''Historia regum Britanniae'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called ''De gestis Britonum'' (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a
pseudohistorical
Pseudohistory is a form of pseudoscholarship that attempts to distort or misrepresent the historical record, often by employing methods resembling those used in scholarly historical research. The related term cryptohistory is applied to pseudohi ...
account of British history, written around 1136 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 ...
. It chronicles the lives of the
kings of the Britons over the course of two thousand years, beginning with the
Trojans
Trojan or Trojans may refer to:
* Of or from the ancient city of Troy
* Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans
Arts and entertainment Music
* '' Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 189 ...
founding the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
nation and continuing until the
Anglo-Saxons
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
assumed control of much of Britain around the 7th century. It is one of the central pieces of the
Matter of Britain
The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Wester ...
.
Although taken as historical well into the 16th century, it is now considered to have no value as history. When events described, such as
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
's
invasions of Britain, can be corroborated from contemporary histories, Geoffrey's account can be seen to be wildly inaccurate. It remains, however, a valuable piece of medieval literature, which contains the earliest known version of the story of
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 ...
and his three daughters, and helped popularise the legend of
King Arthur.
Contents
Dedication
Geoffrey starts the book with a statement of his purpose in writing the history: "I have not been able to discover anything at all on the kings who lived here before the Incarnation of Christ, or indeed about Arthur and all the others who followed on after the Incarnation. Yet the deeds of these men were such that they deserve to be praised for all time." He claims that he was given a source for this period by
Archdeacon Walter of Oxford, who presented him with a "certain very ancient book written in the British language" from which he has translated his history. He also cites
Gildas
Gildas ( Breton: ''Gweltaz''; c. 450/500 – c. 570) — also known as Gildas the Wise or ''Gildas Sapiens'' — was a 6th-century British monk best known for his scathing religious polemic ''De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae'', which recount ...
and
Bede
Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...
as sources. Then follows a dedication to
Robert, earl of Gloucester
Robert FitzRoy, 1st Earl of Gloucester (c. 1090 – 31 October 1147David Crouch, 'Robert, first earl of Gloucester (b. c. 1090, d. 1147)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 200Retrieved ...
and
Waleran, count of Meulan
Waleran de Beaumont, Count of Meulan, Earl of Worcester (1104 – 9 April 1166, in Preaux), was the son of Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester and Elizabeth de Vermandois, and the twin brother of Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leice ...
, whom he enjoins to use their knowledge and wisdom to improve his tale.
Book One
The ''Historia'' itself begins with the
Trojan
Trojan or Trojans may refer to:
* Of or from the ancient city of Troy
* Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans
Arts and entertainment Music
* ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 189 ...
Aeneas
In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...
, who, according to the ''
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of th ...
'' of
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...
, settled in Italy after the
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and ...
. His great-grandson
Brutus
Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...
is banished, and, after a period of wandering, is directed by the goddess
Diana to settle on an island in the western ocean. Brutus lands at
Totnes
Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and abo ...
and names the island, then called
Albion, "Britain" after himself. Brutus defeats the giants who are the only inhabitants of the island, and establishes his capital, Troia Nova ("New Troy"), on the banks of the Thames; later it is known as
Trinovantum
Trinovantum is the name in medieval British legend that was given to London, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae'', when it was founded by the exiled Trojan Brutus, who called it ''Troia Nova'' ("New Troy"), which was g ...
, and eventually renamed
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
Book Two
When Brutus dies, his three sons, Locrinus, Kamber and Albanactus, divide the country between themselves; the three kingdoms are named
Loegria
Logres (among various other forms and spellings) is King Arthur's realm in the Matter of Britain. It derives from the medieval Welsh language, Welsh word ''Lloegyr'', a name of uncertain origin referring to South and Eastern England (''Lloegr'' ...
, Kambria (North and West of the Severn to Humber) and
Alba
''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingdom ...
ny (Scotland). The story then progresses rapidly through the reigns of the descendants of Locrinus, including
Bladud, who uses magic and even tries to fly, but dies in the process.
