The History of the Kings of Britain
Also known as: History of the Kings of Britain, Historia Regum Britanniae, De gestis Britonum
A Latin pseudo-history tracing Britain’s rulers from Trojan exile Brutus to the seventh century, blending origin legends, royal lists, and set-piece narratives such as Lear and Arthur.
Description
Geoffrey’s chronicle weaves a continuous narrative of British kings, beginning with Brutus of Troy’s settlement and culminating in the island’s decline after Arthur. It synthesizes insular legends, classical motifs, and contemporary political concerns into a dynastic arc linking Britain to the ancient world. The work canonizes episodes such as the giants of Albion, Stonehenge’s magical transport, the tragic story of King Leir and his daughters, Vortigern’s alliance with the Saxons, and the rise and fall of Arthur. Though framed as history, Geoffrey’s account is a literary construction whose influence on medieval and later British mythopoesis is vast.
Historiography
Composed in Latin and widely copied from the mid-twelfth century, the Historia survives in numerous manuscripts that attest to authorial revisions and variant prologues and dedications. It rapidly spawned vernacular adaptations, notably Wace’s Roman de Brut and Layamon’s Brut, which transmitted Geoffrey’s narratives across Britain and the Continent. Medieval chroniclers debated its authority; humanist scholars later criticized its credulity, yet its episodes—especially those of Leir and Arthur—shaped literary reception for centuries. Modern editors collate multiple recensions and contextualize Geoffrey’s sources, including insular traditions and classical historiography.
Date Notes
Latin prose compiled and revised in the 1130s; multiple authorial recensions circulated with differing dedicatory epistles.
Archetypes
Major Characters
- Brutus of Troy
- King Arthur
- Merlin
- Uther Pendragon
- Vortigern
- Gawain
Myths
- Brutus Founds Britain
- King Lear and His Daughters
- Merlin’s Prophecies and the Rise of Arthur
- Arthur’s Conquests and Fall at Camlann
Facts
- Written in Latin by Geoffrey, a cleric associated with Monmouth and Oxford, in the 1130s.
- Organized into twelve books covering legendary rulers from Brutus to the seventh century.
- Provides the first full literary biography of King Arthur within a British royal chronicle.
- Introduces Merlin prominently, including a self-contained prophetic dossier.
- Explains Stonehenge as a megalith transported by Merlin from Ireland.
- Narrates Julius Caesar’s invasions through the figure of Cassivellaunus.
- The Leir episode became a major source for Shakespeare’s King Lear.
- Rapidly adapted into Wace’s French Roman de Brut and Layamon’s Middle English Brut.
- Medieval popularity was immense; over 200 manuscripts attest to its diffusion.
- Modern historians regard it as largely legendary rather than factual history.