Chapter One: The Dedicatory Epistle to Robert, Earl of Gloucester #

¹ While I was occupied with many different studies, I happened to come across The History of the Kings of Britain. I was surprised that, in the elegant works of Gildas and Bede, I found no account of the kings who ruled Britain before the Incarnation of Christ, nor of Arthur and the many rulers who came after the Incarnation, even though their deeds deserved everlasting fame and were celebrated by many people from memory in an engaging way, as though they had been written down. As I was reflecting on these and similar matters, Walter, Archdeacon of Oxford, a man of great eloquence and deeply learned in the histories of foreign nations, presented me with a very ancient book written in the British language. In a continuous, orderly narrative and elegant style, it recounted the deeds of all these kings, from Brutus, the first king of the Britons, down to Cadwallader, the son of Cadwallo. At his request, therefore, although I had not devoted myself to cultivating an elaborate literary style by gathering ornate expressions from other authors, I was content to rely on my own plain manner of writing and undertook to translate this book into Latin. Had I filled its pages with rhetorical ornament, I would only have wearied my readers by making them pay more attention to my language than to the history itself. I therefore humbly dedicate this work to you, Robert, Earl of Gloucester, asking that you will favour it by correcting it with your advice, so that it may not be regarded as the humble offspring of Geoffrey of Monmouth, but rather, refined by your wisdom and judgement, as the work of one whose father was Henry, the glorious King of England, and whom we see to be an accomplished scholar and philosopher, as well as a brave soldier and skilled commander. Thus Britain gladly acknowledges that, in you, she possesses another Henry.

Chapter Two: The First Inhabitants of Britain #

¹ Britain, the finest of islands, lies in the Western Ocean between France and Ireland. It is eight hundred miles long and two hundred miles wide. It produces everything useful to mankind in unfailing abundance. It is rich in every kind of metal, with broad plains and hills well suited to the finest cultivation, whose fertile soil yields a variety of crops in their proper seasons. It also has forests well stocked with every kind of wild animal. Its pastures provide excellent grazing for livestock, and its flowers give bees abundant nectar for honey. Beneath its lofty mountains lie pleasant green meadows, where the gentle murmur of crystal-clear springs flowing through their channels invites the traveller to rest upon their banks and sleep. It is also richly supplied with lakes and rivers full of fish. Besides the narrow sea that borders its southern coast opposite France, it is crossed by three great rivers extending like three arms: the Thames, the Severn, and the Humber, by which goods from every nation are brought into the island. It was once adorned with twenty-eight cities. Some now lie ruined and deserted, while others still stand, graced with lofty church towers where Christian worship is conducted according to the ordinances of the faith. Finally, it is inhabited by five different peoples: the Britons, Romans, Saxons, Picts, and Scots. Of these, the Britons were the first to possess the whole island from sea to sea, until the judgement of God, punishing them for their pride, caused them to yield to the Picts and the Saxons. How they first came here, and from where they came, must now be related.

Chapter Three: Brutus, Banished After Killing His Parents, Goes into Greece #

¹ After the Trojan War, Aeneas fled with Ascanius from the destruction of their city and sailed to Italy. There he was honourably received by King Latinus, which stirred up the envy of Turnus, king of the Rutuli, who then made war against him. When they met in battle, Aeneas won the victory, killed Turnus, and gained the kingdom of Italy, together with Lavinia, the daughter of Latinus. After Aeneas’s death, Ascanius succeeded to the kingdom, built Alba on the Tiber, and had a son named Sylvius. Pursuing a private love affair, Sylvius took as his wife a niece of Lavinia. The young woman soon conceived, and when Ascanius, the child’s grandfather, learned of it, he ordered his magicians to discover the child’s sex. When they had satisfied themselves on the matter, they told him that she would give birth to a boy who would kill both his father and his mother and, after travelling through many countries in exile, would at last reach the highest pitch of glory. Nor were they mistaken in their prophecy, for in due time the woman gave birth to a son and died in childbirth. The child was then handed over to a nurse and named Brutus.

