Gildas's "De Excidio Britonum" and the Early British Church

Description

'Gildas' De excidio Britonum' is almost the sole surviving contemporary source for the period which saw the beginning of the transformation of post-Roman Britain into Anglo-Saxon England. However, although the "De excidio" has received much scholarly attention over the last forty years, the value of the text as a primary source for this fascinating if obscure period of British history has been limited by our lack of knowledge concerning its historical and cultural context.In this new study the author challenges the assumption that the British Church was isolated from its Continental counterpart by Germanic settlement in Britain and seeks to establish a theological context for the "De excidio" within the framework of doctrinal controversy in the early Continental Church. The vexed question of the place of Pelagianism in the early British Church is re-investigated and a case is put forward for a radical new interpretation of Gildas' own theological stance. In addition, this study presents a detailed investigation of the literary structure of the "De excidio" and Gildas's use of verbal patterns, and argues that his use of the Bible as a literary model is at least as significant as his well-documented use of the literary techniques of Classical Latin. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABREVIAT IONS INTRODUCTION 1. THE PREFACE Gildas’s purpose Gildas and the continuity of the British Church Use of Biblical example: allegory and exposition Gildas’s use of Jeremiah in the Preface Gildas and heresy Conclusion of the Preface 2. GILDAS AND THE LAMENTAT IONS OF JEREMIAH Symmetrical repetition in the 'De Excidio Britonum' Thematic function of the pattern of symmetrical repetition Textual integrity and the patterns of symmetrical repetition 3. THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PATTERNS IN THE 'DEB' Gildas’s use of ‘Biblical style’ 4. THE 'HISTORIA' Further historiographical problems in the 'DEB'; the ‘letter to Aetius’ and the 'Chronicle of 452' The purpose of the 'historia' Parallelism in the 'historia' Symmetrical repetition in the 'historia' Conclusions 5. THE KINGS The address to the five kings Gildas and the kings Repentance and the kings Gildas and the doctrine of predestination. 6. GILDA S AND THE BRITISH CHURCH Gildas’s agenda Analysis of the content and structure of Book II Gildas and the letters of Pelagius and his followers Gildas and 'gratia' Conclusions 7. THE 'DEB' AND THE 'VITA GERMANI' The text of the 'Passio Albani' Gildas and the 'Passio Albani' Problems of dating A context for theological debate: Gildas and St Germanus Did Gildas read ‘E’? Analysis of theological material in the 'Passio' The textual relationship between the ‘T’ and ‘E’ texts of the 'Passio' and the 'DEB' Conclusions EPILOGUE APPENDIX: 'DE EXCIDIO BRITONUM' SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX