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Papers by Edwin Pace

Research paper thumbnail of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Sources for the Cador and Camblan Narratives

Arthuriana, 2014

A survey of Geoffrey’s Historia Regum Britanniae suggests that it is a work transmitted over many... more A survey of Geoffrey’s Historia Regum Britanniae suggests that it is a work transmitted over many centuries, incorporating narratives mis-sychronized from different periods. Accounts from earlier known exemplars display a consistent variation, with those farthest in time from the twelfth century displaying the greatest degree of change.

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Research paper thumbnail of Geoffrey’s ‘Very Old Book’ and Penda of Mercia

Arthuriana, 2012

Major story elements in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s narrative concerning Uther Pendragon and Aureliu... more Major story elements in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s narrative concerning Uther Pendragon and Aurelius Ambrosius closely follow historical events recorded for the reigns of the seventh-century insular rulers Cadwallon of Gwynedd and Penda of Mercia. This may have important implications for the provenance of the Historia Regum Britanniae. (EP)

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Research paper thumbnail of 'Britannic Annals': The Unity of Post-Roman English and British Chronicles

Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association, 2023

Analysis of Gildas, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Historia Brittonum and the Harleian chronicle suggests... more Analysis of Gildas, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Historia Brittonum and the Harleian chronicle suggests that all originally recorded the same series of post-Roman British events. Moreover, the three annals used an apparatus distinct from those in continental or Irish works: a unique placeholder standing for each year. These 'Britannic annals' originally provided a simple yet effective means of dating past events. The prime reason these four sources now seem inconsistent is due to Gildas' providential bias. His misdating of a single event in his De excidio Britanniae made it impossible for later historians to create a unified chronology for events in fifth-century Britain. However, once Gildas' providential error is corrected, all these early sources provide consistent dates for post-Roman events in Britain.

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Research paper thumbnail of Walls and withdrawals: Gildas' version of the end of Roman Britain

Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association, 2015

'Notitia Dignitatum, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle', archaeology, and fifth-centu... more 'Notitia Dignitatum, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle', archaeology, and fifth-century Roman sources all support Gildas' story of a Roman return to Britain a decade after 410. A subsequent Roman withdrawal in about 421 left significant British governmental structures in place. But this also left the diocese with a greatly weakened economy. Gildas' erroneous story of a fifth-century origin for Hadrian's Wall derives from his providential view of history. Within this paradigm, the Wall was created exclusively for the defence of sinful, cowardly Britons, and not the God-favoured Romans.

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Research paper thumbnail of The Persistence of Chronology in Post-Roman Britain: From Gildas to the Harleian Chronicle

--, 2021

Examination of the chronologies of three early sources for post-Roman Britain suggests that all o... more Examination of the chronologies of three early sources for post-Roman Britain suggests that all originally reported the same dates for the same events. Inconsistencies are best explained by Insular use of 'stepping stone,' or relative dating. Ninth-century attempts to synchronize these sources with continental information produced the current variant chronologies. This also has relevance for Gildas' controversial "Badon date." The evidence indicates that the Harleian chronicle originally dated Badon to the middle of the fifth century, using information from an Insular continuation of Jerome's chronicon. Three early works for post-Roman Britain claim to provide significant evidence for the post-Roman period: the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Historia Brittonum, and the Harleian chronicle. Scholars have investigated each source numerous times, with no end in sight. But far less attention has been paid to the dated events that each work provides. There seem to be good reasons for this neglect. Each source appears to report radically different dates for the same events, or dated events that no other source acknowledges. This seems to affirm the current scholarly consensus that all were composed centuries after Britain's post-Roman period, and for largely contemporary, not historical or antiquarian purposes.

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Research paper thumbnail of Historia Brittonum and 'Saxon Annals': A Case for Convergence in the Historiography of Post-Roman Britain

Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association, 2019

From the sixth century forward, the early written sources for post-Roman Britain agree on the sam... more From the sixth century forward, the early written sources for post-Roman Britain agree on the same dated events. In particular, the dates in chapter sixty-six of the Historia Brittonum coincide with those in Bede and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and are consistent with Gildas’ sequence of post-Roman events. Any variation is due to the Historia author’s incorrect belief that consuls (and not emperors) ruled Rome after 388. This in turn fully explains twenty-four supposedly missing years in chapter sixty-six. Recognition that relative, or ‘stepping stone,’ dating underpins early post-Roman historiography accounts for current chronological inconsistencies.

