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Constantine was a 6th-century king of Dumnonia in sub-Roman Britain, who was remembered in later British tradition as a legendary King of Britain. The only contemporary information about him comes from Gildas, who castigated him for various sins, including the murder of two "royal youths" inside a church. The historical Constantine is also known from the genealogies of the Dumnonian kings, and possibly inspired the tradition of Saint Constantine, a king-turned-monk venerated in Southwest Britain and elsewhere. In the 12th century, Geoffrey of Monmouth included Constantine in his pseudohistorical chronicle ''Historia Regum Britanniae'', adding fictional details to Gildas' account and making Constantine the successor to King Arthur as King of Britain. Under Geoffrey's influence, Constantine appeared as Arthur's heir in later chronicles. Less commonly, he also appeared in that role in medieval Arthurian romances and in some modern versions of the legend. ==History== Gildas mentions Constantine in chapters 28 and 29 of his 6th-century work ''De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae''.〔''De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae'', ch. 28–29.〕〔Giles, pp. 24–26.〕 He is one of five Brittonic kings whom the author rebukes and compares to Biblical beasts. Gildas calls Constantine the "tyrannical whelp of the unclean lioness of Damnonia", a reference to the books of Daniel and Revelation, and apparently also a slur directed at his mother. This ''Damnonia'' is generally identified as the kingdom of Dumnonia in Southwestern Britain.〔Lloyd, pp. 131–132.〕 Scholars such as Lloyd Laing and Leslie Alcock note the possibility that Gildas may have instead intended the territory of the Damnonii, a tribe in present-day Scotland mentioned by Ptolemy in the 2nd century, but others such as Thomas D. O'Sullivan consider this unlikely.〔O'Sullivan, p. 92 & note.〕 Gildas says that despite swearing an oath against deceit and tyranny, Constantine disguised himself in an abbot's robes and attacked two "royal youths" praying before a church altar, killing them and their companions. Gildas is clear that Constantine's sins were manifold even before this, as he had committed "many adulteries" after casting off his lawfully wedded wife. Gildas encourages Constantine, whom he knows to still be alive at the time, to repent his sins lest he be damned.〔〔Giles, pp. 24–26.〕 Scholars generally identify Gildas' Constantine with the figure ''Custennin Gorneu'' or ''Custennin Corneu'' (Constantine of Cornwall) who appears in the genealogies of the kings of Dumnonia.〔O'Sullivan, pp. 92–93.〕 Custennin is mentioned as the father of Erbin and the grandfather of the hero Geraint in the ''Bonedd y Saint'', the prose romance ''Geraint and Enid'', and after emendation, the genealogies in Jesus College MS 20.〔Bromwich, pp. 318–319; 356–360.〕〔''Geraint and Enid''.〕 Based on Custennin's placement in the genealogies, Thomas D. O'Sullivan suggests a ''floruit'' for Constantine of 520–523.〔O'Sullivan, p. 95.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Constantine (Briton)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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