34 CONNECTION OF BATH WITH THE 



nent authors of this time; but before their time 

 lived GiLDASj a man inferior to them indeed, but who 

 is often called the father of English history, having 

 composed in his monastery at Bangor an account of 

 the wars of the sixth century, with along and tedious 

 lamentation over the sufferings of his country, the 

 first attempt at anything like historical composition 

 in Britain that has come down to us. It is here that 

 we read of Arthur and the great battle of the Mons 

 Badonicus. These continue to this day to attract to 

 Bath the attention of every critical inquirer into the 

 remote history of the country. With the name of 

 Gildas has descended the addition of Badonicus; 

 hence it is not very unreasonably inferred that he 

 was a native, or at least at one period of his life a 

 resident, of Bath. 



Immediately after the second introduction of 

 Christianity into Britain, a company of religious 

 became seated near our healing springs. There are 

 faint traces of a society of religious women in the 

 earliest ages, doubtless good and kind people, col- 

 lected for the purpose of administering assistance to 

 the multitudes of the sick and infirm who sought 

 the benefit of the waters. But under the patronage 

 of the kings of Wessex and Mercia there arose an 

 extensive and richly-endowed monastery, within 

 whose precincts we are at this moment assembled. 



