[1] _ARuiragus the yoongest son of Kymbeline,Aruira|gus. Hector Boet. and brother to Guin|derius (bicause the same Guinde|rius left no issue to succéed him) was admitted king of Britaine in the yeere of our Lord 45, or ra|ther 46.
[1] [page 36] This Aruiragus, otherwise called by the Britains Meuricus or Mauus, of Tacitus Prasutagus, is al|so named Armiger in the English chronicle,Caxton. by which chronicle (as appéereth) he bare himselfe right man|fullie against Claudius and his Romans in the war which they made against him: in so much that when Claudius had renewed his force and woone Porche|ster,Gal. Mon. and after came to besiege Winchester (in the which Aruiragus as then was inclosed) Aruiragus assembling his power, was readie to come foorth and giue Claudius battell: wherevpon Claudius doub|ting the sequele of the thing, sent messengers vnto Aruiragus to treat of concord, and so by composition the matter was taken vp, with condition, that Clau|dius should giue his daughter Genissa in marriage vnto Aruiragus, & Aruiragus should acknowledge to hold his kingdome of the Romans.
[1] Some write that Claudius in fauour of the vali|ant prowesse which he saw & found in Aruiragus,Ranulfus Ce|strensis. ho|nored not onlie him with the mariage of his daugh|ter the said Genissa, but also to the end to make the towne more famous where this marriage was so|lemnized, he therefore called it Claudiocestria, after his name, the which in the British toong was called before that daie Caerleon, and after Glouernia, of a duke that ruled in Demetia that hight Glunie, but now it is called Glocester.
[1] Other there be that write, how Claudius being vanquished in battell by Aruiragus, was compelled by the said Aruiragus to giue vnto him his said daughter to wife, with condition as before is menti|oned: and that then Aruiragus was crowned king of Britaine.Sueton. But Suetonius maie séeme to reprooue this part of the British historie, which in the life of Claudius witnesseth, that he had by thrée wiues on|lie three daughters, that is to saie, Claudia, Antonia, and Octauia: and further, that reputing Claudia not to be his, caused hir to be cast downe at the doore of his wife Herculanilla, whome he had forsaken by waie of diuorcement: & that he bestowed his daugh|ter Antonia first on C. Pompeius Magnus, and af|ter on Faustus Silla, verie noble yoong gentlemen; and Octauia he matched with Nero his wiues son. Whereby it should appéere, that this supposed marri|age betwixt Aruiragus and the daughter of Claudi|us is but a feined tale.
[1] ¶And héere to speake my fansie also what I thinke of this Aruiragus, and other the kings (whome Gal|frid and such as haue followed him doo register in or|der, to succéed one after another) I will not denie but such persons there were, and the same happilie bea|ring verie great rule in the land, but that they reig|ned as absolute kings ouer the whole, or that they succéeded one after another in manner as is auou|ched by the same writers, it seemeth most vnlike to be true: for rather it maie be gessed by that, which as well Gyldas as the old approoued Romane writers haue written, that diuerse of these kings liued about one time, or in times greatlie differing from those times which in our writers we find noted. As for ex|ample, Iuuenal maketh this Aruiragus of whom we now intreat, to reigne about Domitians time. For my part therefore, sith this order of the British king|lie succession in this place is more easie to be flatlie denied and vtterlie reprooued, than either wiselie de|fended or trulie amended, I will referre the refor|ming therof vnto those that haue perhaps séene more than I haue, or more déepelie considered the thing, to trie out an vndoubted truth: in the meane time, I haue thought good, both to shew what I find in our hi|stories, and likewise in forren writers, to the which we thinke (namelie in this behalfe, whilest the Ro|mans gouerned there) we maie safelie giue most credit, doo we otherwise neuer so much content our selues with other vaine and fond conceits.
[1] To procéed yet with the historie as we find it by our writers set foorth: it is reported, that after the solemnization of this marriage,Legions of souldiers sent into Ireland. which was doone with all honour that might be deuised, Claudius sent certeine legions of souldiers foorth to go into Ire|land to subdue that countrie, and returned himselfe to Rome.