The Battle of Badon c. 518 (plenary 4/15/16)

 Definition: The Battle of Badon was fought c. 518. It is estimated that 960 men died in a single day at the hands of Arthur. According to Nennius, Arthur won twelve battles in his time, which is heavily disputed among historians. Twelve battles would be ambitious for one man to win in his lifetime, but nevertheless, historians like Andrew Breeze says that Arthur was from Scotland based on the history of the twelve battles (Plenary, 4/15).  In the Battle of Badon, Arthur and his army defeated the Saxons and subsequently stopped the advancements of Saxons into Britain.

 Importance: There is still dispute over whether Arthur was a real person or not. As if that wasn’t enough of a convoluted mystery, there’s also the question of whether or not Arthur was the “king” that literary geniuses have fantasized. Nennius leads us to believe that Arthur was a military commander. He would have most likely been a tribal leader who fought off Anglo-Saxons for 20-30 years (Plenary, 4/15). The Battle of Badon and its role in history plays an important role in validating the existence of any kind of Arthur (“King Arthur’s Twelve Battles”). Did Arthur lead the British troops? Did he really obliterate such an extensive proportion of Anglo-Saxons? We may not know all of these answers, but if historians can confirm a more exact location of where this battle took place, the details of Arthur may become more accessible.

source: http://koc.wikia.com/wiki/Badon