Hafren (or Sabre, Sabren, or Sabrina; ; ) is a legendary British princess who was drowned in the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

by her repudiated stepmother

Gwendolen Gwendolen () is a feminine given name, in general use only since the 19th century. It has come to be the standard English form of Latin '' Guendoloena'', which was first used by Geoffrey of Monmouth as the name of a legendary British queen in hi ...

. The legend appears 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 pseudohistorical chronicle (). According to Geoffrey, Hafren is the

eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

of the Severn, which bears one of Britain's most ancient river names (recorded as early as the

2nd century The 2nd century is the period from AD 101 (represented by the Roman numerals CI) through AD 200 (CC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period. Early in the century, the ...

in the Latinized form ''

Sabrina Sabrina may refer to: People and fictional characters * Sabrina (given name), a feminine given name, including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Hafren, known in English as Sabrina, a British princess in Welsh mythology ...

'').

''Historia Regum Britanniae''

's (), Hafren (whom Geoffrey calls Habren) was the beautiful daughter of King Locrin of the

Britons British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, w ...

by his secret lover, a Germanic princess named

Estrildis Estrildis was the beloved Mistress (lover), mistress of King Locrinus of the Britons (Celtic people), Britons and the mother of his daughter Hafren, Habren, according to the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth. Medieval literature In Ge ...

. Her mother had been abducted by Humber the Hun and brought to Britain during their invasion following King

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC) 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 Servilius Caepio Brutus, which was reta ...

' death; eventually the Hun invasion was suppressed by Locrin, Brutus' eldest son, who fell in love with Estrildis upon discovering her in one of Humber's ships. Locrin had been forced into a " diplomatic" marriage to

, the daughter of King Corineus of Cornwall, but upon the death of Corineus, Locrin divorced her and made Estrildis his queen—thereby legitimizing Sabre. Locrin's scorned first wife, the mother of his heir Maddan, raised a Cornish army against him, defeated him in battle, and had his widow and daughter drowned in the River Severn:

Welsh tradition

A different version of the story is recorded in Oliver Mathews' ''Towne of Sallop'' (1616). In this version, Hafren's mother Estrildis is called Sŵs-wên, and

Locrinus Locrinus was a legendary king of the Britons (historic), Britons, as recounted by the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth in his ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. He came to power in 1125BC. According to Geoffrey, Locrinus was the oldest so ...

builds the town of

Caersws Caersws (; ) is a village and community (Wales), community on the River Severn, in the Wales, Welsh county of Powys; it was formerly in Montgomeryshire. It is located west of Newtown, Powys, Newtown, halfway between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury. ...

for her around 1086 BC, where she gives birth to Hafren (called Haverwen or Havfren) out of wedlock. Locrinus marries Sŵs-wên after the death of Corineus, causing

to raise an army and kill Locrinus. Gwendolen then travels to Caersws, razes it to the ground, kills both Sŵs-wên and Haverwen, and throws their bodies into the River Severn, which the Britons then name Haverne after Haverwen. It claims that the Romans later called them Eistride and Sabrina or Severne. According to local legends reported by the

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...

Thomas Pennant Thomas Pennant (16 December 1798) was a Welsh natural history, naturalist, traveller, writer and antiquarian. He was born and lived his whole life at his family estate, Downing Hall, near Whitford, Flintshire, in Wales. As a naturalist he had ...

, Hafren was drowned at

Dolforwyn Castle Dolforwyn Castle () is a Welsh medieval castle above the village of Abermule, Powys. The fortification was established by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Gwynedd in the late 13th century. It is sited on a wooded ridge commanding excellent ...

; literally means in Welsh.

Richard Williams Morgan Richard Williams Morgan (1815–1889), also known by his bardic name Môr Meirion, was a Welsh people, Welsh Anglican priest, Welsh nationalism, Welsh nationalist, campaigner for the use of the Welsh language and author. Morgan's outspoken critic ...

drew on the previous two stories, and expanded them in ''The British Kymry'' (1857). In it, Locrinus builds a palace for Estrildis (who Morgan says was also known as Susa) at Caersws, where he concealed her for seven years with the help of his brother Camber. Hafren (called Sabra) is born, and is even more beautiful than Estrildis, rivalling her ancestor

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

(Locrinus was a descendant of Venus' son

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 ...

). When Corineus dies, Gwendolen's army fights Locrinus' forces at the River Stour, and after killing him she hurries to Caersws and seizes Estrildis and Sabra. She orders Estrildis to be killed immediately, but was "so moved by the supernatural loveliness of Sabra, that many days elapsed before she could be persuaded to condemn her to death". Sabra was then taken to a meadow (, ) by Gwendolen's guards, and cast into the River Severn.

In literature

Edmund Spenser Edmund Spenser (; – 13 January 1599 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an English poet best known for ''The Faerie Queene'', an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the House of Tudor, Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is re ...

retold the story in book two, canto ten of his poem ''

The Faerie Queene ''The Faerie Queene'' is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. Books IIII were first published in 1590, then republished in 1596 together with books IVVI. ''The Faerie Queene'' is notable for its form: at over 36,000 lines and over 4,000 sta ...

'' (1590). Estrild and Sabrina flee Guendolene, who catches them at the River Severn, killing Estrild, but casting "the faire Sabrina almost dead with feare" into the river to drown. The Welsh tale of Hafren (variously referred to as Averne, Sabre, Sabren, Sabrina, etc.) was adapted by Milton for his

masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A mas ...

'' Comus'' (1634), in which the following verses are addressed to the water nymph "Sabrina":

In art

Several statues of Sabrina were made, including by Peter Hollins (1846), Holme Cardwell (1865), three by William Calder Marshall (including

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

Statue of Sabrina ''Sabrina'' ( ) is a 300-pound bronze statue of the Hafren, legendary British princess owned by Amherst College, and whose present location is unknown. Since it was donated to the College in 1857, the statue has been the subject of numerous pran ...

), John Graham Lough, and others. In 1858 the architect and designer,

William Burges William Burges (; 2 December 1827 – 20 April 1881) was an English architect and designer. Among the greatest of the Victorian era, Victorian art-architects, he sought in his work to escape from both nineteenth-century Industrial Revolution, ...

, produced drawings and plans for a fountain commemorating Sabrina to be located in the city of

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

, but it was never constructed.

References

External links

"Tales of the Riverbank: The Legend of Sabrina"
from

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...