Quintus Laberius Durus facts for kids

Quintus Laberius Durus was a Roman soldier who died a long time ago, in 54 BC. He was an officer in the Roman army, called a "military tribune." He died during the second time the famous Roman general Julius Caesar went to Britain.

A Roman Soldier's Story

Julius Caesar wrote about what happened to Quintus Laberius Durus. Soon after the Roman army landed in a place called Kent in Britain, they started building a camp. But the local people, called Britons, attacked them. Before more Roman soldiers could come to help, Laberius Durus was killed.

People traditionally believe he was buried at a place called Julliberrie's Grave near Chilham. However, this site is actually a very old burial mound from the Stone Age, known as a long barrow. It was built thousands of years before the Romans arrived.

A Mix-Up in History

For a long time, there was a mistake in history books about Quintus Laberius Durus. A writer named Paulus Orosius wrote a book where he accidentally called him "Labienus." This was confusing because Caesar had another important officer named Titus Labienus, who lived much longer and even fought against Caesar later.

This mistake was then repeated by other famous writers like Bede and Geoffrey of Monmouth. They also wrote about a soldier named Labienus being killed in Britain. Geoffrey of Monmouth even said that a British leader named Nennius killed him. But we now know this was a mix-up, and it was actually Quintus Laberius Durus who died.

Laberius Durus in Modern Times

Even though Quintus Laberius Durus is mostly a small note in history, he has appeared in some modern works. An American poet named Gabriel Gudding wrote a long poem dedicated to him. The poem is called "For Quintus Laberius Durus, Who, Because of a Javelin in His Lungs, Died Near Kent, in Early August, 54 B.C." It was published in a book in 2002.

He also appears in a historical novel titled Caesar, written by the Australian author Colleen McCullough in 1999.