Historia Regum Britanniae 690194 220466251 2008-06-20T00:17:35Z Enaidmawr 2129297 /* External links */ cat {{Infobox Book | name = Historia Regum Britanniae | title_orig = | translator = [[Wace]], [[Layamon]] | image = | image_caption = | author = [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] | illustrator = | cover_artist = | country = [[Wales]] | language = [[Latin]] | series = | subject = | genre = [[Pseudohistory]] | publisher = None | release_date = [[1138]] | english_release_date = | media_type = | pages = | isbn = | preceded_by = | followed_by = }} The '''''Historia Regum Britanniae''''' ([[English language|English]]: '''''The History of the Kings of Britain''''') is a [[pseudohistory|pseudohistorical]] account of [[Great Britain|British]] history, written c.[[1136]] by [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]]. It chronicles the lives of the [[List of legendary kings of Britain|kings of the Britons]] in a chronological narrative spanning a time of two thousand years, beginning with the [[Troy|Trojans]] of [[Homer]]'s ''[[Iliad]]'' founding the [[Brython|British]] nation and continuing until the [[Anglo-Saxons]] assumed control of Britain around the [[7th century]]. It is one of the central pieces of the [[Matter of Britain]]. It has no independent value as history – when events described, such as [[Julius Caesar]]'s [[Caesar's invasions of Britain|invasions of Britain]], can be corroborated from contemporary histories, Geoffrey's accounts can be seen to be wildly inaccurate – but is a valuable piece of medieval literature, which contains the earliest known version of the story of [[Leir of Britain|King Lear]] and his three daughters, and introduced non-Welsh-speakers to the legend of [[King Arthur]]. ==Contents== The ''Historia'' begins with the [[Troy|Trojan]] [[Aeneas]], who according to Roman legend settled in Italy after the [[Trojan War]]. His great-grandson [[Brutus of Troy|Brutus]] is banished, and, after a period of wandering, is directed by the goddess [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]] to settle on an island in the western ocean, which he names "Britain" after himself. The story continues chronologically, taking in such rulers as [[Bladud]], who uses magic and even tries to fly; [[Leir of Britain|Leir]], who divides his kingdom among his three daughters according to how much they profess to love him, a story which [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] used as the basis of his tragedy ''[[King Lear]]''; and [[Dunvallo Molmutius]], who codifies the [[Molmutine Laws]]. Dunvallo's sons, [[Belinus]] and [[Brennius]], fight a civil war before being reconciled, and proceed to sack [[Ancient Rome|Rome]] (based on the sack of Rome in 390 BC by the [[Gaul|Gallic]] leader [[Brennus (4th century)|Brennus]]). [[Caesar's invasions of Britain]] are opposed by [[Cassivellaunus|Cassibelanus]]. There is a brief notice of a king called [[Cunobelinus|Kymbelinus]], on whom Shakespeare based his play ''[[Cymbeline]]''. Then [[Claudius]] invades, opposed by Kymbelinus's sons [[Guiderius]] and [[Arvirargus]]. The line of British kings continues under Roman rule, and includes [[Lucius of Britain|Lucius]], Britain's first [[Christianity|Christian]] king, and several Roman figures, including the emperor [[Constantine I]], the usurper [[Allectus]] and the military commander [[Asclepiodotus]]. After the Romans leave, [[Vortigern]] comes to power, and invites the [[Anglo-Saxons|Saxons]] under [[Hengest|Hengist]] and [[Horsa]] to fight for him as mercenaries, but they rise against him, and Britain remains in a state of war under [[Ambrosius Aurelianus|Aurelius Ambrosius]] and his brother [[Uther Pendragon]], assisted by the wizard [[Merlin (wizard)|Merlin]]. Uther's son [[King Arthur|Arthur]] 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 Roman emperor [[Lucius Tiberius]] demands that Britain once again pay tribute to Rome. Arthur defeats Lucius in Gaul, but his nephew [[Mordred|Modred]] seizes the throne in his absence. Arthur returns and kills Modred, but, mortally wounded, he is carried off to the isle of [[Avalon]], and hands the kingdom to his cousin [[Constantine III of Britain|Constantine]]. With Arthur gone, the Saxons return, and become more and more powerful. The line of British kings continues until the death of [[Cadwaladr|Cadwallader]], after which the Saxons – the [[English people|English]] – are the rulers of Britain. ==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]], but few scholars take this claim seriously.