Brutus from the ancient books of our elders. The three sons of Noah divided the world into three parts after the Flood. Shem in Asia, Ham in Africa, Japheth in Europe extended their boundaries.

primus homo venit ad Europam de genere Iafeth Alanus cum tribus filiis suis, quorum nomina sunt Hessitio, Armenon, Negue. Hessitio autem habuit filios quattuor: hi sunt Francus, Romanus, Britto, Albanus. Armenon autem habuit quinque filios: Gothus, Valagothus, Gebidus, Burgundus, Longobardus.

The first man who came into Europe from the lineage of Japheth was Alanus, with his three sons, whose names are Hessitio, Armenon, and Negue. Now Hessitio had four sons: these are Frank, Roman, Briton, Alban. And Armenon had five sons: Goth, Valagoth, Gebid, Burgundian, Longobard.

Negue autem habuit tres filios: Vandalus, Saxo, Boguarus. ab Hisitione autem ortae sunt quattuor gentes Franci, Latini, Albani et Britti. ab Armenone autem quinque: Gothi, Valagothi, Gebidi, Burgundi, Longobardi.

Negue moreover had three sons: Vandalus, Saxo, Boguarus. from Hisitione, moreover, four gentes arose: the Franks, the Latins, the Albans and the Britons. from Armenone, however, five: Goths, Valagoths, Gebids, Burgunds, Longobards.

a Neguio vero quattuor Boguarii, Vandali, Saxones et Turingi. istae autem gentes subdivisae sunt per totam Europam. Alanus autem, ut aiunt, filius fuit Fetebir, filii Ougomun, filii Thoi, filii Boib, filii Simeon, filii Mair, filii Ethach, filii Aurthach, filii Echthet, filii Oth, filii Abir, filii Ra, filii Ezra, filii Izrau, filii Baath, filii Iobaath, filii Iovan, filii Iafeth, filii Noe, filii Lamech, filii Matusalae, filii Enoch, filii Iareth, filii Malalehel, filii Cainan, filii Enos, filii Seth, filii Adam, filii dei vivi.

a Negue, indeed, four: the Boguarians, Vandals, Saxons, and Thuringians. Moreover, these peoples have been subdivided throughout all Europe. Alanus, however, as they say, was the son of Fetebir, son of Ougomun, son of Thoi, son of Boib, son of Simeon, son of Mair, son of Ethach, son of Aurthach, son of Echthet, son of Oth, son of Abir, son of Ra, son of Ezra, son of Izrau, son of Baath, son of Iobaath, son of Javan, son of Japheth, son of Noah, son of Lamech, son of Methuselah, son of Enoch, son of Jared, son of Mahalalel, son of Cainan, son of Enos, son of Seth, son of Adam, son of the living God.

hanc peritiam inveni ex traditione veterum.

I found this expertise from the tradition of the ancients.

18 Qui incolae in primo fuerunt Brittanniae Brittones a Bruto. Brutus filius Hisitionis, Hisition Alanei, Alaneus filius Reae Silviae, Rea Silvia filia Numa Pampilii, filii Ascanii; Ascanius filius Aeneae, filii Anchisae, filii Troi, filii Dardani, filii Flise, filii Iuvani, filii Iafeth. Iafeth vero habuit septem filios.

18 The inhabitants who were first in Britain were the Britons from Brutus. Brutus, son of Hisition; Hisition of Alanus; Alanus, son of Rhea Silvia; Rhea Silvia, daughter of Numa Pompilius, son of Ascanius; Ascanius, son of Aeneas, son of Anchises, son of Tros, son of Dardanus, son of Flis, son of Javan, son of Japheth. But Japheth had seven sons.

primus Gomer, a quo Galli; secundus Magog, a quo Scythas et Gothos; tertius Madai, a quo Medos; quartus Iuvan, a quo Graeci; quintus Tubal, a quo Hiberei et Hispani et Itali; sextus Mosoch, a quo Cappadoces; septimus Tiras, a quo Traces. hi sunt filii Iafeth filii Noe filii Lamech.

first Gomer, from whom the Gauls; second Magog, from whom the Scythians and Goths; third Madai, from whom the Medes; fourth Javan, from whom the Greeks; fifth Tubal, from whom the Iberians and Spaniards and Italians; sixth Meshech, from whom the Cappadocians; seventh Tiras, from whom the Thracians. these are the sons of Japheth, son of Noah, son of Lamech.

Et redeam nunc ad id, de quo digressus sum.

And let me now return to that, from which I have digressed.

19 Romani autem, dum acciperent dominium totius mundi, as Brittannos miserunt legatos, ut obsides et censum acciperent ab illis, sicut acciepiebant ab universis regionibus et insulis. Brittanni autem, cum essent tyranni et tumidi, legationem Romanorum contempserunt. tunc Iulius Caesar, cum accepisset singulare imperium primus et obtinuisset, iratus est valde et venit ad Brittanniam cum sexaginta ciulis et tenuit in ostium Tamesis, in quo naufragium perpessae sunt naves illius, dum ipse pugnabat apud Dolobellum, qui erat proconsul regi Brittannico, qui et ipse Bellinus vocabatur, et filius erat Minocanni, qui occupavit omnes insulas Tyrreni maris et Iulius reversus est sine victoria caesis militibus et fractis navibus.

19 But the Romans, while they were taking the dominion of the whole world, sent legates to the Britons, to receive hostages and a census from them, just as they were taking from all regions and islands. But the Britons, since they were tyrannical and swollen with pride, scorned the embassy of the Romans. Then Julius Caesar, when he, first, had received the singular command and had secured it, was very angry and came to Britain with sixty keels and held at the mouth of the Thames, where his ships suffered shipwreck, while he himself was fighting with Dolobellus, who was proconsul to the British king—who himself also was called Bellinus and was the son of Minocannus, who had occupied all the islands of the Tyrrhenian Sea—and Julius returned without victory, with his soldiers cut down and his ships broken.

20 Et iterum post spatium trium annorum venit cum magno exercitu trecentisque ciulis et pervenit usque ad ostium fluminis, quod vocatur Tamesis. et ibi inierunt bellum et multi ceciderunt de quis militibusque suis, quia supra dictus proconsul posuerat sudes ferreos et semen bellicosum, id est Cetilou, in vada fluminis. discrimen magnum fuit militibus Romanorum haec ars invisibilis, et discesserunt sine pace in illa vice.

20 And again, after a span of three years he came with a great army and three hundred ships and reached as far as the mouth of the river which is called Tamesis. And there they entered battle, and many of their horses and of their soldiers fell, because the aforesaid proconsul had set iron stakes and war-seed, that is, Cetilou, in the shallows of the river. A great peril to the Roman soldiers was this invisible art, and they departed without peace on that occasion.

gestum est bellum tertio iuxta locum, qui dicitur Trinovantum. et accepit Iulius imperium Brittannicae gentis xlvii annis ante nativitatem Christi, ab initio autem mundi vccxv.

a war was waged a third time near the place which is called Trinovantum. and Julius received the dominion of the British nation 47 years before the Nativity of Christ, but from the beginning of the world 715.

Iulius igitur primus in Brittanniam pervenit et regnum et gentem tenuit, et in honorem illius Quintilem mensem Iulium debere Romani decreverunt vocari. et idibus Martiis Gaius Iulius Caesar in curia occiditur, tenente Octaviano Augusto monarchiam totius mundi, et censum a Brittannia ipse solus accepit, ut Virgilius ait:

Julius therefore was the first to reach Britain and held the kingdom and the nation, and in his honor the Romans decreed that the month Quintilis ought to be called July. And on the Ides of March Gaius Julius Caesar is slain in the Curia, with Octavian Augustus holding the monarchy of the whole world, and he alone received the census from Britain, as Virgil says:

Purpurea intexti tollant aulaea Britanni.

Let the inwoven Britons raise the purple curtains.

21 Secundus post hunc Claudius imperator venit et in Brittannia imperavit annis quadraginta octo post adventum Christi et stragem et bellum fecit magnum non absque detrimento militum, tamen victor fuit in Brittannia. et postea cum ciulis perrexit ad Orcades insulas et subiecit sibi et fecit eas tributarias. in tempore illius quievit dare censum Romanis a Brittannia, sed Brittannicis imperatoribus redditum est.

21 Second after this, the emperor Claudius came and ruled in Britain forty-eight years after the advent of Christ, and he made great slaughter and war, not without detriment to the soldiers; nevertheless he was victor in Britain. And afterwards with ships he proceeded to the Orkney islands and subjected them to himself and made them tributary. In his time the giving of tribute from Britain to the Romans ceased, but it was restored to British emperors.

regnavit annis xiii mensibus viii. cuius monumentum in Mogantia apud Longobardos ostenditur: dum ad Romam ibat, ibi defunctus est.

he reigned for 13 years and 8 months. whose monument is shown at Mogantia among the Longobards: while he was going to Rome, he died there.

22 Post clxvii annos post adventum Christi Lucius Brittannicus rex cum omnibus regulis totius Brittannicae gentis baptismum suscepit missa legatione ab imperatore Romanorum et a papa Romano Eucharisto.

22 After 167 years after the advent of Christ, Lucius, British king, with all the petty-kings (reguli) of the whole British nation, received baptism, an embassy having been sent by the emperor of the Romans and by the Roman pope Eucharistus.

23 Tertius fuit Severus, qui transfretavit ad Brittannos; ubi, ut receptas provincias ab incursione barbarica faceret tutiores, murum et aggerem a mari usque ad mare per latitudinem Brittanniae, id est per cxxxii milia passuum deduxit, et vocatur Brittannico sermone Guaul. propterea iussit fieri inter Brittones et Pictos et Scottos, quia Scotti ab occidente et Picti ab aquilone unanimiter pugnabant contra Brittones, nam et ipsi pacem inter se habebant; et non multo post intra Brittanniam Severus moritur.

23 The third was Severus, who crossed over by sea to the Britons; where, in order to make the recovered provinces safer from barbarian incursion, he constructed a wall and rampart from sea to sea across the breadth of Britain, that is for 132 miles, and it is called in the British tongue Guaul. For that reason he ordered it to be made between the Britons and the Picts and the Scots, because the Scots from the west and the Picts from the north were fighting in unison against the Britons, for they themselves also had peace between themselves; and not long after, within Britain, Severus dies.

24 Quartus fuit Karitius imperator et tyrannus, qui et ipse in Brittanniam venit tyrannide. qui propterea tyrannus fuit pro occisione Severi et cum omnibus ducibus Romanicae gentis, qui erant cum eo in Brittannia, transverberavit omnes regulos Brittannorum et vindicavit valde Severum ab illis et purpuram Brittanniae occupavit.

24 The fourth was Karitius, emperor and tyrant, who also himself came into Britain in tyranny. Who for that reason was a tyrant on account of the slaughter of Severus, and, together with all the dukes of the Roman nation who were with him in Britain, transfixed all the petty-kings of the Britons, and greatly avenged Severus upon them, and seized the purple of Britain.

25 Quintus Constantinus Constantini magni filius fuit et ibi moritur et sepulcrum illius monstratur iuxta urbem, quae vocatur Cair Segeint, ut litterae, quae sunt in lapide tumuli, ostendunt. et ipse seminavit tria semina, id est auri argenti, aerisque, in pavimento supradictae civitatis, ut nullus pauper in ea habitaret umquam, et vocatur alio nomine Minmanton.

25 The fifth was Constantine, son of Constantine the Great, and there he died, and his sepulcher is pointed out near the city which is called Cair Segeint, as the letters which are on the stone of the tumulus show. And he himself sowed three seeds, that is of gold, silver, and bronze, in the pavement of the aforesaid city, so that no pauper might ever dwell in it, and it is called by another name Minmanton.

26 Sextus Maximus imperator regnavit in Brittannia. a tempore illius consules esse coeperunt et Caesares numquam appellati sunt postea. et sanctus Martinus in tempore illius claruit in virtutibus et signis et cum eo locutus est.

26 The sixth, Maximus the emperor, reigned in Britain. From his time consuls began to be, and Caesars were never so called afterward. And Saint Martin in his time shone in virtues and signs, and he spoke with him.

27 Septimus imperator regnavit in Brittannia Maximianus. ipse perrexit cum omnibus militibus Brittonum a Brittannia et occidit Gratianum regem Romanorum et imperium tenuit totius Europae et noluit dimittere milites, qui perrexerunt cum eo, ad Brittanniam ad uxores suas et ad filios suos et ad possessiones suas, sed dedit illis multas regiones a stagno quod est super verticem Montis Iovis usque ad civitatem, quae vocatur cant Guic, et usque ad cumulum occidentalem, id est, Cruc Ochidient. hi sunt Brittones Armorici et numquam reversi sunt huc usque in hodiernum diem.

27 The seventh emperor who reigned in Britain was Maximianus. He proceeded with all the soldiers of the Britons from Britain and killed Gratian, king of the Romans, and held the rule of all Europe, and he did not wish to dismiss the soldiers who had gone with him to Britain to their wives and to their sons and to their possessions, but he gave to them many regions from the lake which is upon the summit of Mount Jove as far as the city which is called cant Guic, and as far as the western mound, that is, Cruc Ochidient. These are the Armorican Britons and they have never returned hither up to the present day.

propter hoc Brittannia occupata est ab extraneis gentibus et cives expulsi sunt, usque dum deus auxilium dederit illis.

for this reason Britain was occupied by foreign peoples and the citizens were expelled, until God shall have given help to them.

In veteri traditione seniorum nostrorum septem imperatores fuerunt a Romanis in Brittannia: Romani autem dicunt novem. octavus fuit alius Severus, qui aliquando in Brittanni manebat, aliquando ad Romam ibat et ibi defunctus est. nonus fuit Constantius.

In the ancient tradition of our elders there were seven emperors of the Romans in Britain; but the Romans say nine. The eighth was another Severus, who sometimes remained in Britain, sometimes went to Rome, and there he died. The ninth was Constantius.

ipse regnavit sexdecim annis in Brittannia et in sextodecimo anno imperii sui obiit in Brittannia.

he himself reigned for sixteen years in Britain, and in the sixteenth year of his imperium he died in Britain.