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Research paper thumbnail of The Two Shoulders of Arthur: Late Antiquity and the Battle List

An evidence-based examination of Chapter 56 of the Historia Britonum (Arthur's so-called battle l... more An evidence-based examination of Chapter 56 of the Historia Britonum (Arthur's so-called battle list) suggests it has most in common with the world of late antiquity. The work differs in almost every respect from Welsh heroic age poetry. Arthur's command of Britain's kings, the images on his 'shoulders,' and the sacral number of battles all argue for a context from the time of Orosius and Gildas.

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Research paper thumbnail of Athelstan, ‘Twist-Beard,’ and Arthur: Tenth-Century Breton Origins for the Historia Regum Britanniae

The most likely place of compilation for the narratives in the Historia Regum Britanniae is the t... more The most likely place of compilation for the narratives in the Historia Regum Britanniae is the tenth-century court of King Athelstan. The Breton ruling house that sought refuge there is the most likely beneficiary of a Breton royal agenda that runs throughout the work. Moreover, Athelstan's biography provides plausible exemplars for much of Arthur's unprecedented imperial image. (EP)

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Research paper thumbnail of Walls and Withdrawals: Gildas’ Version of the End of Roman Britain

The Notitia Dignitatum, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, archaeology, and fifth-century Roman sources a... more The Notitia Dignitatum, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, archaeology, and fifth-century Roman sources all support Gildas’ story of a Roman return to Britain a decade after 410. A subsequent Roman withdrawal in about 421 left significant British governmental structures in place. But this also left the diocese with a greatly weakened economy.
Gildas’ erroneous story of a fifth-century origin for Hadrian’s Wall derives from his providential view of history. Within this paradigm, the Wall was created exclusively for the defence of sinful, cowardly Britons, and not the God-favoured Romans.

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Research paper thumbnail of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Sources for the Cador and Camblan Narratives

A survey of Geoffrey’s Historia Regum Britanniae suggests that it is a work transmitted over many... more A survey of Geoffrey’s Historia Regum Britanniae suggests that it is a work transmitted over many centuries, incorporating narratives mis-sychronized from different periods. Accounts from known earlier exemplars display a consistent variation, with those farthest in time from the twelfth century displaying the greatest degree of change .

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Research paper thumbnail of Geoffrey's 'Very Old Book' and Penda of Mercia

Arthuriana, 2012

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JAEMA Contents by Edwin Pace

Research paper thumbnail of Walls and withdrawals Gildas v

Journal of the Australian Medieval Association, 2015

The Notitia Dignitatum, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, archaeology, and fifth-century Roman sources a... more The Notitia Dignitatum, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, archaeology, and fifth-century Roman sources all support Gildas’ story of a Roman return to Britain a decade after 410. A subsequent Roman withdrawal in about 421 left significant British governmental structures in place. But this also left the diocese with a greatly weakened economy.
Gildas’ erroneous story of a fifth-century origin for Hadrian’s Wall derives from his providential view of history. Within this paradigm, the Wall was created exclusively for the defence of sinful, cowardly Britons, and not the God-favoured Romans.

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Research paper thumbnail of Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association, vol. 15, 2019

Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association, 2019

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Research paper thumbnail of Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association, vol. 11, 2015

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Books by Edwin Pace

Research paper thumbnail of The Long War for Britannia

The Long War for Britannia, 2021

The Long War for Britannia is the first study of Post-Roman Britain to offer a continuous narrati... more The Long War for Britannia is the first study of Post-Roman Britain to offer a continuous narrative for the years 367 to 664. It details the radical transformation of a Roman diocese into a dozen English and Welsh kingdoms. The work's most important insight is that the chronologies of all the early sources-Gildas, the Historia Brittonum, the Harleian chronicle, the Anglo-Saxon chronicle-were originally consistent. Any discrepancies in dated events are due to much later (and unsuccessful) attempts to reconcile Insular sources with Late Roman consular dates. This in turn provides a much more granular portrait of the Saxon transformation. The written evidence shows that warfare was central to the takeover; the numerous citations of conflict are authentic. But elements of Romano-British culture still survived, to include literacy and Christianity. The relative ease of Augustine's Conversion suggests that both persisted throughout the pagan Saxon period. Overall, the book depicts a most complex process, suggesting that apparent contradictions in the sources actually parallel the discrepant testimony of historical witnesses in every era.

