Guiderius ( Welsh Gwydr or Gwydyr) is a legendary British king according to

Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth (; ; ) was a Catholic cleric from Monmouth, Wales, and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur. He is best known for his chronicle '' The History of ...

's ''

Historia Regum Britanniae (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a fictitious account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the List of legendary kings o ...

'' (''History of the Kings of Britain'') and related texts. He can probably be identified as deriving from the historical

Togodumnus Togodumnus (maybe died AD 43) was king of the British Catuvellauni tribe, whose capital was at St Albans, at the time of the Roman conquest. He can probably be identified with the legendary British king Guiderius. He is usually thought to have ...

. The eldest son of

Cunobeline Cunobeline or Cunobelin (Common Brittonic: *''Cunobelinos'', "Dog-Strong"), also known by his name's Latin form , was a king in pre-Roman Britain from about to about Malcolm Todd (2004)"Cunobelinus

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, but Guiderius refused to pay it. The Roman emperor">emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Claudius responded by Roman conquest of Britain, invading. Claudius and his chief of staff, Lelius Hamo, landed at Portchester, entrenching themselves there while besieging the city. Guiderius conscripted all the men of Britain against Claudius and marched south to meet him in battle. The Britons clashed with the Romans and succeeded so well that the Roman army began retreating to their ships.

, ''

'' 4.12-13 Hamo, though, put on British armour and began attacking his own army, urging the Britons to do likewise. Because of this, Hamo was able to get close enough to Guiderius to strike him. Guiderius died then or soon after and was succeeded by his brother Arvirargus, who took over as king during the battle. Guiderius is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''

Cymbeline ''Cymbeline'' (), also known as ''The Tragedie of Cymbeline'' or ''Cymbeline, King of Britain'', is a play by William Shakespeare set in British Iron Age, Ancient Britain () and based on legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concer ...

''. He and his brother Arvirargus had been kidnapped in childhood by Belarius, a nobleman wrongly banished by Cymbeline, and brought up in secret in Wales, but are reunited with their father and sister Imogen in time for the Roman invasion.

References

{{Authority control Legendary British kings European people whose existence is disputed Male Shakespearean characters