Bladud's son
Leir reigns for sixty years. He has no sons, so upon reaching old age he decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. To decide who should get the largest share, he asks his daughters how much they love him. Goneril and Regan give extravagant answers, but Cordelia answers simply and sincerely; angered, he gives Cordelia no land. Goneril and Regan are to share half the island with their husbands, the Dukes of Albany and Cornwall. Cordelia marries Aganippus, King of the Franks, and departs for Gaul. Soon Goneril and Regan and their husbands rebel and take the whole kingdom. After Leir has had all his attendants taken from him, he begins to regret his actions towards Cordelia and travels to Gaul. Cordelia receives him compassionately and restores his royal robes and retinue. Aganippus raises a Gaulish army for Leir, who returns to Britain, defeats his sons-in-law and regains the kingdom. Leir rules for three years and then dies; Cordelia inherits the throne and rules for five years before Marganus and Cunedagius, her sisters' sons, rebel against her. They imprison Cordelia; grief-stricken, she kills herself. Marganus and Cunedagius divide the kingdom between themselves, but soon quarrel and go to war with each other. Cunedagius eventually kills Marganus in Wales and retains the whole kingdom, ruling for thirty-three years. He is succeeded by his son Rivallo.
A later descendant of Cunedagius, King Gorboduc, has two sons called Ferreux and Porrex. They quarrel and both are eventually killed, sparking a civil war. This leads to Britain being ruled by five kings, who keep attacking each other.
Dunvallo Molmutius
Dyfnwal Moelmud ( Welsh for "Dyfnwal the Bald and Silent"; la, Dunvallo Molmutius; ) was accounted as an early king and lawmaker among the Welsh, credited with the codification of their standard units of measure. He also figures as a legendary ...
, the son of Cloten, the King of Cornwall, becomes pre-eminent. He eventually defeats the other kings and establishes his rule over the whole island. He is said to have "established the so-called
Molmutine Laws
The Molmutine Laws were the laws said to have been instituted over the Britons by Dyfnwal Moelmud. Very little remains known of these laws, with surviving Welsh codes simply noting that Dyfnwal's laws were largely superseded by the new codes insti ...
which are still famous today among the English".
Book Three
Dunvallo's sons,
Belinus
Belinus the Great was a legendary king of the Britons, as recounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He was the son of Dunvallo Molmutius and brother of Brennius. He was probably named after the ancient god Belenus.
Earning the crown
In an effort to ...
and
Brennius
Brennius was a legendary king of Northumberland and Allobroges, as recounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He was the son of Dunvallo Molmutius and brother of Belinus, probably based upon one or both of the historical Brenni.
Claimant to the throne o ...
, fight a civil war before being reconciled by their mother, and proceed to sack
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. Victorious, Brennius remains in Italy, while Belinus returns to rule Britain.
Numerous brief accounts of successive kings follow. These include
Lud, who renames
Trinovantum
Trinovantum is the name in medieval British legend that was given to London, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae'', when it was founded by the exiled Trojan Brutus, who called it ''Troia Nova'' ("New Troy"), which was g ...
"
Kaer AER or Aer may refer to:
Biology
* ''Aerides'', an orchid genus, abbreviated Aer
* Agranular endoplasmic reticulum, a cell organelle
* Apical ectodermal ridge, critical component of vertebrate limb development
* Albumin Excretion Rate
Financ ...
lud" after himself; this later becomes corrupted to Lon
don
Don, don or DON and variants may refer to:
Places
*County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON
*Don (river), a river in European Russia
*Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name
*Don, Benin, a town in Benin
*Don, Dang, a vill ...
. Lud is succeeded by his brother,
Cassibelanus, as Lud's sons
Androgeus and
Tenvantius are not yet of age. In recompense, Androgeus is made Duke of
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
and
Trinovantum
Trinovantum is the name in medieval British legend that was given to London, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae'', when it was founded by the exiled Trojan Brutus, who called it ''Troia Nova'' ("New Troy"), which was g ...
(
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
), and Tenvantius is made Duke of
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
.
Book Four
After his conquest of Gaul,
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
looks over the sea and resolves to order Britain to swear obedience and pay tribute to Rome. His commands are answered by a letter of refusal from Cassivellaunus. Caesar sails a fleet to Britain, but he is overwhelmed by Cassivellaunus's army and forced to retreat to Gaul. Two years later he makes another attempt, but is again pushed back. Then Cassivellaunus quarrels with one of his dukes, Androgeus, who sends a letter to Caesar asking him to help avenge the duke's honour. Caesar invades once more and besieges Cassivellaunus on a hill. After several days Cassivellaunus offers to make peace with Caesar, and Androgeus, filled with remorse, goes to Caesar to plead with him for mercy. Cassivellaunus pays tribute and makes peace with Caesar, who then returns to Gaul.