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Research paper thumbnail of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Sources for the Cador and Camblan Narratives

Arthuriana, 2014

A survey of Geoffrey’s Historia Regum Britanniae suggests that it is a work transmitted over many... more A survey of Geoffrey’s Historia Regum Britanniae suggests that it is a work transmitted over many centuries, incorporating narratives mis-sychronized from different periods. Accounts from earlier known exemplars display a consistent variation, with those farthest in time from the twelfth century displaying the greatest degree of change.

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Research paper thumbnail of Geoffrey’s ‘Very Old Book’ and Penda of Mercia

Arthuriana, 2012

Major story elements in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s narrative concerning Uther Pendragon and Aureliu... more Major story elements in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s narrative concerning Uther Pendragon and Aurelius Ambrosius closely follow historical events recorded for the reigns of the seventh-century insular rulers Cadwallon of Gwynedd and Penda of Mercia. This may have important implications for the provenance of the Historia Regum Britanniae. (EP)

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Research paper thumbnail of 'Britannic Annals': The Unity of Post-Roman English and British Chronicles

Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association, 2023

Analysis of Gildas, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Historia Brittonum and the Harleian chronicle suggests... more Analysis of Gildas, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Historia Brittonum and the Harleian chronicle suggests that all originally recorded the same series of post-Roman British events. Moreover, the three annals used an apparatus distinct from those in continental or Irish works: a unique placeholder standing for each year. These 'Britannic annals' originally provided a simple yet effective means of dating past events. The prime reason these four sources now seem inconsistent is due to Gildas' providential bias. His misdating of a single event in his De excidio Britanniae made it impossible for later historians to create a unified chronology for events in fifth-century Britain. However, once Gildas' providential error is corrected, all these early sources provide consistent dates for post-Roman events in Britain.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Walls and withdrawals: Gildas' version of the end of Roman Britain

Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association, 2015

'Notitia Dignitatum, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle', archaeology, and fifth-centu... more 'Notitia Dignitatum, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle', archaeology, and fifth-century Roman sources all support Gildas' story of a Roman return to Britain a decade after 410. A subsequent Roman withdrawal in about 421 left significant British governmental structures in place. But this also left the diocese with a greatly weakened economy. Gildas' erroneous story of a fifth-century origin for Hadrian's Wall derives from his providential view of history. Within this paradigm, the Wall was created exclusively for the defence of sinful, cowardly Britons, and not the God-favoured Romans.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of The Persistence of Chronology in Post-Roman Britain: From Gildas to the Harleian Chronicle

--, 2021

Examination of the chronologies of three early sources for post-Roman Britain suggests that all o... more Examination of the chronologies of three early sources for post-Roman Britain suggests that all originally reported the same dates for the same events. Inconsistencies are best explained by Insular use of 'stepping stone,' or relative dating. Ninth-century attempts to synchronize these sources with continental information produced the current variant chronologies. This also has relevance for Gildas' controversial "Badon date." The evidence indicates that the Harleian chronicle originally dated Badon to the middle of the fifth century, using information from an Insular continuation of Jerome's chronicon. Three early works for post-Roman Britain claim to provide significant evidence for the post-Roman period: the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Historia Brittonum, and the Harleian chronicle. Scholars have investigated each source numerous times, with no end in sight. But far less attention has been paid to the dated events that each work provides. There seem to be good reasons for this neglect. Each source appears to report radically different dates for the same events, or dated events that no other source acknowledges. This seems to affirm the current scholarly consensus that all were composed centuries after Britain's post-Roman period, and for largely contemporary, not historical or antiquarian purposes.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Historia Brittonum and 'Saxon Annals': A Case for Convergence in the Historiography of Post-Roman Britain

Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association, 2019

From the sixth century forward, the early written sources for post-Roman Britain agree on the sam... more From the sixth century forward, the early written sources for post-Roman Britain agree on the same dated events. In particular, the dates in chapter sixty-six of the Historia Brittonum coincide with those in Bede and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and are consistent with Gildas’ sequence of post-Roman events. Any variation is due to the Historia author’s incorrect belief that consuls (and not emperors) ruled Rome after 388. This in turn fully explains twenty-four supposedly missing years in chapter sixty-six. Recognition that relative, or ‘stepping stone,’ dating underpins early post-Roman historiography accounts for current chronological inconsistencies.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of The Two Shoulders of Arthur: Late Antiquity and the Battle List

