from Penguaul, 2 which village is called in Scottish Cenail, 3 in English Peneltun, to the mouth of the river Cluth 4 and Cairpentaloch, 5 where this wall terminates”. “The above-mentioned Severus constructed it of rude workmanship in length 132 miles i.e. Severus orders a wall and rampart to be built between the Britons, Scots and Picts “extending across the island from sea to sea, in length one hundred and thirty three miles and it is called in the British language Guaul“. The three considerable islands of Britain: Gueith , Eubonia or Manau , Orch . The people of Britain: the Scotti , the Picti , the Saxones , and the antiqui Brittones . coed mawr ‘great wood’) is recorded in the 9th century for the same place. The addition is English, meaning ‘willow wood’ but British name Coit Maur (W. coed means ‘wood’, but the name is only recorded as (la) Penne before the 14th century when it becomes Penne in Selewood. Penselwood, Somerset, is formally attractive, especially since W. Leicester (recorded as Ligera ceaster in 917) Caistor St Edmund in Norfolk is another possibility (L. Hardly Bristol, which has been suggested and comes from OE.

Grantchester, named for the River Grant (now Cam) There is a Caer Caradog fort near Church Stretton, Shropshire. Hardly Catterick, which was known in Welsh as Catraeth. Caerleon or Chester, both known to the Romans as Castra Legionis and to the Welsh as Caerllion. There is no real reason to connect it with Portchester, which has often been suggested. Connection with Llanberis and Nant Beris in Snowdonia is possible, though naming a fort after a saint would be unusual. Gildas mentions Constantius of Dumnonia (south west England). ‘Vortigern’s fort’, possibly in Carmarthenshire However, many of its characters and events can be confirmed from other sources, and it is of especial interest to Celticists as it contains a number of British place and personal names, including some from the Old North.

As a work of narrative history the Historia is of limited value, since the text is dressed up with legendary and fantastical elements, such as the connections with the Classical and Biblical worlds. The text is essentially a compilation of information from various, sometimes contradictory, sources. The Historia Brittonum ‘History of the Britons’ is an early 9th century Latin text composed in Wales and usually attributed to the author Nennius (though questions of its authorship remain).