² At length, when fifteen years had passed, the youth accompanied his father on a hunt and accidentally killed him with an arrow. For as the servants were driving the deer towards them, Brutus shot at them and struck his father beneath the breast. After his father’s death, Brutus was driven out of Italy, his kinsmen being enraged with him for so dreadful a deed. Thus banished, he went to Greece, where he found the descendants of Helenus, son of Priam, held in slavery by Pandrasus, king of the Greeks. For after the destruction of Troy, Pyrrhus, son of Achilles, had brought Helenus and many others there in chains, and, to avenge his father’s death upon them, had ordered that they should be kept in captivity. Finding that they were his own ancient countrymen by descent, Brutus settled among them and began to distinguish himself by his judgement and courage in war, gaining the affection of kings and commanders, and above all of the young men of the land. For he was regarded as a man of great ability both in counsel and in battle, and he showed remarkable generosity to his soldiers by distributing among them all the money and spoil that he acquired. As his fame spread through every country, the Trojans began to flock to him from all sides, asking to be freed from subjection to the Greeks under his command. They assured him that this could easily be done, considering how greatly their numbers had increased in the country, for they were now seven thousand strong, besides women and children. There was also in Greece at that time a noble youth named Assaracus, who favoured their cause. For on his mother’s side he was descended from the Trojans, and he placed great confidence in them, hoping by their help to resist the designs of the Greeks. His brother had quarrelled with him, attempting to deprive him of three castles which his father had given him at his death because he was only the son of a concubine. But since the brother was Greek on both his father’s and mother’s side, he had persuaded the king and the rest of the Greeks to support his claim. Brutus, having considered the number of his men and seen how Assaracus’s castles lay open to him, agreed to their request.

Chapter Four: Brutus’s Letter to Pandrasus #

¹ Having therefore been chosen as their commander, Brutus gathered the Trojans from every quarter and fortified the towns belonging to Assaracus. But he himself, together with Assaracus and the whole company of men and women who supported him, withdrew into the woods and hills, and then sent a letter to the king in these words:

² “Brutus, general of the remnant of the Trojans, sends greetings to Pandrasus, king of the Greeks. Since it was beneath the dignity of a people descended from the illustrious line of Dardanus to be treated in your kingdom otherwise than the nobility of their birth demanded, they have taken refuge under the protection of the woods. For they have preferred to live like wild beasts, on flesh and herbs, while enjoying liberty, rather than remain any longer in the greatest luxury under the yoke of slavery. If this gives Your Majesty any offence, do not lay the blame on them, but pardon them, since every captive naturally longs to recover his former dignity. Let pity, therefore, move you to grant them freely the liberty they have lost, and allow them to inhabit the wooded thickets to which they have withdrawn in order to escape slavery. But if you deny them this favour, then, with your permission and assistance, let them depart into some foreign country.”

Chapter Five: Brutus Falls upon the Forces of Pandrasus by Surprise, Routs Them, and Takes Antigonus, the Brother of Pandrasus, with Anacletus, Prisoner #

¹ Pandrasus, understanding the meaning of the letter, was astonished beyond measure at the boldness of such a message from those whom he had held in slavery. Having summoned a council of his nobles, he resolved to raise an army in order to pursue them. But while he was marching towards the wilderness where he supposed they were, and towards the town of Sparatinum, Brutus sallied out with three thousand men and fell upon him unexpectedly. For, having received intelligence of his approach, Brutus had entered the town the night before, intending to break out upon them by surprise while they were unarmed and marching in disorder. When the sally was made, the Trojans attacked them vigorously and sought to make a great slaughter. The Greeks, astonished, at once gave way on every side and, with the king at their head, hurried to cross the river Akalon, which ran near the place. But in crossing they were in great danger because of the swiftness of the current. Brutus harried them in their flight, killing some in the stream and some on the banks; and, running to and fro, he rejoiced to see them exposed to destruction in both places. But Antigonus, the brother of Pandrasus, grieved at the sight, rallied his scattered troops and swiftly turned back against the furious Trojans, for he chose rather to die in brave resistance than to be drowned in a muddy pool during a shameful flight. Thus, surrounded by a close body of men, he encouraged them to stand their ground and brought all his strength to bear against the enemy with great vigour, but to little or no purpose. For the Trojans had weapons, while the others had none; and because of this advantage they pursued them with greater eagerness and made a wretched slaughter. Nor did they cease their assault until they had almost entirely destroyed them and had taken Antigonus, together with his companion Anacletus, prisoner.