28 Hucusque reganverunt Romani apud Brittones ccccviiii annis. Brittones autem deiecerunt regnum Romanorum neque censum dederunt illis neque reges illorum acceperunt, ut regnarent super eos, neque Romani ausi sunt, ut venirent Brittanniam ad regnandum amplius, quia duces illorum Brittones occiderant.

28 Up to this point the Romans ruled among the Britons for 409 years. The Britons, however, cast down the rule of the Romans and neither gave tribute to them nor accepted their kings to reign over them, nor did the Romans dare to come to Britain to rule any longer, because the Britons had slain their leaders.

29 Iterum repetendus est sermo de Maximiano tyranno. Gratianus cum fratre Valentiano reganvit vi annis et Ambrosius Mediolanensis episcopus clarus habetur in catholicorum dogmate. Valentianus cum Theodosio regnavit annis viii.

29 Again the discourse must be resumed about the tyrant Maximian. Gratian, with his brother Valentinian, reigned 6 years, and Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, is held renowned in the dogma of the Catholics. Valentinian, with Theodosius, reigned 8 years.

synodus Constantinopolim colligitur a cccxviii patribus, in qua omnes haereses damnantur. Hieronyum tum presbyter Bethleem toto mundo claruit. dum Gratianus imperium regebat in toto mundo, in Brittannia per seditionem militum Maximus imperator factus est.

A synod is gathered to Constantinople by 318 fathers, in which all heresies are condemned. Jerome, then a presbyter at Bethlehem, shone throughout the whole world. While Gratian was ruling the empire over the whole world, in Britain, through the sedition of the soldiers, Maximus was made emperor.

qui mox dum in Gallias transfretaret, Gratianus Parassis Meroblaudis magistri militum proditione superatus est et fugiens Lugduni captus atque occisus est. Maximus Victorem filium suum consortem fecit. Martinus Turonensis episcopus in magnis virtutibus claruit.

who soon, while he was crossing over into the Gauls, Gratian at Paris was overcome by the treachery of Merobaudes, master of soldiers, and, fleeing, was captured at Lyon and slain. Maximus made his son Victor a consort in rule. Martin, bishop of Tours, shone in great virtues.

post multum intervallum temporis a Valentiniano et Theodosio consulibus in tertio ab Avvileva lapide spoliatus indumentis regiis sistitur et capite damnatur. cuius filius Victor eodem anno ab Argabaste comite interfectus est in Gallia.

after a great interval of time, with Valentinian and Theodosius as consuls, at the third milestone from Avvileva, stripped of his regal garments, he is arraigned and condemned to be beheaded. whose son Victor in the same year was slain in Gaul by the count Argabastes.

30 Tribus vicibus occisi sunt duces Romanorum a Brittannis. Brittones autem dum anxiebantur a barbarorum gentibus, id est Scottorum et Pictorum, flagitabant auxilium Romanorum, et dum legati mittebantur cum magno luctu et cum sablonibus super capita sua intrabant et portabant magna munera secum consulibus Romanorum pro admisso scelere occisionis ducum et suscipiebant consules grata dona ab illis, et promittebant cum iuramento accipere iugum Romanici iuris, licet durum fuisset.

30 Thrice the leaders of the Romans were slain by the Britons. The Britons, however, while they were anxious because of the barbarian gentes, that is, of the Scots and the Picts, were demanding the aid of the Romans; and while legates were being sent, with great mourning and with sand upon their heads they would enter, and they carried great gifts with them to the consuls of the Romans for the admitted crime of the slaying of the leaders; and the consuls received welcome gifts from them, and they promised with an oath to accept the yoke of Roman law, albeit it was hard.

Et Romani venerunt cum maximo exercitu ad auxilium eorum et posuerunt imperatores in Brittannia et composito imperatore cum ducibus revertebantur exercitu ad Romam usque, et sic alternatim per cccxlviii annos faciebant. Brittones autem propter gravitatem imperii occidebant duces Romanorum et auxilium postea petebant. Romani autem ad imperium auxiliumque et ad vindicandum veniebant et spoliata Brittannia auro argentoque cum aere et omni pretiosa veste et melle cum magno triumpho revertebantur.

And the Romans came with a very great army to their aid and set up emperors in Britain, and, the emperor having been settled with the dukes, they would return with the army all the way to Rome; and thus, by turns, they did this for 348 years. The Britons, however, on account of the heaviness of the imperium, killed the leaders of the Romans and afterwards sought help. But the Romans would come for imperium and for assistance and to avenge, and, Britain having been despoiled of gold and silver together with bronze and every precious garment and honey, they returned with great triumph.

31 Factum est supra dictum bellum, quod fuit inter Brittones et Romanos, quando duces illorum occisi sunt, et occisionem Maximi tyranni transactoque Romanorum imperio in Brittannia per quadraginta annos fuerunt sub metu. Guorthigirnus regnavit in Brittannia et dum ipse regnabat, urgebatur a metu Pictorum Scottorumque et a Romanico impetu nec non et a timore Ambrosii. interea venerunt tres ciulae a Germania expulsae in exilio, in quibus erant Hors et Hengist, qui et ipsi fratres erant, filii Guictglis, filii Guigta, filii Guectha, filii VVoden, filii Frealaf, filii Fredulf, filii Finn, filii Fodepald, filii Geta, qui fuit, ut aiunt, filius dei.

31 The above-said war came to pass, which was between the Britons and the Romans, when their leaders were slain, and, with the killing of the tyrant Maximus and the Roman imperium in Britain having passed away, for forty years they were under fear. Guorthigirnus reigned in Britain, and while he himself was reigning, he was pressed by fear of the Picts and the Scots and by the Roman impetus, and also by fear of Ambrosius. Meanwhile there came three keels, expelled from Germany into exile, in which were Hors and Hengist, who themselves were brothers, sons of Guictglis, son of Guigta, son of Guectha, son of VVoden, son of Frealaf, son of Fredulf, son of Finn, son of Fodepald, son of Geta, who was, as they say, a son of god.

non ipse est deus deorum, amen, deus exercituum, sed unus est ab idolis eorum, quod ipsi colebant.

he himself is not the god of gods, amen, the god of hosts, but is one of their idols, which they themselves worshiped.

Guorthigirnus suscepit eos benigne et tradidit eis insulam, quae in lingua eorum vocatur Tanet, Brittannico sermone Ruoihm. regnante Gratiano secundo cum. Equitio Saxones a Guorthigirno suscepti sunt anno cccxlvii post passionem Christi.

Guorthigirnus benignly received them and delivered to them an island, which in their language is called Tanet, in the British speech Ruoihm. in the reign of Gratian, the second, with Equitius, the Saxons were received by Guorthigirnus in the year 347 after the Passion of Christ.

32 In tempore illius venit sanctus Germanus ad praedicandum in Brittannia et claruit apud illos in multis virtutibus et multi per eum salvi facti sunt et plurimi perierunt.

32 In his time Saint Germanus came to preach in Britain, and was illustrious among them in many virtues, and many through him were made safe, and very many perished.

Aliquanta miracula, quae per illum fecit deus, scribenda decrevei.

Some miracles, which God accomplished through him, I have decided to write.

Primum miraculum de miraculis eis. erat quidam rex iniquus atque tyrannus valde, cui nomen erat Benli. illum vir sanctus voluit visitare et properare ad iniquum regem, ut praedicaret illi.

The first miracle of those miracles. there was a certain unjust king and a very great tyrant, whose name was Benli. that man the holy man wished to visit and to hasten to the unjust king, in order to preach to him.

at cum ipse homo dei venisset ad ostium urbis cum comitibus suis, venit portarius et salutavit eos et miserunt eum ad regem et rex durum responsum dedit illis et cum iuramento dixit: si fuerint vel si manserint usque ad caput anni, non venient umquam in medio urbis meae. dum ipsi expectarent ianuatorem, ut nuntiaret illis sermonem tyranni, dies declinabat ad vesperum et nox appropinquabat et nescierunt, quo irent. inter ea venit unus de servis regis e medio urbis et inclinavit se ante virum dei et nuntiavit illis omnia verba tyranni et invitavit illos ad casam suam et exierunt cum eo et benigne suscepit eos.

but when the man of God himself had come to the gate of the city with his companions, the porter came and greeted them, and they sent him to the king, and the king gave them a harsh response and said with an oath: if they shall have been, or if they shall have remained, up to the head of the year, they will never at any time come into the midst of my city. While they were waiting for the doorkeeper to announce to them the discourse of the tyrant, the day was declining toward evening and night was approaching, and they did not know where to go. Meanwhile one of the king’s servants came from the midst of the city and bowed before the man of God and announced to them all the words of the tyrant and invited them to his house, and they went out with him, and he kindly received them.

et ille nihil habebat de omnibus generibus iumentorum excepta una vacca cum vitulo, et occidit vitulum et coxit et posuit ante illos. et praecepit sanctus Germanus, ut non confringeretur os de ossibus eius et sic factum est et in crastino vitulus inventus est ante matrem suam sanus et vivus incolumisque.

and he had nothing of all kinds of beasts of burden except a single cow with a calf, and he killed the calf and cooked it and set it before them. and saint Germanus commanded that no bone of its bones be broken, and so it was done; and on the next day the calf was found before its mother sound and alive and unharmed.

33 Iterum de mane surrexerunt, ut impetrarent salutationem tyranni. at ipsi, cum orarent et exspectarent iuxta portam arcis, et ecce vir unus currebat et sudor illius a vertice ad plantas pedum distillabat. inclinabat se ante illos et dixit sanctus Germanus: credis in sanctam trinitatem?

33 Again in the morning they rose, to obtain an audience with the tyrant. But they, while they were praying and waiting near the gate of the citadel, behold, a man was running, and his sweat was dripping from his head to the soles of his feet. He bowed himself before them, and Saint Germanus said: do you believe in the holy Trinity?

et respondit ille: credo, et baptizatus est et osculavit eum et dixit illi: vade in pace: in ista hora morieris et angeli dei in aere expectant te, ut gradieris cum illis ad deum, cui credidisti. et ipse laetus intravit in arcem et praefectus tenuit illum et alligavit et ante tyrannum ductus et interfectus est, quia mos erat apud nequissimum tyrannum, nisi quis ante solis ortum pervenisset ad servitutem in arce, interficiebatur. et manserunt tota die iuxta portam civitatis et non impetraverunt, ut salutarent tyrannum.

and he answered: I believe, and he was baptized and he kissed him and said to him: go in peace; in this hour you will die, and the angels of God in the air are awaiting you, that you may go with them to God, in whom you have believed. and he, joyful, entered into the citadel, and the prefect seized him and bound him, and he was led before the tyrant and was killed, because it was the custom with the most wicked tyrant that, unless someone had arrived before sunrise for service in the citadel, he was put to death. and they remained the whole day near the gate of the city and did not obtain to salute the tyrant.

34 Solito ex more supradictus adfuit servus et dixit illi sanctus Germanus: cave, ne unus homo maneat de hominibus tuis in ista nocte in arce. et ipse reversus est in arcem et deduxit filios suos, quorum numerus erat novem, et ipsi ad supra dictum hospitium cum ipso reversi sunt. et praecepit sanctus Germanus manere eos ieiunos et clausis ianuis dixit: vigilantes estote et si quid evenerit in arce, nolite aspicere, sed orate indesinenter et ad deum vestrum clamate.

34 As was customary, the above-mentioned servant appeared, and Saint Germanus said to him: beware, lest a single man of your men remain in the citadel this night. And he himself returned into the citadel and led out his sons, whose number was nine, and they returned to the above-said lodging with him. And Saint Germanus commanded them to remain fasting, and with the doors closed he said: be vigilant, and if anything should happen in the citadel, do not look, but pray unceasingly and cry out to your God.

et post modicum intervallum noctis ignis de caelo cecidit et combussit arcem et omnes homines, qui cum tyranno erant, et nusquam apparuerunt usque in hodiernum diem, et arx non aedificata est usque hodie.

and after a small interval of the night, fire fell from heaven and burned up the citadel and all the men who were with the tyrant, and they have nowhere appeared up to the present day, and the citadel has not been built to this day.

35 In crastino die ille vir, qui hospitalis fuit illis, credidit et baptizatus est cum omnibus filiis suis et omnis regio cum eis, cui nomen erat Catel. et bendixit ei et addidit et dixit: non deficiet rex de semino tuo. ipse est Catell Durnluc, et tu rex eris ab hodierna die.

35 On the next day that man, who was hospitable to them, believed and was baptized with all his sons, and the whole region with them, whose name was Catel. and he blessed him and added and said: a king will not fail from your seed. he himself is Catell Durnluc, and you will be king from this day.

et sic evenit; et impletum est, quod dictum est per prophetam dicentem: 'suscitans de pulvere egenum, et de stercore erigens pauperem, ut sedeat cum principibus et solium gloriae teneat.' iuxta verba sancti Germani rex de servo facti sunt, et a semine illorum omnis regio Povisorum regitur usque in hodiernum diem.

and thus it came to pass; and there was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet, saying: 'raising up the needy from the dust, and lifting the poor from the dunghill, that he may sit with princes and hold the throne of glory.' according to the words of Saint Germanus, a king was made from a slave, and from their seed the whole region of the Powysians is ruled unto the present day.

36 Factum est autem postquam metati sunt Saxones in supra dicta insula Tanet, promisit rex supra dictus dari illis victum et vestimentum absque defectione; et placuit illis, et ipsi promiserunt expugnare inimicos eius fortiter. at illi barbari cum multiplicati essent numero, non potuerunt Brittones cibare illos. cum postularent cibum et vestimentum, sicut promissum erat illis, dixerunt Brittones: non possumus dare vobis cibum et vestimentum, quia numerus vester multiplicatus est, sed recedite a nobis, quia auxilio vestro non indigemus.

36 It came to pass, however, after the Saxons had encamped in the aforesaid island Tanet, that the aforesaid king promised that food and clothing would be given to them without failing; and it pleased them, and they themselves promised to expugn his enemies bravely. But those barbarians, when they had been multiplied in number, the Britons were not able to feed them. When they demanded food and clothing, as had been promised to them, the Britons said: we cannot give you food and clothing, because your number has been multiplied, but withdraw from us, because we do not need your help.

et ipsi consilium fecerunt cum maioribus suis, ut pacem disrumperent.

and they themselves took counsel with their elders, to disrupt the peace.

