| Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th Edition | Public Domain via Project Gutenberg |
, Brute, or Brutus the Trojan, a legendary British character, who, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth and others, [v.04 p.0695]was the eponymous hero of Britain. He was reputed to be grandson of Aeneas, and the legend was that he was banished from Italy and made his way to Britain, where he founded New Troy (London). The name is an obvious confusion between Bryt (a Briton) and the classical name Brutus.
For the romance literature of the subject see Wace; and Barbour.