Chapter Six: The Town of Sparatinum Is Besieged by Pandrasus #

¹ After the victory, Brutus reinforced the town with six hundred men and then withdrew to the woods, where the Trojan people were awaiting his protection. Meanwhile, Pandrasus, grieving over his own flight and his brother’s captivity, tried that night to gather his scattered forces again. The next morning, with the body of men he had brought together, he went to besiege the town where he supposed Brutus had taken refuge with Antigonus and the other prisoners he had captured. As soon as he arrived at the walls and had examined the position of the fortress, he divided his army into several companies and stationed them around it in different places. One group was ordered not to allow any of the besieged to leave; another was ordered to divert the courses of the rivers; and a third was ordered to batter down the walls with rams and other engines. In obedience to these commands, they laboured with all their strength to distress the besieged. When night came on, they chose their bravest men to defend their camp and tents against enemy attacks, while the rest, exhausted by their labour, refreshed themselves with sleep.

Chapter Seven: The Besieged Ask Brutus for Assistance #

¹ But the besieged, standing on the tops of the walls, were no less vigorous in repelling the force of the enemy’s engines and attacking them with their own. With one united resolve to make a brave defence, they hurled darts and firebrands. Whenever a breach was made in the wall, they forced the enemy to withdraw by throwing fire and scalding water upon them. But, being hard pressed by lack of provisions and by their daily labour, they sent an urgent message to Brutus, begging him to hurry to their aid, for they feared they might become so weakened that they would be forced to abandon the town. Brutus, though eager to relieve them, was in great difficulty, since he did not have enough men to fight a pitched battle. He therefore resorted to a stratagem, by which he planned to enter the enemy’s camp by night and, having deceived their watchmen, kill them in their sleep. But because he knew this could not be done without the agreement and assistance of some of the Greeks, he summoned Anacletus, the companion of Antigonus, and, with a drawn sword in his hand, spoke to him in this way:

² “Noble youth, your life and that of Antigonus are now at an end unless you faithfully carry out what I command you. Tonight I intend to enter the camp of the Greeks and fall upon them unexpectedly, but I fear I may be prevented if the watchmen discover the stratagem. Since it will therefore be necessary for them to be killed first, I wish to use you to deceive them, so that I may gain easier access to the rest. Manage this matter cunningly. At the second hour of the night, go to the watchmen and, with fair words, tell them that you have brought Antigonus out of prison, and that he has come to the edge of the woods, where he lies hidden among the bushes and cannot go any farther because of the fetters with which you shall pretend he is bound. Then lead them, as though to set him free, to the end of the wood, where I shall be waiting with a band of men ready to kill them.”

Chapter Eight: Anacletus, in Fear of Death, Betrays the Army of the Greeks #

¹ Anacletus, seeing the sword threatening him with immediate death while these words were being spoken, was so terrified that he swore an oath, promising that, provided he and Antigonus were granted a longer life, he would carry out Brutus’s command. Accordingly, when the agreement had been confirmed, at the second hour of the night he made his way towards the Greek camp. When he had come near it, the watchmen, who were then carefully searching every place where anyone might hide, ran out from all sides to meet him and demanded the reason for his coming, asking whether he had come to betray the army. He, with an appearance of great joy, answered as follows: “I have not come to betray my country. Rather, having escaped from the prison of the Trojans, I have fled here to ask you to come with me to Antigonus, whom I have freed from Brutus’s chains. For, being unable to come with me because of the weight of his fetters, I caused him a little while ago to hide among the bushes at the edge of the wood until I could find someone whom I might lead to help him.” While they were uncertain about the truth of this account, someone came who knew him and, after greeting him, told them who he was. So now, without any hesitation, they quickly called their absent companions and followed him to the wood where he had told them Antigonus lay hidden. But at last, as they were going among the bushes, Brutus sprang out with his armed bands and fell upon them while they were in the greatest astonishment, making a most cruel slaughter. From there he marched straight to the siege and divided his men into three bands, assigning to each a different part of the camp. He told them to advance carefully and without noise, and, once they had entered, not to kill anyone until he and his company had taken possession of the king’s tent and had sounded the trumpet as a signal.