37 Hencgistus autem, cum esset vir doctus atque astutus et callidus, cum explorasset super regem inertem et super gentem illius, quae sine armis utebatur, inito consilio dixit ad regem Brittannicum: pauci sumus; si vis, mittemus ad patriam nostram et invitemus milites de militibus regionis nostrae, ut amplior sit numerus ad certandum pro te et pro gente tua. et ille imperavit ut facerent, et miserunt, et laegati transfretaverunt trans Tithicam vallem, et reversi sunt cum ciulis sedecim, et milites electi venerunt in illis, et in una ciula ex eis venit puella pulchra facie atque decorosa valde, filia Hencgisti. postquam autem venissent ciulae, fecit Hencgistus convivium Guorthigirno et militibus suis et interpreti suo, qui vocatur Ceretic et puellam iussit ministrare illis vinum et siceram et inebriati sunt et saturati sunt nimis.

37 Hencgistus, however, since he was a learned and astute and crafty man, after he had spied out the inert king and his nation, which made use of no arms, taking counsel he said to the British king: we are few; if you wish, we will send to our fatherland and invite soldiers from the soldiers of our region, so that the number may be larger to contend for you and for your people. And he ordered that they do so, and they sent, and the legates crossed over across the Tithic valley, and returned with sixteen keels, and chosen soldiers came in them, and in one keel among them there came a girl fair of face and very comely, the daughter of Hencgistus. But after the keels had come, Hencgistus made a banquet for Guorthigirnus and for his soldiers and for his interpreter, who is called Ceretic, and he ordered the girl to serve them wine and cider, and they were inebriated and were sated exceedingly.

illis autem bibentibus intravit Satanas in corde Guorthigirni, ut amaret puellam, et postulavit eam a patre suo per interpretem suum et dixit: omne quod postulas a me impetrabis, licet dimidium regni mei. et Hencgistus, inito consilium cum suis senioribus, qui venerunt secum de insula Oghgul, quid peterent regi pro puella, unum consilium cum illis omnibus fuit, ut peterent regionem, quae in lingua eorum vocatur Canturguoralen, in nostra autem Chent. et dedit illis Guoyrancgono regnante in Cantia et inscius erat, quia regnum ipsius tradebatur paganis et ipse solus in potestatem illorum clam dari, et sic data est puella illi in coniugium et dormivit cum ea et amavit eam valde.

but as they were drinking, Satan entered into the heart of Guorthigern, so that he loved the girl, and he asked for her from her father through his interpreter and said: you shall obtain everything that you ask of me, even half of my kingdom. And Hencgistus, having taken counsel with his elders who had come with him from the island Oghgul, as to what they should ask of the king for the girl, there was one counsel among them all: that they should ask for the region which in their tongue is called Canturguoralen, but in ours Chent. And he gave it to them, Guoyrancgon ruling in Cantia, and he was unaware that his realm was being handed over to pagans and that he himself alone was being secretly given into their power; and thus the girl was given to him in marriage, and he slept with her and loved her greatly.

38 Et dixit Hencgistus ad Guorthigirnum: ego sum pater tuus et consiliator tui, et noli praeterire consilium umquam, quia non timebis te superari ab ullo homine neque ab ulla gente, quia gens mea valida est. invitabo filium meum cum fratueli suo, bellatores enim viri sunt, ut dimicent contra Scottos, et da illis regiones, quae sunt in aquilone iutxta murum, qui vocatur Guaul. et iussit ut invitaret eos et invitavit: Octha et Ebissa cum quadraginta ciulis.

38 And Hencgistus said to Guorthigirnus: I am your father and your counselor, and do not ever pass over my counsel, for you will not fear yourself to be overcome by any man nor by any nation, because my people is strong. I will invite my son with his nephew—for they are warrior men—to contend against the Scots; and give to them the regions which are in the north next to the wall which is called Guaul. And he ordered that they be invited, and he invited: Octha and Ebissa with forty keels.

at ipsi cum navigarent circa Pictos, vastaverunt Orcades insulas et venerunt et occupaverunt regiones plurimas ultra mare Frenessicum usque ad confinum Pictorum. et Hencgistus semper ciulas ad se paulatim invitavit, ita ut insulas ad quas venerant absque habitatore relinquerent, et dum gens illius crevisset et in virtute et in multitudine, venerunt ad supra dictam civitatem Cantorum.

but they themselves, as they sailed around the Picts, devastated the Orkney islands and came and occupied very many regions beyond the Frisian Sea up to the border of the Picts. and Hengist continually invited keels to himself little by little, so that the islands to which they had come they left without inhabitant; and when his nation had grown both in prowess and in multitude, they came to the aforesaid city of the Cantii.

39 Nam super omnia mala adiciens Guorthigirnus accepit filiam sui uxorem sibi, et peperit ei filium. et hoc cum compertum esset a sancto Germano, eum corripere venit cum omni clero Brittonum. et dum conventa esset magna synodus clericorum ac laicorum in uno concilio, ipse rex praemonuit filiam suam, ut exiret ad conventum et ut daret filium suum in sinum Germani et ut diceret, quod ipse erat pater filii, et mulier fecit sicut erat edocta.

39 Now, adding over all evils, Guorthigirnus took his own daughter to wife for himself, and she bore him a son. And when this had been discovered by Saint Germanus, he came to rebuke him with all the clergy of the Britons. And when a great synod of clerics and laics had been convened in one council, the king himself forewarned his daughter to go out to the assembly and to give her son into the bosom of Germanus and to say that he himself was the father of the boy; and the woman did as she had been instructed.

Germanus atuem eum benigne accepit et dicere coepit: pater tibi ero nec te permittam, nisi mihi novacula cum forcipe pectineque detur et ad patrem tuum carnalem tibi dare licetur. et obaudivit puer et usque ad avum suum patrem carnalem Guorthigirnum perrexit et puer illi dixit: pater meus es, caput meum tonde et comam capitis mei. et ille siluit et tacuit et puero respondere noluit, sed surrexit et iratus est valde, ut a facie sancti Germani fugeret, et maledictus est et damnatus a sancto Germano et omni Brittonum concilio.

Germanus, however, received him benignly and began to say: I will be a father to you, nor will I permit you, unless a razor with forceps and a comb be given to me, and it be allowed for you to give them to your carnal father. And the boy obeyed, and he proceeded to his grandsire, his carnal father, Guorthigirnus, and the boy said to him: You are my father; shear my head and the hair of my head. And he was silent and tacit and did not wish to answer the boy, but he rose up and was very angry, so as to flee from the face of Saint Germanus; and he was accursed and condemned by Saint Germanus and by the whole council of the Britons.

40 Et postea rex ad se invitavit magos suos, ut quid faceret ab eis interrogaret. at illi dixere: in extremis fines regni tui vade et arcem munitam invenies, ut tu defendes; quia gens, quam suscepisti in regno tuo, invidet tibi et te per dolum occidet et universas regiones, quas amaras, occupabit cum tua universa gente post mortem tuam. et postea ipse cum magis suis arcem adipisci venit et per multas regiones multasque provincias circumdederunt et illis non invenientibus ad regionem, quae vocatur Guined, novissime pervenerunt; et illo lustrante in montibus Hereri tandem in uno montium locum, in quo aptum erat arcem condere, adeptus est.

40 And afterwards the king invited his magi to himself, so that he might ask from them what he should do. But they said: go to the farthest borders of your kingdom and you will find a fortified citadel, which you will defend; for the nation which you have received in your kingdom envies you and will kill you by guile, and it will seize all the regions which you had loved, together with all your people, after your death. And afterwards he himself came with his magi to obtain a citadel, and they ranged through many regions and many provinces; and not finding it, they at last arrived at the region which is called Guined; and while he was surveying there in the mountains of Hereri, at length on one of the mountains he obtained a place in which it was apt to found a citadel.

et magi ad illum dixere: arcem in isto loco fac, quia tutissima a barbaris gentibus in aeternum erit. et ipse artifices congregavit, id est lapidicinos, et ligna et lapides congregavit et cum esset congregata omnis materia, in una nocte ablata est materia. et tribus vicibus iussit congregari et nusquam comparuit.

and the magi said to him: make a citadel in that place, because it will be most safeguarded from barbarian peoples forever. And he gathered artificers, that is, stonecutters, and he gathered timbers and stones; and when all the material had been gathered, in one night the material was carried off. And thrice he ordered it to be assembled, and it appeared nowhere.

et magos arcessivit et illos percunctatus est, quae esset haec causa malitiae et quid hoc evenerit. at illi responderunt: nisi infantem sine patre invenies et occidetur ille et arx a sanguine suo aspergatur, numquam aedificabitur in aeternum.

and he summoned the magi and interrogated them what this cause of malice was and why this had happened. But they answered: unless you find an infant without a father and he be killed and the citadel be asperged with his blood, it will never be built unto eternity.

41 Et ipse legatos ex consilio magorum per universam Brittanniam misit, utrum infantem sine patre invenirent. et lustrando omnes provincias regionesque plurimas venere ad campum Elleti, qui est in regione, quae vocatur Gleguissing, et pilae ludum faciebant pueri. et ecce duo inter se litigabant, et dixit alter alteri: o homo sine patre, bonum non habebis.

41 And he sent legates, by the counsel of the magi, through all Britain, to see whether they might find an infant without a father. And by scouring all the provinces and very many regions they came to the Field of Elleti, which is in the region which is called Gleguissing, and the boys were making a game of ball. And behold, two were quarrelling with one another, and the one said to the other: O man without a father, you will have no good.

at illi de puero ad pueros diligenter percunctabantur, et cunctantes matrem, si patrem haberet. illa negavit et dixit: nescio quomodo in utero meo conceptus est, sed unum scio, quia virum non cognovi umquam, et iuravit illis patrem non habere. et illi eum secum duxere usque ad Guorthigirnum regem et eum insinuaverunt regi.

but they diligently inquired about the boy from the boys, and, after waiting, questioned the mother whether he had a father. she denied it and said: I do not know how he was conceived in my womb, but one thing I know, that I have never known a man; and she swore to them that he had no father. and they led him with them to King Guorthigirnus and introduced him to the king.

42 Et in crastino conventio facta est, ut puer interficeretur. et puer ad regem dixit: cur viri tui me ad te detulerunt? cui rex ait: ut interficiaris et sanguis tuus circa arcem istam aspergetur, ut possit aedificari.

42 And on the next day an agreement was made that the boy be put to death. and the boy said to the king: why have your men brought me to you? to whom the king said: that you be put to death and your blood be sprinkled around this citadel, that it may be able to be built.

respondit puer regi: quis tibi monstravit? et rex: magi mei mihi dixere. et puer dixit: ad me vocentur.

The boy answered the king: Who showed you? and the king: My magi told me. And the boy said: Let them be called to me.

et invitati sunt magi et puer illis dixit: quis revelavit vobis, ut ista arx a sanguine meo aspergeretur? et nisi aspergeretur a sanguine meo, in aeternum non aedificabitur? sed hoc ut cognoscat is, quis mihi de me palam fecit?

and the magi were invited, and the boy said to them: who revealed to you that this citadel should be sprinkled with my blood? and that unless it were sprinkled with my blood, it would not be built forever? but as for this—so that he may know, the one who made it plain to me about myself?

iterum puer dixit, modo tibi, o rex, elucubrabo et in veritate tibi omnia satagam; sed magos tuos percunctor: quid in pavimento istius loci est? placet mihi, ut ostendant tibi, quid sub pavimento habetur. at illi dixere: nescimus.

Again the boy said, now for you, O king, I will lucubrate, and in truth I will do all I can for you; but I inquire of your magi: what is in the pavement of this place? It pleases me that they show you what is held beneath the pavement. But they said: we do not know.

et ille dixit: comperior: stagnum in medio pavimenti est; venite et fodite et sic invenietis. venerunt et foderunt, et ruit. et puer ad magos dixit: proferte mihi, quid est in stagno?

and he said: I ascertain: a pool is in the middle of the pavement; come and dig, and thus you will find. they came and dug, and it collapsed. and the boy said to the magi: bring forth for me what is in the pool?

et siluerunt et non potuerunt revelare illi. et ille dixit illis: ego vobis revelabo; duo vasa sunt et sic invenietis. venerunt et viderunt sic.

and they fell silent and were not able to reveal it to him. and he said to them: I will reveal to you; there are two vessels, and thus you will find. they came and saw thus.

et puer ad magos dixit: quid in vasis conclusis habetur? at ipsi siluerunt et non potuerunt revelari illi. at ille asseruit: in medio eorum tentorium est, separate ea et sic invenietis.

and the boy said to the magi: what is held in the enclosed vessels? but they were silent and it could not be revealed to him. but he asserted: in the midst of them there is a tent; separate them, and thus you will find.

et rex separari iussit et sic inventum est tentorium complicatum, sicut dixerat. et iterum interrogavit magos eius: quid in medio tentorii est? et iam nunc narrate, et non potuerunt scire.

and the king ordered them to be separated, and thus a tent, folded up, was found, just as he had said. and again he questioned his magi: what is in the middle of the tent? and tell it right now—yet they were not able to know.

at ille revelavit: duo vermes in eo sunt, unus albus et unus rufus; tentorium expandite. et extenderunt et due vermes dormientes inventi sunt. et dixit puer: expectate et considerate quid facient vermes; et coeperunt vermes, ut alter alterum expelleret, alius autem scapulas suas ponebat, ut eum usque ad dimidium tentorii expelleret, et sic faciebant tribus vicibus: tamen tandem infirmior videbatur vermis rufus et postea fortior albo fuit et extra finem tentorii expulit; tunc alter alterum secutus trans stagnum est et in tentorium evanuit.

