BRENNUS, the name given in history to two kings cr chiefs of the Celtic Gauls, probably not an appellative, but a title, the Cymric “brenhin ” = king. (Dr Pritchard thinks it more probably the equivalent of the Welsh proper name “Bran”) The first Brennus crossed the Apennines into Italy, at the head of 70,000 of the tribe of Gauls known as Senones, and ravaged Etruria, 391 b.c. Some envoys from Rome, sent to watch their movements, were said to have taken an active part in a skirmish before the walls of Clusium; and the Gauls, failing to obtain the surrender of these men, marched at once for Rome. A Roman army of about 40,000 men was hastily despatched to meet them, and took up a position on the banks of the little river Allia, within twelve miles of the city. Here Brennus attacked and defeated them with great slaughter; and if he had pressed on at once, Rome would have lain at his mercy; for the greater part of the beaten army had placed the Tiber between themselves and the conquerors. But the Gauls lingered on the field of battle, mutilating the dead, and drinking to excess. The Romans gained time to occupy and provision the Capitol, though they had not force sufficient to defend their walls; their women and children were sent off to Veii; and when on the third day the Gauls marched in and took possession, they found the city occupied only by those aged patricians who had held high office in the state. Too old to be of service in the little garrison, and too proud to fly, they had all solemnly devoted themselves to death, and sat each in the porch of his house, in full official robes, awaiting the invaders. For a while these withheld their hands from them, out of awe and reverence; but the ruder passions soon prevailed, and they were all slaughtered. The city ...

BRENTANO, Clemens, German dramatist and novelist, was born at Frankfort-on-the-Maine in 1777. His sister Elizabeth was the well-known Bettina von Arnim, Goethe’s correspondent. He studied at Jena, and afterwards resided in Heidelberg, Vienna, and Berlin, leading a somewhat restless and unsettled life. In 1818 his disgust with all mundane affairs reached such a height that he withdrew from ordinary life and lived in the strictest seclusion at Dülmen. This continued for six years; the latter part of his life he spent in Ratisbon, Frankfort, and Munich. He died at Aschaffenburg 28th July 1842. Brentano belongs to the romantic school of German poetry, and his works, like all others of that class, are marked by excess of fantastic imagery and by abrupt, bizarre modes of expression, His first published writings consisted of satires and poetical dramas {Satiren und Poetische Spiele, 1800); of his later dramas the best are Ponce de Leon, 1804, and Victoria, 1817; of his poems the best is Die Gründung Prags, 1816. On the whole his finest work is the short tale, or novelette, Geschichte vom braven Kaspar und dem schönen Annerl, a very perfect little piece, which has been translated into English. Brentano also assisted Ludwig Achim von Arnim, his brother-in-law, in the collection of the tales and poems forming Des Knaben Wunderhorn, 1800-8. The collected works appeared at Frankfort in 1852.

BRENTFORD, a town of England, in the county of Middlesex, 8 miles west of London, on a loop line of the South-Western Railway, in 51° 28' N. lat. aud 0° 20' W. long. It is divided by the River Brent into two parts, known as Old and New Brentford (the former the larger of the two), and is separated from Kew by the Thames. The Grand Junction Canal joins the Brent some miles further up, so that the town has extensive water communication, and is enabled to maintain a considerable trade. Among its manufacturing establishments are gindistilleries, a brewery, malt-kilns, soap-works, saw-mills, and colour-works. The Grand Junction Water-works, which supply the west end of London, are stationed here, the great stand-pipe, 226 feet high, forming a striking tower-like structure. Market-gardening is largely carried on in the neighbourhood, and there is a weekly market which dates from the time of Edward I. The elections for the county of Middlesex are held in the town. Its population in 1871 was 11,091....