Locrinus was a legendary king 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 ...

, as recounted by the 12th-century chronicler

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 ...

in his ''

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 ...

''. He came to power in 1125BC. According to Geoffrey, Locrinus was the oldest son of

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 ...

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 o ...

, 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 1890 ...

through

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 ...

. Following Brutus's death, Britain was divided amongst the three sons, with Locrinus receiving the portion roughly equivalent to England except for Devon and 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 Humber estuary. This myth was then taken up by Giraldus Cambrensis. Le ...

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: * 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 ...

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

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, other than

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. 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 Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudohistorical chronicle , invaded the British Isles in about the 12th century BC from Scythia. His people successfully conquered Alba but he hims ...

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 River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Trent, Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms ...

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 Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

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 ...

, whom the

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

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'' ...

, an ally of his father Brutus, who had arranged a marriage between Locrinus and his own daughter,

Queen Gwendolen Gwendolen, also known as ''Gwendolin'', or ''Gwendolyn'' (Latin: Guendoloēna) was a legendary ruler of ancient Britain. She came to power in 1115BC. As told by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his historical account ''Historia Regum Britanniae'', she w ...

. Locrinus submitted and married Gwendolen but still secretly loved Estrildis, whom he locked in a cave beneath

Trinovantum Trinovantum is the name in medieval British legend that was given to London, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae'', when it was founded by the exiled Troy, Trojan Brutus of Troy, Brutus, who called it ''Troia Nova'' ("N ...

(

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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

Habren Hafren (or Sabre, Sabren, or Sabrina; ; ) 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 chronicle (). According to Ge ...

, by Estrildis, and a boy,

Maddan Maddan was a legendary king of the Britons as accounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He came to power in 1100BC. He was the son of King Locrinus and Queen Gwendolen,

, 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.

Later tradition

In the 13th century Prose ''Merlin'', Locrinus is called Logryn, and arrives in Britain a long time after the death of Brutus. He "a-mended gretly the Citee , and made towres and stronge walles enbateiled", and then renamed it from New Troy to Logres, which it continued to be called until after the death of

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

. 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 Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

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 '' ...

'',Folger Shakespeare Library website, ''The curious and complicated case of Locrine'', article by Alexandra E LaGrand, dated January 8, 2021
/ref> 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