The History of the Kings of Britain

The History of the Kings of Britain

‘Brutus, beyond the setting of the sun, past the realms of Gaul, there lies an island in the sea, once occupied by giants. Now it is empty and ready for your folk … for your descendants it will be a second Troy. A race of kings will be born there from your stock and the round circle of the whole earth will be subject to them’

In his seminal chronicle, Geoffrey of Monmouth traces the history of Britain, ‘best of islands’, from its legendary foundation by the Trojan king Brutus, through the Roman occupation, to the heroic age of Arthur and the coming of the Saxons. Presented and read at the time as a historical account, it is in fact a beguiling mixture of fact, myth and legend. As a founding document it has been as important, in its way, as the historical books of the Bible from Genesis to Esther, and has proved a rich source for writers, including Shakespeare and Tennyson.

Writing in Latin not long after the Norman Conquest, Geoffrey celebrated the heritage of the native Britons, particularly the Welsh. Here are the most vivid stories of Britain’s past: Cymbeline and his sons; King Lear and his three daughters; the love of Locrine and Sabrina; the rival princes Ferrex and Porrex; and the giant Gogmagog. Most importantly, Geoffrey provided Britain with a hero to rival any in classical myth: King Arthur. This is the key source of the legend of Arthur and his knights, his wife Guinevere and the prophecies of the magician Merlin. In establishing Arthur as a chivalric figure, brave in words and deeds, Geoffrey created a hero whose story would live on in the imagination of a nation for centuries to come.

The History of the Kings of Britain is a thrilling narrative of heroic kings and monsters, dramatic sea-scapes and dark forests, of battles, blood and prophecies. Above all, however, as its name suggests, it is a highly influential work of history to rival Bede or Livy.