Cunobeline or Cunobelin (Common Brittonic: *Cunobelinos, "Dog-Strong"), also known by his name's Latin formCunobelinus, was a king in pre-Roman Britain from about AD 9 to about AD 40.[1] He is mentioned in passing by the classical historians Suetonius and Dio Cassius, and many coins bearing his inscription have been found. He controlled a substantial portion of south-eastern Britain, including the territories of the Catuvellauni and the Trinovantes, and is called "King of the Britons" (Britannorum rex) by Suetonius.[2] Cunobeline may have been a client king of Rome, based on the images and legends appearing on his coins.[3][4] Cunobeline appears in British legend as Cynfelyn (Welsh), Kymbelinus (medieval Latin) or Cymbeline, as in the play by William Shakespeare.
His name is a compound composed of Common Brittonic *cuno- "dog" and *belino- "strong", meaning "Strong as a Dog", or "Strong Dog".[5][6]
History
From numismatic evidence, Cunobelinus appears to have taken power around AD 9 after the death of his father Tasciovanus, minting coins from both Camulodunum (Colchester, capital of the Trinovantes) and Verlamion (later the Roman town of Verulamium, now modern St Albans), capital of the Catuvellauni. Some of the Verulamium coins name him as the son of Tasciovanus, a previous king of the Catuvellauni.[7] Some of Tasciovanus' coins bear the title rigonos, a derivative of the Brittonic root *rīgo- meaning "king".[8] Unlike his father's, Cunobelinus' coins name no co-rulers.[7] His earliest issues are, however, from Camulodunum, indicating that he took power there first,[9] and some have a palm or laurel wreath design, a motif borrowed from the Romans indicating a military victory. It is possible that, following the Roman defeat in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, in Germania in AD 9, he was emboldened to act against the Trinovantes.[10] The Trinovantes were a Roman ally whose independence was protected by a treaty they made with Julius Caesar in 54 BC, but problems in Germania severely discouraged Augustus's territorial ambitions and ability to defend allies in Britain.[10]
Cunobelinus appears to have maintained quite good relations with the Roman Empire. He used the title Rex (Latin 'king') and classical motifs on his coins, and his reign saw an increase in trade with the continent. Archaeology shows an increase in luxury goods imported from the continent, including Italian wine and drinking vessels, olive oil, and fish sauces from Hispania, glassware, jewellery, and Gallo-Belgic tableware, which from their distribution appear to have entered Britain via the port of Camulodunum.[11] He was probably one of the British kings who, according to Strabo, sent embassies to Augustus. Strabo reports Rome's lucrative trade with Britain: the island's exports included grain, gold, silver, iron, hides, slaves and hunting dogs.[12]
Coins of Cunobelinus
Cunobelinus had three sons, Adminius, Togodumnus and Caratacus, and a brother, Epaticcus, known to history. Epaticcus expanded his influence into the territory of the Atrebates in the early 20s, taking the Atrebatan capital Calleva (Silchester) by about 25. He continued to expand his territory until his death in about 35, when Caratacus took over from him and the Atrebates recovered some of their territory.[citation needed]
Adminius, judging by his coins, had control of Kent by this time. Suetonius tells us that in about 40 he was banished from Britain by his father and sought refuge with the emperor Caligula. Caligula treated this as if the entire island had submitted to him and prepared an invasion of Britain. He abandoned it, however, in farcical circumstances by ordering his soldiers to attack the waves and gather seashells as the spoils of victory.[13]
Cunobelinus died about 40,[1] probably within a year of that date.[14] Certainly he was dead by 43.[15] The Lexden Tumulus on the outskirts of Colchester has been suggested as his tomb (although the earlier Trinovantian king Addedomarus is another candidate for its occupant).[16] Caratacus completed the conquest of the Atrebates, and their king, Verica, fled to Rome, providing the new emperor, Claudius, with a pretext for the conquest of Britain. Caratacus and Togodumnus led the initial resistance to the invasion. Dio Cassius tells us that the "Bodunni", a tribe who were tributary to the Catuvellauni, changed sides and supported the Romans. This is probably a misspelling of the Dobunni of Gloucestershire, indicating that Cunobelinus's hegemony extended as far as the West Country.[17]
It is possible, based on epigraphic evidence, that Sallustius Lucullus, Roman governor of Britain in the late 1st century, was his grandson.[18]
Legend and literature
Bronze coins of Cunobelin 1–42 CE. "CAMU" refers to Camulodunon, where the coin was minted. Museum of London.
Cunobelinus's memory was preserved in British legend and beyond. In the early 9th century Historia Brittonum, Cunobeline appears as Bellinus son of Minocannus and is described as a British king in the time of Julius Caesar. The names of Cunobeline and his son Adminius probably became corrupt due to a series of scribal errors in the transmission of the name from Suetonius' Life of Caligula to Orosius's Historia adversus Paganos, the latter of which was a primary source for the author of the Historia Brittonum:
Orosius, Historia adversus Paganos, vii.5.5 (early 5th century): Minocynobellinum Britannorum regis filium.
