Goffar () known as Goffar the

Pict PICT is a graphics file format introduced on the original Apple Macintosh computer as its standard metafile format. It allows the interchange of graphics (both bitmapped and vector), and some limited text support, between Mac applications, an ...

, was a pseudo-historical king of

Aquitaine Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...

around the year in

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 ...

's ''

Historia Regum Britanniae (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a fictitious account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the List of legendary kings o ...

'' (). In the story, he was defeated by

Brutus of Troy Brutus, also called Brute of Troy, is a mythical British king. He is described as a legendary descendant of the Trojan hero Aeneas, known in medieval British legend as the eponymous founder and first king of Britain. This legend first appears ...

and

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'' ...

on their way to Britain. Later histories of Britain and France included Goffar from ''Historia Regum Britanniae'', and sometimes expanded the story with additional details.

''Historia Regum Britanniae''

In the myths surrounding

's occupation of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, Goffar led the

Poitevins Poitou ( , , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe. Geography The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical c ...

to war against Brutus' fleet. Although he sent messengers under a certain Himbert first, they got in a fight with

, Brutus'

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

, over royal property and all of the messengers were brutally killed. After a battle at the mouth of the

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

, 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 1890 ...

marched up the Loire through Goffar's dominions until they reached the territory of the

Turones The Turoni or Turones were a Gallic tribe of dwelling in the later Touraine region during the Iron Age and the Roman period. They were among the first tribes to give support to the Gallic coalition against Rome led by Vercingetorix in 52 BC, the ...

. There a battle was fought against troops given to Goffar by the eleven other kings of

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 ...

, and won, founding the city of

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

named in honor of Brutus' nephew Turnus, who died fighting. Professor Rowland Wymer points out the brutality in this account of Brutus' killing of Goffar's people.

Sources

Geoffrey's main source, the ''

Historia Brittonum ''The History of the Britons'' () is a purported history of early Britain written around 828 that survives in numerous recensions from after the 11th century. The ''Historia Brittonum'' is commonly attributed to Nennius, as some recensions ha ...

'', does not mention Goffar, but does contain a passage that he expanded into this story: " rutuswas exiled on account of the death of

Turnus Turnus () was the legendary King of the Rutuli in Roman history, and the chief antagonist of the hero Aeneas in Virgil's ''Aeneid''. According to the ''Aeneid'', Turnus is the son of Daunus and the nymph Venilia and is brother of the nymph ...

, slain by

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

. He then went among the

Gauls The Gauls (; , ''Galátai'') were a group of Celts, Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age Europe, Iron Age and the Roman Gaul, Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). Th ...

and built a city of the

, called Turnis ". The ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' instead gives the name Turnus to a nephew of Brutus, and adds the battle with Goffar to explain his death. Goffar may have been one of the many characters invented by Geoffrey of Monmouth for the ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. However, academic Hans Matter suggested that Geoffrey could have taken the etymological origin story of

, and expanded it using traditions about the historical

Waiofar Waiofar, also spelled Waifar, Waifer or Waiffre (died 2 June 768), was the last independent Duke of Aquitaine from 745 to 768. He peacefully succeeded his father, Hunald I, after the latter entered a monastery. He also inherited the conflict with ...

of Aquitaine, who is called "Guaifier" in the ''

Chanson de Roland The ''Song of Roland'' () is an 11th-century based on the deeds of the Frankish kingdom, Frankish military leader Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in AD 778, during the reign of the Charlemagne, Emperor Charlemagne. It is the oldest surv ...

''.

British tradition

Wace Wace ( 1110 – after 1174), sometimes referred to as Robert Wace, was a Medieval Norman poet, who was born in Jersey and brought up in mainland Normandy (he tells us in the ''Roman de Rou'' that he was taken as a child to Caen), ending his car ...

's ''

Roman de Brut The ''Brut'' or ''Roman de Brut'' (completed 1155) by the poet Wace is a loose and expanded translation in almost 15,000 lines of Norman-French verse of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Latin '' History of the Kings of Britain''. It was formerly known ...

