Lear is the protagonist of William Shakespeare's great tragedy King Lear. The story itself was based on the pre-Roman king Leir of Britain, whose story was recounted in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Brittanae. Given the inaccuracy of that text, it may be possible Lear himself has no historical counterpart. His story is fairly well known: in his old age he plans to split his kingdom into three parts, one for each of his daughters to rule. The two eldest daughters Regan and Goneril flatter him, while Cordelia, the youngest, does not. The elder sisters then gain their kingdoms while Cordelia is disinherited. The elder sisters then spurn their father, driving him mad. Eventually the corruption of Regan and Goneril drags the country into a war that ends up killing all three sisters. Lear, his kingdom destroyed and his line terminated, dies of a broken heart.
