Brennius

Brennius

Brennius was a legendary king of Northumberland and Allobroges as accounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He was the son of Dunvallo Molmutius and brother of Belinus, probably based upon one or both of the historical Brenni.

Claimant to the throne of Britain

In an effort to win the crown of Britain, Brennius and Balinus waged war between each other to determine who should succeed their father. Many battles were fought between the two brothers until a time came when their friends intervened and a compromise was decided upon. Belinus became the King of the Britons with Brennius as King of Northumberland.

Five years later, Brennius wed the daughter of the King of Norway without consulting Belinus. Belinus invaded Northumberland and seized Brennius's land. Brennius heard of this violation and gathered a large Norwegian army together to sail for Britain. On the way, a fleet of ships under the King of Denmark attacked because the king wanted Brennius's wife for himself. They fought in the open ocean and the two sides dispersed. The King of Denmark managed to capture the wife of Brennius but he then got lost and landed on Britain. Belinus captured the king and his brother's wife. Brennius landed in Albany and demanded the return of all his lands and his wife. If not, he swore he would kill Belinus if they ever met in battle.

Belinus called to arms all of Britain against Brennius and the two armies met in the forests of Calaterium. The battle was fought ruthlessly and Belinus defeated the army of Brennius. Brennius fled to Gaul and Belinus became king over all the Britons.

Duke of the Allobroges

While in Gaul, Brennius travelled from king to king explaining his situation. All denied him help or protection until the Duke of the Allobroges, Segnius, befriended him. He became highly influential in the duke's ranks and was given the duke's daughter in marriage. The duke and all his men pledged to Brennius that if the duke produced no male heirs, Brennius would succeed him as leader of the Allobroges. The duke died within the year and Brennius became duke. He divided the treasures of the duke among the people and kept an open court to them all.

Soon after becoming duke, Brennius gathered together another army and made right of passage treaties with all the Gauls. Eventually, he invaded Britain with his army and met Belinus on the battlefield. Their mother, however, convinced Brennius to make peace, and the two brothers ruled their two realms in harmony with each other.

Conqueror of Rome

Following their unification, Belinus and Brennius merged their armies into one great one and invaded Gaul. After a year of warfare, the joint army managed to submit all the Frankish kingdoms in Gaul to their authority. Now with an even greater army, Belinus lead his great army to Italy and threatened to invade Rome. Outside of Rome, the two consuls, Gabias and Porsenna, sued for peace and offered wealth, tribute, and hostages as a sign of their submittance. Belinus and Brennius accepted and took their great army to Germany. Soon after this movement north, Rome broke their treaty and marched north and Brennius went to fight the Romans while Belinus remained at war with the Germans (who were being helped by various other Italian troops).

Brennius traveled south and sieged Rome for three days until his brother came to aide in the invasion. The Romans defended the city for many days and were successful in repelling the invaders. Finally, the two consuls put on armour and joined the men defending the city. They pushed the invaders back but Belinus was able to reform the lines and stop the attacks. Brennius and Belinus continued forward until the walls were breached and the Britons and Gauls invaded the city.

Brennius stayed in Rome and ruled ruthlessly for the rest of his days.

Comments on historicity

One should note that Rome was indeed captured by Brennus following the Battle of the Allia on July 18, 390 BC. Gabias and Porsenna are not mentioned in any Roman sources. The later is a namesake of Lars Porsena, a King of the Etruscan civilization who is believed to have fought against the recently founded Roman Republic in the decade of the 500s BC.

The consuls of the year were Marcus Manlius and a younger Lucius Valerius Potitus. They were replaced by six Consular Tribunes after the Gauls departed:

*Gaius Aemilius.
*Marcus Aemilius.
*Agrippa Furius.
*Lucius Lucretius.
*Lucius Furius Medulinus.
*Servius Sulpicius.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Brennius — Brenne (roi légendaire de Bretagne) Pour les articles homonymes, voir Brenne. Brenne (Brennius en latin) est un prince légendaire de l’île de Bretagne (actuelle Grande Bretagne), dont l’ « histoire » est rapportée par Geoffroy de… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Belinus — the Great was a legendary king of the Britons as accounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He was the son of Dunvallo Molmutius and brother of Brennius. He was probably named after the ancient god Belenus. Earning the crown In an effort to win the crown …   Wikipedia

  • Count Robert of Paris —   …   Wikipedia

  • Brennus — (or Brennos) is the name of two Gaulish chieftains famous in ancient history:. The Brennus of the fourth century BC was a chieftain of the Senones, a Gallic tribe originating from the modern areas of France known as Seine et Marne, Loiret, and… …   Wikipedia

  • Dunvallo Molmutius — (Welsh: Dyfnwal Moelmud) was a legendary king of the Britons as accounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He was the son of Cloten, the King of Cornwall, and he restored order after the Civil War of the Five Kings . He and his descendants were of a sub… …   Wikipedia

  • List of legendary kings of Britain — For historical kings who used or upon whom was bestowed the title King of the Britons , see King of the Britons. The following list of legendary kings of Britain derives predominantly from Geoffrey of Monmouth s circa 1136 work Historia Regum… …   Wikipedia

  • Historia Regum Britanniae — Infobox Book name = Historia Regum Britanniae title orig = translator = Wace, Layamon image caption = author = Geoffrey of Monmouth illustrator = cover artist = country = Wales language = Latin series = subject = genre = Pseudohistory publisher …   Wikipedia

  • List of battleships — The list of battleships includes all battleships since 1859, listed alphabetically. The list also contains battlecruisers which share most of the characteristics of a battleship or have otherwise been referred to as battleships. Not complete See… …   Wikipedia

  • Bregnier-Cordon — Brégnier Cordon Pour les articles homonymes, voir Cordon. Brégnier Cordon Église de Brégnier Cordon Administration …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Brenne (Roi Légendaire De Bretagne) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Brenne. Brenne (Brennius en latin) est un prince légendaire de l’île de Bretagne (actuelle Grande Bretagne), dont l’ « histoire » est rapportée par Geoffroy de Monmouth dans son Historia regum… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”