Aldroen

Aldroen (Aldrien or Audren in Gaulish) (393 – 464)[1] was a legendary king of the Bretons of Armorica.

Not to be confused with Adrien.

Aldroen
Bornc. 393
Diedc. 464
Other namesAldroenus, Aldroein, Aldrien, Adroenus, Audren
Known forLegendary king of the Bretons of Armorica

Legendary Biography

Aldroen appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th-century Historia regum Britanniae as Aldroenus, the "fourth king after Conan" to rule over Brittany. Archbishop Guithelin of London offered him the throne of the island of Britain which he refused, but he sent his younger brother Constantine with 2,000 men to free it from Picts and Huns,[2] and Constantine became king under the name of Constantine II.[3]

In Old Gaulish he was called Aldroen ap Selyfan, meaning "son of Salomon". He is therefore considered the son of Salomon I of Armorica, 1st king of Brittany, and of Flavia ferch Patricius Flavius, meaning "Flavia daughter of the patrician Flavius" in Gallic. According to tradition, he took up arms against the Romans and drove them out of Nantes, Guérande, Saint-Malo and Léon, and then advanced into the Orléanais.

He married an Irish princess and the historian Pierre-Hyacinthe Morice de Beaubois (Dom Morice) recorded as his children:[4]

Legendary Founder of Châtelaudren

According to the 15th-century Cronicques et ystoires des Bretons by Pierre Le Baud:

And, says the teller of Arthur's history, Audroan was then in a notable castle located in a valley of the Trocorente region that is called Herile, which castle the vulgar still call by the name of the Royal Castle Audroen.[5]

In a more recent work Stéphane Morin challenges the role attributed by tradition to Aldroen of founder of the city of Châtelaudren:

Whatever the ancient chroniclers of the late Middle Ages say, the supposed foundation of Châtelaudren in the 5th century by King Audren, a reputed descendant and 3rd successor of Conan Meriadoc, seems to have to be relegated to the rank of legend.[6]

See also

References
  1. Le Roux, Marc (2014). De l'Armorique à la Bretagne 383-600: Uchronie de sa fondation et des saints bretons (From Armorica to Brittany 383-600: Alternative History of its Foundation and of the Breton Saints) (in French). p. 314. ISBN 9782955118900. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  2. Bruce, Christopher W. (1998). The Arthurian Name Dictionary: 2063 (Garland Reference Library of the Humanities). Routledge. p. 13. ISBN 978-0815328650. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  3. Giles, J.A. (1848). British History by Geoffrey of Monmouth  – via Wikisource.
  4. Stokvis, Anthony (1888). "Chapter III, Genealogical table no. 8: "Anciennes dynasties bretonnes - Généalogies semi-historiques" (Ancient Breton Dynasties - Semi-Historical Genealogies)". Manuel d'histoire, de généalogie et de chronologie de tous les états du monde, depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'à nos jours (Manual of the History, Genealogy and Chronology of All the States of the World, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day (in French). Vol. 2 (1966 ed.). Leiden: Brill Publishers. p. 221.
  5. Le Baud, Pierre. "Chapter V". Compillation des cronicques et ystoires des Bretons (Compilation of the Chronicles and Histories of the Bretons) (2nd ed.). p. 48).
  6. Morin, Stéphane (2013). "Aux origines de Châtelaudren: Réflexion sur l'enracinement de la noblesse en Trégor, Goëlo et Penthièvre (The Origins of Châtelaudren: Reflection on the Roots of the Nobility in Trégor, Goëlo and Penthièvre)" (PDF). Mémoires de la Société d'histoire et d'archéologie de Bretagne (in French). XCI: 39–50. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Armorica".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.