Cassivelaunus dies and is succeeded by his nephew Tenvantius, as Androgeus has gone to Rome. Tenvantius is succeeded in turn by his son
Kymbelinus, and then Kymbelinus's son
Guiderius
Guiderius (Welsh Gwydr) is a legendary British king according to Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' (''History of the Kings of Britain'') and related texts. He can probably be identified as deriving from the historical Togodumnus. ...
. Guiderius refuses to pay tribute to emperor
Claudius, who then invades Britain. After
Guiderius
Guiderius (Welsh Gwydr) is a legendary British king according to Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' (''History of the Kings of Britain'') and related texts. He can probably be identified as deriving from the historical Togodumnus. ...
is killed in battle with the Romans, his brother
Arvirargus
Arvirargus (or Arviragus) was a legendary, and possibly historical, British king of the 1st century AD. A shadowy historical Arviragus is known only from a cryptic reference in a satirical poem by Juvenal, in which a giant turbot presented to the ...
continues the defence, but eventually agrees to submit to Rome, and is given the hand of Claudius's daughter Genvissa in marriage. Claudius returns to Rome, leaving the province under Arviragus's governorship.
The line of British kings continues under Roman rule, and includes
Lucius
Lucius ( el, Λούκιος ''Loukios''; ett, Luvcie) is a male given name derived from '' Lucius'' (abbreviated ''L.''), one of the small group of common Latin forenames ('' praenomina'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from ...
, Britain's first
Christian king, and several Roman figures, including the emperor
Constantine I
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...
, the usurper
Allectus and the military commander
Asclepiodotus. When Octavius passes the crown to his son-in-law Maximianus, his nephew
Conan Meriadoc
Conan Meriadoc (; Welsh: Cynan Meriadog; Breton: Konan Meriadeg) is a legendary Celtic leader credited with founding Brittany. Versions of his story circulated in both Brittany and Great Britain from at least the early 12th century, and supplan ...
is given rule of Brittany to compensate him for not succeeding. After a long period of Roman rule, the Romans decide they no longer wish to defend the island and depart. The Britons are immediately besieged by attacks from Picts, Scots and Danes, especially as their numbers have been depleted due to Conan colonizing Brittany and Maximianus using British troops for his campaigns. In desperation the Britons send letters to the general of the Roman forces, asking for help, but receive no reply (this passage borrows heavily from the corresponding section in Gildas' ''
De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae
''De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae'' ( la, On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain, sometimes just ''On the Ruin of Britain'') is a work written in Latin by the 6th-century AD British cleric St Gildas. It is a sermon in three parts condemning ...
'').
Books Five and Six
After the Romans leave, the Britons ask the King of Brittany (Armorica), , descended from Conan, to rule them. However, Aldroenus instead sends his brother Constantine to rule the Britons. After Constantine's death,
Vortigern
Vortigern (; owl, Guorthigirn, ; cy, Gwrtheyrn; ang, Wyrtgeorn; Old Breton: ''Gurdiern'', ''Gurthiern''; gle, Foirtchern; la, Vortigernus, , , etc.), also spelled Vortiger, Vortigan, Voertigern and Vortigen, was a 5th-century warlord in ...
assists his eldest son Constans in succeeding, before enabling their murder and coming to power. Constantine's remaining sons
Aurelius Ambrosius and
Uther
Uther Pendragon ( Brittonic) (; cy, Ythyr Ben Dragwn, Uthyr Pendragon, Uthyr Bendragon), also known as King Uther, was a legendary King of the Britons in sub-Roman Britain (c. 6th century). Uther was also the father of King Arthur.
A few m ...
are too young to rule and are taken to safety in Armorica. Vortigern invites the
Saxons
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
*
*
*
*
peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
under
Hengist
Hengist and Horsa are Germanic brothers said to have led the Angles, Saxons and Jutes in their invasion of Britain in the 5th century. Tradition lists Hengist as the first of the Jutish kings of Kent.
Most modern scholarly consensus now rega ...
and
Horsa
Hengist and Horsa are Germanic brothers said to have led the Angles, Saxons and Jutes in their invasion of Britain in the 5th century. Tradition lists Hengist as the first of the Jutish kings of Kent.
Most modern scholarly consensus now rega ...
to fight for him as mercenaries, but they rise against him. He loses control of much of his land and encounters
Merlin.
Book Seven: The Prophecies of Merlin
At this point Geoffrey abruptly pauses his narrative by inserting a series of prophecies attributed to
Merlin. Some of the prophecies act as an
epitome of upcoming chapters of the ''Historia'', while others are veiled allusions to historical people and events of the
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
world in the 11th-12th centuries. The remainder are obscure.
