Brennus or Brennos is the name of two important leaders from ancient Gaul, known in history:
The origin of the name is not fully understood, though two theories suggest it may be connected to Welsh language words. Even though some scholars, including Geoffrey of Monmouth in his book Historia Regum Britanniae from the 12th century, proposed a link between Brennus and the Welsh name Bran (or Brân), meaning "crow," this connection is not considered real. The similarity in the names is thought to be accidental. The frequent use of the name Brennus suggests it might have been a title rather than a personal name. However, some scholars in the 19th century claimed a connection between Brennus and the modern Welsh word brenin (or breenhin), meaning "king." This is not correct. Instead, brenin comes from the Celtic word brigantinos, meaning "someone who is outstanding or important."
Similar names
Variants and adaptations of the name may include:
- Brân the Blessed, also known as Bendigeidfran in Welsh, a legendary giant and leader of the British people from the Mabinogion stories, which may be the earlier version of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s character Brennius;
- Brinno, a leader of the Cananefates, a tribe from a region in modern-day Germany, whose name was described by the Roman writer Tacitus as belonging to "a family of rebels";
- "Brennius," mentioned in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia as the brother of Bellinus, a legendary king of the Britons; the two are said to have conquered Gaul and Rome. Monmouth likely combined the names of two real historical figures from Gaul named Brennus to create Brennius. Geoffrey’s Brennius was referenced by Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, in 1530, when he claimed during an argument about the Tudor family’s royal rights that Brennius had founded Bristol and conquered Rome.
Allusions
- The name was given to the French battleship Brennus, which was launched in 1896.
- The name, spelled as "Brennos," is used for one of three imaginary barbarian leaders in the 2008 video game Civilization Revolution.