Constantine III of Britain
In
Geoffrey of Monmouth's
Historia regum Britanniae, a fictional account of the rulers of Great Britain,
Constantine III was a legendary king of the
Britons. He was the son of
Cador of Cornwall, a relative of
King Arthur. Constantine fought in the
Battle of Camlann and was apparently one of the few survivors. Arthur, about to be taken to
Avalon, passed the crown to him.
Geoffrey says that Constantine continued to have trouble from the
Saxons and from the two sons of
Mordred (see
Melehan and Melou). He eventually subdued his enemies, however, and chased Mordred's sons into churches where he murdered them. According to Geoffrey, he was struck down by God for killing them while in sanctuary, and was buried next to
Uther Pendragon at
Stonehenge.
Though mostly forgotten in later continental romances, the British retained some knowledge of him. He appears, for example, in the
Alliterative Morte Arthure and
Malory's
Morte d'Arthur as Arthur's cousin and successor. One legend identifies him with King
Constantine of
Dumnonia, who ended his wicked ways and became a
saint.
*
Sir Constantine*
St. Constantine of Cornwall, King of Dumnonia
