Belinus the Great was a legendary king of the Britons as accounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He was the son of Dunvallo Molmutius and brother of Brennius. He was probably named after the ancient god Belenus. In Welsh he is known as Beli Mawr. The term Briton may have the following meanings: in a historical context: an inhabitant of Great Britain in pre-Roman times a descendant of Britons during a later period (e. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. ... Dunvallo Molmutius (Welsh: Dyfual moel myd) was a legendary king of the Britons as accounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. ... Brennius was a legendary king of Northumberland and Allobroges as accounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. ... In Celtic mythology, Belenus (also Belinus, Belenos, Belinos, Belinu, Bellinus, Belus, Bel) was a deity worshipped in Gaul, Britain and Celtic areas of Italy and Austria. ... Beli Mawr (Beli the Great) was a Welsh ancestor deity. ...

Earning the crown

In an effort to win the crown of Britain, Brennius and Belinus waged war between each other to determine who should succeed their father. Many battles were fought between the two brothers until a time came when their friends intervened and a compromise was decided upon. Belinus became the King of the Britons with Brennius as king of the north.

Five years later, Brennius wed the daughter of the King of Norway without consulting Belinus. Belinus invaded Northumberland and seized Brennius's land. The King of Denmark with Brennius's new wife landed in Britain by accident. Belinus imprisoned them and awaited the return of his brother. Brennius landed in Albany and demanded the return of all his lands and his wife. If not, he swore he would kill Belinus if they ever met in battle. Northumberland is a county in northern England. ... Alba is the ancient and modern Gaelic name (IPA: ) for the country of Scotland (also Alba in Irish, and in Old Gaelic Albu). ...

Belinus called to arms all of Britain against Brennius and the two armies met in the forests of Calaterium. The battle was fought ruthlessly and Belinus defeated the army of Brennius. Brennius fled to Gaul and Belinus became king over all the Britons. He emphasized the Molmutine Laws of his father and ruled justly. Map of Gaul circa 58 BC Gaul (Latin: ) was the name given, in ancient times, to the region of Western Europe comprising present-day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine river. ... The Molmutine Laws were established in Britain by King Dunvallo Molmutius as cited by Geoffrey of Monmouth and Gildas. ...

Eventually, Brennius invaded Britain behind a massive Gallic army and met Belinus on the battlefield once again. Their mother, however, convinced Brennius to make peace, and the two brothers ruled their two realms in harmony with each other. Gallic, derived from the name for the ancient Roman province of Gaul, describes the cultural traditions and national characters of the French speaking nations and regions, as Hispanic does for the Hispanophone world, Anglo-Saxon for the Anglophone, and Lusitanic for the Lusophone. ...

Invader of Gaul, Italy and Germany

Following their unification, Belinus and Brennius merged their armies into one great one and invaded Gaul. After a year of warfare, the joint army managed to submit all the Frankish kingdoms in Gaul to their authority. Now with an even greater army, Belinus lead his great army to the Italian peninsula and threatened to invade Rome. Outside of Rome, the two consuls, Gabias and Porsenna, sued for peace and offered wealth, tribute, and hostages as a sign of their submittance. Belinus and Brennius accepted and took their great army to Germany. Soon after this movement north, Rome broke their treaty and marched north and Brennius went to fight the Romans while Belinus remained at war with the Germans (who were being helped by various other Italian troops). For other uses, see Franks (disambiguation). ... Satellite view of the Peninsula in spring The Italian Peninsula or Apennine Peninsula (Italian: Penisola italiana or Penisola appenninica) is one of the greatest peninsulas of Europe, spanning 1,000 km from the Alps in the north to the central Mediterranean Sea in the south. ... Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban... This list of Republican Roman Consuls is based on the Varronian chronology, which intercalates four dictator years and has other peculiarities. ... A tribute (from Latin tribulum, contribution) is wealth one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often case in historical contexts, of submission or allegiance. ...

