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Brutus
Brutus , in ancient Rome, a surname of the Junian gens. Lucius Junius Brutus, fl. 510 BC, was the founder of the Roman republic. He feigned idiocy to escape death at the hands of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (see under Tarquin ). Roman historians tell how he led the Romans in expelling the Tarquins after the rape of Lucrece, how he became one of the first praetors (there were no consuls), and how he executed his sons for plotting a Tarquinian restoration. Decimus Junius Brutus Gallaecus, fl. 138 BC, consul, consolidated the province of Farther Spain and stopped the encroaching Lusitanian tribespeople. Marcus Junius Brutus, d. c.77 BC, was a partisan of Lepidus (d. 77 BC) in the struggle with Catulus (d. 60 BC); Pompey had him murdered. His wife Servilia was the half sister of Cato the Younger. Their son was Marcus Junius Brutus, 85? BC-42 BC He and Caius Cassius Longinus (see under Cassius ) were the principal assassins of Julius Caesar . He had sided with Pompey, but after the battle of Pharsalus , Caesar pardoned him, made him governor of Cisalpine Gaul (46 BC), and, in 44 BC, urban praetor. Nevertheless, he joined Cassius in the plot against Caesar. After the murder of Caesar, Brutus went east and, in the republican cause, joined Cassius and held Macedonia with him. Late in 42 BC, Octavian (later Augustus ) and Antony arrived, and a battle was fought at Philippi. When it went against the republicans, Brutus committed suicide. Brutus' wife Portia was the daughter of Cato the Younger. Brutus had a contemporary reputation as a Stoic philosopher, and his admirers have regarded him as a second Cato, driven reluctantly to commit murder in order to save the republic. His detractors, on the other hand, have considered his friendship with the self-seeking Cassius as indicative of his true character. A lesser member of the conspiracy was Decimus Junius Brutus, d. 43 BC, a partisan of Caesar against Pompey and a favorite of the dictator. Caesar gave him command in Gaul and appointed him to be his heir in case of Octavian's death. After Caesar's death, Brutus refused to surrender Cisalpine Gaul. In 43 BC, Antony, to whom the senate had assigned the province, besieged Brutus at Mutina (modern Modena). He tried to escape and was killed. |
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"Brutus." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Brutus." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Brutus.html "Brutus." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Brutus.html |
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‘Brutus’
‘Brutus’. The extraordinary legend that Britain had been ‘founded’ by Brutus, great-grandson of Aeneas of Troy, haunted men's imagination for centuries. Geoffrey of Monmouth, in the 12th cent., related how Brutus, after many adventures, visited England (landing at Totnes), subdued the race of giants who inhabited it, gave his name to it, and founded London as New Troy.
The implausibility of a myth is no great obstacle to its popularity and ‘Brutus’ ran and ran. Tudor historians deeply resented the suggestion of Polydore Vergil (a foreigner) that the story was not very likely as a slur upon the nation. The myth had important political consequences. First it put heart into the Welsh after centuries of defeat. They could comfort themselves with a heroic past which must foretell a glorious future: William of Newburgh, writing some 40 years after Geoffrey, remarked sourly that the story had only been told to please the Welsh. Secondly, Geoffrey's account of King Arthur, a direct descendant of Brutus, told how he had conquered Ireland, Iceland, Orkney, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Normandy, and had challenged Rome itself. Tudor imperialists seized upon it. John Dee and others improved upon Arthur's conquests by adding America, visited by Madog in the 12th cent., and called for a great new British empire. Until deep into the 20th cent. the imperialist vision inspired and helped to bind together the nations of the British Isles. J. A. Cannon |
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JOHN CANNON. "‘Brutus’." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "‘Brutus’." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-Brutus.html JOHN CANNON. "‘Brutus’." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-Brutus.html |
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Brutus
Brutus ♂ From an old Roman family name, borne most notably by the statesman Marcus Junius Brutus, who was one of the assassins of Julius Caesar. It is therefore sometimes taken as symbolic of resistance to tyranny. It was originally a byname meaning ‘dull’ or ‘stupid’, and is still only occasionally used as a first name because of its association with the English vocabulary word ‘brute’. Junius Brutus Booth (1796–1852), father of the actor Edwin Thomas Booth and Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth, was explicitly named in admiration for the Roman who struck a blow for freedom in conspiring against an elected official who had become a tyrant.