But he revealed: there are two worms in it, one white and one red; spread the tent. And they stretched it out, and two sleeping worms were found. And the boy said: Wait and consider what the worms will do; and the worms began, so that the one would expel the other, but the other was setting his shoulders, so that he might drive him out as far as the middle of the tent, and thus they did three times: nevertheless at last the red worm seemed weaker, and afterwards he was stronger than the white and drove him beyond the end of the tent; then the one, having followed the other, went across the pond and vanished into the tent.

et puer ad magos refert: quid significat mirabile hoc signum, quod factum est in tentorio? et illi proferunt: nescimus. et puer respondit: en revelatum est mihi hoc mysterium et ego vobis propalabo.

and the boy reports to the magi: what does this wondrous sign mean, which has happened in the tent? and they declare: we do not know. and the boy answered: behold, this mystery has been revealed to me, and I will divulge it to you.

regni tui figura tentorium est; duo vermes duo dracones sunt; vermis rufus draco tuus est et stagnum figura huius mundi est. at ille albus draco illius gentis, quae occupavit gentes et regiones plurimas in Brittannia, et paene a mari usque ad mare tenebunt, et postea gens nostra surget, et gentem Anglorum trans mare viriliter deiciet. tu tamen de ista arce vade, quia eam aedificare non potes, et multas provincias circumi, ut arcem tutam invenias, et ego hic manebo.

the figure of your kingdom is the tent; the two worms are two dragons; the red worm is your dragon, and the pool is the figure of this world. but that white dragon is of that people which has occupied very many peoples and regions in britain, and they will hold almost from sea unto sea; and afterward our people will rise, and will manfully cast down the nation of the angles across the sea. you, however, go from that citadel, because you cannot build it, and travel through many provinces, that you may find a safe citadel, and i will remain here.

et rex adolescentem dixit: quo nomine vocaris? ille respondit: Ambrosius vocor, id est, Embreis Guletic ipse videbatur. et rex dixit: de qua progenie ortus es? at ille: unus est pater meus de consulibus Romanicae gentis.

and the king said to the adolescent: by what name are you called? he replied: I am called Ambrosius, that is, Embreis Guletic, as he himself appeared. and the king said: from what progeny are you sprung? and he: one of the consuls of the Roman race is my father.

et arcem dedit illi cum omnibus regnis occidentalis plagae Brittanniae et ipse cum magis suis ad sinistralem plagam pervenit et usque ad regionem, qua vocatur Guunnessi, adfuit et urbem ibi, quae vocatur suo nomine Cair Guorthigirn, aedificavit.

and he gave the citadel to him along with all the kingdoms of the western tract of Britain, and he himself with his magi reached the left-hand quarter and came as far as the region which is called Guunnessi, and there he built a city which is called by his own name, Cair Guorthigirn.

43 Interea Guorthemir filius Guorthigirn cum Hengisto et Horso et cum gente illorum petulanter pugnabant et eos usque ad supradictam insulam, quae vocatur Tanet, expulit et eos ibi tribus vicibus conclusit obsedit percussit comminuit terruit. et ipsi legatos ultra mare usque in Germaniam transmittebant vocando ciulas cum ingenti numero bellatorum virorum. et postea pugnabant contra reges nostrae gentis: aliquando vincebantur et expellebantur.

43 Meanwhile Guorthemir, son of Guorthigirn, together with Hengist and Horsa and with their nation, were fighting petulantly, and he drove them as far as the aforesaid island, which is called Tanet, and there three times he shut them in, besieged, struck, shattered, terrified. And they themselves were sending envoys across the sea as far as Germany, summoning keels with a huge number of warrior men. And afterwards they fought against the kings of our people: sometimes they were conquered and driven out.

44 Et Guorthemir contra illos quattuor bella avide gessit. primum bellum super flumen Derguentid; secundum bellum super vadum, quod dicitur in lingua eorum Episford, in nostra autem lingua Rithergabail, et ibi cecidit Hors cum filio Guorthigirni, cuius nomen erat Categirn. tertium bellum in campo iuxta lapidem tituli, qui est super ripam Gallici maris, commisit et barbari victi sunt et ille victor fuit et ipsi in fugam versi usque ad ciulas suas mersi sunt in eas muliebriter intrantes.

44 And Guorthemir avidly waged four wars against them. the first war over the river Derguentid; the second war over the ford which is called in their tongue Episford, but in our tongue Rithergabail, and there fell Hors along with the son of Guorthigern, whose name was Categirn. the third war he committed on the field near the inscribed stone, which is upon the bank of the Gallic sea, and the barbarians were vanquished and he was victor, and they, turned to flight, up to their boats, were plunged into them, entering womanishly.

ille autem post modicum intervallum mortuus est et ante mortem suam ad familiam suam dixit, ut sepulchrum illius in portu ponerent, a quo exierant, super ripam maris, in quo vobis commendo: quamvis in alia parte portum Brittanniae teneant et habitaverint, tamen in ista terra in aeternum non manebunt. illi autem mandatum eius contempserunt et eum in loco, in quo imperaverat illis, non sepelierunt.

but he, after a small interval, died; and before his death he said to his household that they should place his sepulcher in the port from which they had gone out, upon the shore of the sea, which I enjoin upon you: although in another part they may hold a port of Britain and have inhabited it, nevertheless in this land they will not remain forever. but they contemned his mandate and did not bury him in the place in which he had commanded them.

45 At barbari reversi sunt magno opere, cum Guorthigirnis amicus illis erat propter uxorem suam et nullus illos abigere audacter valuit, quia non de virtute sua Brittanniam occupaverunt, sed de nutu dei. contra voluntatem dei quis resistere poterit et nitatus? sed quomodo voluit dominus fecit et ipse omnes gentes regit et gubernat.

45 But the barbarians returned in great force, since Guorthigirn was a friend to them on account of his wife, and no one was able boldly to drive them away, because they did not occupy Britain by their own virtue, but by the nod of God. Against the will of God who will be able to resist, even if he strives? But as the Lord willed, he has done, and he himself rules and governs all nations.

Factum est autem post mortem Guorthemir regis Guorthigirni filii et post reversionem Hengisti cum suis turbis consilium fallax hortati sunt, ut dolum Guorthigirni cum exercitu suo facerent. at illi legatos, ut impetrarent pacem, miserunt, ut perpetua amicitia inter illos fieret. at ille Guorthegirnus cum suis maioribus natu consilium fecerunt et scrutati sunt, quid facerent; tandem unum consilium cum omnibus fuit, ut pacem facerent, et legati eorum reversi sunt et postea conventum adduxerunt, ut ex utraque parte Brittones et Saxones in unum sine armis convenirent, ut firma amicitia esset.

It came to pass, however, after the death of King Guorthemir, son of Guorthigirnus, and after the return of Hengist with his bands, that they urged a fallacious counsel, to carry out Guorthigirnus’s stratagem with his army. But they sent legates to obtain peace, that a perpetual amity might be made between them. But Guorthegirnus with his elders held counsel and examined what they should do; at length there was one counsel with all, to make peace, and their legates returned, and afterwards they brought about a meeting, that from each side the Britons and the Saxons should come together as one without arms, that there might be a firm friendship.

46 Et Hengistus omni familiae suae iussit, ut unusquisque artavum suum sub pede in medio ficonis sui poneret. et quando clamavero ad vos et dixero: eu Saxones eniminit saxas, cultellos vestros ex ficonibus vestris educite et in illos irruite et fortiter contra illos resistite. et regem illorum nolite occidere, sed eum, pro causa filiae meae, quam dedi illi in coniugium, tenente, quia melius est nobis, ut ex manibus nostris redimatur.

46 And Hengistus ordered all his family, that each one place his little knife beneath his foot in the middle of his shoe. And when I shall have cried out to you and said: “Eu, Saxons eniminit saxas,” draw your little knives from your shoes and rush upon them and stoutly resist them. And do not kill their king, but hold him, for the sake of my daughter, whom I gave to him in conjugality, because it is better for us that he be redeemed from our hands.

et conventum adduxerunt et in unum convenerunt, et Saxones amicaliter locuti in mente interim vulpicino more agebant et vir iuxta virum socialiter sederunt. Hengistus sicut dixerat, vociferatus est et omnes seniores trecenti Guorthigirni regis iugulati sunt et ipse solus captus et catenatus est et regiones plurimas pro redemptione enimae suae illis tribuit, id est Estsaxum, Sutsaxum.

and they brought the assembly about and came together into one, and the Saxons, speaking amicably, meanwhile were acting in their mind in fox-like fashion, and man beside man they sat socially. Hengistus, just as he had said, cried aloud, and all the elders—the 300 of King Guorthigirnus—were throat-cut, and he himself alone was captured and chained, and he granted to them very many regions for the ransom of his life, that is, East-Sax and South-Sax.

47 Sanctus vero Germanus Guorthigirno praedicabat, ut ad dominum suum converteret et ab illicita coniunctione se separaret; et ille usque ad regionem, quae a nomine suo accepit nomen Guorthigirniaun, miserabiliter effugit, ut ibi cum uxoribus suis lateret. et sanctus Germanus post illum secutus est cum omni clero Brittonum et ibi quadraginta diebus et quadraginta noctibus mansit et super petram orabat et die noctuque stabat. et iterum Guorthigirnus usque ad arcem Guorthigirni, quae est in regione Demetorum iuxta flumen Teibi, ignominiose abscessit.

47 Saint Germanus, moreover, was preaching to Guorthigirnus that he should convert to his Lord and separate himself from the illicit conjunction; and he, as far as the region which from his own name received the name Guorthigirniaun, miserably fled, so that there he might lie hidden with his wives. And Saint Germanus, having followed after him with all the clergy of the Britons, remained there for forty days and forty nights, and he prayed upon a rock and stood by day and by night. And again Guorthigirnus withdrew ignominiously to the fortress of Guorthigirnus, which is in the region of the Demetae near the river Teibi.

et solito more sanctus Germanus eum secutus est et ibi ieiunus cum omni clero tribus diebus totidemque noctibus causaliter mansit et in quarta nocte arx tota mediae circa noctis horam per ignem missum de caelo ex improviso cecidit ardente igne caelesti; et Guorthigirnus cum omnibus, qui cum eo erant, et cum uxoribus suis defecit. hic est finis Guorthigirni, ut in libro beati Germani repperi. alii autem aliter dixerunt.

and in the accustomed manner Saint Germanus followed him, and there, fasting, he remained with all the clergy for three days and just so many nights for cause; and on the fourth night the whole fortress, around the hour of midnight, fell by fire sent from heaven, unexpectedly, burning with celestial fire; and Guorthigirnus, with all who were with him, and with his wives, perished. this is the end of Guorthigirnus, as I found in the book of blessed Germanus. others, however, have said otherwise.

48 Postquam exosi fuerunt illi omnes homines gentis suae pro piaculo suo inter potentes et impotentes, inter servum et liberum, inter monachos et laicos, inter parvum et magnum, et ipse dum de loco ad locum vagus errat, tandem cor eius crepuit et defunctus est, non cum laude. alii dixerunt: terra aperta est et deglutivit cum in nocte, in qua combusta est arx circa eum, quia non inventae sunt ullae reliquiae illorum, qui combusti sunt cum eo in arce.

48 After he had become odious to all the men of his nation for his piacular guilt, among the powerful and the powerless, among slave and free, among monks and laics, among small and great, and he himself, while as a vagrant he wanders from place to place, at length his heart burst and he died, not with praise. Others said: the earth opened and swallowed him in the night in which the citadel was burned around him, because no remains of those who were burned with him in the citadel were found.

Tres filios habuit, quorum nomina sunt Guorthemir, qui pugnabat contra barbaros, ut supra diximus; secundo Categirn; tertius Pascent, qui regnavit in duabus regionibus Buelt et Guorthegirniaun post mortem patris sui largiente Ambrosio illi, qui fuit rex inter omnes reges Brittannicae gentis. quartus fuit Faustus, qui a filia sua genitus est illi, et sanctus Germanus baptizavit illum et nutrivit et docuit et condidit locum magnum super ripam fluminis, quod vocatur Renis, et manet usque hodie. et unam filiam habuit, quae fuit mater Fausti sancti.

Three sons he had, whose names are Guorthemir, who used to fight against the barbarians, as we said above; secondly Categirn; third Pascent, who reigned in the two regions Buelt and Guorthegirniaun after the death of his father, by the largess of Ambrose, who was king among all the kings of the British nation. The fourth was Faustus, who was begotten to him by his daughter, and Saint Germanus baptized him and nourished and taught him and founded a great place upon the bank of the river which is called Renis, and it remains until today. And he had one daughter, who was the mother of Saint Faustus.

49 Haec est genealogia illius, quae ad initium retro recurrit.

49 This is his genealogy, which runs back to the beginning.

Fernmail ipse est, qui regit modo in regionibus duabus Buelt et Guorthigirniaun, filius Teudubir. Teudubir ipse est rex Bueltiae regionis, filius Pascent, filii Guoidcant, filii Moriud, filii Eldat, filii Eldoc, filii Paul, filii Mepurit, filii Briacat, filii Pascent, filii Guorthigirn Guortheneu, filii Guitaul, filii Guitolin, filii Glovi. Bonus, Paul, Mauron tres fratres fuerunt filii Glovi, qui aedificavit urbem magnam super ripam fluminis Sabrinae, quae vocatur Brittannico sermone Cair Glovi, Saxonice autem Gloecester.

Fernmail himself is the one who now rules in the two regions Buelt and Guorthigirniaun, the son of Teudubir. Teudubir himself is king of the region of Bueltia, son of Pascent, son of Guoidcant, son of Moriud, son of Eldat, son of Eldoc, son of Paul, son of Mepurit, son of Briacat, son of Pascent, son of Guorthigirn Guortheneu, son of Guitaul, son of Guitolin, son of Glovi. Bonus, Paul, Mauron were three brothers, sons of Glovi, who built a great city upon the bank of the river Sabrina (Severn), which is called in the British tongue Cair Glovi, but in Saxon Gloucester.

satis dictum est de Guorthigirno et de genere suo.

enough has been said about Guorthigirn and his lineage.

50 Sanctus Germanus reversus est post mortem illius ad patriam suam.

50 Saint Germanus returned after his death to his own country.

III. VITA PATRICII

3. LIFE OF PATRICK

Sanctus Patricius erat in illo tempore captivus apud Scottos et dominus illius nominabatur Milchu et porcarius cum illo erat et in septimo decimo anno aetatis suae reversus est de captivitate et nutu dei eruditus est postea in sacris litteris et ad Romam usque pervenit et per longum spatium mansit ibidem. ad legandum et ad scrutanda mysteria dei et sanctarum scripturarum libros percurrit. nam cum ibi isset per annos septem, missus est Palladius episcopus primitus a Caelestino episcopo et papa Romae ad Scottos in Christum convertendos; sed prohibuit illum deus per quasdam tempestates, quia nemo potest accipere quicquam de terra, nisi de caelo datum fuerit illi desuper.

