Brigantes
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The Brigantes were a British Celtic tribe who lived between the rivers Tyne and Humber. They may be related to the Brigantii of the eastern Alps. It is thought that their name derives from that of the Celtic goddess Brigantia (Brigid).
The Brigantes dominated what is now northern England, with settlements at Catterick, Aldborough, Ilkley and York. They may have been a confederation of smaller tribal groups, including the Carvetii and Parisii. They remained independent in the initial phase of the Roman conquest of Britain of AD 43, probably coming to a voluntary alliance with the Romans.
In 47, the governor of Britain, Publius Ostorius Scapula, was forced to abandon his campaign against the Deceangli of North Wales because of "disaffection" among the Brigantes. A few of those who had taken up arms were killed and the rest were pardoned.Tacitus, Annals [12.32] In 51, the defeated resistance leader Caratacus sought sanctuary with the Brigantian queen, Cartimandua, but she showed her loyalty to the Romans by handing him over in chains.Tacitus, Annals [12:36]. She and her husband Venutius are described as loyal and "defended by Roman arms", but they later divorced, Venutius taking up arms first against his ex-wife, then her Roman protectors. During the governorship of Aulus Didius Gallus (52-57) he gathered an army and invaded her kingdom. The Romans sent troops to defend Cartimandua and Venutius's rebellion was defeated after fierce fighting.Tacitus, Annals [12:40] After the divorce, Cartimandua married Venutius's armour-bearer, Vellocatus, and raised him to the kingship. Venutius staged another rebellion in 69, taking advantage of Roman instability in the Year of four emperors. This time the Romans were only able to send auxiliaries, who succeeded in evacuating Cartimandua but left Venutius in possession of the kingdom.Tacitus, Histories [3:45]
After the accession of Vespasian, Quintus Petillius Cerialis was appointed governor of Britain and the conquest of the Brigantes was begun.Tacitus, Agricola [17] It seems to have taken many decades to complete. Gnaeus Julius Agricola (governor 78-84) appears to have engaged in warfare in Brigantian territory.Tacitus, Agricola [20] The Roman poet Juvenal, writing in the early 2nd century, depicts a Roman father urging his son to win glory by destroying the forts of the Brigantes.Juvenal, Satires 14.196 It is possible that one of the purposes of Hadrian's Wall (begun in 122) was to keep the Brigantes from making discourse with the Scottish tribes on the other side. The emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161) is said by Pausanias to have defeated them after they began an unprovoked war against Roman allies,Pausanias, Description of Greece [8.43.4] perhaps as part of the campaign that led to the building of the Antonine Wall (142-144).
Tacitus, in a speech put into the mouth of the Caledonian leader Calgacus, refers to the Brigantes, "under a woman's leadership", almost defeating the Romans.Tacitus, Agricola [31] This appears to be a reference to Boudica of the Iceni, attributed to the Brigantes in error.
The Brigantes are attested in Ireland as well as Britain in Ptolemy's 2nd century Geography.Ptolemy, Geography [2.1], [2.2] He names nine towns as belonging to the British Brigantes:
- Epiacum (Whitley Castle, Northumberland)
- Vinovium (Binchester, County Durham)
- Caturactonium (Catterick, North Yorkshire)
- Calatum (Burrow, Lonsdale, Lancashire)
- Isurium (Aldborough, North Yorkshire)
- Rigodunum (Castleshaw, Greater Manchester, Ingleborough in the Yorkshire Dales, or Stanwick St John in North Yorkshire)
- Olicana {Elslack, North Yorkshire, or Ilkley, West Yorkshire)
- Eboracum (York), base of the Legio VI Victrix
- Camulodunum or Cambodunum (Slack, West Yorkshire) - not the more famous Camulodunum of the Trinovantes (Colchester)
- Bremetenacum Veteranorum (Ribchester, Lancashire)
- Calcaria (Tadcaster, North Yorkshire) - mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary and the Ravenna Cosmography
- Luguvalium (Carlisle, Cumbria) - probably a settlement of the Carvetii
- Coriosopitum (Corbridge, Northumberland) - perhaps a settlement of the Lopocares
References
External links
- [Brigantes Nation]
- [Brigantes] at [Roman-Britain.org]
- [Brigantes] at [Romans in Britain]
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