Historia Brittonum, §19 (early 9th century): Bellinus, filius Minocanni.
In the Welsh Triads and medieval literature such as Branwen ferch Llŷr, the Dream of Macsen Wledig, and Lludd and Llefelys, the Historia Brittonum's "Bellinus son of Minocannus" was transformed into Welsh as Beli Mawr ("Beli the Great") son of Mynogan (also spelled Manogan). Beli son of Mynogan/Managan also appears in several medieval Welsh genealogies.[19]
A mid-10th century genealogy preserved in the medieval Welsh manuscript Harleian 3859 contains three generations which read "Caratauc map Cinbelin map Teuhant". This is the equivalent of "Caratacus, son of Cunobelinus, son of Tasciovanus", putting the three historical figures in the correct order, although the wrong historical context, the degree of linguistic change suggesting a long period of oral transmission. The remainder of the genealogy contains the names of a sequence of Roman emperors, and two Welsh mythological figures, Guidgen (Gwydion) and Lou (Lleu).[20]
In Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (composed around 1136) Cunobeline appears multiple times. Geoffrey borrowed the Historia Brittonum's Bellinus and styles him as the general of Cassibelanus (i.e., Cassivellaunus) in his wars against Caesar (in the Welsh translations of Geoffrey's Historia, the Brut y Brenhinedd, Bellinus becomes Beli, steward of Caswallawn). The next appearance in Geoffrey's Historia is as Heli (son of Cligueillus), the father of the three brothers Cassibellanus, Lud and Nennius, who reigned forty years (in the Welsh translations, Beli Mawr is substituted for Geoffrey's Heli).[19] He then appears as Kymbelinus, son of Tenvantius, a powerful warrior who was raised in the courts of Augustus. He was very friendly with the Roman court: his country was equipped with Roman weapons, and all tributes to Rome were paid out of respect, not out of requirement. He had two sons, Guiderius and Arvirargus. Guiderius succeeded him, but died in the early stages of Claudius's invasion, leaving Arvirargus to carry on the fight.[21]
Geoffrey's story was incorporated into Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles in 1577,[22] where it was found by William Shakespeare and used as the basis of his romance, Cymbeline. Beyond the name there is virtually nothing in common between the figure of Cymbeline and the historical Cunobelinus. The king, under the influence of his wicked second wife, forbids his daughter Imogen to marry Posthumus Leonatus, a low-born but worthy man, preferring that she marry his boorish stepson Cloten, leading to mistaken identity, jealousy caused by false accusations of infidelity and a war with Rome provoked by the withholding of tribute, again at the instigation of the queen. In the end peace between Britain and Rome is re-established, Cymbeline is reunited with his two sons, Guiderius and Arviragus, who were abducted in childhood by Belarius, a wrongly-banished nobleman. Imogen is reconciled with Posthumus. Cloten and his mother, the evil queen, get their just deserts.[23]
Related Research Articles
Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, better known by his nickname Caligula, was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in AD 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder, Augustus' granddaughter. Caligula was born into the first ruling family of the Roman Empire, conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
AD 43 (XLIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Vitellius. The denomination AD 43 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
The Roman conquest of Britain was the conquest of part of the island of Britain by occupying Roman forces. It began in earnest in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, and was largely completed in the southern half of Britain by 87, when the Stanegate was established. Attempts to conquer Scotland (Caledonia) in succeeding centuries met with little sustained success.
Caratacus was a 1st-century AD British chieftain of the Catuvellauni tribe, who resisted the Roman conquest of Britain.
Aulus Plautius was a Roman politician and general of the mid-1st century. He began the Roman conquest of Britain in 43, and became the first governor of the new province, serving from 43 to 46.
The Trinovantēs or Trinobantes were one of the Celtic tribes of Pre-Roman Britain. Their territory was on the north side of the Thames estuary in current Essex, Hertfordshire and Suffolk, and included lands now located in Greater London. They were bordered to the north by the Iceni, and to the west by the Catuvellauni. Their name possibly derives from the Celtic intensive prefix "tri-" and a second element which was either "nowio" – new, so meaning "very new" in the sense of "newcomers", but possibly with an applied sense of vigor or liveliness ultimately meaning "the very vigorous people". Their capital was Camulodunum, one proposed site of the legendary Camelot.
The Atrebates were a Belgic tribe of the Iron Age and the Roman period, originally dwelling in the Artois region.
The Cantiaci or Cantii were an Iron Age Celtic people living in Britain before the Roman conquest, and gave their name to a civitas of Roman Britain. They lived in the area now called Kent, in south-eastern England. Their capital was Durovernum Cantiacorum, now Canterbury.