Book Eight
After
Aurelius Ambrosius defeats and kills
Vortigern
Vortigern (; owl, Guorthigirn, ; cy, Gwrtheyrn; ang, Wyrtgeorn; Old Breton: ''Gurdiern'', ''Gurthiern''; gle, Foirtchern; la, Vortigernus, , , etc.), also spelled Vortiger, Vortigan, Voertigern and Vortigen, was a 5th-century warlord in ...
, becoming king, Britain remains in a state of war under him and his brother Uther. They are both assisted by the wizard Merlin. At one point during the continuous string of battles, Ambrosius takes ill and Uther must lead the army for him. This allows an enemy assassin to pose as a physician and poison Ambrosius. When the king dies, a comet taking the form of a dragon's head (
pendragon
Pendragon or ( wlm, pen dreic, ''pen dragon''; composed of Welsh , 'head, chief, top' and / ''dragon'', 'dragon; warrior'; borrowed from the Latin word , plural , 'dragon , br, Penn Aerouant) literally means 'chief dragon' or 'head dragon', but ...
) appears in the night sky, which Merlin interprets as a sign that Ambrosius is dead and that Uther will be victorious and succeed him. So after defeating his latest enemies, Uther adds "Pendragon" to his name and is crowned king.
But another enemy strikes, forcing Uther to make war again. This time he is temporarily defeated, gaining final victory only with the help of
Duke Gorlois of Cornwall. But while celebrating this victory with Gorlois, he falls in love with the duke's wife,
Igerna. This leads to war between Uther Pendragon and Gorlois of Cornwall, during which Uther clandestinely lies with Igerna through the magic of Merlin.
Arthur
Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...
is conceived that night. Then Gorlois is killed and Uther marries Igerna. But he must war against the Saxons again. Although Uther ultimately triumphs, he dies after drinking water from a spring the Saxons had poisoned.
Books Nine and Ten
Uther's son
Arthur
Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...
assumes the throne and defeats the Saxons so severely that they cease to be a threat until after his death. In the meantime, Arthur conquers most of northern Europe and ushers in a period of peace and prosperity that lasts until the Romans, led by
Lucius Hiberius
Lucius ( el, Λούκιος ''Loukios''; ett, Luvcie) is a male given name derived from ''Lucius'' (abbreviated ''L.''), one of the small group of common Latin forenames (''praenomina'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from L ...
, demands that Britain once again pay tribute to Rome. Arthur defeats Lucius in Gaul, intending to become Emperor, but in his absence, his nephew
Mordred seduces and marries
Guinevere and seizes the throne.
Books Eleven and Twelve
Arthur returns and kills Mordred at the
Battle of Camlann, but, mortally wounded, he is carried off to the isle of
Avalon
Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...
, and hands the kingdom to his cousin
Constantine
Constantine most often refers to:
* Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I
*Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria
Constantine may also refer to:
People
* Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...
, son of
Cador
Cador (''Latin'': Cadorius) was a legendary Duke of Cornwall, known chiefly through Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudohistorical ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' and previous manuscript sources such as the Life of Carantoc.
Early sources present Cad ...
and Duke of Cornwall.
The Saxons returned after Arthur's death, but would not end the line of British kings until the death of
Cadwallader. Cadwallader is forced to flee Britain and requests the aid of King Alan of the Amoricans. However an angel's voice tells him the Britons will no longer rule and he should go to Rome. Cadwallader does so, dying there, though leaves his son and nephew to rule the remaining Britons. The remaining Britons are driven into Wales and the Saxon Athelstan becomes King of Loegria.
Sources
Geoffrey claimed to have translated the ''Historia'' into Latin from "a very ancient book in the British tongue", given to him by
Walter, Archdeacon of Oxford.
[Thorpe (1966: 14–19)] However, no modern scholars take this claim seriously.
Much of the work appears to be derived from
Gildas
Gildas ( Breton: ''Gweltaz''; c. 450/500 – c. 570) — also known as Gildas the Wise or ''Gildas Sapiens'' — was a 6th-century British monk best known for his scathing religious polemic ''De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae'', which recount ...
's 6th-century ''
De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae
''De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae'' ( la, On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain, sometimes just ''On the Ruin of Britain'') is a work written in Latin by the 6th-century AD British cleric St Gildas. It is a sermon in three parts condemning ...
'',
Bede
Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...
's 8th-century ''
Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum
The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' ( la, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum), written by Bede in about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict be ...
