Geoffrey of Monmouth says King Leir split Britain between two flattering daughters, who took all of it and cut his household from 60 knights to one

Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain, written about 1136, is the first known telling of the story of Leir. Scholars treat Leir as a legendary king. Geoffrey says Leir ruled 60 years, founded Leicester on the river Soar and had three daughters and no son. To decide who deserved the best share, he asked each how much she loved him. Gonorilla and Regau gave extravagant answers and were each promised a third of the kingdom. Cordeilla answered that she loved him as much as he was worth. He gave her nothing. The elder daughters married the dukes of Albania and Cornwall and received half the island at once and the whole after his death. Aganippus, king of the Franks, married Cordeilla without money or land. The two dukes then rebelled and took the kingdom. Gonorilla cut her father's 60 soldiers to 30; Regau cut them to five; Gonorilla then allowed one. Leir sailed to Gaul. Cordeilla and Aganippus raised an army and restored him. He died three years later. Cordeilla buried him in a vault under the Soar at Leicester and reigned five years. Her sisters' sons rebelled, imprisoned her, and she killed herself. The nephews divided the island at the Humber. The anonymous play King Leir, a main source for Shakespeare's King Lear, retells this story.