Gorboduc (''

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

:'' Gorwy or Goronwy) was a legendary king of the

Britons British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mod ...

as recounted by

Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth ( la, Galfridus Monemutensis, Galfridus Arturus, cy, Gruffudd ap Arthur, Sieffre o Fynwy; 1095 – 1155) was a British cleric from Monmouth, Wales and one of the major figures in the development of British historiograph ...

. He was married to Judon. When he became old, his sons,

Ferrex Ferrex was the son of the legendary king Gorboduc of the Britons (historic), Britons, and fought with his brother Porrex I, Porrex for the throne, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth. When his father had become old, he quarrelled with his brother Po ...

and Porrex, feuded over who would take over the kingdom. Porrex tried to kill his brother in an ambush, but Ferrex escaped to France. With the French king Suhardus, he invaded Britain, but was defeated and killed by Porrex. Porrex was killed in revenge by his own mother Judon, then the high strata of society killed his mother and then there was a war between high strata and low strata leading to an anarchy in the society. This anarchy led to civil war denouncing Gorboduc.Geoffrey of Monmouth: ''The History of the Kings of Britain: an Edition and Translation of De Gestis Britonum (Historia Regum Britanniae)'', Boydell & Brewer, 1 Jan 2007, p.44. Geoffrey does not state when Gorbuduc died, but he is not mentioned after the account of the strife between his sons.

Cultural references

Gorboduc's life is the subject of the 1561 play ''

Gorboduc Gorboduc ('' Welsh:'' Gorwy or Goronwy) was a legendary king of the Britons as recounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He was married to Judon. When he became old, his sons, Ferrex and Porrex, feuded over who would take over the kingdom. Porrex tried ...

'', which is historically important for being the model for later

Elizabethan drama English Renaissance theatre, also known as Renaissance English theatre and Elizabethan theatre, refers to the theatre of England between 1558 and 1642. This is the style of the plays of William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson ...

, for example, Shakespeare's ''The Tragedie of King Lear'' and ''The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus''. James D. Carroll, Gorboduc and Titus Andronicus, Notes and Queries, Volume 51, 267–269. https://doi.org/10.1093/nq/510267 It is the first play written throughout in

blank verse Blank verse is poetry written with regular metrical but unrhymed lines, almost always in iambic pentameter. It has been described as "probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the 16th century", and P ...

. The story, like that of his ancestor

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

, was used by Elizabethans as a warning of the dangers of civil discord. "A niece of King Gorboduc" is mentioned briefly by the Fool in Shakespeare's ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...

''. "Gorboduc" is the name of a poem by

John Ashbery John Lawrence Ashbery (July 28, 1927 – September 3, 2017) was an American poet and art critic. Ashbery is considered the most influential American poet of his time. Oxford University literary critic John Bayley wrote that Ashbery "sounded, in ...

that appears in the collection ''April Galleons''.

References

{{Geoffrey of Monmouth Legendary British kings