Saint Patrick was at that time a captive among the Scots, and his lord was named Milchu, and he was a swineherd with him; and in the seventeenth year of his age he returned from captivity, and by the nod of God he was afterwards instructed in the sacred letters, and he came even to Rome and for a long span remained there. For reading and for scrutinizing the mysteries of God he ran through the books of the Holy Scriptures. For when he had gone there for seven years, Palladius the bishop was at first sent by Celestine, bishop and pope of Rome, to the Scots for converting them to Christ; but God hindered him by certain tempests, because no one can receive anything from the earth unless it has been given to him from heaven above.

et profectus est ille Palladius de Hibernia et pervenit ad Brittanniam et ibi defunctus est in terra Pictorum.

and Palladius set out from Ireland and arrived in Britain, and there he died in the land of the Picts.

51 Audita morte Paladii episcopi alius legatus Patricius Theodosio et Valentiano regnantibus a Caelestino papa Romano et angelo dei, cui nomen erat Victor, monente et suadente sancto Germano episcopo ad Scottos in fidem Christi convertendos mittitur. misit Germanus seniorem cum illo Segerum ad quendam hominem mirabilem summum episcopum Amatheam regem in propinquo habitantem. ibi sanctus sciens omnia, quae ventura essent illi, episcopalem, gradum Amatheo rege episcopus sanctus accepit et nomen quod est Patricius sumpsit, quia prius Maun vocabatur.

51 On hearing of the death of Palladius the bishop, another legate, Patrick—while Theodosius and Valentinian were reigning—by Celestine, the Roman pope, and by an angel of God, whose name was Victor, with Saint Germanus the bishop admonishing and persuading, is sent to the Scots to be converted to the faith of Christ. Germanus sent with him the senior Segerus to a certain marvelous man, a supreme bishop, Amatheus the king, dwelling nearby. There the holy one, knowing all the things that were going to come upon him, received the episcopal grade from Amatheus the king, the holy bishop, and he took the name which is Patrick, because previously he was called Maun.

Auxilius et Iserinus et ceteri inferiori gradu simul ordinati sunt cum eo.

Auxilius and Iserinus, and the others of inferior grade, were simultaneously ordained with him.

52 tunc acceptis benedictionibus perfectisque omnibus in nomine sanctae trinitatis paratam ascendit navim et pervenit ad Brittanniam et praedicavit ibi non multis diebus et amissis omnibus ambulandi anfractibus summa velocitate flatuque prospero mare Hibernicum cum navi descendit. onerata vero navis cum transmarinis mirabilibus et spiritalibus thesauris perrexit ad Hiberniam et baptizavit eos.

52 then, blessings having been received and all things perfected in the name of the Holy Trinity, he ascended the prepared ship and arrived at Britain and preached there not for many days, and, all the windings of walking having been abandoned, with utmost velocity and a prosperous breeze he put out upon the Hibernian Sea with the ship. But the ship, being laden with transmarine marvels and spiritual treasures, proceeded to Ireland and he baptized them.

53 A mundi principio usque ad baptismum Hibernensium vcccxxx anni sunt. in quinto anno Loygare regis exorsus est praedicare fidem Christi.

53 From the beginning of the world up to the baptism of the Hibernians there are 830 years. In the fifth year of King Loygare he began to preach the faith of Christ.

54 Sanctus itaque Patricius euangelium Christi externis nationibus per annos quadraginta praedicabat, virtutes apostolicas faciebat, caecos illuminabat, leprosos mundabat, surdos audire faciebat, daemones obsessis corporibus fugiebat, mortuos numero usque ad novem suscitavit, captivos multos utriusque sexus suis propriis donis redemit. scripsit abegetoria trecenta sexaginta quinque aut eo amplius. ecclesias quoque eodem numero fundavit trecentas sexaginta quinque aut eo amplius, in quibus spiritus dei erat.

54 Thus Saint Patrick for forty years was preaching the Gospel of Christ to foreign nations, he was performing apostolic miracles, he was giving light to the blind, he was cleansing lepers, he was making the deaf hear, he was putting demons to flight from bodies possessed, he raised the dead, in number up to 9, he redeemed many captives of both sexes with his own gifts. he wrote abgetoria 365 or even more. churches also in the same number he founded, 365 or even more, in which was the spirit of God.

presbyteros autem usque ad tria milia ordinavit et duodecim milia hominum in una regione Conachta ad fidem Christi convertit et baptizavit et septem reges, qui erant filii Amolgith, in uno die baptizavit. quadraginta diebus et quadraginta noctibus in cacumine collis Eile ieiunavit, id est Cruachan Eile; in quo colle in aere imminente tres petitiones pro his, qui fidem ex Hibernensibus receperunt, clementer postulavit. prima petitio eius est, ut dicunt Scotti, ut susciperet unusquisque paenitentiam, licet in extremo vitae suae statu: secunda, ut ne a barbaris consumentur in aeternum: tertia, ut non supervixerit aliquis Hibernensium in adventu iudicii, quia delebuntur pro honore Patricii septem annis ante iudicium.

but he ordained presbyters up to 3,000, and in one region of Conachta he converted to the faith of Christ and baptized 12,000 men, and in one day he baptized 7 kings, who were the sons of Amolgith. For 40 days and 40 nights he fasted on the summit of the hill of Eile, that is, Cruachan Eile; on which hill, with the air threatening, he mercifully requested 3 petitions for those who received the faith from among the Hibernians. His first petition is, as the Scotti say, that each person should receive penance, even at the extreme state of his life; the second, that they not be consumed by barbarians forever; the third, that no one of the Hibernians should survive at the coming of the Judgment, because for the honor of Patrick they will be destroyed 7 years before the Judgment.

in illo autem tumulo benedixit populis Hiberniae et ideo ascendit, ut oraret pro eis et videret fructum laboris sui. et venerunt ad eum aves multi coloris innumerabiles, ut benediceret illis, quod significat omnes sanctos utriusque sexus Hibernensium pervenire ad eum in die iudicii ad patrem et ad magistrum suum, ut sequantur illum ad iudicium. postea in senectute bona migravit, ubi nunc laetatus in saecula saeculorum.

on that tumulus, however, he blessed the peoples of Hibernia, and for that reason he ascended, that he might pray for them and see the fruit of his labor. and there came to him birds of many colors, innumerable, that he might bless them, which signifies that all the saints of the Hibernians of both sexes come to him on the day of judgment, to their father and to their master, that they might follow him to the judgment. afterwards, in a good old age, he departed, where now he rejoices unto the ages of ages.

amen.

55 Quattuor modis aequantur Moyses et Patricius: id est angelo colloquente in rubo igneo: secundo modo in monte quadraginta diebus et quadraginta noctibus ieiunavit: tertio modo similes fuerunt aetate cxx annis: quarto modo sepulchrum illius nemo scit, sed in occulto humatus est nemine sciente. quindecim annis in captivitate, in vicesimo quinto anno ab Amatheo sancto episcopo subrogatur, octoginta et quinque annis in Hibernia praedicavit. res autem exigebat amplius loqui de sancto Patricio, sed tamen pro compendio sermonis volui breviare.

55 In four ways Moses and Patrick are made equal: that is, with an angel conversing in the fiery bush; in the second way, on the mountain he fasted for forty days and forty nights; in the third way, they were similar in age, 120 years; in the fourth way, no one knows his sepulcher, but he was buried in secret, with no one knowing. He was in captivity for fifteen years; in the twenty-fifth year he was appointed by the holy bishop Amatheus; for eighty-five years he preached in Ireland. Now the matter required speaking more at length about Saint Patrick, but nevertheless, for the compendium of the discourse, I wished to abbreviate.

IV. ARTHVRIANA

4. ARTHURIANA

56 In illo tempore Saxones invalescebant in multitudine et crescebant in Brittannia. mortuo autem Hengisto Octha filius eius transivit de sinistrali parte Britanniae ad regnum Cantorum et de ipso orti sunt reges Cantorum. tunc Arthur pugnabat contra illos in illis diebus cum regibus Brittonum, sed ipse erat dux bellorum.

56 In that time the Saxons were growing strong in multitude and were increasing in Britain. But with Hengist dead, Octha, his son, crossed over from the left-hand side of Britain to the kingdom of the men of Kent, and from him arose the kings of the men of Kent. Then Arthur was fighting against them in those days with the kings of the Britons, but he himself was the leader of the wars.

primum bellum fuit in ostium fluminis quod dicitur Glein. secundum et tertium et quartum et quintum super aliud flumen, quod dicitur Dubglas et est in regione Linnuis. sextum bellum super flumen, quod vocatur Bassas.

the first battle was at the mouth of the river which is called Glein. the second and the third and the fourth and the fifth were upon another river, which is called Dubglas and is in the region of Linnuis. the sixth battle was upon a river, which is called Bassas.

septimum fuit bellum in silva Celidonis, id est Cat Coit Celidon. octavum fuit bellum in castello Guinnion, in quo Arthur portavit imaginem sanctae Mariae perpetuae virginis super humeros suos et pagani versi sunt in fugam in illo die et caedes magna fuit super illos per virtutem domini nostri Iesu Christi et per virtutem sanctae Mariae genetricis eius. nonum bellum gestum est in urbe Legionis.

the seventh was the battle in the Caledonian forest, that is, Cat Coit Celidon. the eighth was the battle in the castle of Guinnion, in which Arthur carried the image of Saint Mary the perpetual virgin upon his shoulders, and the pagans were turned to flight on that day, and a great slaughter was upon them through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and through the power of Saint Mary his mother. the ninth battle was waged in the City of the Legion.

decimum gessit bellum in litore fluminis, quod vocature Tribruit. undecimum factum est bellum in monte, qui dicitur Agned. duodecimum fuit bellum in monte Badonis, in quo corruerunt in uno die nongenti sexaginta viri de uno impetu Arthur; et nemo prostravit eos nisi ipse solus, et in omnibus bellis victor extitit.

tenth he waged a battle on the shore of a river, which is called tribruit. eleventh a battle was fought on a mountain, which is called agned. twelfth there was a battle on mount badon, in which there fell in one day nine hundred sixty men from a single onslaught of arthur; and no one laid them low except he himself alone, and in all the battles he stood forth the victor.

et ipsi, dum in omnibus bellis prosternebantur, auxilium a Germania petebant et augebantur multipliciter sine intermissione et reges a Germania deducebant, ut regnarent super illos in Brittannia usque ad tempus quo Ida regnavit, qui fuit Eobba filius. ipse fuit primus rex in Beornica.

And they themselves, while they were being laid low in all the wars, were seeking help from Germany and were being increased manifold without intermission, and they brought down kings from Germany, that they might reign over them in Britain, until the time when Ida reigned, who was the son of Eobba. He himself was the first king in Bernicia.

V. REGVM GENEALOGIAE CVM COMPVTO

5. GENEALOGIES OF KINGS WITH THE COMPUTUS

57 Woden genuit Beldeg

57 Woden begot Beldeg

genuit Beornec

begot Beornec

genuit Gechbrond

begot Gechbrond

genuit Aluson

begot Aluson

genuit Inguec

begot Inguec

genuit Aedibrith

begot Aedibrith

genuit Ossa

begot Ossa

genuit Eobba

begot Eobba

genuit Ida

begot Ida

Ida autem duodecim filios habuit quorum nomina sunt Adda

But Ida had twelve sons, whose names are Adda

Aedldric

Decdric

Theodric

Edric

Deothere

Osmer

et unam reginam Bearnoch

and one queen Bearnoch

Ealric

Ealdric genuit Aelfret

Ealdric begot Aelfret

ipse est Aedlfred Fleasur

he himself is Aedlfred Fleasur

nam et ipse habuit filios septem

for he too had seven sons

quorum nomina sunt Anfrid

whose names are Anfrid

Osguald

Oswald

Osbiu

Oswiu

Osgudu

Oslapf

Oslaf

Offa

Osguid genuit Alcfrid

Osguid begot Alcfrid

et Aelfguin

and Aelfguin

et Echfird

and Echfird

Echfrid ipse est qui fecit bellum contra fratruelem suum, qui erat rex Pictorum nomine Birdei et ibi corruit cum omni robore exercitus sui et Picti cum rege suo victores extiterunt et numquam addiderunt Saxones ambronum ut a Pictis vectigal exigerunt. a tempore istius belli vocature Gueith Lin Garan.

Echfrid himself is he who made war against his fraternal cousin, who was king of the Picts by the name Birdei, and there he fell with all the might of his army; and the Picts with their king emerged victors, and never again did the Ambronian Saxons exact tribute from the Picts. From the time of this battle it is called Gueith Lin Garan.

Osguid autem habuit duas uxores, quarum una vocabatur Riemmelth filia Royth filii Rum et alter vocabatur Eanfled filia Eadguin filii Alli.

However, Osguid had two wives, of whom one was called Riemmelth, daughter of Royth, son of Rum, and the other was called Eanfled, daughter of Eadguin, son of Alli.

De genealogia regum Cantiae.

On the genealogy of the kings of Kent.

58 Hengist genuit Octha

58 Hengist begat Octha

genuit Ossa

begot Ossa

genuit Eormoric

begat Eormoric

genuit Ealdbert

begot Ealdbert

genuit Ealdbald

begot Ealdbald

genuit Ercunbert

begot Ercunbert

genuit Ecgberth.

begot Ecgberth.

De ortu regum Eastanglorum.

On the origin of the kings of the East Angles.

59 Woden genuit Casser

59 Woden begot Casser

genuit Titinon

begat Titinon

genuit Trigil

begat Trigil

genuit Rodmunt

begot Rodmunt

genuit Rippan

begot Rippan

genuit Guillem Guechan

begot Guillem Guechan

ipse primus regnavit in Brittannia super gentem Eastanglorum.

he himself first reigned in Britain over the nation of the East Angles.

Guecha genuit Guffan

Guecha begot Guffan

genuit Tydil

begot Tydil

genuit Ecni

begot Ecni

genuit Adric

begot Adric

genuit Aldul

begot Aldul

genuit Elric.

begot Elric.

