| King Camber | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Camber from the Genealogical Chronicle of the Kings of England to Edward IV (c. 1461) | |
| King ofKambria | |
| Predecessor | Brutus of Troy |
| Successor | Queen Gwendolen |
| Father | Brutus of Troy |
| Mother | Innogen |
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Camber, alsoKamber, was the legendary first king ofCambria, according to theGeoffrey of Monmouth in the first part of his influential 12th-century pseudohistoryHistoria Regum Britanniae. According toGeoffrey, Cambria, the classical name forWales, was named for him.
Camber was the second son ofBrutus andInnogen, and a descendant ofAeneas ofTroy. Upon his father's death he was given Cambria, while his younger brotherAlbanactus gotAlba (the territory corresponding to modernScotland; from WelshYr Alban) and his older brotherLocrinus receivedLogres (corresponding toEngland except for Cornwall; from WelshLloegr) and the title ofKing of the Britons. WhenAlbanactus was murdered byHumber, King of theHuns, Camber joinedLocrinus in attacking and defeating him.
Like many of the characters reported by Geoffrey, Camber has no historical basis but is the product ofGeoffrey of Monmouth's imagination, invented largely for political ends within the contemporaryAnglo-Norman world.[1]
TheBook of Baglan provides a list of descendants of Camber, starting with his eldest son Gorbonian, who becameduke of Cornwall and chief governor of Cambria, and his second son Albon, governor of North Cambria and earl of Ewias and Urtchingfild. Through Gorbonion,Dyfnwal Moelmud was descended, who became king of Britain, and eventually the line passes toHenry VII. It also givesattributed arms to Camber, "2 lions rampant, vert."[2]
| Legendary titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | King ofKambria | Succeeded by |