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Geoffrey of Monmouth

Type Figure Region Wales Time c. 1095–1155 Also known as Geoffrey (Monmouth)

Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1095–c. 1155) was a cleric and historian of Welsh or border origin who wrote Historia Regum Britanniae around 1136 and becam…

Timeline

  1. c. 1095–1135Oxford · OxfordshireGeoffrey was long active in Oxford clerical circles, signing himself 'Geoffrey of Monmouth'. He claimed to translate the deeds of kings from a book in the ancient British tongue; independent proof of his early education is lacking.
  2. 1136–1151Oxford · OxfordshireAround 1136 he completed Historia Regum Britanniae, recounting the founding by Brutus of Troy, Lear, King Arthur, and Mordred, and also wrote Prophetia Merlini. The work was dedicated to a powerful patron and was quickly copied across Latin Europe.
  3. 1152–1155St Asaph · WalesIn 1152 he was consecrated Bishop of St Asaph, but likely rarely resided there. He died around 1155. Though criticized as fiction by contemporaries such as William of Newburgh, his history became the principal Latin source for the medieval Arthurian tradition.

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