- Catuvellauni
Infobox Celts of England
Name = Catuvellauni
fullname = Catuvellauni
name = Catuvellauni
capital = "Verulamium " (St. Albans )
location =Cambridgeshire Northamptonshire Bedfordshire Buckinghamshire Oxfordshire
origin =Châlons-en-Champagne ,France The Catuvellauni were aCelt ic/Belgic tribe or state of south-eastern Britain before the Roman conquest.The fortunes of the Catuvellauni and their kings before the conquest can be traced through
numismatic evidence and scattered references in classical histories. They are mentioned byDio Cassius , who implies they led the resistance against the conquest in AD43 . They appear as one of the "civitates" ofRoman Britain inPtolemy 's "Geography" in the2nd century , occupying modernHertfordshire ,Bedfordshire and southernCambridgeshire and based around the town ofVerlamion (modernSt Albans ).The Catuvellauni may be related to the
Catalauni , a people of Belgic Gaul attested in the region ofChâlons-en-Champagne .Before the Roman conquest
Cassivellaunus , who led the resistance toJulius Caesar 's first expedition to Britain in54 BC , is often taken to have belonged to the Catuvellauni. His tribal background is not mentioned by Caesar, but his territory, north of the Thames and to the west of theTrinovantes , corresponds to that later occupied by the Catuvellauni. The extensive earthworks at Devil's Dyke nearWheathampstead ,Hertfordshire are thought to have been the tribe's original capital.Tasciovanus was the first king to mint coins atVerlamion , beginning ca20 BC . He appears to have expanded his power at the expense of the Trinovantes to the east, as some of his coins, ca 15-10 BC , were minted in their capitalCamulodunum (modernColchester ). This advance was given up, possibly under pressure from Rome, and a later series of coins were again minted at Verulamium.However, Camulodunum was retaken, either by Tasciovanus or by his son
Cunobelinus , who succeeded him ca AD9 and ruled for about thirty years. Little is known of Cunobelinus's life, but his name survived into British legend, culminating inWilliam Shakespeare 's play "Cymbeline ".Geoffrey of Monmouth says he was brought up at the court of Augustus and willingly paid tribute to Rome. Archaeology indicates increased trading and diplomatic links with theRoman Empire . Under Cunobelinus and his family the Catuvellauni appear to have become the dominant power in south-eastern Britain. His brotherEpaticcus gained territory to the south and west at the expense of theAtrebates until his death ca AD35 .Three sons of Cunobelinus are known to history.
Adminius , whose power-base appears from his coins to have been inKent , was exiled by his father shortly before AD40 according to Suetonius, prompting the emperorCaligula to mount his abortive invasion of Britain. Two other sons,Togodumnus andCaratacus , are named by Dio Cassius. No coins of Togodumnus are known, but Caratacus's rare coins suggest that he followed his uncle Epaticcus in completing the conquest of the lands of the Atrebates. It was the exile of the Atrebatic king,Verica , that promptedClaudius to launch a successful invasion, led byAulus Plautius , in AD43 .Dio tells us that by this stage Cunobelinus was dead, and Togodumnus and Caratacus led the initial resistance to the invasion in Kent. They were defeated by Plautius in two crucial battles on the rivers Medway (see
Battle of the Medway ) and Thames. He also tells us that the Bodunni, a tribe or kingdom who were tributary to the Catuvellauni, switched sides. This may be a misspelling of theDobunni , who lived inGloucestershire , and may give an indication of how far Catuvellaunian power extended. Togodumnus died shortly after the battle on the Thames. Plautius halted and sent word for the emperor to join him, and Claudius led the final advance to Camulodunum. The territories of the Catuvellauni became the nucleus of the newRoman province .Under Roman rule
Caratacus, however, had survived, and continued to lead the resistance to the invaders. We next hear of him in
Tacitus 's "Annals", leading theSilures andOrdovices in what is nowWales against the Roman governorPublius Ostorius Scapula . Ostorius defeated him in a set-piece battle somewhere in Ordovician territory (seeBattle of Caer Caradoc ) in AD51 , capturing members of his family, but Caratacus again escaped. He fled north to theBrigantes , but their queen,Cartimandua , was loyal to the Romans and handed him over in chains.Caratacus was exhibited as a war-prize as part of a triumphal parade in Rome. He was allowed to make a speech to the Senate, and made such an impression that he and his family were freed and allowed to live in peace in Rome.
Verulamium , the Roman settlement near Verlamion, gained the status of "municipium " ca50 , allowing its leading magistrates to becomeRoman citizen s. It was destroyed in the rebellion ofBoudica in60 or61 , but was soon rebuilt. Its forum andbasilica were completed in79 or81 , and were dedicated in an inscription by the governor,Gnaeus Julius Agricola , to the emperorTitus . Its theatre, the first Roman theatre in Britain, was built ca140 .An inscription records that the "civitas" of the Catuvellauni were involved in the reconstruction of
Hadrian's Wall , probably in the time ofSeptimius Severus in the early3rd century .Saint Alban , the first BritishChristian martyr , was a citizen of Verulamium in the late 3nd or early4th century , and was killed there. The city took its modern name from him. The tombstone of a woman of the Catuvellauni called Regina, freedwoman and wife of Barates, a soldier fromPalmyra inSyria , was found in the4th century Roman fort ofArbeia inSouth Shields in the north-east of England.List of leaders of the Catuvellauni
#
Cassivellaunus , a military leader and possibly chieftain, often associated with the Catuvellauni c. 54 BC
#Tasciovanus , c. 20 BC - AD 9
#Cunobelinus , AD 9 - AD 40ee also
*
List of Celtic tribes References
*
Julius Caesar , "De Bello Gallico "
*Tacitus , "Annals"
*Suetonius, "Lives of the Twelve Caesars"
*Dio Cassius , "Roman History"
*Ptolemy , "Geography"
*Geoffrey of Monmouth , "Historia Regum Britanniae "
*Sheppard Frere (1998), "Britannia: a History of Roman Britain", Pimlico
*John Creighton (2000), "Coins and power in Late Iron Age Britain", Cambridge University PressExternal links
* [http://www.roman-britain.org/tribes/catuvellauni.htm Catuvellauni] at [http://www.roman-britain.org Roman Britain.org]
* [http://www.romans-in-britain.org.uk/clb_tribe_catuvellauni.htm Catuvellauni] at [http://www.romans-in-britain.org.uk/ Romans in Britain]
* [http://www.verulamium.com/ Verulamium Roman Town]
* [http://www.romantheatre.co.uk/ The Roman Theatre of Verulamium]
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