Hafren

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Hafren (Old Welsh Habren, Latinised to Sabrina) is the name of a mythical person in Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudo-history Historia Regum Britanniae. The name is cognate with the root of a number of river names in Britain and Ireland and is the modern Welsh name for the River Severn (Afon Hafren).

Geoffrey of Monmouth represents her as a princess drowned in the river Severn (Afon Hafren) that was named after her. Her story may be derived from a pre-Celtic deity of that river by the same name, thus the name corresponding to Welsh Hafren occurs in Ireland in the form of Sabrann, an old name of the river Lee that flows through the city of Cork.

The story given by Geoffrey is that King Locrinus fell in love with princess Estrildis of Germany, abducted by the Huns who invaded Britain under Chief Humber following the death of Brutus of Troy. However, Locrinus was already engaged to Princess Gwendolen, daughter of Corineus of Cornwall. Although Locrinus eventually fathered an heir called Maddan with his Queen Gwendolen, he could not give up his love for the German princess Estrildis and he also fathered a daughter with her called Hafren. After Corineus died, Locrinus left his queen to live with Estrildis and his daughter Hafren. Enraged at the slight, Gwendolen raised a Cornish army against Locrinus and killed him in battle. Estrildis and her daughter Hafren were drowned in the river Severn.

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