Chapter Nine: The Taking of Pandrasus #

¹ When Brutus had given them these instructions, they immediately entered the camp softly and in silence. Taking up their appointed positions, they waited for the promised signal, which Brutus did not delay in giving as soon as he had reached the tent of Pandrasus, the assault on which he desired most of all. On hearing the signal, they at once drew their swords, entered among the sleeping men, swiftly destroyed them, and, giving no quarter, passed through the whole camp in this manner. The rest, awakened by the groans of the dying and seeing their attackers, were like sheep seized by sudden fear, for they despaired of life, having neither time to take up arms nor opportunity to escape by flight. Unarmed, they ran here and there among armed men, wherever the fury of the assault drove them, but on every side they were cut down by the enemy rushing in. Some who might have escaped, in the eagerness of flight, dashed themselves against rocks, trees, or bushes, and so made their deaths more wretched. Others, who had only a shield or some similar covering for defence, ventured among the same rocks to avoid death, but in the confusion and darkness of the night they fell and broke either their legs or their arms. Others, who escaped both these disasters but did not know where to flee, were drowned in the nearby rivers, and scarcely anyone got away without suffering some unhappy mishap. Besides this, the garrison in the town, having received word of the arrival of their fellow soldiers, sallied out and doubled the slaughter.

Chapter Ten: A Consultation About What Is to Be Asked of the Captive King #

¹ But Brutus, as was said before, having taken possession of the king’s tent, made it his concern to keep him safely as a prisoner, for he knew that he could more easily achieve his aims by preserving his life than by killing him. But the party that was with him, giving no quarter, utterly destroyed those in the part of the camp they had taken. The night having been spent in this way, when the next morning revealed so great an overthrow of the enemy, Brutus, transported with joy, gave his men full liberty to do as they pleased with the plunder. He then entered the town with the king, to remain there until they had divided the spoil among themselves. When this was done, he fortified the castle again, gave orders for the burial of the slain, and withdrew with his forces to the woods in great joy over the victory. After his people had celebrated this success, their renowned general summoned the oldest among them and asked their advice as to what he should demand of Pandrasus, who, now that he was in their power, would readily grant whatever they asked in order to regain his liberty. They, according to their different inclinations, desired different things: some urged him to request that a certain part of the kingdom be assigned to them as a dwelling place; others advised that he should demand permission to depart, together with supplies necessary for their voyage. After they had long remained uncertain what to do, one of them, named Mempricius, rose, and, having called for silence, spoke to them as follows:

² “What can be the reason for your uncertainty, fathers, in a matter which I think so greatly concerns your safety? The only thing you can request, with any prospect of firm peace and security for yourselves and your descendants, is permission to depart. For if you make no better terms with Pandrasus for his life than merely to have some part of the country assigned to you so that you may live among the Greeks, you will never enjoy lasting peace while the brothers, sons, or grandsons of those whom you killed yesterday remain your neighbours. So long as the memory of their fathers’ deaths endures, they will be your mortal enemies, and at the slightest provocation they will seek to avenge themselves. Nor will you be numerous enough to withstand so great a multitude of people. And if you should happen to fall out among yourselves, their numbers will increase daily, while yours will diminish. I therefore propose that you ask him for his eldest daughter, Ignoge, as a wife for our general, and with her gold, silver, grain, and whatever else is necessary for our voyage. If we obtain this, we may, with his permission, move to some other country.”

