Leir of Britain


Leir of Britain
King Leir and his daughters, a marginal illustration in the Chronica Majora, c. 1250
King of Britain
Reign8th century BCE
PredecessorBladud
SuccessorCordelia
Issue
FatherBladud

Leir was a legendary king of the Britons whose story was recounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his pseudohistorical 12th-century History of the Kings of Britain.[1] According to Geoffrey's genealogy of the British dynasty, Leir reigned around the 8th century BC, around the time of the founding of Rome. The story was modified and retold by William Shakespeare in his Jacobean tragedy King Lear.[2]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Geoffrey was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Mabillard was invoked but never defined (see the help page).