Editing Brutus of Troy (section)

==''Historia Brittonum''==
Some have suggested that attributing the origin of 'Britain' to the Latin 'Brutus' may be ultimately derived from [[Isidore of Seville]]'s popular 7th-century work ''[[Etymologiae]]'' (c. 560–636), in which it was speculated that the name of Britain comes from ''bruti'', on the basis that the Britons were, in the eyes of that author, brutes, or savages.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Brutus|url=https://www.maryjones.us/jce/brutus.html|encyclopedia=Jones's Celtic Encyclopedia|access-date=11 August 2020}}</ref> A more detailed story, set before the foundation of Rome, follows, in which Brutus is the grandson or great grandson of Aeneas – a legend that was perhaps inspired by Isidore's spurious etymology and blends it with the Christian, pseudo-historical, "[[Frankish Table of Nations]]" tradition that emerged in the early medieval European scholarly world (actually of 6th-century AD Byzantine origin, and not Frankish, according to historian [[Walter Goffart]])<ref>Goffart, Walter, "The Supposedly 'Frankish' Table of Nations: An Edition and Study", ''Frühmittelalterliche Studien'' 17, 1983, pp. 98–130.</ref> and attempted to trace the peoples of the known world (as well as legendary figures, such as the Trojan house of Aeneas) back to biblical ancestors.<ref>Summerfield, Thea, "Filling the Gap: Brutus in the Historia Brittonum, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle MS F, and Geoffrey of Monmouth", in: Dresvina, Juliana, and Sparks, Nicholas (eds), ''The Medieval Chronicle VII'', Rodopi, Amsterdam/New York, 2011, pp. 85–102</ref><ref>Charles-Edwards, T. M., ''Wales and the Britons, 350-1064'', Oxford, 2013, pp. 439; 441; 454.</ref><ref>Wadden, Patrick, "The Frankish Table of Nations in Insular historiography", ''Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies'' 72 (Winter 2016), pp. 1–31.</ref><ref>Louis H. Feldman (1984), ''Josephus and Modern Scholarship (1937–1980)'', p. 893.</ref>

Supposedly following Roman sources such as [[Livy]] and [[Virgil]], the ''Historia'' tells how Aeneas settled in Italy after the [[Trojan War]], and how his son [[Ascanius]] founded [[Alba Longa]], one of the precursors of Rome. Ascanius married, and his wife became pregnant. In a variant version, the father is Silvius, who is identified as either the second son of Aeneas, previously mentioned in the ''Historia'', or as the son of Ascanius. A magician, asked to predict the child's future, said it would be a boy and that he would be the bravest and most beloved in Italy. Enraged, Ascanius had the magician put to death. The mother died in childbirth.

The boy, named Brutus, later accidentally killed his father with an arrow and was banished from Italy. After wandering among the islands of the [[Tyrrhenian Sea]] and through [[Gaul]], where he founded the city of [[Tours]], Brutus eventually came to Britain, named it after himself, and filled it with his descendants. His reign is synchronised to the time the High Priest [[Eli (biblical figure)|Eli]] was [[Biblical judges|judge]] in [[Land of Israel|Israel]], and when the [[Ark of the Covenant]] was taken by the [[Philistines]].<ref>''Historia Brittonum'' [[Wikisource:History of the Britons#2.7|7]], [[Wikisource:History of the Britons#2.10|10–11]].</ref>

A variant version of the ''Historia Brittonum'' makes Brutus the son of Ascanius's son [[Silvius (mythology)|Silvius]], and traces his [[Trojan Genealogy of Nennius|genealogy]] back to [[Ham, son of Noah|Ham]], son of [[Noah]].<ref>Morris 1980, p. 19.</ref> Another chapter traces Brutus's genealogy differently, making him the great-grandson of the legendary Roman king [[Numa Pompilius]], who was himself a son of Ascanius, and tracing his descent from Noah's son [[Japheth]].<ref>''Historia Brittonum'' [[Wikisource:History of the Britons#2.18|18]].</ref> These Christianising traditions conflict with the classical Trojan genealogies, relating the Trojan royal family to [[Greek gods]].

Yet another Brutus, son of Hisicion, son of Alanus the first European, also traced back across many generations to Japheth, is referred to in the ''Historia Brittonum''. This Brutus's brothers were Francus, Alamanus and Romanus, also ancestors of significant European nations.<ref>''Historia Brittonum'' [[Wikisource:History of the Britons#2.17|17–18]].</ref>