Trinovantum — the evolution of a legend

One aspect of that legendary ‘British history’ which was accepted as fact almost without question by historical writers until the early seventeenth century, and in popular and literary tradition much longer, was the story of the foundation of London, as Trinovantum or ‘New Troy’, by a group of exiled Trojans, long before the Roman conquest of Britain. In considering the relevance of this medieval story to the problems of London's actual origin, this paper traces its sources and development. Ambiguities in the Latin of Julius Caesar and Orosius led later writers, including probably Bede, to assume that there had once existed a British city called Trinovantum. The British writers, represented by Nennius, invented a Trojan origin for their people on well-tried models. These two independent traditions were combined in the twelfth century by Geoffrey of Monmouth, who identified Trinovantum as Troia Nova, and made the further identification of this city with London. Later Londoners-were well aware of this ‘Troj

Ancient history · Archaeology · Genealogy · Legend · Historical Studies of British Isles · History · Medieval Literature and History · Scottish History and National Identity · Geology · Paleontology

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