
Ebraucus ( cy, Efrawg/Efrog) 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 m ...
, 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 historiograph ...
. He was the son of King
Mempricius
Mempricius (''Welsh:'' Membyr) was a legendary king of the Britons, as recounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He was the son of King Maddan and brother of Malin.
War
Upon his father's death, war broke out between Mempricius and his brother, Malin, ...
before he abandoned the family.
Following the death of his father, Mempricius, he became king and reigned 39 years. According to Geoffrey, he was admired, tall, and remarkably strong. He was the first to wage war on the
Gauls
The Gauls ( la, Galli; grc, Γαλάται, ''Galátai'') were a group of Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age and the Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). They s ...
since the time 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 Ser ...
. By pillaging the cities and shores and slaughtering many men, he became extremely wealthy and enriched the lands 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 ...
.
He founded two settlements: Kaerebrauc, the City of Ebraucus (
Eboracum
Eboracum () was a fort and later a city in the Roman province of Britannia. In its prime it was the largest town in northern Britain and a provincial capital. The site remained occupied after the decline of the Western Roman Empire and ultimate ...
), north of the
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 betw ...
(this later became
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...
, whose
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
name is ''
Efrog''); and Alclud 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 Kingdom ...
ny (now part of
Dunbarton, capital of
Strathclyde
Strathclyde ( in Gaelic, meaning "strath (valley) of the River Clyde") was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government ...
). According to
Polydore Vergil
Polydore Vergil or Virgil (Italian: ''Polidoro Virgili''; commonly Latinised as ''Polydorus Vergilius''; – 18 April 1555), widely known as Polydore Vergil of Urbino, was an Italian humanist scholar, historian, priest and diplomat, who spent ...
he "builded the town of Maidens, now called Edinburgh Castle, being planted in the uttermost part of Britain, now called Scotland". The ''Registrum Malmesburiense'' also says he built the "castle of Montrose".
He had twenty wives who produced twenty sons and thirty daughters. All his daughters he sent to his cousin
Silvius Alba in
Alba Longa
Alba Longa (occasionally written Albalonga in Italian sources) was an ancient Latin city in Central Italy, 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Rome, in the vicinity of Lake Albano in the Alban Hills. Founder and head of the Latin League, it w ...
(Italy) to be married to the other
Trojan descendants. Except for
Brutus Greenshield
Brutus Greenshield ( cy, Brutus Darian Las) was a legendary king of the Britons as accounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He was the son of King Ebraucus.
Geoffrey's account
According to Geoffrey, Brutus, called Greenshield (''Latin:'' ''Viridescutum ...
, all of Ebraucus's sons, led by Assaracus,
[Bearing the mythical name of the second son of ]Tros
Tros or TROS may refer to:
* 18281 Tros
Eighteen or 18 may refer to:
* 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19
* one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018
Film, television and entertainment
* ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwan ...
, King of Dardania, and also the name of his great-great-grandfather 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 Ser ...
' Greek ally. went to
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
, creating a kingdom there. Brutus thus succeeded Ebraucus upon his death.
References
{{Geoffrey of Monmouth
Legendary British kings