Mandubracius
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Mandubracius or Mandubratius was a king of the Trinovantes of south-eastern Britain in the 1st century BC.
History
Mandubracius was the son of a Trinovantian king, named
Medieval traditions
He appears in
When Lud died, Androgeus and his brother Tasciovanus were too young to rule, so the throne went to their uncle Cassivellaunus. Androgeus was made Duke of Trinovantum (London) and Kent, and participated in the defence of Britain against Julius Caesar. After Caesar's first two invasions were repelled, the Britons held a celebration at which sacrifices were made to the gods and games played. Cuelinus, a nephew of Androgeus, wrestled with Hirelglas, Cassivellaunus's nephew, and killed him in a dispute over the result. Cassivellaunus demanded Androgeus hand over his nephew for trial, but fearing the king's intentions, Androgeus refused, offering to try him in his own court. Cassivellaunus made war on Androgeus, who appealed to Caesar for help. He gave hostages, including his own son Scaeva, as proof of his intentions, and Caesar invaded a third time. Between them, Androgeus and Caesar forced Cassivellaunus to submit and agree to pay tribute to Rome. Caesar spent the winter in Britain, and he and Cassivellaunus became friends. When he finally returned to Rome to fight the civil war against Pompey, Androgeus went with him, never to return.[4]
In Middle Welsh versions of Geoffrey's Historia,[5] and in the Welsh Triads, he appears as Afarwy. The Triads name him as one of the "Three Dishonoured Men of the Island of Britain" for inviting Caesar to invade.[6]
John Koch suggests that Mandubracius might be the historical basis of the Welsh mythological figure Manawydan: he reconstructs the original form of his father's name as *Mannuētios, and an earlier form of Manwydan as *Mannuētiagnos, "son of Mannuetios".[7]
References
- Historia Ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum 1.2
- ^ Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britanniae 3.20, 4.1-11
- ^ Acton Griscom (1929), The Historiae Regum Britanniae of Geoffrey of Monmouth
- ^ "Triads from the Red Book of Hergest". Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2006.
- ^ John Koch, "A Welsh Window on the Iron Age: Manawydan, Mandubracios", Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies 14 (1987), pp. 17-52.