An evidence-based examination of Chapter 56 of the Historia Britonum (Arthur's so-called battle l... more An evidence-based examination of Chapter 56 of the Historia Britonum (Arthur's so-called battle list) suggests it has most in common with the world of late antiquity. The work differs in almost every respect from Welsh heroic age poetry. Arthur's command of Britain's kings, the images on his 'shoulders,' and the sacral number of battles all argue for a context from the time of Orosius and Gildas.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Athelstan, ‘Twist-Beard,’ and Arthur: Tenth-Century Breton Origins for the Historia Regum Britanniae

The most likely place of compilation for the narratives in the Historia Regum Britanniae is the t... more The most likely place of compilation for the narratives in the Historia Regum Britanniae is the tenth-century court of King Athelstan. The Breton ruling house that sought refuge there is the most likely beneficiary of a Breton royal agenda that runs throughout the work. Moreover, Athelstan's biography provides plausible exemplars for much of Arthur's unprecedented imperial image. (EP)

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Walls and Withdrawals: Gildas’ Version of the End of Roman Britain

The Notitia Dignitatum, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, archaeology, and fifth-century Roman sources a... more The Notitia Dignitatum, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, archaeology, and fifth-century Roman sources all support Gildas’ story of a Roman return to Britain a decade after 410. A subsequent Roman withdrawal in about 421 left significant British governmental structures in place. But this also left the diocese with a greatly weakened economy.
Gildas’ erroneous story of a fifth-century origin for Hadrian’s Wall derives from his providential view of history. Within this paradigm, the Wall was created exclusively for the defence of sinful, cowardly Britons, and not the God-favoured Romans.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Sources for the Cador and Camblan Narratives

A survey of Geoffrey’s Historia Regum Britanniae suggests that it is a work transmitted over many... more A survey of Geoffrey’s Historia Regum Britanniae suggests that it is a work transmitted over many centuries, incorporating narratives mis-sychronized from different periods. Accounts from known earlier exemplars display a consistent variation, with those farthest in time from the twelfth century displaying the greatest degree of change .

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Geoffrey's 'Very Old Book' and Penda of Mercia

Arthuriana, 2012

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Walls and withdrawals Gildas v

Journal of the Australian Medieval Association, 2015

The Notitia Dignitatum, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, archaeology, and fifth-century Roman sources a... more The Notitia Dignitatum, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, archaeology, and fifth-century Roman sources all support Gildas’ story of a Roman return to Britain a decade after 410. A subsequent Roman withdrawal in about 421 left significant British governmental structures in place. But this also left the diocese with a greatly weakened economy.
Gildas’ erroneous story of a fifth-century origin for Hadrian’s Wall derives from his providential view of history. Within this paradigm, the Wall was created exclusively for the defence of sinful, cowardly Britons, and not the God-favoured Romans.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association, vol. 15, 2019

Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association, 2019

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Research paper thumbnail of Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association, vol. 11, 2015

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of The Long War for Britannia

The Long War for Britannia, 2021

The Long War for Britannia is the first study of Post-Roman Britain to offer a continuous narrati... more The Long War for Britannia is the first study of Post-Roman Britain to offer a continuous narrative for the years 367 to 664. It details the radical transformation of a Roman diocese into a dozen English and Welsh kingdoms. The work's most important insight is that the chronologies of all the early sources-Gildas, the Historia Brittonum, the Harleian chronicle, the Anglo-Saxon chronicle-were originally consistent. Any discrepancies in dated events are due to much later (and unsuccessful) attempts to reconcile Insular sources with Late Roman consular dates. This in turn provides a much more granular portrait of the Saxon transformation. The written evidence shows that warfare was central to the takeover; the numerous citations of conflict are authentic. But elements of Romano-British culture still survived, to include literacy and Christianity. The relative ease of Augustine's Conversion suggests that both persisted throughout the pagan Saxon period. Overall, the book depicts a most complex process, suggesting that apparent contradictions in the sources actually parallel the discrepant testimony of historical witnesses in every era.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact