Lud's reign is notable for the building of cities and the refortification of Trinovantum (London), which he especially loved. Geoffrey explained the name "London" as deriving from "Caer Lud", or Lud's Fortress. When he died, he was buried at Ludgate. His two sons, Androgeus and Tenvantius, were not yet of age, so he was succeeded by his brother Cassibelanus.[2]
In the Welsh versions of Geoffrey's Historia, usually called Brut y Brenhinedd, he is called Lludd fab Beli, establishing the connection to the early mythological Lludd Llaw Eraint. An independent Welsh tale, Cyfranc Lludd a Llefelys (The Tale of Lludd and Llefelys), is appended into some versions of the Brut. It also survives independently, and in this form was included in the collection known as the Mabinogion. According to this tale, Lludd had an additional brother named Llefelys, who became king of France while Lludd ruled in Britain. During Lludd's reign, three great plagues befell Britain, but he was able to overcome them with the advice of his brother.
16th-century statues of King Lud and his two sons, which formerly stood on the gate, now stand in the vestry porch of St Dunstan-in-the-West on Fleet Street, in a state of disrepair.[9] There was a pub at Ludgate Circus called "King Lud",[10] now an outlet of the chain restaurant Leon, and medallions of King Lud may be seen up on its roofline and over the doors.
References
^Rachel Bromwich (ed.), Trioedd Ynys Prydein (Cardiff, 1991; 1991), s.v. 'Lludd fab Beli'.
^ abCharters of Abingdon Abbey, Volume 2, Susan E. Kelly, Published for the British Academy by Oxford University Press, 2001, ISBN0-19-726221-X, 9780197262214, pp. 623–266
^ abGeographical Etymology, Christina Blackie, p. 88
^ abEnglish Place-Name society, Volume 36, The University Press, 1962, p. 205
^Middle English Dictionary, University of Michigan Press, 1998, ISBN0-472-01124-3 p. 972
^ abAn encyclopaedia of London, William Kent, Dent, 1951, p. 402
^Ward-Jackson, Philip (2003). Public Sculpture of the City of London. Public Sculpture of Britain. Vol. 7. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. pp. 127–129.