Queen Marcia was the legendary third female ruler and a

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

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 ...

. She is presented by Geoffrey as "one of the most illustrious and praiseworthy of women in early British history".Barefield, Laura D., ''Gender and History in Medieval English Romance and Chronicle'', Peter Lang, New York, 2003, p.27.

Mythical account

Marcia became Queen consort when she married Guithelin (

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 ...

: Kyhylyn) and ruled as regent for her son,

Sisillius II Sisillius II (''Welsh:'' ''Seisyllt map Kyhylyn'') was a legendary king of the Britons as recounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. Legendary account Sillius II was the son of King Guithelin and Queen Marcia, succeeded by his son Kinarius. Since his ...

. In her youth, she was a noblewoman and knowledgeable in all the arts. Queen Marcia ruled Britain for about five years after Guithelin's death because their son was just seven years old at the time. Geoffrey says that Queen Marcia was a learned woman who codified the Marcian Laws, the ''Lex Martiana.'' King

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bot ...

was later to translate the code into

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

as the basis of Mercian Laws, believing them to have been named after the much later Saxon kingdom of Mercia. Sisillius (Welsh: Saessyllt), came to the throne in ca 358 BC on Queen Marcia's death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcia 4th-century BC women rulers British traditional history Ancient queens consort Ancient European women Legendary rulers