Bruta

"Many years ago, before the birth of the five kingdoms, this land was in an endless cycle of bloodshed and war, but one man was determined to end all that."

- Merlin on Bruta

Bruta was Camelot's legendary first king and founder. Centuries ago all of Albion was engulfed in never ending civil war, with slaughter and carnage that was unimaginable. This changed when a wise man named Bruta brought all the respective leaders of the land together for peace talks. The man was instrumental in mapping out what is now known as the five kingdoms. Bruta succeeded in getting all to respecting the borders of one another. He may also have been the king who later ordered the death of Cornelius Sigan, the mighty warlock who played no small part in creating Camelot.

History
As per the history of Camelot, before the birth of the five kingdoms, the land was in an endless cycle of bloodshed and war. Bruta, Camelot's first king, put an end to it when he gathered together the elders of each tribe and drew up plans for the lands to be divided in a way that each would rule over their land as they saw fit and respect the boundaries.

Merlin adds a false extension to the story: when Bruta was on his deathbed, he asked to be taken deep into the forest. There, with the last of his strength, he thrust his sword into a rock. If his lineage was ever questioned, this would form a test, for only a true King of Camelot could pull the weapon free. The stone was lost many years ago during the Great Purge. By pulling the sword out, Arthur (together with his people) is led to believe that he is the true king of Camelot.

Merlin adds a further made up bit to the story as follows: when the sword was thrust into the stone, the ancient King foretold that one day it would be freed again at a time when Camelot needed it most. The man who freed it would unite the land of Albion and rule over the greatest kingdom the world has ever known. With this second part of the story, Arthur is led to believe that he is destined to be Albion's greatest king (The Sword in the Stone).

Appearances

 * Series 4
 * The Sword in the Stone

Trivia

 * It is unknown if he was a Pendragon as Merlin never mentioned it, however, it was mentioned by Uther to Arthur in a much earlier episode that he (Uther) didn't inherit Camelot through his own father but won it in a duel and crowned himself King of Camelot so it is implied that Bruta wasn't a Pendragon.
 * Bruta is presumably based on Brutus, the legendary first king of Britain from whom the island allegedly got its name. According to the History of the Kings of Britain by the real-life Geoffrey of Monmouth, Brutus was the grandson of Aeneas, a survivor of the Fall of Troy, and travelled to Britain (then called Albion) and conquered it from the giants who inhabited it.