Chapter Eleven: Pandrasus Gives His Daughter Ignoge in Marriage to Brutus, Who, After Leaving Greece, Comes upon a Deserted Island, Where the Oracle of Diana Tells Him What Place He Is to Inhabit #

¹ When he had finished speaking in this way, the whole assembly agreed to his advice and moved that Pandrasus should be brought among them and condemned to a most cruel death unless he granted this request. He was immediately brought in, placed in a chair above the rest, and informed of the tortures prepared for him unless he did what was commanded. He gave them this answer:

² “Since my ill fortune has delivered me and my brother Antigonus into your hands, I can do nothing but grant your request, lest refusal should cost us our lives, which are now entirely in your power. In my opinion, life is to be preferred to all other considerations; therefore, do not wonder that I am willing to redeem it at so great a price. But though I obey your commands against my inclination, it seems some comfort to me that I am to give my daughter to so noble a youth, whose descent from the illustrious race of Priam and Anchises is clear, both from the greatness of spirit that appears in him and from the certain reports we have had of it. For who less than he could have released the banished Trojans from their chains when they had been reduced to slavery under so many great princes? Who else could have encouraged them to stand against the Greeks? Or, with so small a body of men, have defeated so numerous and powerful an army and taken their king prisoner in the battle? Therefore, since this noble youth has gained so much glory by the resistance he has made against me, I give him my daughter Ignoge, and also gold, silver, ships, grain, wine, oil, and whatever else you shall find necessary for your voyage. If you change your minds and decide to remain among the Greeks, I will grant you the third part of my kingdom for your habitation. If not, I will faithfully fulfil my promise, and, for your greater security, will remain among you as a hostage until I have done so.”

³ Accordingly, he held a council and sent messengers to all the coasts of Greece to gather ships together. When this was done, he delivered them to the Trojans, three hundred and twenty-four in number, loaded with every kind of provision, and gave his daughter in marriage to Brutus. He also made a gift of gold and silver to each man according to his rank. When everything had been carried out, the king was set at liberty, and the Trojans, now released from his power, set sail with a fair wind. But Ignoge, standing on the stern of the ship, fainted several times in Brutus’s arms, and with many sighs and tears lamented leaving her parents and her country. Nor did she ever turn her eyes from the shore while it remained in sight. Meanwhile, Brutus tried to soothe her grief with kind words and embraces mingled with kisses, and did not cease these endearments until she grew weary of crying and fell asleep. During these and other events, the winds continued favourable for two days and a night, until at last they arrived at a certain island called Leogecia, which had formerly been laid waste by the raids of pirates and was then uninhabited. Brutus, not knowing this, sent three hundred armed men ashore to see who lived there. Finding nobody, they killed several kinds of wild beasts that they came across in the groves and woods, and came to a deserted city, where they found a temple of Diana. In it was a statue of that goddess, which gave answers to those who came to consult her. At last, loading themselves with the prey they had taken in hunting, they returned to their ships and gave their companions an account of the country and the city. Then they advised their leader to go to the city and, after offering sacrifices, to ask the deity of the place what country had been allotted to them as their settlement. All agreed to this proposal, so Brutus, attended by Gerion the augur and twelve of the oldest men, set out for the temple with everything necessary for the sacrifice. When they arrived at the place and presented themselves before the shrine with garlands around their temples, as the ancient rites required, they made three fires to the three deities, Jupiter, Mercury, and Diana, and offered sacrifices to each of them. Brutus himself, holding before the altar of the goddess a consecrated vessel filled with wine and the blood of a white hart, and looking up towards the image, broke silence with these words:

⁴ “Goddess, mighty in the woods, a terror to wild boars;
you who may pass through the winding paths of the heavens,
and through the houses below: reveal the laws of the earth,
and tell us what lands you wish us to inhabit.
Tell us the certain dwelling where I shall worship you for ever,
where I shall dedicate temples to you with choirs of maidens.”

⁵ He repeated these words nine times. After this, he walked four times around the altar, poured the wine into the fire, and then lay down on the hart’s skin which he had spread before the altar, where he fell asleep. At about the third hour of the night, the usual time for deep sleep, the goddess seemed to appear before him and foretold his future success as follows:

⁶ “Brutus, beyond the kingdoms of Gaul, towards the setting of the sun,
there is an island in the ocean, enclosed on every side by the sea.
An island in the ocean once inhabited by giants,
now indeed deserted, and fit for your people.
Seek this land, for it shall be your everlasting dwelling place.
So shall a second Troy arise for your descendants.
So from your offspring kings shall be born, and to them
the whole circle of the earth shall be subject.”