De genealogia Merciorum.

On the genealogy of the Mercians.

60 Woden genuit Guedolgeat

60 Woden begot Guedolgeat

genuit Gueagon

begot Gueagon

genuit Guithleg

begot Guithleg

genuit Guerdmund

begot Guerdmund

genuit Offa

begot Offa

genuit Ongen

begot Ongen

genuit Eamer

engendered Eamer

genuit Pubba.

begot Pubba.

ipse Pubba habuit duodecim filios, quorum duo notitiores mihi sunt quam alii,

Pubba himself had twelve sons, of whom two are more well-known to me than the others,

id est Penda

that is Penda

et Eua

and Eua

filius Penda

the son of Penda

filius Pubba

son of Pubba

Ecgfrid filius Offa

Ecgfrid son of Offa

filius Duminfert

son of Duminfert

filius Eandulf

son of Eandulf

filius Ossulf

son of Ossulf

filius Eua

son of Eua

filius Pubba.

son of Pubba.

De regibus Deurorum.

On the kings of the Deirans.

61 Woden genuit Beldeyg

61 Woden begot Beldeyg

Brond genuit Siggar

Brond begot Siggar

genuit Sebald

begot Sebald

genuit Zegulf

begot Zegulf

genuit Soemil

begot Soemil

ipse primus separavit Deur o Birneich

he himself first separated Deira from Bernicia

Soemil genuit Sguerthing

Soemil begot Sguerthing

genuit Giulglis

begot Giulglis

genuit Usfrean

begot Usfrean

genuit Iffi

begot Iffi

genuit Ulli,

begot Ulli,

Aedgum,

Osfird

et Eadfird.

and Eadfird.

duo filii Edgum erant et cum ipso corruerunt in bello Meicen, et de origine illius numquam iteratum est regnum, quia non evasit unus de genere illius de isto bello, sed interfecti omnes sunt cum illo ab exercitu Catguollauni regis Guendotae regionis.

two sons of Edgum there were, and with him they fell in the battle of Meicen, and from his origin the kingship was never iterated, because not one of his lineage escaped from this battle, but all were slain with him by the army of Catguollaun, king of the region of Guendota.

Osguid genuit Ecgfird

Osguid begot Ecgfird

ipse est Ecgfrid Ailguin

he himself is Ecgfrith Ailguin

genuit Oslach

begot Oslach

genuit Alhun

begat Alhun

genuit Adlsing

begot Adlsing

genuit Echun

begot Echun

genuit Oslaph

begot Oslaph

Ida genuit Eadric

Ida begot Eadric

genuit Ecgulf

begot Ecgulf

genuit Liodguald

begat Liodguald

genuit Aetan

begot Aetan

ipse est Eata Glinmaur

he himself is Eata Glinmaur

genuit Eadbyrth

begot Eadbyrth

et Ecgbirth episcopum, qui fuit primus de natione eorum.

and Bishop Ecgbirth, who was the first of their nation.

Ida filius Eobba tenuit regiones in sinistrali parte Brittanniae, id est Umbri maris, et regnavit annis duodecim, et unxit Dinguayrdi Guurth Berneich.

Ida, son of Eobba, held regions on the left-hand side of Britain, that is, of the sea of the Humber, and reigned twelve years, and he fortified Din-Guairdi, the fort of Bernicia.

62 Tunc Dutigirn in illo tempore fortiter dimicabat contra gentem Anglorum. tunc Talhaern Tataguen in poemate claruit et Neirin, et Taliessin, et Bluchbard, et Cian, qui vocatur Guenith Guaut, simul uno tempore in poemate Britannico claruerunt.

62 Then Dutigirn at that time was fighting bravely against the nation of the Angles. then Talhaern Tataguen was renowned in poetry, and Neirin, and Taliessin, and Bluchbard, and Cian, who is called Guenith Guaut, together at one and the same time were illustrious in Britannic poetry.

Mailcunus magnus rex apud Brittones regnabat, id est in regione Guenedotae, quia atavus illius, id est Cunedag, cum filiis suis, quorum numerus octo erat, venerat prius de parte sinistrali, id est de regione quae vocatur Manau Guotodin, centum quadraginta sex annis antequam Mailcun regnaret, et Scottos cum ingentissima clade expulerunt ab istis regionibus et nusquam reversi sunt iterum ad habitandum.

Mailcun, a great king, was reigning among the Britons, that is, in the region of Guenedota, because his forefather, that is, Cunedag, with his sons, whose number was eight, had previously come from the left-hand part, that is, from the region which is called Manau Guotodin, 146 years before Mailcun reigned, and they expelled the Scots with the most enormous disaster from these regions, and they never returned again to dwell.

63 Adda filius Ida regnavit annis octo. Aedlric filius Adda regnavit quattuor annis. Deoric filius Ida regnavit septem annis.

63 Adda, son of Ida, reigned for eight years. Aedlric, son of Adda, reigned for four years. Deoric, son of Ida, reigned for seven years.

Friodolguald regnavit sex annis. in cuius tempore regnum Cantorum mittente Gregorio baptismum suscepit. Hussa regnavit annis septem: contra illum quattuor reges Urbgen et Riderchhen et Guallanc et Morcant dimicaverunt.

Friodolguald reigned six years. in whose time the kingdom of the Cantians received baptism, Gregory sending. Hussa reigned seven years: against him four kings, Urbgen and Riderchhen and Guallanc and Morcant, fought.

Deodric contra illum Urbgen cum filiis dimicabat fortiter. in illo autem tempore aliquando hostes, nunc cives vincebantur et ipse conclusit eos tribus diebus et noctibus in insula Metcaud et dum erat in expeditione, iugulatus est Morcanto destinante pro invidia, quia in ipso prae omnibus regibus virtus maxima erat instauratione belli. Eadfered Flesaurs regnavit duodecim annis in Berneich et alios duodecim in Deur, viginti quattuor annis inter duo regna regnavit et dedit uxori suae Dinguoaroy, quae vocatur Bebbab, et de nomine suae accepit nomen, id est Bebbanburth.

Deodric fought bravely against that Urbgen with his sons. in that time, sometimes the enemies, now the citizens, were being overcome, and he shut them in for three days and nights on the island Metcaud; and while he was on campaign, he was slain, with Morcant arranging it out of envy, because in him, before all kings, the greatest valor was in the instauration of war. Eadfered Flesaurs reigned twelve years in Berneich and another twelve in Deur; for twenty-four years he reigned between the two kingdoms, and he gave Dinguoaroy to his wife, who is called Bebbab, and from her name it took its name, that is, Bebbanburth.

Eoguin filius Alli regnavit annis decem et septem et ipse occupavit Elmet et expulit Certic regem illius regionis.

Eoguin, son of Alla, reigned for seventeen years, and he himself occupied Elmet and expelled Certic, king of that region.

Eanfled filia illius duodecimo die post pentecosten baptismum accepit cum universis hominibus suis de viris et mulieribus cum ea. Eadgum vero in sequenti pascha baptismum suscepit et duodecim millia hominum baptizati sunt cum eo. si quis scire voluerit, quis eos baptizavit, Rum map Urbgen baptizavit eos et per quadraginta dies non cessavit baptizare omne genus ambronum et praedicationem illius multi crediderunt Christo.

Eanfled, his daughter, on the twelfth day after Pentecost received baptism, with all her people, both men and women, with her. But Eadgum at the following Pascha received baptism, and twelve thousand men were baptized with him. if anyone should wish to know who baptized them, Rum map Urbgen baptized them; and for forty days he did not cease to baptize every kind of Ambrones, and at his preaching many believed in Christ.

64 Oswald filius Eadfered regnavit novem annis: ipse est Oswald Lamnguin. ipse occidit Catgublaun regem Guenedotae regionis in bello Catscaul cum magna clade exercitus sui. Osguid filius Eadlfrid regnavit viginti octo annis et sex mensibus.

64 Oswald, son of Eadfered, reigned nine years: he is Oswald Lamnguin. He slew Catgublaun, king of the region of Guenedot, in the battle of Catscaul, with great loss to his army. Osguid, son of Eadlfrid, reigned twenty-eight years and six months.

dum ipse regnabat, venit mortalitas hominum Catgualart regnante apud Brittones post patrem suum et in ea periit. et ipse occidit Pantha in campo Gai et nunc facta est strages Gai campi et reges Brittonum interfecti sunt, qui exierant cum rege Pantha in expeditione usque ad urbem, quae vocatur Iudeu.

while he himself was reigning, there came a mortality of men, with Catgualart reigning among the Britons after his father, and in it he perished. and he himself killed Pantha in the field of Gai, and now the slaughter of the field of Gai has been made; and the kings of the Britons were slain, who had gone out with King Pantha on an expedition as far as the city which is called Iudeu.

65 Tunc reddidit Osguid omnes divitias, quae erant cum eo in urbe, usque in manu Pendae et Penda distribuit ea regibus Brittonum, id est Atbret Iudeu. solus autem Catgabail rex Guenedotae regionis cum exercitu suo evasit de nocte consurgens, quapropter vocatus est Catgabail Catguommed. Ecgfrid filius Osbiu regnavit novem annis.

65 Then Osguid returned all the riches that were with him in the city into the hand of Penda, and Penda distributed them to the kings of the Britons, that is, the Atbret of Iudeu. But Catgabail alone, king of the region of Guenedot, escaped with his army by rising in the night, wherefore he was called Catgabail Catguommed. Ecgfrid, son of Osbiu, reigned nine years.

in tempore illius sanctus Cudbert episcopus obiit in insula Medcaut. ipse est qui fecit bellum contra Pictos et corruit ibi.

in his time saint cudbert the bishop died on the island of medcaut. he is the one who made war against the picts and fell there.

Penda filius Pybba regnavit decem annis. ipse primus separavit regnum Merciorum a regno Nordorum et Onnan regem Easteranglorum et sanctum Oswaldum regem Nordorum occidit per dolum. ipse fecit bellum Cocboy, in quo cecidit Eoua filius Pippa frater eius rex Merciorum et Oswald rex Nordorum et ipse victor fuit per diabolicum artem.

Penda son of Pybba reigned ten years. he first separated the kingdom of the Mercians from the kingdom of the Northumbrians, and he killed Onna, king of the East Angles, and Saint Oswald, king of the Northumbrians, by deceit. he fought the battle of Cocboy, in which Eoua, son of Pippa, his brother, king of the Mercians, and Oswald, king of the Northumbrians, fell, and he himself was victor by diabolic art.

non erat baptizatus et numquam deo credidit.

he had not been baptized and never believed in God.

66 A mundi principio usque ad Constantinum et Rufum quinque milia sexcenti quinquaginta octo anni reperiuntur.

66 From the beginning of the world up to Constantine and Rufus, five thousand six hundred fifty-eight years are reckoned.

Item a duobus Geminis Rufo et Rubelio usque in Stillitionem consulem trecenti septuaginta tres anni sunt.

Likewise, from the two Geminis, Rufus and Rubelius, up to Stillitionem as consul, there are 373 years.

Item a Stillitione usque ad Valentinianum filium Placidae et regnum Guorthigirni viginti octo anni.

Likewise, from Stilicho up to Valentinian, son of Placidia, and the reign of Guorthigirn, twenty-eight years.

Et a regno Guorthigirni usque ad discordiam Guitolini et Ambrosii anni sunt duodecim, quod est Guoloppum; id est Catguoloph. Guorthigirnus autem tenuit imperium in Brittannia Theodosio et Valentiniano consulibus et in quarto anno regni sui Saxones ad Brittanniam venerunt Felice et Tauro consulibus quadringentesimo anno ab incarnatione domini nostri Iesu Christi.

And from the reign of Guorthigern up to the discord of Guitolinus and Ambrosius there are twelve years, which is Guoloppum; that is Catguoloph. Guorthigern, moreover, held the imperium in Britain when Theodosius and Valentinian were consuls, and in the fourth year of his reign the Saxons came to Britain, when Felix and Taurus were consuls, in the 400th year from the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ab anno, quo Saxones venerunt in Brittanniam et a Guorthigirno suscepti sunt, usque ad Decium et Valerianum anni sunt sexaginta novem.

From the year in which the Saxons came into Britain and were received by Guorthigirnus, up to Decius and Valerian, there are sixty-nine years.

VI. CIVITATES BRITANNIAE

6. CITIES OF BRITAIN

66a Haec sunt nomina omnium ciuitatum, quae sunt in tota Brittannia, quarum numerus est xxviii.

66a These are the names of all the cities, which are in all Britain, whose number is 28.

1. Cair Guorthigirn.

1. Fort of Vortigern.

2. Cair Guinntguic.

2. City of Guinntguic.

3. Cair Mincip.

3. City of the Municipium.

4. Cair Ligualid.

4. Fort Ligualid.

5. Cair Meguaid.

5. City of Meguaid.

6. Cair Colun.

6. City of Colun.

7. Cair Ebrauc.

7. City Ebrauc.

8. Cair Custoeint.

8. City of Constantine.

9. Cair Caratauc.

9. City of Caratauc.

10. Cair Grauth.

10. City of Grauth.

11. Cair Maunguid.

11. City of Maunguid.

12. Cair Lundem.

12. City of London.

13. Cair Ceint.

13. City of Kent.

14. Cair Guiragon.

14. City of Guiragon.

15. Cair Peris.

15. City of Peris.

16. Cair Daun.

16. City of Daun.

17. Cair Legion.

17. City of the Legion.

18. Cair Guricon.

18. Fort Guricon.

19. Cair Segeint.

19. City of Segontium.

20. Cair Legeion Guar Usic.

20. City of the Legion upon the Usk.

21. Cair Guent.

21. Caerwent.

22. Cair Brithon.

22. City of the Britons.

23. Cair Lerion.

23. Caerleon.

24. Cair Draitou.

24. Fort Draitou.

25. Cair Pensa vel Coyt.

25. City of Pensa or Coyt.

26. Cair Urnarc.

26. Fort Urnarc.

27. Cair Celemion.

27. City of Celemion.

28. Cair Luit Coyt.

28. City Luit Coyt.

VII. DE MIRABILIBVS BRITANNIAE

7. ON THE WONDERS OF BRITAIN

67 Primum miraculum est stagnum Lumonoy. in eo sunt insulae sexaginta et ibi habitant homines et sexaginta rupibus ambitu et nidus aquilae in unaquaque rupe est et flumina fluunt sexaginta in eo et non vadit ex eo ad mare nisi unum flumen, quod vocature Lemn.

