   nennius (also known as nemnius or nemnivus) was a welsh monk of the 9th century. he has traditionally been attributed with the authorship of the historia brittonum, based on the prologue affixed to that work,j. a. giles (translator), nennius: the history of the britons, in six old english chronicles (1847) this attribution is widely considered a secondary (10th century) tradition.e.g. david dumville, quoted at: http://www.britishhistoryclub.com/bhc/sources/nennius_hb.html  nennius was a student of elvodugus, commonly identified with the bishop elfodd who convinced british ecclesiastics to accept the continental dating for easter, and who died in 809 according to the annales cambriae. nennius is believed to have lived in the area made up by present day brecknockshire and radnorshire counties in powys, wales. he lived outside the anglo-saxon kingdoms, isolated by mountains in a rural society.gransden, antonia. historical writing in england. ithaca, new york: cornell up, 1974. 12 because of the lack of evidence concerning the life of nennius he has become the subject of legend himself. welsh traditions include nennius with elbodug and others said to have escaped the massacre of welsh monks by ethelfrid in 613, fleeing to the north.lee, sidney, ed. "nennius." dictionary of national biography. xl. london: smith, elder & co., 1894. 221 ==authorship of historia brittonum==  nennius was traditionally credited with having written the historia brittonum c. 830.gransden, antonia. historical writing in england. ithaca, new york: cornell up, 1974. 6 the historia brittonum was highly influential, becoming a major contributor to the arthurian legend. it also includes the legendary origins of the picts, scots, st. germanus and vortigern, and documents events associated with the anglo-saxon invasion of the 7th century as contributed by a northumbrian document.marsh, henry. dark age britain: some sources of history. hamden, connecticut: archon books, 1970. 84 evidence suggests that this medieval literature was a compilation of several sources, some of which are named by nennius while others are not. some experts say that this was not the first compiled history of the britons and that it was largely based on gildas' de excidio et conquestu britanniae written some two centuries before.gransden, antonia. historical writing in england. ithaca, new york: cornell up, 1974. 7 scholarship indicates that other sources included a life of st germanaius and a number of royal pedigrees.[[fr
9th-century_Welsh_people 9th-century_births 9th-century_deaths 9th-century_historians 9th-century_writers Medieval_Welsh_literature Sub-Roman_writers Welsh_historians Writers_of_Arthurian_literature