List of legendary kings of Britain facts for kids

The following is a list of legendary kings of Britain. These stories mostly come from a book written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth called Historia Regum Britanniae (which means "History of the Kings of Britain"). Geoffrey created a mostly made-up history for the Celtic Britons (who are the ancestors of people from Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany). He used some ideas from older historians like Gildas, Nennius, and Bede, plus some Welsh family trees and stories about saints. He also used some sources that are now lost, and a lot of his own imagination!

Some of the kings in his book are based on real historical people, but the stories about them are not always true. Geoffrey's story starts with an exiled prince from Troy named Brutus. It's said that Britain was named after him. This idea was also mentioned in an older book from the 9th century called Historia Brittonum. Brutus was a descendant of Aeneas, a famous Trojan hero who was also a legendary ancestor of the people who founded Rome. So, Brutus's story is connected to the old Roman legends about how their city began.

Brutus, the First King of Britain

Illustration of Cadwaladr Fendigaid from Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae. Cadwaladr was also a historical king.

The book Historia Brittonum, written in north Wales around 829–830, says that the Celtic Britons came from the ancient city of Troy. It claims they were the first people to settle on the island of Britain. Both Historia Brittonum and Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae say that the very first king of the Britons was Brutus of Troy, and that the island of Britain was named after him.

Lucius, the Christian King

Lucius was a legendary king from the 2nd century. People traditionally believe he was the one who brought Christianity to Britain. The first mention of Lucius is in a 6th-century book called Liber Pontificalis. It says he sent a letter to Pope Eleutherius asking to become a Christian.

This story became very popular after Bede repeated it in his 8th-century book, Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Bede added that after the Pope agreed, the Britons followed their king and became Christians. They supposedly kept their Christian faith until a time of persecution in 303 AD. Later writers added more details, saying Lucius helped missionaries and founded some churches.

However, there is no real proof from that time that a king named Lucius existed. Some historians think there might have been a mistake in the old writings.

Other Early Legends

The Giants of Albion

A 14th-century poem called Des grantz geanz ("Of the Great Giants") tells a different story about Albion, which is the oldest recorded name for Britain. The poem says that a group of exiled Greek royals, led by a queen named Albina, first settled Britain. Before they arrived, "no one dwelt there." Albina then gave her name to Britain. Later, the island was renamed Britain after Brutus. The poem also tries to explain the legends of giants by saying Albina was "very tall" but was a human queen, not a mythical creature.

This Albina myth also appears in some later copies of Wace's Roman de Brut (1155), added as an introduction.

Scota, the Ancestor of Scots

Scota is a legendary figure in Scottish mythology. She is said to be the daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh. The Gaels and Scots believed they were descended from her. Scota first appeared in writings from the 11th or 12th century. Many experts today think these legends appeared to compete with Geoffrey of Monmouth's stories. Geoffrey claimed that Brutus's descendants founded Scotland.

However, some early Irish writings also mention the Scota legends. Not all experts believe these stories were made up. In Scottish origin myths, Scota was often seen as the founder of Scotland and the Scots, long before Geoffrey's characters. Some Scottish writers even claimed she lived during the time of Moses.

Kings from Geoffrey of Monmouth's Book

Geoffrey of Monmouth connected some of his legendary kings with real people and events from the Bible, Greek and Roman legends, and recorded history. He said Brutus arrived in Britain and started the Trojan-British monarchy around 1115 BC. Geoffrey's book was later retold by Wace (in French) and Layamon (in Middle English). The table below shows some of the kings from his book.

After the death of Cadwallader, the kings of the Brythons (the ancient Britons) ruled over a much smaller area. They were no longer kings of the whole Brythonic-speaking land. Two of his relatives tried to bring the exiles back from Brittany, but they couldn't bring back a united kingdom. The Anglo-Saxon invaders then ruled the southeastern part of Great Britain, which later became England.

The family line of the Celtic-British throne continued through the Welsh kings of Gwynedd. This line continued until they had to submit to the Plantagenets in the 13th century. Princes and lords of Gwynedd ruled until Dafydd III, who ruled from 1282 to 1283. His death marked the end of the line of Brutus. Later, Owen Tudor, who was the grandfather of Henry VII of England, was a descendant of the kings of Gwynedd. Henry's marriage helped to unite the two royal families (and also the feuding families of York and Lancaster).

Fake Stories and Legends

Throughout history, some people have created or spread stories about ancient British kings that weren't true.

The Forged Berossus

In 1498, a monk named Annio da Viterbo claimed he found old writings from a historian called Berossus. These writings supposedly described the first people to settle in 'Celtica' (including Britain) after the Great Flood. This first settler was said to be Samothes, a son of Japheth, who was a son of Noah. However, it was later discovered that Annio himself had made up these writings! They are now known as "Pseudo-Berossus" (meaning "fake Berossus").

Before people realized it was a hoax, this list of kings appeared in several important books of the time, like Holinshed's Chronicles.

Iolo Morganwg's Welsh Kings

Between 1801 and 1807, a man named Iolo Morganwg published a series of Welsh Triads (short poems or sayings grouped in threes). He claimed he found them in old manuscripts. However, it was later found that Morganwg had made up many of these, and others were changed by his friend.

Morganwg's triads describe the first people in Britain (Prydain) and include a made-up history of kings, starting with Hu Gadarn, the "Plough King." Hu Gadarn was described as the earliest inhabitant of Britain, traveling from a place called "Summerland" in 1788 BC. He was said to have started the first civilization in Britain and brought agriculture. Morganwg also wrote that after a huge flood, only two people, Dwyfan and Dwyfach, survived, and from them, the later people of Britain descended.

Some Christian writers in the 19th century thought this myth was proof of Noah's Biblical flood. But Morganwg's dates for Dwyfan and Dwyfach (18th or 17th century BC) don't match the Biblical timeline for Noah's flood.

Tea Tephi and the British Monarchy

Tea Tephi is a legendary princess found in writings from the 19th century by a group called British Israelites. In 1861, a reverend named F. R. A. Glover claimed that Tea Tephi was one of the daughters of Zedekiah, a king of Judah. King Zedekiah's sons were all killed during the Babylonian Captivity, so no male heirs could continue his family line. But Glover noted that Zedekiah had daughters who survived.

Glover believed that Tea Tephi was a surviving princess who escaped and traveled to Ireland. He thought she married a local High King of Ireland in the 6th century BC, and that this marriage linked her family to the British monarchy. This idea was later expanded by others, who created family trees showing Queen Victoria's lineage going back to King David through Tea Tephi.

A main idea of British Israelism is that the British monarchy comes from the family line of King David. The legend of Tea Tephi was an attempt to support this claim. However, there is no evidence of Tea Tephi in any Irish sources before the 19th century. Critics say she was purely an invention by the British Israelites.

While some British Israelites still believe in a connection between the British monarchy and King David's family line, many have admitted that the specific story of Tea Tephi might have been made up.

See also

• List of governors of Roman Britain
• List of legendary rulers of Cornwall
• List of rulers of Gwynedd