De Excidio Britanniae

The full, ancient text, De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae.De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae (or On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain), is an ancient text by a British cleric called St. Gildas during the 6th century. It is notable for being the only surviving, contemporary account of the Battle of Badon Hill (long associated with the legend of King Arthur). Though Arthur himself is never mentioned, Gildas does talk about Ambrosius Aurelianus, who may be an Arthur-type figure upon which many of the legends could have been based.

This book is one of Gildas' most important works. It is a sermon condemning the secular and religious behavior of his contemporaries. The author Saint Gildas is an outstanding member of the British Celtic Christian Church. His famous knowledge and literary style earned him the title of Gildas the Wise.

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De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae (Latin for "On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain", sometimes just "On the Ruin of Britain") is a work by the 6th-century AD British cleric St Gildas, written in Latin. It is a sermon in three parts condemning the acts of Gildas' contemporaries, both secular and religious, whom he blames for the dire state of affairs in sub-Roman Britain. It is one of the most important sources for the history of Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries, as it is the only significant source for the period written by a near contemporary of the people and events described.Part I contains a narrative of British history from the Roman conquest to Gildas' time; it includes references to Ambrosius Aurelianus and the Britons' victory against the Saxons at the Battle of Mons Badonicus. Part II is a condemnation of five kings for their various sins, including both obscure figures and relatively well-documented ones such as Maelgwn Gwynedd. Part III is a similar attack upon the British clergy of the age.