'' (1155) expands on Monmouth's ''

'', and includes Goffar (also variously spelled Gofar, Gossac, and Gofiers) as the king of

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

. Medievalist

Antoine Le Roux de Lincy Antoine Le Roux de Lincy (Paris, 22 August 1806 – Paris, 13 May 1869) was a 19th-century French librarian, Romance philologist and medievalist. After graduating from the École Nationale des Chartes (promotion 1831-1832), Le Roux was appointed ...

believed that Wace intended Goffar to be the fifth century

king of Burgundy The following is a list of the kings of the two kingdoms of Burgundy, and a number of related political entities devolving from Carolingian machinations over family relations. Kings of the Burgundians * Gebicca (late 4th century – c. 40 ...

Gunther Gundaharius or Gundahar (died 437), better known by his legendary names Gunther () or Gunnar (), was a historical King of the Burgundians in the early 5th century. Gundahar is attested as ruling his people shortly after they crossed the Rhine ...

John of Hauville John of Hauville (also known as ''Johannes de Hauvilla'', ''Joannes de Havillan'', ''Johannes de Altavilla'', ''John of Hauteville'', and ''Jean de Hauteville'') was a moralist and satirical poet of the 12th century (flourished about 1184). Backgro ...

's ''

Architrenius ''Architrenius'' is a medieval allegorical and satirical poem in hexameters by Johannes de Hauvilla (also known as Johannes de Altavilla or Jean de Hauteville). The poet was born in about 1150 (perhaps at or near Rouen) and died after 1200, and d ...

'' () does not mention Goffar directly, but describes Corineus' massacre of the Aquitanians as "humbling the haughty eloquence of a loquacious people with undaunted arms. A complete and decisive victory, undamaged by the shifting tides of war, untroubled by any reversal and marred by no vacillation of fate". Layamon's ''Brut'' () has Goffar (Goffare in the Otho manuscript version) as the king of

Poitou Poitou ( , , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe. Geography The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical ...

, and gives the name of his messenger as Goffar's steward Numbert the

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

("Numberd the man" in Otho). It follows the story of ''

'' and ''

'', but has

deny the righteousness of the king's ''

frith Frith is a word derived from Old English meaning "peace; protection; safety, security, freedom, refuge". Etymology Derived from Old English ''friðu, friþ'', it is cognate to Old Norse '' friðr'', Old Saxon '' frithu'', Old High German '' ...

'' (both "peace" and law) which emerges as a form of subjegation instead of protection, and also recasts the killing of Numbert in terms of personal honour and retribution. Peter Langtoft's ''Chronicle'' (written before his death around 1305) has Goffar as "Gofforre" (or Goffre, Goffor, or Goffore), king of "Payters" (

). It says that Brutus arrived in Aquitaine, which they called "Paytewe" (

) at the time. It gives the name of Subardus as "Suard" (or "Sward"), and Imbertus as Ymbert, who is Goffar's men's "chieftain by common agreement".

John Hardyng John Hardyng (or Harding; 1378–1465) was an English chronicler. He was born in Northern England. Biography As a boy Hardyng entered the service of Sir Henry Percy (Hotspur), with whom he was present at the Battle of Shrewsbury (1403). He the ...

's ''Chronicle'' (1437) has Goffar as "Goffore" as king of "Aquitayne that Guyen now is" (

Guyenne Guyenne or Guienne ( , ; ) was an old French province which corresponded roughly to the Roman province of '' Aquitania Secunda'' and the Catholic archdiocese of Bordeaux. Name The name "Guyenne" comes from ''Aguyenne'', a popular transform ...

), who fights with Brutus and Corineus hand to hand before retreating to "Gaule ... that now is Fraunce".

Robert Fabyan Robert Fabyan (died 1512) was a London draper, Sheriff and Alderman, and author of ''Fabyan's Chronicle''. Family Robert Fabyan was the son of John Fabyan and his wife, Agnes. He is said to have been born in London. He had a brother, John. His ...

