Ferrex was the son of the legendary king

Gorboduc Gorboduc ('' Welsh:'' Gorwy or Goronwy) was a legendary king of the Britons as recounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He was married to Judon. When he became old, his sons, Ferrex and Porrex, feuded over who would take over the kingdom. Porrex tri ...

of the Britons, and fought with his brother Porrex for the throne, according to

Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth (; ; ) was a Catholic cleric from Monmouth, Wales, and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur. He is best known for his chronicle '' The History of ...

. When his father had become old, he quarrelled with his brother Porrex over who would succeed to the kingship. Ferrex discovered that Porrex planned to kill him, and fled to

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

, where he enlisted the help of Suhard, the king of the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

. Upon his return, he fought a battle with his brother and died there. The Gaulish army was also destroyed. Ferrex had been his mother Judon's favourite son, and she avenged his death by killing Porrex in his sleep. This led to a long civil war between five kings in Britain.

Later tradition

Ferrex was a central character in Thomas Norton and Thomas Sackville's play ''

'' (1561).

Notes

{{Geoffrey of Monmouth British traditional history Mythological princes