⁷ Awakened by the vision, Brutus was for some time uncertain within himself whether what he had seen was a dream or a true appearance of the goddess herself, foretelling the land to which he should go. At last he called his companions and related to them, in order, the vision he had seen in his sleep. They greatly rejoiced at it and urged him to return to the ships and, while the wind favoured them, to hasten their voyage westwards in pursuit of what the goddess had promised. Without delay, therefore, they returned to their company, set sail again, and after a voyage of thirty days came to Africa, still not knowing where they should steer. From there they came to the Philenian Altars and to a place called Salinae, and sailed between Ruscicada and the mountains of Azara, where they were put in great danger by pirates. Nevertheless, they defeated them and enriched themselves with their spoils.

Chapter Twelve: Brutus Enters Aquitaine with Corineus #

¹ From there, passing the river Malua, they arrived in Mauritania, where at last, for lack of provisions, they were forced to go ashore. Dividing themselves into several bands, they laid waste the whole country. When they had well stocked their ships, they steered towards the Pillars of Hercules, where they saw some of the sea-monsters called Sirens, which surrounded their ships and very nearly overturned them. However, they managed to escape and came to the Tyrrhenian Sea, on whose shores they found four different peoples descended from the banished Trojans who had accompanied Antenor in his flight. The name of their commander was Corineus, a prudent man in matters of counsel and of great courage and boldness, who, in any encounter, would immediately overthrow even a man of gigantic stature as though he were a child. When they learned from whom he was descended, they joined company with him and those under his rule, who from the name of their leader were afterwards called the Cornish people. Indeed, they were more useful to Brutus than all the rest in every battle. From there they came to Aquitaine and, entering the mouth of the Loire, cast anchor. There they remained for seven days and examined the country. Goffarius Pictus, who was then king of Aquitaine, having received news that a foreign people with a great fleet had arrived on his coasts, sent ambassadors to them to ask whether they came in peace or war. The ambassadors, on their way towards the fleet, met Corineus, who had come out with two hundred men to hunt in the woods. They demanded of him who had given him permission to enter the king’s forests and kill his game, which by an ancient law no one was allowed to do without the prince’s leave. Corineus answered that, as far as that matter was concerned, there was no need to ask permission. At this, one of them, named Imbertus, rushed forward and, with his bow fully drawn, aimed a shot at him. Corineus avoided the arrow and immediately ran up to him, breaking his head with the bow in his hand. The rest narrowly escaped and carried news of this disaster to Goffarius. The Poitevin commander was struck with grief at it and immediately raised a vast army to avenge the death of his ambassador. Brutus, on the other hand, hearing the rumour of his approach, sent the women and children away to the ships, which he took care to have well guarded, and ordered them to remain there while he, with the rest who were able to bear arms, went to meet the army. At last, when the assault was made, a bloody battle followed. After a great part of the day had been spent, Corineus was ashamed to see the Aquitanians standing their ground so bravely and the Trojans continuing the fight without victory. He therefore took fresh courage and, drawing his men off to the right wing, broke into the very thickest of the enemy, where he made such slaughter on every side that at last he broke their line and put them all to flight. In this encounter he lost his sword, but by good fortune found a battle-axe, with which he cleaved down to the waist everyone who stood in his way. Brutus and everyone else, both friends and enemies, were amazed at his courage and strength, for he brandished his battle-axe among the fleeing troops and terrified them greatly with these mocking words: “Where are you running, cowards? Where are you running, base wretches? Stand your ground, so that you may face Corineus. For shame, why do so many thousands of you flee from one man? Yet take this comfort in your flight: you are being pursued by one before whom the Tyrrhenian giants could not stand their ground, but fell slain together in heaps.”

Chapter Thirteen: Goffarius Routed by Brutus #

¹ At these words one of them, named Subardus, who was a consul, returned with three hundred men to attack him. But Corineus warded off the blow with his shield, and, lifting up his battle-axe, struck him such a blow on the top of his helmet that he cleaved him down to the waist at once. Then, rushing upon the rest, he made a terrible slaughter by wheeling his battle-axe among them, and, running to and fro, seemed more eager to strike the enemy than careful to avoid the blows they aimed at him. Some had their hands and arms cut off by him, some their very shoulders, others their heads, and others again their legs. All fought against him alone, and he alone seemed to fight against all. Brutus, seeing him thus beset, ran with a band of men to his assistance out of concern for him. At this, the battle was renewed again with vigour and loud shouts, and great numbers were slain on both sides. But now the Trojans soon gained the victory and put Goffarius with his Poitevins to flight. The king, after a narrow escape, went to various parts of Gaul to obtain reinforcements from princes who were related to him or known to him. At that time Gaul was subject to twelve princes, who possessed the whole country with equal authority. They received him courteously and promised with one consent to expel the foreigners from Aquitaine.

