King Arthur
A local legend suggests that Bardon Hill is actually the Mount Badon of King Arthur fame. It is known that the Britons severely defeated an invading Anglo-Saxon army at the Battle of Mons Badonicus some time around the year 500. It was a major military and political event of the 5th or 6th century in Britain, but there is no certainty about its date or place.
Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People names Ambrosius Aurelius, a Roman, as the man who led the Britons to victory at the battle, but by the 9th century the victory was attributed to King Arthur.
Local stories claim that Arthur watched the approach of the Saxons from the summit of the hill and that his forces then swept down the hill and massacred them. A nearby field name is still called Battle Flat, and the legend also claims that the dead were buried at nearby Billabarrow hill.
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