Locrinus was a legendary king of the

Britons British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mod ...

, as recounted by the 12th-century chronicler

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 ...

in his ''

Historia Regum Britanniae ''Historia regum Britanniae'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called ''De gestis Britonum'' (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. ...

''. According to Geoffrey, Locrinus was the oldest son of

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...

and

Innogen Innogen is a character in the ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' and subsequent medieval British pseudo-history. She was said to have been a Greek princess, the daughter of King Pandrasus, and to have become Britain's first Queen consort as the wife ...

, and a descendant of the

Trojans Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 189 ...

through

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...

. Following Brutus's death, Britain was divided amongst the three sons, with Locrinus receiving the portion roughly equivalent to England except for Cornwall,

Albanactus Albanactus, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth, was the founding king of Albania or Albany. He is in effect Geoffrey's eponym for Scotland. His territory was that north of the River Humber. This myth was then taken up by Giraldus Cambrensis. L ...

receiving Scotland (Albany), and

Kamber Camber, also Kamber, was the legendary first king of Cambria, according to the Geoffrey of Monmouth in the first part of his influential 12th-century pseudohistory ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. According to Geoffrey, Cambria, the classical name ...

receiving Wales (Cymru). Locrinus ruled a portion 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 ...

called Loegria, named after him, which had roughly the boundaries of modern-day

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, other than

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

. He reigned 10 years, most of which were peaceful. He avenged his brother

's death at the hands of

Humber the Hun Humber the Hun was a legendary king of so-called "Huns" who, according to Gafridian legend, invaded the British Isles in about the 12th century BC. His people successfully conquered Scotia but he himself was drowned during his campaign against S ...

by allying with his other brother,

, and fighting Humber to the banks of a river where he drowned. The river was named

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between ...

after this battle. Locrinus divided up the spoils of war with his allies, only keeping gold and silver found on their ships for himself. He also took the daughter of the king of the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

Estrildis Estrildis was the beloved mistress of King Locrinus of the Britons and the mother of his daughter Habren, according to the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth. Mediaeval literature In Geoffrey's pseudohistorical ''Historia Regum Britan ...

, whom the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...

had captured. This angered

Corineus Corineus, in medieval British legend, was a prodigious warrior, a fighter of giants, and the eponymous founder of Cornwall. ''History of the Kings of Britain'' In Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudo-history '' History of the Kings of Britain'' (1 ...

, an ally of his father Brutus, who had arranged a marriage between Locrinus and his own daughter, Queen Gwendolen. Locrinus submitted and married Gwendolen but still secretly loved Estrildis, whom he locked in a cave beneath Trinovantum (

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

) for seven years. Locrinus became the father of a girl,

Habren Hafren (or Sabre, Sabren, or Sabrina; cy, Hafren; owl, Habren) is a legendary British princess who was drowned in the River Severn by her repudiated stepmother Gwendolen. The legend appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudohistorical chro ...

, by Estrildis, and a boy,

Maddan Maddan was a legendary king of the Britons as accounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He was the son of King Locrinus and Queen Gwendolen, who both ruled Britain separately. He was born during the reign of Locrinus but soon after, his grandfather Cori ...

, by Gwendolen. Soon after Maddan's birth, Locrinus sent him off to Corineus, the child's grandfather. When Corineus finally died, Locrinus left Gwendolen and took Estrildis as his queen. Gwendolen went to

and assembled an army to harass Locrinus. The two armies met near the River Stour and there Locrinus was killed. His wife, Gwendolen, ruled after his death. Locrinus is the subject of the anonymous

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personific ...

play ''

Locrine ''Locrine'' is an Elizabethan play depicting the legendary Trojan founders of the nation of England and of Troynovant ( London). The play presents a cluster of complex and unresolved problems for scholars of English Renaissance theatre. Date ...

'', published in 1595 as "Newly set forth, overseen and corrected by W.S.," on account of which it was later included in the Shakespeare Apocrypha.

Notes

References

{{Geoffrey of Monmouth Welsh mythology Legendary British kings