After Brennius had left, the Italian troops who were reinforcing the Germans abandoned the Germans in a vain attempt to unite with the Roman soldiers on the other side of Belinus's army. Belinus learned of this and moved his army to a valley through which the Italians must pass. In the morning, Belinus attacked the Italians who were not in armour and unprepared for battle at that point in time. All day the Britons pursued the Italians until it was night.

Belinus decided to join forces with his brother who was sieging Rome. The Romans defended the city for many days and were successful in repelling the invaders. At last, Belinus decided to hang the hostages they were given in the treaty but it only enraged the Romans more. Finally, the two consuls put on armour and joined the men defending the city. They pushed the invaders back but Belinus was able to reform the lines and stop the attacks. Belinus continued forward until the walls were breached and the Britons invaded the city. Belinus left Brennius in Rome and returned to Britain.

Later years

He ruled in peace, building many new cities and restoring many decaying ones. Most important of the cities he founded was Kaerusc, which would be re-named or the City of Legions when the Romans occupied Britain. This was the first reference to Caerleon-upon-Usk in Geoffrey's history. He continued using many of his father's laws and enacted a number of his own. Britain became more wealthy than ever before in this time. Caerleon is a village situated on the river Usk on the northern outskirts of Newport. ... Caerleon (Welsh: ) (grid reference ST323914, ) is a suburban village situated on the River Usk on the northern outskirts of the city of Newport. ...

When Belinus finally died, he was cremated and placed on top of a great tower he had created. He was succeeded by his son Gurguit Barbtruc. Cremation is the practice of disposing of a corpse by burning. ... Gurguit Barbtruc (Welsh: Gwrgant Varf Drwch) was a legendary king of the Britons as accounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. ...

Comments on historicity

One should note that Rome was indeed captured by Brennus following the Battle of the Allia on July 18, 390 BCE. Gabias and Porsenna are not mentioned in any Roman sources. The later is a namesake of Lars Porsena, a King of the Etruscan civilization who is believed to have fought against the recently founded Roman Republic in the decade of the 500s BCE. Combatants Roman Republic Gauls Commanders Quintus Sulpicius Brennus Strength 40,000 40,000 The Battle of the Allia was a battle of the first Gallic invasion of Italy. ... July 18 is the 199th day (200th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 166 days remaining. ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC - 390s BC - 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 395 BC 394 BC 393 BC 392 BC 391 BC - 390 BC - 389 BC 388 BC 387... Lars Porsena (sometimes spelled Lars Porsenna) was an Etruscan king known for his war against the city of Rome. ... Map showing the extent of the Etruscan civilization and the twelve Etruscan League cities. ... See also Roman Republic (18th century) and Roman Republic (19th century). ... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC - 460s BC - 450s BC Events and Trends 509 BC - Foundation of the Roman Republic 508 BC - Office of pontifex maximus created...

The consuls of the year were Marcus Manlius and a younger Lucius Valerius Potitus. They were replaced by six Consular Tribunes after the Gauls departed: Marcus Manlius Capitolinus, a patrician, was consul in 390 BC. According to tradition, when in 390 BC the besieging Gauls of Brennus were attempting to scale the Capitoline Hill, he was roused by the cackling of the sacred geese, rushed to the spot and threw down the foremost assailants (Livy... Lucius Valerius Potitus was one of two consuls who were said to have replaced the decemvirs in 449 BC (Marcus Horatius Barbatus being the other). ...

• Gaius Aemilius.
• Marcus Aemilius.
• Agrippa Furius.
• Lucius Lucretius.
• Lucius Furius Medulinus.
• Servius Sulpicius.

See also Second War of the Two Brothers. Aemilius (fem. ... Furius was the nomen of the ancient Roman gens Furia, an old family of uncertain origin. ... Sulpicius was a Roman nomen. ... The Second War of the Two Brothers was a legendary war in Britain following the death of Dunvallo Molmutius as accounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. ...