Monmouth Geoffrey English church leader, historian Country: Great Britain

1. Biography of Geoffrey of Monmouth
2. Main Work: History of the Kings of Britain
3. Sources and Influence

Biography of Geoffrey of Monmouth

Geoffrey of Monmouth was an English churchman and historian. He was born in Monmouthshire, Wales, and was likely of Breton origin, with ancestors who arrived in Britain with the Normans. His main work, the Historia regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain), written in Latin prose between 1130 and 1138, shows a clear bias towards the Bretons and a certain loyalty to the Normans, while displaying disdain for the English and the Welsh.

Geoffrey served as an archdeacon in Monmouth, from which he earned his nickname. In 1152, he was ordained as the Bishop of St. Asaph, although it is unlikely that he ever visited his diocese in northeast Wales. He passed away around 1155.

Main Work: History of the Kings of Britain

Geoffrey's most significant work is the Historia regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain), written in Latin prose between 1130 and 1138. The history begins with the fall of Troy (according to legend, around 1180 BCE) and then moves on to recount the subsequent lives of Aeneas and two generations after him. However, the majority of the text focuses on Brutus, the supposed grandson of Aeneas, who supposedly led the descendants of the captured Trojans to Britain, which he named after himself.

The Historia regum Britanniae also includes a list of kings, most of whom are fictional, as well as the ancient tale of King Lear and his three daughters, and the conquest of Rome by the Britons. It also narrates the Roman conquest of Britain, the departure of the Romans, and the Saxon invasion led by Hengist. It includes accounts of Lucius, the first Christian king of Britain, and Roman rulers such as Constantine and his mother St. Helena. The work also mentions Vortigern, who betrayed the Britons, and Merlin, in the seventh book of the History.

Approximately two-fifths of the work is dedicated to the story of King Arthur: his birth, victories over the Saxon invaders, the conquest of Northwestern Europe, and his defeat by the Roman Emperor. It also includes the story of his treacherous nephew Mordred, Arthur's wife Guinevere, and his departure to the island of Avalon in 542 BCE. The work concludes with the conversion of the Saxons to Christianity by St. Augustine, the final resettlement of the Bretons in Brittany, and the end of the British royal line in 689 with the death of Cadwaladr, son of Cadwallon.

Sources and Influence

Geoffrey of Monmouth drew heavily from the Historia Brittonum (History of the Britons), written around 800. He also utilized the work of the Breton author Gildas in his De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae (On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain) from the 6th century, as well as the histories of his contemporaries William of Malmesbury and Henry of Huntingdon. He also incorporated material from Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, the Aeneid by Virgil, the Bible, Welsh genealogies, hagiographies, and other Latin historical works and traditions unrelated to British history.

Despite using various sources, the Historia regum Britanniae cannot be considered a scholarly work. There is little evidence to suggest that much of it was based on ancient legends or folktales. Until the time of Milton, the composition was regarded as a more or less authentic history, and later English writers used it as a source for their own stories.

In addition to the Historia regum Britanniae, Geoffrey of Monmouth also wrote another work, the Vita Merlini (Life of Merlin), a Latin hexameter poem written no earlier than 1148.