Chapter Fourteen: Brutus, After His Victory over Goffarius, Ravages Aquitaine with Fire and Sword #

¹ Brutus, rejoicing in the victory, enriched his men with the spoils of the slain, and then, dividing them into several companies, marched into the country intending to lay it waste and load his fleet with plunder. With this purpose he set the cities on fire, seized the riches that were in them, destroyed the fields, and made a dreadful slaughter among the citizens and common people, being unwilling to leave even one person of that wretched nation alive. While he was carrying out this destruction throughout all Aquitaine, he came to a place where the city of Tours now stands, which he afterwards built, as Homer testifies. As soon as he had chosen a place suitable for the purpose, he pitched his camp there as a safe retreat when occasion should require it. For he was afraid because of Goffarius’s approach with the kings and princes of Gaul and a very great army, which had now come near the place, ready to give him battle. Having therefore completed his camp, he expected to engage with Goffarius in two days’ time, placing the utmost confidence in the judgement and courage of the young men under his command.

Chapter Fifteen: Goffarius’s Fight with Brutus #

¹ Goffarius, being informed that the Trojans were in those parts, marched day and night until he came within close sight of Brutus’s camp. Then, with a stern look and a disdainful smile, he broke out into these words: “O wretched fate! Have these base exiles made a camp even in my kingdom? To arms, to arms, soldiers, and march through the thickest of their ranks. We shall soon take these pitiful fellows like sheep and scatter them throughout our kingdom as slaves.” At these words they prepared their weapons and advanced in twelve companies towards the enemy. Brutus, on the other hand, with his forces drawn up in order, went out boldly to meet them and gave his men instructions for their conduct, telling them where they should attack and where they should stand on the defensive. At the beginning of the attack, the Trojans had the advantage and made a swift slaughter of the enemy, of whom nearly two thousand fell, terrifying the rest so greatly that they were on the point of running away. But, as victory generally falls to the side that has a very great superiority in numbers, so the Gauls, being three to one, though overcome at first, at last joined together in a great body, broke in upon the Trojans, and forced them to withdraw to their camp with much slaughter. Having thus gained the victory, they besieged them in their camp, intending not to allow them to stir out until they either surrendered themselves as prisoners or were cruelly starved to death by a long famine.

² Meanwhile, on the following night, Corineus entered into consultation with Brutus and proposed to go out that night by byways and conceal himself in a nearby wood until daybreak. Then, while Brutus should sally out against the enemy in the morning twilight, he and his company would surprise them from behind and put them to slaughter. Brutus was pleased with this stratagem of Corineus, who, according to his undertaking, secretly went out with three thousand men and placed himself under the cover of the woods. As soon as it was day, Brutus marshalled his men and opened the camp to go out to fight. The Gauls met him and began the battle; many thousands fell on both sides, neither party giving quarter. There was present a Trojan named Turonus, the nephew of Brutus, inferior to none but Corineus in courage and bodily strength. He alone killed six hundred men with his sword, but at last was himself unfortunately slain by the number of Gauls who rushed upon him. From him the city of Tours took its name, because he was buried there. While both armies were thus hotly engaged, Corineus came upon them unawares and fell fiercely upon the rear of the enemy, which gave new courage to his friends on the other side and made them exert themselves with increased vigour. The Gauls were astonished by the very shout of Corineus’s men and, thinking their number much greater than it really was, they hastily abandoned the field. But the Trojans pursued them and killed them in the pursuit, nor did they stop until they had gained a complete victory. Brutus, though joyful over this great success, was nevertheless distressed to see the number of his forces diminishing each day, while that of the enemy increased more and more. He remained uncertain for some time whether it was better to continue the war or not, but at last he determined to return to his ships while the greater part of his followers was still safe and so far victorious, and to seek the island of which the goddess had told him. So, without further delay, with the consent of his company, he returned to the fleet, loaded it with the riches and spoils he had taken, set sail with a fair wind towards the promised island, and arrived on the coast of Totnes.

