Early Dark Age Britain is shrouded in mystery since there are very few surviving sources about it. The Arthurian era, broadly the late 5th century through most of the 6th century, is a subject of particular interest to many. This was the era that saw one of the most significant early battles between the Britons and the invading Anglo-Saxons: the Battle of Badon. Generally, this battle has been placed in the very early 6th century. However, more recent research has indicated that the popular chronological scheme for much of early Dark Age Britain should be revised by several decades.Traditional Chronology of Early Dark Age BritainIllustration of Gildas, by William Marshall, c. 17th century. Source: British MuseumAccording to the most popular version of the chronology of Dark Age Britain, the Battle of Badon can be dated to c. 500. The birth of Gildas, a monk who wrote about the battle in a document called De Excidio, occurred in the same year. He died in about the year 570. When he wrote the De Excidio, it was 43 years after the Battle of Badon, or about c. 543. At that time, there reigned kings Maelgwn Gwynedd, Vortipor of Dyfed, Cynlas of Rhos, Aurelius Cynan, and Constantine of Dumnonia. When most of these kings died is unknown, but Maelgwn died in 547 during the Yellow Plague.Thus, there was a distinct gap between the careers of these kings, contemporary with the writing of De Excidio, and the later kings famous in the north. Examples of the latter type include the powerful Urien Rheged and his son Owain. At least, this is what the traditional chronology of this period in Dark Age Britain affirms.Annales Cambriae in the Harleian MS 3859, folio 190r, c. 12th century. Source: British LibraryHowever, it is worth asking what the basis is for this traditional chronology. The fundamental cornerstone of this chronological scenario is the Annales Cambriae. In this Latin chronicle, written in the 10th century, there is a reference to the death of Maelgwn in 547. This is the key date that is used to establish the date of Gildas, and by extension, the Battle of Badon and the other four kings mentioned by Gildas.The reason for this is that Gildas directly tells us, according to most interpretations of his Latin, that the Battle of Badon occurred 43 years before he was writing. Now, how do we know when he was writing? Crucially, he refers to a certain powerful king named Maglocunus. Almost all scholars agree that this is Maelgwn Gwynedd. Given that Gildas presents him as still alive and reigning, De Excidio must have been written before 547, the date of Maelgwns death in the Annales Cambriae. That same chronicle goes on to place the death of Gildas in 570.Recent Observations on Maelgwn GwyneddIllustration of Maelgwn Gwynedd from Brut Y Brenhinedd in Peniarth MS 23, folio 96 v, c. 15th century. Source: National Library of WalesWhile this chronological scenario might seem fairly straightforward, the reality is much more complicated. Notably, the Annales Cambriae is not the earliest source to provide chronological information about Maelgwn. A document that predates it by about a century is the Historia Brittonum. This provides us with some useful information about Maelgwn, and since it is earlier than the Annales Cambriae, it logically holds more weight.Going against the general consensus about Maelgwns date of death as established by the Annales Cambriae, renowned scholar Rachel Bromwich made an important observation. In her landmark Trioedd Ynys Prydein, in the entry about Maelgwn, she notes that the information in the Historia Brittonum appears to make Maelgwn a late-6th-century king. It does this in a few key ways. The primary piece of evidence, which is the one used by Bromwich, is that it states that Maelgwn began his rule 146 years after his ancestor Cunedda arrived in North Wales. What does this mean?Jesus College MS 20, folio 38r, showing Cunedda Wledig as the ancestor of Maelgwn Gwynedd, c. 14th century. Source: Bodleian Library, OxfordThe Historia Brittonum itself explains that Cunedda went down to North Wales from southern Scotland (or northern England) to drive out the Irish. Based on an analysis of the information in that passage, along with comparisons from numerous genealogies of those who claimed descent from him, when did this happen? Bromwich acknowledged that it must have been closer to the year 450 than 400. Another scholar, Peter Bartrum, in his A Welsh Classical Dictionary, likewise dated it no earlier than 425. When we count forward by 146 years, that would take us to the year 571 for the start of Maelgwns reign. Bromwich suggests that Maelgwn may have died in a later plague which was later confused for the more famous Plague of Justinian, which did occur in the 540s.This is not the only piece of evidence for this late date in the Historia Brittonum. In the same passage, it associates Maelgwn with the time of Taliesin and Aneirin, both famously late-6th-century bards.More recently, historian Flint Johnson