King Lear, also known as Leir or Lerion, was a mythological King of the Britons during the 8th century BC. He was said to have been the son of King Bladud and the father of three daughters, Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. As he had no sons, he decided to divide his kingdom among his three daughters, and he had his daughters tell them how much they loved him in order to decide how to apportion the lands. Goneril and Regan gave him extravagant praise while Cordelia gave a simple and sincere answer, so he divided his kingdom into halves for Goneril and Regan to rule with their husbands, while Cordelia married the King of the Gauls and left for present-day France. Soon, Goneril, Regan, and their husbands rebelled against their father and took control of the whole kingdom, and they stripped Lear of his royal robes and his attendants. Lear fled to Gaul to make amends with Cordelia, who received him compassionately and restored his royal robes and retinue. With the help of his son-in-law Aganippus, he returned to Britannia, reconquered his old kingdom, and reigned for three years before dying. His daughter Cordelia was then imprisoned by her nephews after five years of ruling, and she killed herself in prison. By the 9th century, a body purported to be that of "King Lerion" was displayed at a shrine in Thetford Forest, and it was said that Cordelia's ghost haunted visitors due to her anger over her and her father's betrayal.