'', the 9th-century ''
Historia Brittonum
''The History of the Britons'' ( la, Historia Brittonum) is a purported history of the indigenous British (Brittonic) people that was written around 828 and survives in numerous recensions that date from after the 11th century. The ''Historia Bri ...
'' ascribed to
Nennius, the 10th-century ''
Annales Cambriae
The (Latin for ''Annals of Wales'') is the title given to a complex of Latin chronicles compiled or derived from diverse sources at St David's in Dyfed, Wales. The earliest is a 12th-century presumed copy of a mid-10th-century original; later ed ...
'', medieval Welsh genealogies (such as the
Harleian Genealogies
__NOTOC__
The Harleian genealogies are a collection of Old Welsh genealogies preserved in British Library, Harley MS 3859. Part of the Harleian Library, the manuscript, which also contains the ''Annales Cambriae'' (Recension A) and a version of ...
) and king-lists, the poems of
Taliesin
Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the '' Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to have sung at the courts ...
, the Welsh tale ''
Culhwch and Olwen
''Culhwch and Olwen'' ( cy, Culhwch ac Olwen) is a Welsh tale that survives in only two manuscripts about a hero connected with Arthur and his warriors: a complete version in the Red Book of Hergest, c. 1400, and a fragmented version in the Whi ...
'', and some of the medieval Welsh saints' lives,
expanded and turned into a continuous narrative by Geoffrey's own imagination.
Influence
In an exchange of manuscript material for their own histories,
Robert of Torigny
Robert of Torigni (also known as Roburtus de Monte) (c. 1110–1186) was a Norman monk, prior, abbot and twelfth century chronicler.
Religious life
Robert was born at Torigni-sur-Vire, Normandy c. 1110 most probably to an aristocratic family b ...
gave
Henry of Huntington a copy of ''Historia Regum Britanniae'', which both Robert and Henry used uncritically as authentic history and subsequently used in their own works, by which means some of Geoffrey's fictions became embedded in popular history. The history of Geoffrey forms the basis for much
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
lore and literature as well as being a rich source of material for
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 ...
bards. It became tremendously popular during the
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended around AD 150 ...
, revolutionising views of British history before and during the Anglo-Saxon period despite the criticism of such writers as
William of Newburgh
William of Newburgh or Newbury ( la, Guilelmus Neubrigensis, ''Wilhelmus Neubrigensis'', or ''Willelmus de Novoburgo''. 1136 – 1198), also known as William Parvus, was a 12th-century English historian and Augustinian canon of Anglo-Saxon de ...
and
Gerald of Wales
Gerald of Wales ( la, Giraldus Cambrensis; cy, Gerallt Gymro; french: Gerald de Barri; ) was a Cambro-Norman priest and historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and wrote extensively. He studied and taugh ...
. The prophecies of Merlin in particular were often drawn on in later periods, for instance by both sides in the issue of
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
influence over
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
under
Edward I and his successors.
The ''Historia'' was quickly translated into
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
verse by
Wace
Wace ( 1110 – after 1174), sometimes referred to as Robert Wace, was a Medieval Norman poet, who was born in Jersey and brought up in mainland Normandy (he tells us in the ''Roman de Rou'' that he was taken as a child to Caen), ending his car ...
(the ''
Roman de Brut
The ''Brut'' or ''Roman de Brut'' (completed 1155) by the poet Wace is a loose and expanded translation in almost 15,000 lines of Norman-French verse of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Latin '' History of the Kings of Britain''. It was formerly known ...
'') in 1155. Wace's version was in turn translated into
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...
verse by Layamon (the ''Brut (Layamon), Brut'') in the early 13th century. In the second quarter of the 13th century, a version in Latin verse, the ''Gesta Regum Britanniae'', was produced by William of Rennes. Material from Geoffrey was incorporated into a large variety of Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...
prose compilations of historical material from the 13th century onward.
Geoffrey was translated into a number of different Welsh prose versions by the end of the 13th century, collectively known as ''Brut y Brenhinedd''. One variant of the ''Brut y Brenhinedd'', the so-called ''Brut Tysilio'', was proposed in 1917 by the archaeology, archaeologist William Matthew Flinders Petrie, William Flinders Petrie to be the ancient British book that Geoffrey translated, although the ''Brut'' itself claims to have been translated from Latin by Walter of Oxford, based on his own earlier translation from Welsh to Latin. Geoffrey's work is greatly important because it brought the Welsh culture into British society and made it acceptable. It is also the first record we have of the great figure King Lear, and the beginning of the mythical King Arthur figure.