<ref name="Thorpeintro">[[Lewis Thorpe]], Introduction to ''The History of the Kings of Britain'', Penguin, 1966, pp. 14-19</ref> Much of the work appears to be derived from [[Gildas]]'s 6th century polemic ''The Ruin of Britain'', [[Bede]]'s 8th century ''[[Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum|Ecclesiastical History of the English People]]'', the 9th century ''[[Historia Britonum|History of the Britons]]'' ascribed to [[Nennius]], the 10th century ''[[Annales Cambriae|Welsh Annals]]'', medieval Welsh [[:Wikisource:Harleian MS 3859 Genealogies|genealogies]] and king-lists, the poems of [[Taliesin]], the Welsh tale ''[[Culhwch and Olwen]]'', and some of the medieval Welsh Saint's Lives,<ref name="Thorpeintro" /> expanded and turned into a continuous narrative by Geoffrey's own imagination. ==Influence== The history of Geoffrey forms the basis for much [[Great Britain|British]] lore and literature as well as being a rich source of material for [[Welsh language|Welsh]] [[bard]]s. It became tremendously popular during the [[High Middle Ages]], revolutionising views of British history before and during the Anglo-Saxon period despite the criticism of such writers as [[William of Newburgh]] and [[Giraldus Cambrensis|Gerald of Wales]]. The prophecies of Merlin in particular were often drawn on in later periods, for instance by both sides in the issue of [[History of England|English]] influence over [[History of Scotland|Scotland]] under [[Edward I of England|Edward I]] and his successors. The ''Historia'' was quickly translated into Norman French verse by [[Wace]] (the ''[[Roman de Brut]]'') in 1155; into Middle English verse by [[Layamon]] (the ''[[Brut (Layamon)|Brut]]'') in the early 13th century; and into three different Welsh prose versions by the end of the 13th century.<ref>A. O. H. Jarman, ''Geoffrey of Monmouth'', University of Wales Press, 1965, p. 17.</ref> One of these Welsh translations, the so-called ''Brut Tysilio'', was proposed in 1917 by the [[archaeology|archaeologist]] [[William Matthew Flinders Petrie|Sir William Flinders Petrie]] to be the ancient British book that Geoffrey translated,<ref>[[William Matthew Flinders Petrie|Sir William Flinders Petrie]], ''[[s:Neglected British History|Neglected British History]]'', 1917</ref> 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.<ref>William R. Cooper, ''[http://www.annomundi.com/history/chronicle_of_the_early_britons.pdf Chronicle of the Early Britons]'' (pdf), 2002, p. 68</ref> For many 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 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.<ref>John Morris. ''The Age of Arthur: A History of the British Isles from 350 to 650.'' Barnes & Noble Books: New York. 1996 (originally 1973). ISBN 0-7607-0243-8</ref> It continues to have an influence on popular culture e.g. [[Mary Stewart]]'s Merlin novels, and the TV film ''[[Merlin (film)|Merlin]]'' 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 twelfth 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. ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== * John Jay Parry and Robert Caldwell. ''Geoffrey of Monmouth'' in ''Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages'', Roger S. Loomis (ed.). Clarendon Press: Oxford University. 1959. ISBN 0-19-811588-1 * Brynley F. Roberts, ''Geoffrey of Monmouth and Welsh Historical Tradition,'' Nottingham Medieval Studies, 20 (1976), 29-40. * J.S.P. Tatlock. ''The Legendary History of Britain: Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae and its early vernacular versions''. University of California Press. Berkeley. 1950. * N. Wright, ed., ''The Historia regum Britannie of Geoffrey of Monmouth. 1, Bern, Burgerbibliothek, MS. 568'' (Cambridge, 1984) * N. Wright, ed., ''The historia regum Britannie of Geoffrey of Monmouth. 2, The first variant version : a critical edition'' (Cambridge, 1988) * J. C. Crick, ''The historia regum Britannie of Geoffrey of Monmouth. 3, A summary catalogue of the manuscripts'' (Cambridge, 1989) * J. C. Crick, ''The historia regum Britannie of Geoffrey of Monmouth. 4, Dissemination and reception in the later Middle Ages'' (Cambridge, 1991) * J. Hammer, ed., ''Historia regum Britanniae. A variant version edited from manuscripts'' (Cambridge, MA, 1951) * A. Griscom and J. R. Ellis, ed., ''The Historia regum Britanniæ of Geoffrey of Monmouth with contributions to the study of its place in early British history'' (London, 1929) * M. D. Reeve, 'The transmission of the ''Historia regum Britanniae'' ', in ''Journal of Medieval Latin'' 1 (1991), 73--117 * [[Edmond Faral]], ''La légende Arthurienne: études et documents'', 3 vols. (Paris, 1929) * R. W. Leckie, ''The passage of dominion : Geoffrey of Monmouth and the periodization of insular history in the twelfth century'' (Toronto, 1981) ==External links== {{wikisource|History of the Kings of Britain}} * [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/gem/index.htm Online Text] [[Category:1130s books]] [[Category:12th century medieval Latin literature]] [[Category:Arthurian literature]] [[Category:Medieval Welsh literature]] [[Category:British traditional history]] [[br:Historia Regum Britanniae]] [[cy:Historia Regum Britanniae]] [[de:Historia Regum Britanniae]] [[es:Historia Regum Britanniae]] [[fr:Historia regum Britanniae]] [[it:Historia Regum Britanniae]] [[kw:Historia Regum Britanniae]] [[la:Historia regum Britanniae]] [[nl:Historia Regum Britanniae]] [[no:Historia Regum Britanniae]] [[nn:Historia Regum Britanniae]] [[sv:De brittiska kungarnas historia]]