person page - 158

became King 0061

Arvirargus (or Arviragus) was a legendary, and possibly historical, British king of the 1st century AD. A shadowy historical Arviragus is known only from a cryptic reference in a satirical poem by Juvenal, in which a giant turbot presented to the Roman emperor Domitian (AD 81-96) is said to be an omen that "you will capture some king, or Arviragus will fall from his British chariot-pole".

Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (1136) presents a legendary Arviragus who is contemporary with the emperor Claudius (AD 41-54).

A son of the former king Kimbelinus, Arvirargus succeeds to the throne of Britain after his elder brother, Guiderius, dies fighting the invading Romans under Claudius. Arviragus puts on his brother's armour and leads the army of the Britons against the Romans. When he learns that Claudius and his commander, Hamo, have fled into the woods, Arvirargus follows him until they reach the coast. The Britons kill Hamo as he tries to flee onto a ship and the place is named Southampton after him. Claudius is able to reassemble his troops elsewhere and he besieges Portchester until it falls to his forces.

Following Hamo's death, Arvirargus seeks refuge at Winchester, but Claudius follows him there with his army. The Britons break the siege and attack the Romans, but Claudius halts the attack and offers a treaty. In exchange for peace and tribute with Rome, Claudius offers Arvirargus his own daughter in marriage. They accept each other's terms and Arvirargus aids Claudius in subduing the Orkneys and other northern lands.

In the following spring, Arvirargus weds Claudius's daughter, Genvissa, and names the city of Gloucester after her father. Following the wedding, Claudius leaves Britain in the control of Arvirargus. In the years following Claudius' departure, Arvirargus rebuilds the cities that have been ruined and becomes feared by his neighbours. This causes him to halt his tribute to Rome, forcing Claudius to send Vespasian with an army to Britain. As Vespasian prepares to land, such a large British force stands ready that he flees to another port, Totnes, where he sets up camp.

Once a base is established, he marches to Exeter and besieges the city. Arvirargus meets him in battle there and the fight is stalemated. The following morning, Queen Genvissa mediates peace between the two foes. Vespasian returnes to Rome and Arvirargus rules the country peacefully for some years. When he finally dies, he is buried in Gloucester, the city he built with Claudius. He is succeeded by his son, Marius.

Geoffrey's legendary Arvirargus appears to correspond to some degree to the historical Caratacus, son of Cunobelinus, who, along with his brother Togodumnus, led the initial resistance to the Roman invasion of AD 43, and went on to be a thorn in Rome's side for nearly a decade after Togodumnus's death. Welsh versions of Geoffrey's Historia call him Gweirydd and his brother Gwydr.

Arvirargus is also connected to the legend that Joseph of Arimathea brought Christianity to Britain. The Domesday Book (1086) records that Arviragus granted Joseph and his followers "twelve hides of land tax free, in Ynis-witrin (Glastonbury)" (the Domesday Book also says that "The Domus Dei, in the great monastery of Glastonbury, called the Secret of the Lord, this Glastonbury Church possesses, in its own villa XII hides of land which have never paid tax"). William of Malmesbury's De Antiquitate Glastoniensis Ecclesiae (1126) and John Hardyng's Chronicle (1464) also refer to the king giving Joseph land at Glastonbury.

Arvirargus is a character in William Shakespeare's play Cymbeline. He and his brother Guiderius had been kidnapped in childhood by Belarius, a nobleman wrongly banished by Cymbeline, and brought up in secret in Wales, but are reunited with their father and sister Imogen in time for the Roman invasion.

Saint Lucius was a legendary figure and mythical king of the Britons during the time of the Roman occupation of Britain as accounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He was the son of King Coilus and ruled in the manner of his father.

Most British legends tell of King Lucius becoming the first native Christian in Britain. Around 180, he supposedly sent a letter to Pope Eleuterus requesting that he send missionaries to Britain to Christianize the people. Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People claims great success throughout south-western Britain. Eleuterus sent out Fuganus and Duvianus as missionaries and they converted St. Lucius after which they began to establish a Christian order throughout Britain.

Throughout his reign, the missionaries converted old temples to churches and catherdrals. Also dioceses were established among the people. York became the centre for Albany and Deira, London became the centre for Loegria and Cornwall, and Caerleon was the centre for Cambria. The missionaries returned to Rome, then subsequently returned to Britain with more aides in order to establish a full order on the isle. Lucius assisted by giving lands to the church and helping convert the people.

It is likely that St. Lucius became a missionary himself and may have travelled to Switzerland to preach to the Grissons. St. Lucius is said to have died in Gloucester in 156, although sources differ on that date. He left no heir, and thus a struggle began between the people of Britain and the power of Rome.

St. Lucius's feast day is on 3 December and he was canonized through the pre-congregational method.

Unfortunately, Lucius is a non-existant King of Britain invented through confusion. The Catalogus Felicianus mentions the famous letter from 'Lucio Britannio rege' to Pope Eleutherius. This letter was in reality from the historical Lucius Aelius Septimius Megas Abgarus IX, King of Britium in Edessa.

Cunobelinus (also written Kynobellinus, sometimes abbreviated to Cunobelin) (late 1st century BC - 40s AD) was a historical king in pre-Roman Britain, known from passing mentions by classical historians Suetonius and Dio Cassius, and from his many inscribed coins. He appears to have controlled a substantial portion of south-eastern England, and is called "Britannorum rex" ("king of the Britons") by Suetonius. He also appears in British legend as Cynfelyn, Kymbelinus or Cymbeline, in which form he is the subject of a play by William Shakespeare. His name means "hound of (the god) Belenus" or "shining hound".

Guiderius (Welsh Gwydr), according to the traditional British history found in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain) and related texts, was the eldest son of Cymbeline, and succeeded his father to the kingship of Britain. He can probably be identified with the historical Togodumnus.

Cymbeline had voluntarily paid tribute to Rome, but Guiderius refused to pay it. The emperor Claudius responded by invading. Claudius with his chief of staff, Lelius Hamo, landed at Portchester, entrenching themselves there while besieging the city. Guiderius conscripted all the men of Britain against Claudius and marched south to meet him in battle. The Britons clashed with the Romans and succeeded so well that the Roman army began retreating to their ships.

Hamo, though, took on Briton armour and began attacking his own army, urging the Britons to do likewise. Because of this, Hamo was able to get close enough to Guiderius to strike him. Guiderius died then or soon after and was succeeded by his brother Arvirargus, who took over as king during that battle.