67 The first miracle is the lake Lumonoy. In it there are sixty islands, and men inhabit them, and it has a circuit of sixty crags, and an eagle’s nest is on each crag, and sixty rivers flow into it, and none goes out from it to the sea except one river, which is called Lemn.

Secundum miraculum ostium Trahannoni fluminis, quia in una unda instar montis ad sissam tegit litora et recedit ut cetera maria.

The second marvel is the mouth of the river Trahannon, because in a single wave, in the likeness of a mountain, up to the sissa it covers the shores and recedes like the other seas.

Tertium miraculum stagnum calidum, quod est in regione Huich et muro ambitur ex latere et lapide facto et in eo vadunt homines per omne tempus ad lavandum et unicuique, sicut placuerit illi, lavacrum sic fiat sibi secundum voluntatem suam: si voluerit, lavacrum frigidum erit, si calidum, calidum erit.

Third miracle: a hot pool, which is in the region Huich and is girded by a wall made of brick and stone; and into it men go at all times to wash, and for each person, just as it has pleased him, a bath is thus made for himself according to his will: if he will, the bath will be cold; if hot, it will be hot.

68 Quartum miraculum est: fontes in eadem inveniuntur de salo, a quibus fontibus sal coquitur: inde diversa cibaria saliuntur et non prope sunt mari, sed de terra emergunt.

68 The fourth marvel is: springs of brine are found in the same place, from which springs salt is boiled; from there diverse victuals are salted, and they are not near the sea, but they emerge from the earth.

Aliud miraculum et Duorig Habren, id est duo reges Sabrinae. quando inundatntur mare ad sissam in ostium Sabrinae, duo cumuli spumarum congregantur separatim et bellum faciunt inter se in modum arietum et procedit unusquisque ad alterum et collidunt se ad invicem et iterum secedit alter ab altero et iterum procedunt in unaquaque sissa. hoc faciunt ab intio mundi usque in hodiernum diem.

Another miracle is the Duorig Habren, that is, the two kings of the Severn. When the sea is inundated up to the sissa at the mouth of the Severn, two heaps of foams gather separately and make war between themselves in the manner of rams, and each one proceeds toward the other and they collide with one another, and again the one withdraws from the other and again they proceed at each sissa. This they do from the beginning of the world down to the present day.

69 Aliud miraculum est, id est Oper Linn Liuan. ostium fluminis illius fluit in Sabrina et quando Sabrina inundatur ad sissam, et mare inundatur similiter in ostio supra dicti fluminis et in stagno ostii recepitur in modum voraginis et mare non vadit sursum et est litus iuxta flumen et quamdiu Sabrina inundatur ad sissam, istud litus non tegitur et quando recedit mare et Sabrina, tunc stagnum Liuan eructat omne quod devoravit de mari et litus istud tegitur et instar montis in una unda eructat et rumpit. et si fuerit exercitus totius regionis, in qua est, et direxerit faciem contra undam, et exercitum trahit unda per vim humore repletis vestibus et equi similiter trahuntur.

69 Another marvel is, that is, the Work of the Pool Liuan. The mouth of that river flows into Sabrina, and when Sabrina is flooded at the flood-tide, the sea is likewise flooded at the mouth of the aforesaid river, and into the pool of the mouth it is received in the manner of a whirlpool, and the sea does not go upward; and there is a shore next to the river, and so long as Sabrina is flooded at the flood-tide, that shore is not covered; and when the sea and Sabrina recede, then the Pool Liuan belches up everything that it devoured from the sea, and that shore is covered, and like a mountain in a single wave it belches forth and bursts. And if there were an army of the whole region in which it is, and it directed its face against the wave, the wave drags the army by force, their garments filled with moisture, and the horses likewise are dragged.

si autem exercitus terga versus fuerit contra eam, non nocet ei unda et quando recesserit mare, totum tunc litus, quod unda tegit, retro denudatur et mare recedit ab ipso.

But if the army has turned its backs toward it, the wave does not harm them; and when the sea has receded, then the whole littoral which the wave covers is denuded back, and the sea recedes from it.

70 Est aliud mirabile in regione Cinlipiuc. est ibi fons nomine Finnaun Guur Helic; non fluit rivus ex eo neque in eo. vadunt homines piscari ad fontem, alii vadunt in fontem ad partem orientis et deducunt pisces ex ea parte, alii ad dextram, alii ad sinistram, ad occidentamque, et trahuntur pisces ex ea parte. et aliud genus piscium trahitur ex omnibus partibus.

70 There is another marvel in the region of Cinlipiuc. There is there a spring named Finnaun Guur Helic; no rivulet flows out of it nor into it. People go to fish at the spring: some go into the spring to the part of the Orient and draw down fishes from that part, others to the right, others to the left, and to the Occident as well, and fishes are dragged from that part. And another genus of fishes is drawn from all the parts.

magnum mirabile pisces inveniri in fonte, dum non flumen fluit in eo neque ex eo, et in eo inveniuntur quattuor genera piscium et non est de magnitudine neque de profunditate. profunditas illius usque genua, viginti pedes sunt in logitudine et latitudine, ripas altas habet ex omni parte.

a great marvel, that fishes are found in the fountain, while no river flows into it nor out of it; and in it four kinds of fish are found, and it is not on account of magnitude nor of profundity. its depth is up to the knees, it is twenty feet in length and breadth, it has high banks on every side.

Iuxta flumen, quod vocatur Guoy, poma inveniuntur super fraxinum in proclivo saltus, qui est prope ostio fluminis.

Next to the river which is called Guoy, apples are found upon an ash tree on the declivity of a woodland, which is near the mouth of the river.

Est aliud mirabile in regione quae vocatur Guent. est ibi fovea, a qua ventus inflat per omne tempus sine intermissione, et quando non flat ventus in tempore aestatis, de illa fovea incessanter flat, ut nemo possit sustinere neque ante foveae profunditatem. et vocature nomen eius Vith Guint Brittannico sermone, Latine autem flatio venti.

There is another marvel in the region which is called Guent. There is there a pit, from which a wind blows at all times without intermission; and when the wind does not blow in the time of summer, from that pit it blows unceasingly, so that no one can endure it nor stand before the pit’s depth. And its name is called Vith Guint in the British tongue, but in Latin the blowing of the wind.

magnum mirabile est ventus de terra flare.

it is a great marvel that wind blows from the earth.

71 Est aliud mirabile in Guyr altare, quod est in loco, qui dicitur Loyngarth, quod nutu dei fulcitur. historia istius altaris melius mihi videtur narrare quam reticere. factum est autem dum sanctus Iltutus orabat in spelunca, quae est iuxta mare, quod alluit terram supra dicti loci, os autem speluncae ad mare est, et ecce navis navigabat ad se de mari et duo viri navigantes eam et corpus sancti hominis erat cum illis in navi et altare supra faciem eius, quod nutu dei fulciebatur et processit homo dei obviam illis et corpus sancti hominis et altare inseparabiliter supra faciem sancti corporis stabat.

71 There is another marvel in Guyr: an altar which is in the place called Loyngarth, which is supported by the nod of God. The history of this altar seems to me better to narrate than to keep silent. Now it came to pass, while Saint Iltutus was praying in a cave, which is next to the sea, which washes the land of the aforesaid place—the mouth of the cave, moreover, is toward the sea—and behold, a ship was sailing toward him from the sea, and two men were navigating it, and the body of a holy man was with them in the ship, and an altar over his face, which was being supported by the nod of God; and the man of God proceeded to meet them, and the body of the holy man and the altar stood inseparably above the face of the holy body.

et dixerunt ad sanctum Iltutum: ille homo dei commendavit nobis, ut deduceremus illum ad te et sepeliremus eum tecum et nomen eius non reveles ullo homini, ut non iurent per se homines. et sepelierunt eum et post sepulturam illi duo viri reversi sunt ad navim et navigaverunt. at ille sanctus Iltutus ecclesiam fundavit circa corpus sancti hominis et circa altare et manet usque in hodiernum diem altare nutu dei fulctum.

and they said to Saint Iltutus: that man of God entrusted to us that we should lead him to you and bury him with you, and that you not reveal his name to any man, so that men may not swear by him. And they buried him, and after the burial those two men returned to the ship and sailed away. But the holy Iltutus founded a church around the body of the holy man and around the altar, and to this present day the altar remains supported by the nod of God.

venit quidam regulus, ut proberet portans virgam in manu sua; curavit eam circa altare et tenuit ambabus manibus virgam ex utraque parte et traxit ad se et sic veritatem illius rei probavit et ille postea per mensem integrum non vixit. alter vero sub altare aspexit et aciem oculorum eius amisit et ante mensem integrum vitam finivit.

there came a certain petty king (regulus), to test it, carrying a rod in his hand; he ran it around the altar and held the rod with both hands on either side and pulled it toward himself, and thus he proved the truth of that matter, and afterward he did not live for a whole month. another, indeed, looked beneath the altar and lost the keenness of his eyes, and before a whole month he finished his life.

72 Est aliud mirabile in supra dicta regione Guent. est ibi fons iuxta vallum putei Mouric et lignum in medio fontis et lavant homines manus suas cum faciebus suis et lignum sub pedibus suis habent, quando lavant. nam et ago probavi et vidi.

72 There is another marvel in the above-said region of Gwent. There is a spring next to the bank of Mouric’s well, and a piece of wood in the middle of the spring, and people wash their hands together with their faces, and they have the wood under their feet when they wash. For I too have proved and seen.

quando mare inundatur, ad mallinam extenditu Sabrina super omnem maritimam et tegit et usque ad fontem producitur et impletur fons de sissa Sabrinae et trahit lignum secum usque ad mare magnum et per spatium trium dierum in mare invertitur et in quarto die in supra dicto fonte invenitur. factum est autem, ut unus de rusticis sepeliret eum in terra ad probandum, et in quarto die inventus est in fonte et ille rusticus, qui eum abscondidit et sepelivit, defunctus est ante finem mensis.

when the sea is inundated, at the maline (spring tide), the Sabrina extends over the whole maritime [tract] and covers it, and is carried forward as far as the spring, and the spring is filled with the surge of the Sabrina, and it drags the wood with it as far as the great sea, and for the space of three days it is borne in the sea, and on the fourth day it is found in the aforesaid spring. moreover, it came to pass that one of the rustics buried it in the earth to test it, and on the fourth day it was found in the spring; and that rustic who hid it and buried it died before the end of the month.

73 Est aliud miraculum in region quae vocatur Ercing. habetur ibi sepulcrum iuxta fontem, qui cognominatur Licat Anir, et viri nomen, qui sepultus est in tumulo, sic vocabatur Anir: filius Arthuri militis erat et ipse occidit eum ibidem et sepelivit. et veniunt homines ad mensurandum tumulum in longitudine aliquando sex pedes, aliquando novem, aliquando duodecim, aliquando quidecim.

73 There is another miracle in the region which is called Ercing. there is held there a sepulchre next to a spring, which is surnamed Licat Anir, and the name of the man who is buried in the mound was thus called Anir: he was the son of Arthur the soldier, and he himself killed him there and buried him. and men come to measure the tomb in length, sometimes six feet, sometimes nine, sometimes twelve, sometimes fifteen.

in qua mensura metieris eum in ista vice, iterum non invenies eum in una mensura, et ego solus probavi.

in whatever measure you measure him on this occasion, again you will not find him in one and the same measure, and I alone have proved it.

74 Est aliud mirabile in regione quae vocatur Cereticiaun. est ibi mons, quae cognominatur Cruc Maur, et est sepulcrum in cacumine illius et omnis homo quicumque venerit ad sepulcrum et extenderit se iuxta illus, quamvis brevis fuerit, in una longitudine invenitur sepulcrum et homo, et si fuerit homo brevis et parvus, similiter et longitudinem sepulcri iuxta staturam hominis invenitur. et si fuerit longus atque procerus, etiam si fuisset in longitudine quattuor cubitorum, iuxta staturam uniuscuiusque homini sic tumulus reperitur.

74 There is another miracle in the region which is called Cereticiaun. There is there a mountain, which is surnamed Cruc Maur, and there is a sepulcher on the summit of it; and every man whoever comes to the sepulcher and stretches himself beside it, however short he may be, the sepulcher and the man are found in one length; and if the man be short and small, likewise the length of the sepulcher is found according to the stature of the man. And if he be long and tall, even if he were in the length of four cubits, according to the stature of each and every man thus the tumulus is discovered.

et omni peregrinus taediosusque homo tres flectiones flectaverit iuxta illud, non erit super se usque ad diem mortis suae et non gravabitur iterum ullo taedio quam abisset solus in extremis finibus cosmi.

and any peregrine, even a wearied man, who shall have made three flexions beside it, no tedium will be upon him until the day of his death, and he will not again be burdened by any tedium, even if he had gone alone to the farthest confines of the cosmos.

75 Primum miraculum est litus sine mari.

75 The first miracle is a shore without a sea.

Secundum miraculum est ibi mons qui gyratur tribus vicibus in anno.

The second miracle is that there is a mountain there which gyrates three times in the year.

Tertium miraculum vadum est ibi: quando inundature mare et ipse inundatur, et quando decrescit mare et ipse minuitur.

The third miracle is a ford there: when the sea is about to be inundated and it too is inundated, and when the sea decreases and it is diminished as well.

Qaurtum miraculum est lapis qui ambulat in nocturnis temporibus super vallem Citheinn, et proiectus est olim in voragine Cereuus, qui est in medio pelagi quod vocature Mene, et in crastino super ripam supra dictae vallis inventus est sine dubio.

Fourth miracle is the stone which walks in nocturnal times over the valley Citheinn, and once it was projected into the whirlpool Cereuus, which is in the midst of the sea which is called Mene, and on the morrow it was found without doubt upon the bank of the aforesaid valley.

