Mandubracius
Mandubracius or
Mandubratius was a king of the
Trinovantes of south-eastern
Britain in the
1st century BC.
Mandubracius was the son of a Trinovantian king, named
Imanuentius in some manuscripts of
Julius Caesar's
De Bello Gallico, who was overthrown and killed by the warlord
Cassivellaunus some time before Caesar's second expedition to Britain in
54 BC. Mandubracius fled to the protection of Caesar in Gaul. Cassivellaunus then led the British defence against the
Romans, but the Trinovantes betrayed the location of his fortress to Caesar, who proceeded to besiege him there. As part of the terms of Cassivellaunus's surrender, Mandubracius was installed as king of the Trinovantes, and Cassivellaunus undertook not to make war against him.
[Julius Caesar, De Bello Gallico 5:20, 5:22]He appears in
Geoffrey of Monmouth's
Historia Regum Britanniae (1136) as
Androgeus, eldest son of the legendary king
Lud. The name change can be traced to copying errors in
Orosius's
Seven Books of History Against the Pagans, a 5th century Christian history which was influential in medieval Britain, where it appears in different manuscripts as "Mandubragius" and "Andragorius".
[Orosius, Histories Against the Pagans 6.9] Bede, who follows Orosius almost verbatim for his account of Caesar's expeditions, calls him "Andragius"
[Bede, Historia Ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum 1.2] (a name which Geoffrey used for an
earlier British king). Geoffrey may also have been influenced by the
Greek mythological character
Androgeus.
When Lud died, Androgeus and his brother
Tenvantius were too young to rule, so the throne went to their uncle
Cassibelanus. 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, Cassibelanus's nephew, and killed him in a dispute over the result. Cassibelanus demanded Androgeus hand over his nephew for trial, but fearing the king's intentions, Androgeus refused, offering to try him in his own court. Cassibelanus 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 Cassibelanus to submit and agree to pay tribute to Rome. Caesar spent the winter in Britain, and he and Cassibelanus became friends. When he finally returned to Rome to fight the
civil war against
Pompey, Androgeus went with him, never to return.
[Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britanniae 3.20, 4.1-11]In
Middle Welsh versions of Geoffrey's
Historia,
[Acton Griscom (1929), The Historiae Regum Britanniae of Geoffrey of Monmouth] 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.
[Triads from the Red Book of Hergest] John Koch suggests that Mandubracius may be the historical basis of the
Welsh mythological figure
Manawydan: he reconstructs the original form of his father's name as
Mannue:tios, and an earlier form of Manwydan as
Mannue:tiagnos, "son of Mannuetios".
[John Koch (1987), "A Window into the Welsh Iron Age: Manawydian, Mandubracios", Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies 14 pp 17-52]*
Trinovantes at
Roman-Britain.org*
Trinovantes at
Romans in BritainBritish traditional history
