Nennius

   We will now turn our attention to a version of the Milesian legends preserved in manuscripts outside of Ireland, that of Nennius' "Historiam Britonum" or "History of the Britons," our other major source for the Irish tradition of Scythia as the homeland of the Gaedil. Nennius, a Welshman (d. 835 A.D.), states in his history that in preparing his section on Irish history he conferred with the "most learned of the Scots (Irish)." With the exception of one colossal blunder we must therefore accept his version of the Irish legends as a faithful rendition of the Milesian legends as they existed in his day (although contemporary Irish scholars consider it hopelessly corrupt.)
   In Nennius we learn that "first came Partholomus [to Ireland] with a thousand persons," all of whom died in one week of a plague. "Second came Nimeth to Ireland, a son of Agnomen," and afterwards came "three sons of a soldier of Spain."
   Partholomus and Nimeth are of course the Partholan and Nemed of the Irish redactions. The invasion of Cessair is omitted, indicating it was probably a later intrusion into the Milesian legends. Also omitted was the invasion of the Tuatha de Danann, indicating it too was a later invention of the Irish bards and not central to the original form of the legends.

   Nennius includes the following narrative on the early history of the Gaedil:

"When the children of Israel came through the Red Sea, the
Egyptians arrived and pursued them and were drowned, as is
read in the law." At this time there lived a "nobleman of Scythia
among the Egyptians" who was expelled from Egypt and wandered
for forty-two years in Africa before sailing to Spain. His progeny
afterwards came to Ireland 1002 years after the episode of the
Red Sea.

Nennius' narrative, while similar to those of R1 and R2, is significantly different from either: so different that based on the traditions of R1 and R2 we are unable to assign a name to Nennius' "noble Scythian."

To demonstrate:

In R1 Nel went to Egypt and married Scota; Sru and his son, Heber Scot, in Egypt at the time of the Red Sea episode, returned to Scythia rather than going on to Africa and Spain as did Nennius' "noble Scythian." In R2 King Milesius was in Egypt at the time of the reign of Alexander the Great - Nel was the Scythian in Egypt at the time of the Red Sea episode. Based on the traditions of R1 and R2 we are therefore unable to assign a name to Nennius' "noble Scythian." Nennius, however, is obviously quoting from a tradition very
similar to that of R2 which brings King Milesius from Scythia to Egypt and then to Spain.
Lastly, Nennius describes a final invasion of Ireland which occurs after the invasion of the sons of King Milesius (a soldier of Spain) which has puzzled mythologists for centuries: According to Nennius, "Last of all came Dom Hoctor [to Ireland], who continued there and whose descendants remain there to this day." Nennius' "Dom Hoctor," as noted by most authorities, is the blunder referred to previously. Nennius simply confused the Irish phrase "Dom Hoctor" meaning a "party of eight" for a personal name. Because the
phrase "a party of eight" is applied to nearly every invasion of Ireland in the Irish redactions, no one has been able to state decisively to which invasion of Ireland Nennius was referring in this passage. Nor is there any parallel final invasion of Ireland following that of the sons of Milesius in the Irish redactions. Most commentators on the Lebor Gabala Erren therefore have concluded that Nennius' version of the legends is hopelessly corrupt.

R1		Nennius

[Cessair]

Partholan	[1st invasion]	Partholomus

Nemed	[2nd invasion]	Nimeth

[Fir Bolg]

[Tuatha de Danann]

Sons of Milesius	[3rd invasion]	Three sons of a soldier of Spain

	[4th invasion]	"last of all came Dom Hoctor whose descendants remain there to this day"

In conclusion, R1 (our earliest form of the Irish redactions) and the legend as quoted by Nennius differ in two important ways. First, the narrative bringing the Gaedil from Scythia to Egypt and Spain is so radically different in the "Historiam Britonum" that based on the Irish redactions, we are unable to assign a name to Nennius' "noble Scythian." Secondly, Nennius relates a final invasion of Ireland following that of the sons of King Milesius which does not appear in any form in the Irish redactions (Dom Hoctor). In addition, Nennius know nothing of Cessair, the Fir Bolg or the Tuatha de Danann, indicating these elements were probably later insertions into the Milesian tradition.
Nennius was obviously quoting from a version of the Milesian legends as they existed in his day (9th century). Aside from his well-known "Dom Hoctor" blunder, was his version merely a corrupt form of the Milesian legends as many commentators allege? Or was it in fact an earlier version of the same legends? The answer to this all-important question will be answered as we study the various versions of the Milesian legends preserved in Scottish manuscript.

The version of Nennius also appears to omit the doubled episode of Nel going from Scythia to Egypt and back again before leaving for Spain., our test proposed in the previous section. Yet this version is so peculiar in comparison to the Irish redactions perhaps we should note the fact but reserve judgment until further versions of the legends are examined.

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