Battle of Badon 500
Marker: recorded battle location (no official boundary).
Key facts
| Date (year) | 500 | Wikidata P585 point in time |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 5th century | derived |
| Period | Early medieval, Anglo-Saxon & Viking | derived |
| Country | England | derived |
| War / conflict | Anglo-Saxon settlement of England | Wikidata |
| Participants | Ambrosius Aurelianus, Anglo-Saxons, Celtic Britons, King Arthur | Wikidata |
About the battle
The Battle of Badon, also known as the Battle of Mons Badonicus, was purportedly fought between Britons and Anglo-Saxons in Post-Roman Britain during the early 6th century. It was credited as a major victory for the Britons, stopping the westward encroachment of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms for a period.
The earliest known references to the battle, by the British cleric Gildas, was written c. 543–547. It is chiefly known today for the involvement of the man who would later be remembered as the legendary King Arthur. His name is not known, although the name under the form "Arthur" first appears in the 9th-century Historia Brittonum, where he is mentioned as having participated in the battle alongside the Brittonic kings as a war commander, though is not described as a king himself. Because of the limited number of sources, there is no certainty about the date, location, or details of the fighting apart from the result being a victory for the Britons.
Almost all scholars agree that this battle did take place. Gildas wrote within living memory of the battle (he claims to have been born in the same year it was fought).
Visiting the battlefield
Following Monmouth, Mount Badon’s location has traditionally been sited in the hills around Bath, such as Bathampton Down. Tim and Annette Burkitt have proposed Caer Badden (Latin: Aquae Sulis; now Bath, Somerset), some 20 miles northeast of the Roman mines at Charterhouse.
Susan Hirst, Geoffrey Ashe and Michael Wood argue for the site of Liddington Castle on the hill above Badbury (Old English: Baddan byrig) in Wiltshire west of Swindon. This site, an Iron Age hill fort is strategic seeing as it commands The Ridgeway, which connects the River Thames with the River Avon and River Severn beyond.
Location
- Recorded location (Wikidata; may be approximate): 51.3800, -2.3600
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Badon (revision 1375345618), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Location”; condensed by selecting paragraphs and trimming at sentence boundaries; citations removed. No text added.
Battle location from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby battlefields
- Battle of Lansdown Hill 1643 · 7 km
- Battle of Edington 878 · 11 km
- Battle of Deorham 577 · 12 km
- Battle of Chippenham 878 · 19 km
- Battle of Roundway Down 1643 · 27 km
- Battle of Nibley Green 1469 · 31 km
Other battles of the Anglo-Saxon settlement of England
- Battle of Guoloph 437
- Battle of Aylesford 455
- Battle of Wippedesfleot 466
- Battle of Mercredesburne 485
- Battle of Beran Byrig 556
- Battle of Deorham 577
- Battle of Woden's Burg 592
- Battle of Chester 615
All battles of the Anglo-Saxon settlement of England →
Browse more: battles in England · Early medieval, Anglo-Saxon & Viking · 5th century battles