the oldest British historian, and surnamed the Wise, was born in Wales in the year 511. It is uncertain where he was educated; but it appears from his own writings that he was a monk. Some writers say that he went over to Ireland; and others, that he visited France and Italy. They agree however in asserting, that after his return to England he became a celebrated and most assiduous preacher of Christianity. Dupin says he founded a monastery at Venetia in Britain. Gildas is the only British author of the sixth century whose works are printed; they are therefore valuable on account of their antiquity, and as containing the only information we have concerning the times of which he wrote. The only work, however, attributed to him with certainty is his *Epistola de excidio Britanniae, et Castigatio ordinis ecclesiastici*, London, 1525, in 8vo, Bâle, 1541, in 12mo, and by Gale in his *Rerum Anglicarum Scriptores veteres*, 1684, 1687, in folio. In this production he laments the miseries and almost total ruin of his countrymen, and severely reproves the corruption and profligacy of his age. The first part contains a vague account of events from the Roman invasion to his own times, and on this account is valuable, notwithstanding the inelegance and obscurity of the style. Gildas is also the supposed author of Canons and Regulations of Discipline for the use of Ireland, collected by Dom Luc d'Achery in the ninth volume of his *Specilegia*. The time and place of his death have not been ascertained.