has also argued for a later date for Maelgwns career, rejecting the Annales Cambriaes date of 547 for his death.Evidence From Welsh PoetryBook of Taliesin, in Peniarth MS 2, folio 22r, showing Aircols name in the text of the poem Trawsganu Kynan Garwyn mab Broch, c. 14th century. Source: National Library of WalesIt is important to note that the Historia Brittonum is not the only source that predates the Annales Cambriae and mentions one of Gildas five kings. At least one of the kings whom he presents as still living can be dated by early Welsh poetry. The king in question is Vortiporius or Vortipor. Scholars agree that he was the son of Aircol of Dyfed, as presented in the earliest surviving genealogical record of the British kings.The reason that this is notable is that Aircol appears in an early Welsh poem called Trawsganu Kynan Garwyn mab Broch. This is credited to Taliesin, and it is considered plausible that it was genuinely written by him. In any case, it is a source which certainly predates the Annales Cambriae. In this poem, the honorand, Cynan Garwyn, is said to have engaged in a conflict in Dyfed against Aircol. Hence, Vortipors father was still alive during part of Cynans career. What is the significance of this?Inscribed stone with the name Voteporix, possibly the Vortiporius mentioned by Gildas, c. 6th century. Source: Carmarthenshire MuseumThe significance of this information is that Cynan Garwyn was clearly a mid-to-late-6th century king. For example, he was the father-in-law of the early 7th-century king Cadfan of Gwynedd. Cynans son, Selyf, died in battle in c. 616. Regardless of his exact birth, the general era in which Cynan lived is clear enough.With these facts in mind, it seems reasonable to place his birth no earlier than c. 530. Taliesins elegy mentions a conflict in Dyfed beyond the halfway point in his career; although admittedly, the poem might not have the conflicts in chronological order. Therefore, if we assume that Cynan was at least thirty years old when this conflict occurred, it would have been in c. 560 when he went up against Aircol.If Aircol was still alive and reigning in c. 560, then it is evident that his son Vortipor had not yet succeeded him as king by that point. Additionally, Gildas explicitly describes Vortipor as growing old. Therefore, this reference from early Welsh poetry to Aircol, Vortipors father, having a conflict with Cynan definitely indicates that Vortipor was reigning towards the end of the 6th century. This would therefore be the time in which Gildas was writing.How This Relates to Gildas HimselfStatue of Trephine, mother of the younger Gildas, Pontivy, Brittany. Source: Wikimedia CommonsOf course, if Gildas was writing towards the end of the 6th century, then this would mean that he was born towards the middle of that century. How does this accommodate the evidence that he was already an adult by that time, and how does this fit in with the date of 570 for his death in the Annales Cambriae?The simplest solution, which many historians over the centuries have presented, is that there were two men by the name of Gildas. It could thus have been the older one who died in 570. The younger one, therefore, could have survived much further towards the end of the century, into the reigns of Maelgwn, Vortipor, and the others.The fact that there really was a younger Gildas is explicitly stated in the earlier of the two medieval hagiographies, which recount the life of Gildas. This record tells us that Gildas helped one of the wives of Conomor, and she, therefore, named her son Gildas in his honor.The Truth About Early Dark Age Britains ChronologyArthur Leading the Charge at Mount Badon, by George Wooliscroft Rhead and Louis Rhead, 1898. Source: University of RochesterIn conclusion, what does the evidence really suggest about the chronology of early Dark Age Britain? For a long time, the traditional chronology has placed the Battle of Badon right at the beginning of the 6th century. Gildas is understood to have been writing in the 540s, with Maelgwn Gwynedd dying in 547. This chronology is fundamentally based on the 10th-century Annales Cambriae.However, a number of scholars in recent decades have argued, at least partially and to varying degrees, that these dates should be pushed forward by several decades. Rachel Bromwich argued that Maelgwn, Gildas contemporary king, may have come to the throne as late as the 570s. Indeed, the evidence from the Historia Brittonum definitely points to this conclusion. Flint Johnson, more recently, argued for a less extreme revision.We have also seen that an early Welsh poem, which also predates the Annales Cambriae, supports this conclusion by making Vortipors father, Aircol, a contemporary of Cynan Garwyn. Of course, this is only a brief overview of a much more complicated issue. Nevertheless, we can see that a good case can be made for placing many supposedly early 6th-century people and events much further forward in the stream of time.