According to mediaeval chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth, the first King of Britain was named Brutus. Banished from his birthplace in Italy after accidentally killing his father, Brutus fled to Greece. There he helped other men of Trojan descent (Brutus was Aeneas’s great-grandson) overthrow their oppressive king, Pandrasus, before striking out with his companions to found a kingdom of his own.

While resting on a deserted island, Brutus saw a vision of the goddess Diana, who told him to seek his kingdom beyond France. There at last they spied the Island of Albion, which they cleared of its native giants and then took for their own. They named it Britain after Brutus, and established New Troy where London now stands.

119 words