The Catuvellauni were a Celtic tribe or state of southeastern Britain before the Roman conquest, attested by inscriptions into the 4th century.
Beli Mawr was an ancestor figure in Middle Welsh literature and genealogies. He is the father of Cassivellaunus, Arianrhod, Lludd Llaw Eraint, Llefelys, and Afallach. In certain medieval genealogies he is listed as the son or husband of Anna, cousin of Mary, mother of Jesus. According to the Welsh Triads, Beli and Dôn were the parents of Arianrhod, but the mother of Beli's other children—and the father of Dôn's other children—is not mentioned in the medieval Welsh literature. Several royal lines in medieval Wales traced their ancestry to Beli. The Mabinogi names Penarddun as a daughter of Beli Mawr, but the genealogy is confused; it is possible she was meant to be his sister rather than daughter.
Togodumnus was king of the British Catuvellauni tribe, whose capital was at St. Albans, at the time of the Roman conquest. He can probably be identified with the legendary British king Guiderius. He is usually thought to have led the fight against the Romans alongside his brother, but to have been killed early in the campaign. However, some authorities now argue that he sided with the Romans and is one and the same person as the client-king Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus, whose original name may have been Togidubnus or Togodumnus.
Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus was a 1st-century king of the Regni or Regnenses tribe in early Roman Britain.
Tasciovanus was a historical king of the Catuvellauni tribe before the Roman conquest of Britain.
Cassivellaunus was a historical British military leader who led the defence against Julius Caesar's second expedition to Britain in 54 BC. He led an alliance of tribes against Roman forces, but eventually surrendered after his location was revealed to Julius Caesar by defeated Britons.
Arvirargus or Arviragus was a legendary British king of the 1st century AD, possibly based upon a real person. A shadowy historical Arviragus is known only from a cryptic reference in a satirical poem by Juvenal, in which a giant turbot presented to the Roman emperor Domitian is said to be an omen that "you will capture some king, or Arviragus will fall from his British chariot-pole".
Verica was a British client king of the Roman Empire in the years preceding the Claudian invasion of 43 AD.
Adminius, Amminius or Amminus was a son of Cunobelinus, ruler of the Catuvellauni, a tribe of Iron Age Britain. His name can be interpreted as Brittonic *Ad-minios, "he who is very tender".
The Roman client kingdoms in Britain were native tribes which chose to align themselves with the Roman Empire because they saw it as the best option for self-preservation or for protection from other hostile tribes. Alternatively, the Romans created some client kingdoms when they felt influence without direct rule was desirable. Client kingdoms were ruled by client kings. In Latin these kings were referred to as rex sociusque et amicus, which translates to "king, ally, and friend". The type of relationships between client kingdoms and Rome was reliant on the individual circumstances in each kingdom.
Guiderius is a legendary British king according to Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae and related texts. He can probably be identified as deriving from the historical Togodumnus.
↑ Russell, M. (2017). Arthur and the Kings of Britain: The Historical Truth Behind the Myths. United Kingdom: Amberley Publishing.
↑ Russell, M., Laycock, S. (2011). UnRoman Britain: Exposing the Great Myth of Britannia. United Kingdom: History Press.
↑ Prósper, Blanca María, "The irreducible Gauls used to swear by Belenos. Or did they? Celtic religion, henbane and historical misapprehensions". In: Zeitschrift für Celtische Philologie 64, 2017, pp. 255-298 (p. 262).
↑ Delamarre, Xavier. Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise, 2nd ed. Editions Errance, 2003, p. 72; 132.
1 2 John Creighton (2000), Coins and power in Late Iron Age Britain, Cambridge University Press; Philip de Jersey (1996), Celtic Coinage in Britain, Shire Archaeology
↑ de Bernardo Stempel, P. "Die Sprache altbritannischer Munzlegenden", Zeitschrift fur celtische Philologie 44 (1991), pp. 36-55
↑ This city is also called the capital of the Empire of Cunobelinus by Dio Cassius (Roman History 60.21.4).
1 2 Graham Webster (1978), Boudica: the British Revolt Against Rome AD 60 p. 43
↑ Keith Branigan (1987), The Catuvellauni, Alan Sutton Publishing Ltd, pp. 10–11
↑ Graham Webster, Boudica: The British Revolt Against Rome AD 60 (London: Routledge, 2003 [1978]), p. 51.
↑ David Braund, Ruling Roman Britain: Kings, Queens, Governors and Emperors from Julius Caesar to Agricola (London: Routledge, 1996), p. 99.
↑ Crummy, Philip (1997) City of Victory; the story of Colchester – Britain's first Roman town. Published by Colchester Archaeological Trust ( ISBN1 897719 04 3)
1 2 Bartrum, Pete. A Welsh classical dictionary: people in history and legend up to about A.D. 1000, National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, 1993, pp. 12-13; 560-561.
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