76 Est ibi stagnum quod vocatur Luchlein, quattuor circulis ambitur. primo circulo gronna stanni ambitur, secundo circulo gronna plumbi ambitur, tertio circulo gronna ferri ambitur, quarto circulo gronna aeris ambitur, et in eo stagno multae margaritae inveniuntur, quas ponunt reges in auribus suis.

76 There is a pool there which is called Luchlein, it is surrounded by four circles. by the first circle it is surrounded by a ring of tin, by the second circle it is surrounded by a ring of lead, by the third circle it is surrounded by a ring of iron, by the fourth circle it is surrounded by a ring of bronze, and in that pool many pearls are found, which kings place in their ears.

Est aliud stagnum qui facit ligna durescere in lapides. homines autem fingunt ligna et postquam formaverint, proiciunt in stagno, et manet in eo usque ad caput anni et in capite anni lapis reperietur: et vocatur Luch Echach.

There is another lake which makes wood grow hard into stones. Men moreover fashion the wood, and after they have formed it, they cast it into the lake, and it remains in it up to the head of the year, and at the head of the year a stone will be found; and it is called Luch Echach.

Incipit de signis et prodigiis et de quibusdam Hyberniae admirandis.

Here begins on the signs and prodigies and certain marvels of Ireland.

Plurima mira malum signantia signa futurum
sive bonum dederat clemens deus arbiter orbis,
ut terreret eos, quos illa videre volebat.
omnia pene loca, in quibus haec iam facta fuere,
tempora cuncta simul brevitas intacta reliquit.
tres simul in caelo visi sunt currere soles.

very many marvelous signs signifying an evil to come
or a good, the clement God, arbiter of the orb, had given,
so that he might terrify those whom she wished to see.
almost all the places, in which these things had already been done,
all the times alike at once an intact brevity has left untouched.
three suns at once in the sky were seen to run.

terribilem quedam tellus effuderat ignem.
maxima pars noctis fulgebat luce diei.
ecce lapis cecidit de caelo magnus in amne.

the earth had poured forth a terrible fire.
the greatest part of the night was shining with the light of day.
behold, a great stone fell from heaven into the river.

circulus et solem circundedit aureus altum.
agnus in Egypto mire fuit ore locutus.
bos loquitur Rome stimulanti voce prophetae:
copia farris erit vobis hominesque peribunt.

and a golden circle encircled the high sun.
a lamb in Egypt marvelously spoke with its mouth.
an ox speaks at Rome at the goading voice of a prophet:
there will be an abundance of spelt for you, and men will perish.

spicas turba hominum iam vidit in arbore natas.
panibus incisis sanguis quoque fluxit abunde
coram convivis, quos signum terruit illud.
bos peperit dudum multis cernentibus agnum.

the throng of men has already seen spikes of grain born on a tree.
upon the loaves being incised, blood too flowed abundantly
before the dinner-guests, whom that sign terrified.
an ox recently bore a lamb, many beholding.

armatas multis acies equitesque diebus
aere pugnantes crudeliter arma movere
ante quidem cives viderunt tempora belli.
natus equa fuerat totus homo tempore nostro
atque homine, hinnitum faciens quoque morise equini,
tam comedens faenum quam panem et caetera edebat.
natus erat duplex homo vivens tempore longo
quadrimanus, bipes atque biceps et pectore bino
atque duas animas unum ventremque gerebat.

for many days armed battle-lines and horsemen
fighting in the air cruelly moved their arms
indeed beforehand the citizens saw the times of war.
a whole man had been born from a mare in our time
and, though a human, he also made a whinny in equine manner,
eating hay as well as bread, and he ate the rest besides.
there was born a double man who lived for a long time
quadrimanous, biped and two-headed and with a twin chest,
and he bore two souls and a single belly.

quorundam pars posterior nova verba sonabat
tunc mirabiliter cantans modulamina quaedam.
vox avis audita est dicentis talia verba:
mane novo surgens dominum laudabo potentem.
his ita prodigiis signisque per omnia dictis
nunc quoque describam patriae miracula nostrae
nomine quae propria vocitatus Hibernia cunctis.

the hind part of certain persons was sounding new words
then wondrously singing certain modulations.
the voice of a bird was heard, saying such words:
rising at the new morning, I will praise the mighty Lord.
with these prodigies and signs thus told through all things
now too I will describe the marvels of our fatherland,
which by its proper name is called Hibernia by all.

De rebus Hiberniae admirandis.

Of the admirable things of Hibernia.

Finibus in nostris famosa est insula parva,
quae satis exanimes corruptos impedit esse
vel putridos tabo carnem sic efficit omnem.
illic cernit avum quisquam retinere figuram,
cuius ibi crescunt ungues simul atque capilli.
terraque nostra tenet stagnum quod continet istam
vim, qua lingua solent lapides mox esse sub undis
post tamen annorum ceu dicunt tempora septem.

Within our borders a small island is famous,
which prevents the quite lifeless from being corrupted
or rotten with decay; thus it renders all flesh.
there one sees a grandsire retain his figure,
whose nails and hair there grow at the same time.
and our land holds a pool which contains that
force, by which tongues are soon wont to be stones beneath the waves
after, however, as they say, a period of 7 years.

Est aliud stagnum, cui fons quoque mirus adheret,
quinque pedum spatio tantum qui distat ab illo.
sive igitur crescat de largis ymbribus illud
seu nimio fervore magis decrescat, habebit
quinque pedum spatium semper distantia tantum.
Cernitur a multis alius fons more probatus
qui facit ut dicunt canos mox esse capillos.

There is another stagnant pond, to which also a wondrous fount adheres,
which is distant from it by only a space of five feet.
Whether therefore that one swells from copious rains,
or sinks rather by excessive heat, it will have
a space of five feet only as the distance always.
Another fount, approved by custom, is seen by many,
which, as they say, soon makes the hair hoary.

Fons alius si tactus erit aut visus ab ullo,
efficit ingentes pluvias, quas fundere caelum
non cessat, si non oblatio sacra repellat.
Fons est, si verum, cernentis tempora signans:
nam salit eructans cum signans tempora longa,
at silet attestans cernentem mox moriturum.
Fons est dulcis aquae constans in vertice montis
more maris retinens accensum sive recessum.

Another spring, if it be touched or seen by anyone,
brings about vast rains, which the sky does not cease to pour
unless a sacred oblation repels it.
There is a spring, if it be true, marking the observer’s times:
for it leaps, belching forth, when it marks long times,
but is silent, attesting the onlooker soon to die.
There is a spring of sweet water, constant on the mountain’s summit
retaining, in the manner of the sea, the advance or the recession.

Dicunt esse duos fontes contraria agentes:
alter namque nec est potatus, perpetrat alter,
non aufert vitam: neuter cognoscitur ullo
tangere non audent iccirco utrumque periti
Proximus esse mari modicus quoque fertur acervus.
iam lapidum quidam mirabile quique ministrat
non magis apparens fluctu retrahente marino vel retrorsum
quam solito cursu, quando mare littora replet
occultanto mari illic, quae magis alta videntur.
Est aliquid saxum mirabile: namque repente
si fuerat virga percussum, suscitat ymbres:
ilico tempestas oritur sequiturque caligo.

They say there are two springs doing contrary things:
for the one is not for drinking, the other, when drunk, effects it — it does not take away life; neither is recognized by anyone — therefore the skilled do not dare to touch either.
A modest heap is also reported to be very near the sea.
And now, of stones, a certain marvel and what it ministers: no more appearing with the marine billow drawing back, even backward, than in its accustomed course, when the sea fills the shores, the sea there occulting those which seem higher.
There is some marvelous rock: for suddenly, if it has been struck with a rod, it rouses rains; straightway a tempest arises and murk follows.

at ea temoria sedem rex quisque tenebat,
Scottorum fuerant ubi tres res maxime mire
non lapis atque puer parvus namque sepulchrum,
nam lapis ut fertur calcatus rege sonabat.
iam rugiens prolem genuit septemnis et ille
parvulus aclectus nominatur ab omnibus eque
quinque pedum spatio brevior non addidit unquam,
quem numerum fuerat qui non maiore minutus.
Illa nimis miranda quidam piscina, leprosos
quae facit intrantes omnes se illicque lavantes.

but at temoria each king held a seat,
where among the Scots there were three things most wondrous:
namely a stone and a small boy and indeed a sepulchre,
for the stone, as it is said, when trodden by the king, used to sound.
and now, roaring, he begot offspring at seven years, and that
very little one, aclectus, is named by all alike;
and, shorter by the span of five feet, he never added beyond it,
a number by which there was no one diminished by a greater.
that pool is exceedingly to be wondered at, which makes all the lepers
who enter and wash themselves there clean.

est tamen haec eadem non noxia parte sequente,
quae solito cursu petit ac sic intrat in ipsam.
inter utranque tamen partem distantia parva
esse pedum spatio binorum pene videtur.
Continet haec hominis cuiusdam terra sepulchrum
femineas turbas fallentis more doloso:
ille etenim numerum ingentem violavit carum.

yet this same thing is not noxious in the following part,
which, in its accustomed course, makes for it and thus enters into it.
between the two parts, however, the small distance
seems to be almost a space of two feet.
This land contains the sepulcher of a certain man
who was deceiving feminine throngs in a deceitful manner:
for he indeed violated an immense and dear number.

fine tamen fuerat felici crimana deflens.
ergo modo mire mulier si viderit illud,
pedere vel ridere solet cernendo sepulchrum,
tormine iam resonat quod, si non rideat illa
De infantibus sanctum Patricium invocatibus
Ex utero matris quondam sunt ista locuti
infantes: nos sancte veni Patrici bene salva

yet in the end it had turned out happily, she weeping for her crimes.
therefore now, wondrously, if a woman sees that,
she is wont either to fart or to laugh on beholding the sepulcher,
which already resounds with a rumbling, if she does not laugh.
Concerning infants calling upon Saint Patrick
from their mother’s womb once these have spoken,
infants: O saint Patrick, come to us; save us well.

De S [K]ie[nan] quodam

Concerning a certain St. [K]ie[nan]

Sanctus in hac patria quidam vir nomine Kienan
permanet incorruptus, habens nunc integra menbra,
mortuus ante tamen quingentos circiter annos
eiusdem loci defuncti quique putrescunt.
De hominibus qui se vertunt in lupos
Sunt homines quidam Scottorum gentis habentes
miram naturam maiorum ab origine ductam:
quam cito, quando volunt, ipsos se vertere possunt
nequiter in formas lacerantum dente luporum,
unde videntur oves occidere sepe gementes.
sed sum clamor eos hominum seu cursus eorum
fustibus aut armis terret, fugiendo recurrunt.

Saint, in this fatherland, a certain man by the name Kienan
remains incorrupt, now having whole limbs;
yet having died about five hundred years earlier,
while those deceased of the same place do rot.
On men who turn themselves into wolves
There are certain men of the nation of the Scots, having
a wondrous nature drawn from the origin of their ancestors:
as swiftly, when they wish, they can turn themselves
wickedly into the forms of wolves lacerating with tooth,
whence they seem to kill sheep, often lamenting.
but the very clamor of men, or their pursuit,
with cudgels or arms, terrifies them; fleeing, they run back.

cum tamen haec faciunt, sua corpora vera relinquunt.
atque suis mandant, ne quisquam moverit illa:
si sic eveniant, nec ad illa redire ualebunt.
si quid eos ledat, penetrent si vulnera queque,
vere in corporibus semper cernuntur eorum.

when nevertheless they do these things, they leave their true bodies behind.
and they mandate to their own, that no one move them:
if thus it should come about, they will not be able to return to them.
if anything harm them, if any wounds should penetrate,
truly they are always discerned in their bodies.

sic caro cruda herens in veri corporis ore
cernitur a sociis, quod nos miramus et omnes.
De homine decollato capite per vii annos vivente
Decollatus erat quidam languore doloris:
postea septenos fertur vixisse per annos:
guttere nanque miser poscebat aperto alimentum.
De muliere cum corpore a demonibus rapta
Haec res mira solet numeros celebrantibus addi.

thus raw flesh, clinging to the mouth of the true body,
is discerned by companions, which we and all marvel at.
Of a man beheaded, living for 7 years
beheaded was a certain man by the languor of pain:
afterwards he is said to have lived for seven years:
for indeed the wretch would ask for food with his gullet open.
Of a woman with her body snatched by demons
this wondrous matter is wont to be added by those celebrating numbers.

vir bonus et verax aliquid mirabile vidit.
quodam nanque die volucres in flumine cernens
proitiens lapidem percussit vulnere cignum,
prendere quam cupiens tunc protinus ille cucurrit.
sed properante viro mire est ibi femina visa,
quam stupido visu ascipiens haec querit ab illa,
unde fuit, quid ei accidit aut quo tempore venit.

a good and truthful man saw something marvelous.
for indeed on a certain day, perceiving birds in the river,
throwing a stone, he struck a swan with a wounding blow,
and desiring to seize it, he then straightway ran.
but as the man was hastening, a woman was wondrously seen there,
whom, beholding with a stupefied gaze, he asks these things of her:
whence she was, what had happened to her, or at what time she came.

haec: infirma fui, inquit ei, et tunc proxima morti
atque putata meis sum, quod defuncta videbur.
demonibus sed rapta fui cum carne repente.
hanc vix credibilem rem tunc audivit ab illa,
quam secum ducens saciavit veste ciboque,
tradidit atque suis credentibus esse sepultam,
qui quod erat factum vix credere iam potuerunt.

she: I was infirm, she says to him, and then very near to death
and I was thought by my own, because I seemed defunct.
but I was rapt by demons suddenly with my flesh.
this scarcely credible thing he then heard from her,
whom, leading with him, he satiated with clothing and with food,
and he delivered her to her own, who believed her to have been buried,
who could scarcely now believe what had been done.

De navi que visa est in aere
Rex fuit in theatro Scottorum tempore quodam
turbis cum variis, cum militibus ordine pulchris.
ecce repente vident decurrere in aere navim,
de qua post piscem tunc unus iecerat hastam,
quae ruit in terram, quam natans ille retraxit
ista quis auditurus

Of the ship which was seen in the air
A king was in the theater of the Scots at a certain time
with various crowds, with soldiers fair in order.
behold, suddenly they see a ship running down in the air,
from which then one had thrown a spear after a fish,
which rushed to the ground, which that swimmer drew back
who would be about to hear such things

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