's ''Chronicle'' (written before his death in 1511/1512) includes Goffar as "a Prynce named Copharius" of the province of "Gallia now called Guyan" (

). It notes that Goffar must have known the language of Brutus, mentions the dissenting view of the ''

Polychronicon Ranulf Higden or Higdon (–1363 or 1364) was an English chronicler and a Benedictine monk who wrote the ''Polychronicon'', a Late Medieval magnum opus. Higden resided at the monastery of St. Werburgh in Chester after taking his monastic vow a ...

'' that

had already been built by this time, and lists the events as having happened in .

John Rastell John Rastell (or Rastall) (c. 1475 – 1536) was an English printer, author, member of parliament, and barrister. Life Born in Coventry, he is vaguely reported by Anthony à Wood to have been "educated for a time in grammaticals and philosophi ...

's '' The Pastyme of People'' (1529) mentions Goffar (under the name "Copharius") as a prince of "Gallia now callyd Guian" (

), as part of a very condensed version of the Brutus story. ''

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 '' ...

'' (1595), a play attributed to Shakespeare, mentions "Goffarius, the arm strong King of Gauls, / And all the borders of great Aquitaine". It gives Goffarius a brother, Gathelus, who had been fought by

. Richard White of Basingstoke's ''Comitis Palatini Historiarum Libri'' (1597) has Goffar as "Gopharius Rex Picthus". He explains that "Pict"/"Pictus" refers to the

Pictones The Pictones were a Gallic tribe dwelling south of the Loire river, in the modern departments of Vendée, Deux-Sèvres and Vienne, during the Iron Age and Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Pictonibus'' and ''Pictones'' by Julius Caes ...

(not the

s of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

), and harmonises the distance between Aquitaine and the mouth of the river

(which he has as being in "Celtic Gaul"), by saying that Brutus travelled to Aquitaine after anchoring there. Henry Chettle and John Day's lost play, ''The Conquest of Brute with the First Finding of the Bath'' (1598) has Goffarius, a Gaulish ruler, who is defeated by the military prowess of Corineus.

French tradition

drew on Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' for the early part of his 1514 history of

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

'' Les Grandes Croniques de Bretaigne''. This included Goffar as "Grofarius", the " poictevin" king of Aquitaine, with Brutus arriving where

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Oc ...

is now and follows the ''Historia''s story closely. '' Les Annales d'Aquitaine'' (1524) of includes Goffar as "Groffarius Pictus", the king of

, with his duke "Ymbert". It follows the story of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae'', which the author cites as the source for Goffar, along with ' and an anonymously written Chronicle from the library of Saint Denis. ''

La Décoration du Pays et Duché de Touraine LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

'' (1541) by Thibault Lespleigney also includes Goffar as "Grofarius Pictus". It cites Bouchet's ''Annales''.

Legacy

In ''Horn et Rimenhild'', a twelfth century French version of the story of

King Horn ''King Horn'' is a Middle English chivalric romance dating back to the middle of the thirteenth century. It survives in three manuscripts: London, British Library, MS. Harley 2253; Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Laud. Misc 108; and Cambridge, Cambr ...

, one of the King of Dublin's two sons is called Guffer. William Henry Schofield gives Goffarius Pictus as a potential source of this name. In the fourteenth century play ''

Generides ''Generides'' or ''Generydes'' is an English verse romance, originating in the English Midlands and dated to the end of the 14th century. It survives in two different lengthy forms. The hero Generides is born as an illegitimate son of the King of ...

'', the Sultan of

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

is named "Goffore".

Frederick James Furnivall Frederick James Furnivall (4 February 1825 – 2 July 1910) was an English philologist, best known as one of the co-creators of the '' New English Dictionary''. He founded a number of learned societies on early English literature and made pion ...

's 1865 edition of the play also mistakenly gives "Goffare" as the name of the Sultan's niece.

References

{{Geoffrey of Monmouth Mythological kings Legendary French people