Expedición de Bruto a Aquitania (Goffar detalle)

Goffar ( la, Goffarius Pictus) known as Goffar the

Pict The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from ear ...

, was a pseudo-historical king of

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...

around the year in

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 historiography ...

's ''

Historia Regum Britanniae ''Historia regum Britanniae'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called ''De gestis Britonum'' (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. I ...

'' (). In the story, he was defeated by

Brutus of Troy Brutus, also called Brute of Troy, is a legendary descendant of the Trojan hero Aeneas, known in medieval British history as the eponymous founder and first king of Britain. This legend first appears in the ''Historia Brittonum'', an anonymous ...

and

Corineus Corineus, in medieval British legend, was a prodigious warrior, a fighter of giants, and the eponymous founder of Cornwall. ''History of the Kings of Britain'' In Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudo-history '' History of the Kings of Britain'' (1 ...

on their way to Britain. Later histories of Britain and France included Goffar from ''Historia Regum Britanniae'', and sometimes expanded the story with some additional details.

''Historia Regum Britanniae''

Expedición de Bruto a Aquitania (recortado)

In the myths surrounding

's occupation of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, Goffar led the

Poitevins Poitou (, , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe. Geography The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical ca ...

to war against Brutus' fleet. Although he sent messengers under a certain Himbert first, they got in a fight with

, Brutus'

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

, over royal property and all of the messengers were brutally killed. After a battle at the mouth of the

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

, 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 ...

marched up the Loire through Goffar's dominions until they reached the territory of the

Turones The Turoni or Turones were a Gallic tribe of dwelling in the later Touraine region during the Iron Age and the Roman period. They were among the first tribes to give support to the Gallic coalition against Rome led by Vercingetorix in 52 BC, the ...

. There a battle was fought against troops given to Goffar by the eleven other kings of

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

, and won, founding the city of

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...

named in honor of Brutus' nephew Turnus, who died fighting. This idea probably comes from Nennius' confusing passage in his

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 B ...

: "he was exiled on account of the death of Turnus, slain by Eneas. He then went among the

Gauls The Gauls ( la, Galli; grc, Γαλάται, ''Galátai'') were a group of Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age and the Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). They s ...

and built a city of the

, called Turnis

ours One Union of Regional Staff (OURS) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. The union was formed in early 2010 by the merger of the Derbyshire Group Staff Union and the Cheshire Group Staff Union. It organises former Derbyshire Building Soc ...

. Nennius is correct that the city is named after the tribe, not the similarly named person. Rowland Wymer points out the brutality in this account of Brutus' killing of Goffar's people. The first battle, including Goffar, is vividly portrayed in a

tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads ma ...

now held in the

Cathedral of the Savior of Zaragoza The Cathedral of the Savior ( es, Catedral del Salvador) or La Seo de Zaragoza is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Zaragoza, in Aragon, Spain. It is part of the World Heritage Site '' Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon''. The cathedral is located on ...

's museum.

British tradition

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 ...

's ''

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 ...

'' (1155) expands on Monmouth's ''

'', and includes Goffar (also variously spelled Gofar, Gossac, and Gofiers) as the king of Poitiers. Medievalist

Antoine Le Roux de Lincy Antoine Le Roux de Lincy (Paris, 22 August 1806 – Paris, 13 May 1869) was a 19th-century French librarian, romanist and medievalist. After graduating from the École Nationale des Chartes (promotion 1831-1832), Le Roux was appointed at the bib ...

believed that Wace intended Goffar to be the fifth century

king of Burgundy The following is a list of the kings of the two kingdoms of Burgundy, and a number of related political entities devolving from Carolingian machinations over family relations. Kings of the Burgundians * Gebicca (late 4th century – c. 40 ...

Gunther. Layamon's ''Brut'' () has Goffar (Goffare in the Otho manuscript version) as the king of

Poitou Poitou (, , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe. Geography The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical c ...

, and gives the name of his messenger as Goffar's steward Numbert the

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

("Numberd the man" in Otho). It follows the story of ''

'' and ''

'', but has

deny the righteousness of the king's ''

frith Frith is an Old English word meaning "peace; protection; safety, security". Etymology Derived from Old English ''friðu, friþ'', it is cognate to Old Norse '' friðr'', Old Saxon '' frithu'', Old High German '' fridu'', German ''Friede'', Du ...

'' (both "peace" and law) which emerges as a form of subjegation instead of protection, and also recasts the killing of Numbert in terms of personal honour and retribution.

Peter Langtoft Peter Langtoft, also known as Peter of Langtoft ( fro, Piers de Langtoft; died 1305) was an English historian and chronicler who took his name from the small village of Langtoft in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Langtoft was an Augustinian canon ...

's ''Chronicle'' (written before his death around 1305) has Goffar as "Gofforre" (or Goffre, Goffor, or Goffore), king of "Payters" ( Poitiers). It says that Brutus arrived in Aquitaine, which they called "Paytewe" (

) at the time. It gives the name of Subardus as "Suard" (or "Sward"), and Imbertus as Ymbert, who is Goffar's men's "chieftain by common agreement".