Chapter Sixteen: Albion Divided Between Brutus and Corineus #

¹ The island was then called Albion and was inhabited only by a few giants. Nevertheless, the pleasant situation of the land, the abundance of rivers full of fish, and the attractive beauty of its woods made Brutus and his company very eager to settle there. They therefore travelled through all the regions, drove the giants into the mountain caves, and divided the country among themselves according to the instructions of their commander. After this they began to cultivate the land build houses, so that before long the country looked as though it had long been inhabited. At last Brutus called the island Britain after his own name, and his companions Britons, for in this way he wished to preserve the memory of his name. From this, the language of the nation, which had at first been called Trojan, or Rough Greek, afterwards came to be called British. Corineus, following the example of his leader, named the part of the island that fell to his share Corinea, and his people Corineans, after himself. Although he had first choice of all the provinces, he preferred the region now called Cornubia in Latin, either because it was shaped like a horn (cornu in Latin), or through a corruption of his own name. He delighted in fighting the giants, who were more numerous there than in all the other provinces assigned to his companions. Among them was one monstrous giant named Goemagot, who was twelve cubits tall and possessed such immense strength that he could uproot an oak with a single shake as easily as if it had been a hazel wand. On one occasion, while Brutus was celebrating a solemn festival to the gods at the harbour where they had first landed, this giant, together with twenty of his companions, fell upon the Britons and made a dreadful slaughter among them. But the Britons at last gathered together in force, put them to flight, and killed every one of them except Goemagot. Brutus had ordered that he should be kept alive because he wished to see a contest between him and Corineus, who greatly delighted in such combats. Corineus, overjoyed at this, made himself ready, laid aside his weapons, and challenged the giant to wrestle. At the beginning of the contest, Corineus and the giant stood face to face, gripping each other tightly in their arms and panting heavily for breath. But Goemagot soon seized Corineus with all his strength and broke three of his ribs, two on his right side and one on his left. Enraged by this, Corineus summoned all his strength, lifted the giant onto his shoulders, and ran with him, as fast as the weight allowed, to the nearest shore. There he climbed to the top of a high rock and hurled the savage monster into the sea. Falling upon the jagged rocks below, Goemagot was torn to pieces and stained the waves with his blood. The place where he fell, taking its name from the giant’s fall, is called Goemagot’s Leap to this day.

Chapter Seventeen: The Building of New Troy by Brutus upon the River Thames #

¹ Brutus, having thus at last set eyes upon his kingdom, formed a plan to build a city. To this end, he travelled through the land to find a suitable site, and, coming to the River Thames, he walked along the shore until at last he chose a place very fitting for his purpose. Here, therefore, he built a city, which he called New Troy. It continued under this name for a long time afterwards, until at last, through corruption of the original word, it came to be called Trinovantum. But later, when Lud, the brother of Cassibellaun, who made war against Julius Caesar, obtained the government of the kingdom, he surrounded it with stately walls and towers of admirable workmanship, and ordered it to be called after his own name, Kaer-Lud, that is, the City of Lud. This very thing afterwards became the cause of a great quarrel between him and his brother Nennius, who took offence at his abolishing the name of Troy in this country. Gildas the historian has given a full account of this quarrel, and for that reason I pass it over, for fear that my account of it might diminish what so great a writer has related so eloquently.

Chapter Eighteen: New Troy, Having Been Built, and Laws Made for Its Government, Is Given to the Citizens Who Are to Inhabit It #

¹ After Brutus had finished building the city, he chose the citizens who were to inhabit it and prescribed laws for their peaceful government. At this time Eli the priest governed in Judaea, and the ark of the covenant was taken by the Philistines [1 Samuel 4:11, 18]. At the same time also, the sons of Hector reigned in Troy after the expulsion of the descendants of Antenor, while in Italy Sylvius Aeneas, the son of Aeneas, the uncle of Brutus, reigned as the third king of the Latins.