For centuries, the ''Historia'' was accepted at face value, and much of its material was incorporated into Raphael Holinshed, Holinshed's 16th-century ''Chronicles''. Modern historians have regarded the ''Historia'' as a work of fiction with some factual information contained within. John Morris (historian), John Morris in ''The Age of Arthur'' calls it a "deliberate spoof", although this is based on misidentifying Walter, archdeacon of Oxford, as Walter Map, a satirical writer who lived a century later.
[John Morris. ''The Age of Arthur: A History of the British Isles from 350 to 650''. Barnes & Noble Books: New York. 1996 (originally 1973). ]
It continues to have an influence on popular culture. For example, Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy, Mary Stewart's ''Merlin Trilogy'' and the TV miniseries ''Merlin (miniseries), Merlin'' both contain large elements taken from the ''Historia''.
Manuscript tradition and textual history
Two hundred and fifteen medieval manuscripts of the ''Historia'' survive, dozens of them copied before the end of the 12th century. Even among the earliest manuscripts a large number of Textual criticism, textual variants, such as the so-called "First Variant", can be discerned. These are reflected in the three possible prefaces to the work and in the presence or absence of certain episodes and phrases. Certain variants may be due to "authorial" additions to different early copies, but most probably reflect early attempts to alter, add to or edit the text. Unfortunately, the task of disentangling these variants and establishing Geoffrey's original text is long and complex, and the extent of the difficulties surrounding the text has been established only recently.
The variant title ''Historia regum Britanniae'' was introduced in the Middle Ages, and this became the most common form in the modern period. A critical edition of the work published in 2007, however, demonstrated that the most accurate manuscripts refer to the work as ''De gestis Britonum'', and that this was the title Geoffrey himself used to refer to the work.
See also
* List of legendary kings of Britain
References
Bibliography
* John Jay Parry and Robert Caldwell. "Geoffrey of Monmouth" in ''Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages'', Roger S. Loomis (ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1959. 72–93.
* Brynley F. Roberts. "Geoffrey of Monmouth and Welsh Historical Tradition," ''Nottingham Medieval Studies'', 20 (1976), 29–40.
* John Strong Perry Tatlock, J. S. P. Tatlock. ''The Legendary History of Britain: Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae and Its Early Vernacular Versions''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1950.
* Michael A. Faletra, trans. and ed. ''The History of the Kings of Britain. Geoffrey of Monmouth''. Peterborough, Ont.; Plymouth: Broadview Editions, 2008.
* N. Wright, ed. ''The Historia Regum Britannie of Geoffrey of Monmouth. 1, A Single-Manuscript Edition from Bern, Burgerbibliothek, MS. 568''. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1984.
* N. Wright, ed. ''The Historia Regum Britannie of Geoffrey of Monmouth. 2, The First Variant Version: A Critical Edition''. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1988.
* J. C. Crick. ''The Historia Regum Britannie of Geoffrey of Monmouth. 3, A Summary Catalogue of the Manuscripts''. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1989.
* J. C. Crick. ''The Historia Regum Britannie of Geoffrey of Monmouth. 4, Dissemination and Reception in the Later Middle Ages''. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1991.
* J. Hammer, ed. ''Historia Regum Britanniae: A Variant Version Edited from Manuscripts''. Cambridge, MA: 1951.
* A. Griscom, ed., and J. R. Ellis, trans. ''The Historia Regum Britanniae of Geoffrey of Monmouth with Contributions to the Study of its Place in Early British History''. London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1929.
*
* M. D. Reeve, "The Transmission of the ''Historia Regum Britanniae''," ''Journal of Medieval Latin'' 1 (1991), 73–117.
* Edmond Faral. ''La Légende arthurienne. Études et documents'', 3 vols. Bibliothèque de l'École des Hautes Études. Paris, 1929.
* R. W. Leckie. ''The Passage of Dominion. Geoffrey of Monmouth and the Periodization of Insular History in the Twelfth Century''. Toronto: Toronto University Press, 1981.
External links
*
*
Online textat Google Books
Online Latin textat Google Books
''Historia regum Britanniae''Second Variant version at Cambridge Digital Library
*
{{Authority control
1130s books
12th century in Great Britain
12th-century Latin books
Arthurian literature in Latin
British traditional history
Historical writing from Norman and Angevin England
King lists
Medieval Latin histories
Medieval Welsh literature
Pseudohistory
Works by Geoffrey of Monmouth
Depictions of Julius Caesar in literature