Brennius was a legendary king of

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

and

Allobroges The Allobroges (Gaulish: *''Allobrogis'', 'foreigner, exiled'; grc, Ἀλλοβρίγων, Ἀλλόβριγες) were a Gallic people dwelling in a large territory between the Rhône river and the Alps during the Iron Age and the Roman period. ...

, as recounted by

Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth ( la, Galfridus Monemutensis, Galfridus Arturus, cy, Gruffudd ap Arthur, Sieffre o Fynwy; 1095 – 1155) was a British cleric from Monmouth, Wales and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography ...

. He was the son of

Dunvallo Molmutius Dyfnwal Moelmud ( Welsh for "Dyfnwal the Bald and Silent"; la, Dunvallo Molmutius; ) was accounted as an early king and lawmaker among the Welsh, credited with the codification of their standard units of measure. He also figures as a legendary ...

and brother of

Belinus Belinus the Great was a legendary king of the Britons, as recounted 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 ...

, 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 Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, 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 Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

without consulting Belinus. Belinus invaded

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 ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

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

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kin ...

ny 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 Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

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 subject all the Frankish kingdoms in Gaul to their authority. Now with an even greater army, Belinus lead his great army to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and threatened to invade

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Outside Rome, the two

consuls A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

, Gabias and Porsenna, sued for peace and offered wealth,

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conq ...

, and hostages as a sign of their submission. Belinus and Brennius accepted and took their great army to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. Soon after this movement north, Rome broke the 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 besieged Rome for three days until his brother came to his aid 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

Rome was indeed captured by

Brennus Brennus or Brennos is the name of two Gaulish chieftains, famous in ancient history: * Brennus, chieftain of the Senones, a Gallic tribe originating from the modern areas of France known as Seine-et-Marne, Loiret, and Yonne; in 387 BC, in t ...

, a

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switze ...

chieftain, following the

Battle of the Allia The Battle of the Allia was a battle fought between the Senones – a Gallic tribe led by Brennus, who had invaded Northern Italy – and the Roman Republic. The battle was fought at the confluence of the Tiber and Allia rivers, 11 Roman ...

on 18 July 390 BC. Gabias and Porsenna are not mentioned in any Roman sources. The later is a namesake of

Lars Porsena Lars Porsena (or Porsenna; Etruscan: ) was an Etruscan king (lar) known for his war against the city of Rome. He ruled over the city of Clusium ( Etruscan: ; modern Chiusi). There are no established dates for his rule, but Roman sources often ...

, a King of the

Etruscan civilization The Etruscan civilization () was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered, at its greatest extent, roug ...

who is believed to have fought against the recently founded

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

in the decade of the 500s BC.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brennius 5th-century BC births Legendary British kings 4th-century BC rulers Year of death unknown