John Hardyng John Hardyng (or Harding; 1378–1465) was an English chronicler. He was born in Northern England. Biography As a boy Hardyng entered the service of Sir Henry Percy (Hotspur), with whom he was present at the Battle of Shrewsbury (1403). He the ...

's ''Chronicle'' (1437) has Goffar as "Goffore" as king of "Aquitayne that Guyen now is" (

Guyenne Guyenne or Guienne (, ; oc, Guiana ) was an old French province which corresponded roughly to the Roman province of '' Aquitania Secunda'' and the archdiocese of Bordeaux. The name "Guyenne" comes from ''Aguyenne'', a popular transformation o ...

), who fights with Brutus and Corineus hand to hand before retreating to "Gaule ... that now is Fraunce".

Robert Fabyan Robert Fabyan (died 1512) was a London draper, Sheriff and Alderman, and author of ''Fabyan's Chronicle''. Family Robert Fabyan was the son of John Fabyan and his wife, Agnes. He is said to have been born in London. He had a brother, John. His n ...

's ''Chronicle'' (written before his death in 1511/1512) includes Goffar as "a Prynce named Copharius" of the province of "Gallia now called Guyan" (

). It notes that Goffar must have known the language of Brutus, mentions the dissenting view of the '' Polychronicon'' that

had already been built by this time, and lists the events as having happened in .

John Rastell John Rastell (or Rastall) (c. 1475 – 1536) was an English printer, author, member of parliament, and barrister. Life Born in Coventry, he is vaguely reported by Anthony à Wood to have been "educated for a time in grammaticals and philosophi ...

's '' The Pastyme of People'' (1529) mentions Goffar (under the name "Copharius") as a prince of "Gallia now callyd Guian" (

), as part of a very condensed version of the Brutus story. ''

Locrine ''Locrine'' is an Elizabethan play depicting the legendary Trojan founders of the nation of England and of Troynovant (London). The play presents a cluster of complex and unresolved problems for scholars of English Renaissance theatre. Date '' ...

'' (1595), a play attributed to Shakespeare, mentions "Goffarius, the arm strong King of Gauls, / And all the borders of great Aquitaine". It gives Goffarius a brother, Gathelus, who had been fought by

. Richard White of Basingstoke's ''Comitis Palatini Historiarum Libri'' (1597) has Goffar as "Gopharius Rex Picthus". He explains that "Pict"/"Pictus" refers to the

Pictones The Pictones were a Gallic tribe dwelling south of the Loire river, in the modern departments of Vendée, Deux-Sèvres and Vienne, during the Iron Age and Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Pictonibus'' and ''Pictones'' by Julius Caes ...

(not the

s of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

), and harmonises the distance between Aquitaine and the mouth of the river

(which he has as being in "Celtic Gaul"), by saying that Brutus travelled to Aquitaine after anchoring there.

French tradition

Alain Bouchart drew on Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' for the early part of his 1514 history of

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

'' Les Grandes Croniques de Bretaigne''. This included Goffar as "Grofarius", the " poictevin" king of Aquitaine, with Brutus arriving where Saint-Nazaire is now and follows the ''Historia''s story closely. Jean Bouchet's '' Les Annales d'Aquitaine'' (1524) includes Goffar as "Groffarius Pictus", the king of

, with his duke "Ymbert". It follows the story of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae'', which the author cites as the source for Goffar, along with '' La Mer des Histoires'' and an anonymously written Chronicle from the library of Saint Denis. '' La Décoration du Pays et Duché de Touraine'' (1541) by

Thibault Lepleigney Thibault is a French personal name and surname, a form of Theobald, a Germanic name composed from the elements ''theodiscus, theod-'' "people" and ''bald'' "bold". Surname * Arthur Thibault (191483), Canadian farmer and political figure in Saskat ...

also includes Goffar as "Grofarius Pictus". It cites Jean Bouchet's '' Les Annales d'Aquitaine'' (1524).

Name

In ''Horn et Rimenhild'', a twelfth century French version of the story of

King Horn ''King Horn'' is a Middle English chivalric romance dating back to the middle of the thirteenth century. It survives in three manuscripts: London, British Library, MS. Harley 2253; Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Laud. Misc 108; and Cambridge, Cambri ...

, one of the King of Dublin's two sons is called Guffer. William Henry Schofield gives Goffarius Pictus as a potential source of this name. In the fourteenth century play ''

Generides ''Generides'' or ''Generydes'' is an English verse romance, originating in the English Midlands and dated to the end of the 14th century. It survives in two different lengthy forms. The hero Generides is born as an illegitimate son of the King of ...

'', the Sultan of

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

is named "Goffore".

Frederick James Furnivall Frederick James Furnivall (4 February 1825 – 2 July 1910) was an English philologist, best known as one of the co-creators of the '' New English Dictionary''. He founded a number of learned societies on early English literature and made pio ...

's 1865 edition of the play also mistakenly gives "Goffare" as the name of the Sultan's niece.

References

{{Geoffrey of Monmouth Mythological kings Legendary French people