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The location of this battle is controversial, as is the name of the Romano-British leader. Gildas, a near contemporary who states in his essay, De Excidio Britonum or The Ruin of Britain that the battle occurred in the year of his birth, does not name the leaders of either side, nor provides any information that helps identify its location.
A number of sites in Britain have been proposed in the last thousand years, distributed from near the border of present-day England and Scotland south to the edge of the island. (For a list of candidates, see Sites and places associated with Arthurian legend.) These sites include Bath, the town known to the Saxons as Badon (with the thorn consonant). All of these depend upon theories or speculations of scholars built from a poverty of evidence. However, any suggested location must take into consideration these points:
The name of the specific participants is also debatable. The Historia Brittonum records traditions that name the Romano-British and Celtic leader as ArthurKing Arthur is an important figure in the mythology of Britain. He is the central character in Arthurian legends (known as the Matter of Britain), although there is disagreement about whether Arthur, or a model for him, ever actually existed and in the ea, while more recent scholarly speculation has suggested the Romano-British and Celtic leader could have been Ambrosius AurelianusAmbrosius Aurelianus (incorrectly referred to in the Historia Regum Britanniae as Aurelius Ambrosius was a leader of the Romano-British, who won important battles against the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century, according to Gildas and to the legends preserve, and the Saxon leader to be Aelle of Sussexlle was king of the South Saxons from 477 to perhaps as late as 514, and was named Bretwalda by Bede, who adds that he was overlord of the Anglo-Saxons south of the Humber river. Our primary source for the events of AElle's life (besides the short mention, King of the South Saxons1911 encyclopedia text (edited) The Kingdom of Sussex Suth Seaxe i. the South Saxons), was one of the kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon Britain, the boundaries of which coincided in general with those of the county of Sussex. A large part of that district, however,. An old Welsh poem ascribed to TaliesinFor the studio established by Frank Lloyd Wright, see Taliesin (studio Taliesin or Taliessin (c. 599) is the earliest poet of the Welsh language whose work has survived. His name is associated with the Book of Taliesin a book of poems written down in the (who lived in the last half of the sixth century), refers to "the battle of Badon with Arthur, chief giver of feasts....the battle which all men remember". In societal context, "chief giver of feasts" implies de-facto supreme leader.
Lastly, there is no clear evidence for the date of this battle. Gildas writes ad annum obsessionis Badonici montis . . . quique quadragesimus quartus ut novi orditur annus mense iam uno emenso qui et meae nativitatis est, which is typically translated to mean "the year of the Battle of Mount Badon . . . and which happened 44 years and one month ago, for it was the year of my birth." Since it appears that Gildas wrote this in or before 547, since King MaelgwnMaelgwn ap Cadwallon c. 547, reigned from 520s?) ( Latin: Maglocunus; English: Malcolm), also known as Maelgwn Gwynedd and Maelgwn Hir ('the Tall'), was king of Gwynedd, and a character from Celtic mythology. The historical Maelgwn was one of the most inf of GwyneddGwynedd is an administrative county in Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. It was created in 1974 as one of the eight new administrative counties of Wales. Although one of the biggest in terms of geographical area, it was also one of the most s was still living, this would suggest the date 503 or shortly before. However there is some ambiguity in this passage, for Bede interpreted this passage as stating the battle occurred 44 years after the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons in Britain. In this case, adding 44 years to the date 449 (when Bede believed his Anglo-Saxons first arrived in Britain), gives us the date 493. Adding 44 years to the actual date of the concession of Thanet to Hengist, 447, places the battle in 491. Some would argue that Bede's copy of Gildas was much closer to Gildas's time than any now extant; however the age of a manuscript (especially one no longer in existence) is not an absolute guide to its accuracy. The later Annales Cambriae offers the date of 516, which few modern scholars accept. (Annales Cambriae entries after 525 appear to have been transcribed from tables for the calculation of Easter that were contemporary; entries before 525 are much less reliable.)
Indirect support for a date for Mount Badon close to 493, rather than 503, comes from the Celtic Lives of the Saints. The Lives of Dewi Sant (David, the patron saint of Wales), Saint Cadoc and Saint Gildas report that Gildas visited the Abbey of Ty Gwyn in 527 or 528 and objected to Dewi/David being placed in charge of it at such a young age. These biographies of early church leaders, mostly written in the 11th century, may for propaganda purposes have invented, exaggerated, or borrowed miracles, and altered days of death, but some argue that their authors had no reason to distort purely mundane facts such as the dates and places of meetings. Further, these three Lives are independent of each other, their authors drawing from records (since lost) or traditions at the abbeys the saints lived in - St. David's for David, Llancarfan for Cadoc, and Rhuys in Brittany for Gildas.
Rhygyfarch 's Life of David says that he had ten years education under Saint Paulinus (Saint Pol de Leon ) before becoming Abbot of Ty Gwyn. This suggests that David's birth, could hardly have been later than 514.Rhygyfarch also says that Gildas preached to David's mother, Saint Non , while she was pregnant with him. If Gildas was old enough to be preaching in, at the latest, 514, it is implausible to place the date of Gildas's birth, and therefore of the Battle of Mont Badon, later than 498.