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PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Brutus." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Brutus." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Brutus.html PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Brutus." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Brutus.html |
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Brutus
Brutus2 name of an important family in ancient Rome.
Lucius Junius Brutus the legendary founder of the Roman Republic. Traditionally he led a popular uprising after the rape of Lucretia, against the king (his uncle) and drove him from Rome. He and the father of Lucretia were elected as the first consuls of the Republic (509 bc). Marcus Junius Brutus (85–42 bc), Roman senator, with Cassius led the conspirators who assassinated Julius Caesar in 44. They were defeated by Caesar's supporters, Antony and Octavian, at the battle of Philippi in 42, after which he committed suicide. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Brutus." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Brutus." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Brutus1.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Brutus." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Brutus1.html |
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Brutus
Brutus. In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Decius Brutus is one of the conspirators. Marcus Brutus is the idealistic friend of Caesar who is persuaded by Cassius to join the conspiracy. Caesar receives his wound from Brutus with the legendary words ‘Et tu, Brute?—Then fall, Caesar!’ (iii. i. 76). Antony's tribute to Brutus after his death as ‘the noblest Roman of them all’ (V. v. 68) is well known. The internal deliberations of Brutus have been seen as precursors of those of Hamlet, hero of what was probably Shakespeare's next play.
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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Brutus." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Brutus." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Brutus.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Brutus." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Brutus.html |
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‘Brutus’
‘Brutus’ The extraordinary legend that Britain had been ‘founded’ by Brutus, great‐grandson of Aeneas of Troy, haunted men's imagination for centuries. Geoffrey of Monmouth, in the 12th cent., related how Brutus, after many adventures, visited England (landing at Totnes), subdued the race of giants who inhabited it, gave his name to it, and founded London as New Troy.
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "‘Brutus’." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "‘Brutus’." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-Brutus.html JOHN CANNON. "‘Brutus’." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-Brutus.html |
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Brutus
Brutus. Contrived eponym and progenitor of the British people, as found in Geoffrey of Monmouth (1136). A leader of the Trojans, he dreams of the temple of Diana beyond the setting sun. After invading the island, he defeats the giant Gogmagog and establishes law in the land named for him, Britain [W Prydain].
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JAMES MacKILLOP. "Brutus." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES MacKILLOP. "Brutus." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-Brutus.html JAMES MacKILLOP. "Brutus." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-Brutus.html |
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Brutus
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Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Brutus." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Brutus." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Brutus.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Brutus." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Brutus.html |
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Brutus
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Cite this article
"Brutus." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Brutus." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-BrutusTroy.html "Brutus." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-BrutusTroy.html |
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BRUTUS
BRUTUS, see Garby-Czerniawski.
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I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "BRUTUS." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "BRUTUS." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-BRUTUS.html I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "BRUTUS." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-BRUTUS.html |
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Brutus
Brutus
•cactus • saltus • Diophantus • Sanctus
•Rastus, Theophrastus
•altostratus, cirrostratus, nimbostratus, stratus
•conspectus, prospectus
•momentous, portentous
•asbestos, Festus
•apparatus, Donatus, hiatus, status
•acetous, boletus, Cetus, Epictetus, fetus, Miletus, quietus
•Hephaestus
•Benedictus, ictus, rictus
•Quintus • linctus • eucalyptus • cistus
•coitus
•circuitous, fortuitous, gratuitous
•Hippolytus • calamitous • tinnitus
•Iapetus • crepitus
•precipitous, serendipitous
•impetus • emeritus • spiritous
•Democritus, Theocritus
•Tacitus • necessitous
•duplicitous, felicitous, solicitous
•covetous
•iniquitous, ubiquitous
•detritus, Heraclitus, Polyclitus, Titus, Vitus
•Pocahontas, Pontus
•Plautus, tortoise
•cobaltous
•Duns Scotus, lotus
•hostess
•arbutus, Brutus
•Eustace • conductus • cultus
•coitus interruptus • Augustus
•riotous • Herodotus • Oireachtas
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"Brutus." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Brutus." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Brutus.html "Brutus." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Brutus.html |
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