Marganus ('' Welsh:'' Margan) was a legendary king of the Britons as accounted by

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 ...

. He came to power in 850BC. He was the son of Maglaurus, Duke of

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 Kingd ...

ny, and Goneril, the daughter of King Leir. Marganus, grandson of Leir, despised the rule of his aunt Cordelia in

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 ...

. With the help of his cousin Cunedagius, Marganus took over the kingdom from Cordelia and ruled half of it. Following Cordelia's suicide, Marganus came to rule the region of Britain northeast 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 River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Trent, Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms ...

. Marganus was eldest male heir of Leir and, influenced by his peers, became discontent with ruling only half of Britain. He began a scorched earth march through

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, ...

until reaching the army of Cunedagius. Cunedagius defeated Marganus and Marganus fled. Cunedagius followed him throughout Britain until cornering him in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. There, Cunedagius killed Marganus and became king of all Britain. He named the place Margon in honour of his cousin.Cunliff, John W., ''Early English Classical Tragedies'', Clarendon Press, 1912, p.300.

Later tradition

Marganus and Cunedagius' conflict is mentioned twice in Thomas Norton and Thomas Sackville's play ''

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 ...

'' (1561), as a warning against the possibility of civil strife: "Morgan slaine did yeld his conquered parte unto his cosins sworde in Camberland" (Act I, Scene II); "the cruell sworde bereft Morgan his life with cosyns hand" (Act III, Scene I).

References

{{Geoffrey of Monmouth Legendary British kings