Queen Gwendolen

Queen Gwendolen, Also known as Gwendolin, or Gwendolyn (Latin: Guendoloēna) was a legendary ruler of medieval Britain. She is said to have been queen during the 11th century BC. As told by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his pseudohistorical account Historia Regum Britanniae, she was the repudiated queen of King Locrinus until she defeated her husband in battle at the River Stour. This river was the dividing line between Cornwall and Loegria, two key locations in medieval Britain. After defeating the king, she took on the leadership of the Britons, becoming their first ever queen regnant. Her victory and subsequent rise to fame as a righteous ruler shows how fractured Britain is said to have been at the time and how powerful a royal woman could be.

Life summary (legend)

Gwendolen was one of the daughters of Corineus, an eponymous king of Cornwall, and one of Brutus's warriors. Gwendolen was married to Locrinus, the eldest of King Brutus' three sons, and had a son named Maddan. Upon her father Corineus' death, Locrinus divorced her in favour of his Germanic mistress, Estrildid (by whom he already had a daughter who was named Habren). Gwendolen then fled to Cornwall, where she lived for a few years. After having built up a large army, she waged war against her ex-husband, King Locrinus. In a battle near the River Stour, Locrinus was killed. Gwendolen then assumed his throne and ruled independently, as her father had reigned in Cornwall. After having both her husband’s mistress, Estrildid, and her daughter, Habren, drowned in the river Severn (Old Welsh: Habren), the ancient British monarch reigned peacefully for fifteen years. She then abdicated in favour of her son and lived out the remainder of her life in Cornwall.

Impact (legend)

Gwendolen has been seen as a prime example of a female invader who changed the entire direction of the monarchies in Albion. She was one of the first British Queens, and one of the first queens to demonstrate the power of women, and especially of royal women. She displayed power over the line of succession, and proved just how far ruling powers could extend, in particularly in the hands of a woman. She used her gender, which had historically been seen as a detriment to her prospects, to her full advantage. Gwendolen is an example of a queen willing to go to any lengths to protect her kingdom, resorting to violence and invasion. She occupied a role as both insider and outsider in King Locrinus court and she used that unique status to become a so-called saviour of Britain.

The Historia Regum Britanniae says that at the time of her death Samuel was judge in Judaea, Aeneas Silvius was ruling Alba Longa, and Homer was gaining fame in Greece. She is mentioned in Spenser's poem The Faerie Queene (1590) as Gwendolene, and appears in the mythopoeic writings of William Blake as one of the twelve Daughters of Albion.

References

^[1]

1. ↑ Olson, Katherine. "Gwendolyn and Estrildis: Invading Queens in British Historiography". Viewcontent.cgi. Retrieved 24 May 2017.