NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Caratacus

Caratacus (Brythonic *Caratācos, Greek Καράτακος; variants Latin Caractacus, Greek Καρτάκης) was a historical British chieftain of the Catuvellauni tribe, who led the British resistance to the Roman conquest. He may correspond with the legendary Welsh character Caradog and the legendary British king Arvirargus. The Brythonic languages (or Brittonic languages) form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family. ... Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... The Catuvellaunii (meaning probably good in battle) were one of the Celtic tribes living in the British Isles, before the Roman invasion of Britain. ... Welsh mythology, the remnants of the mythology of the pre-Christian Britons, has come down to us in much altered form in medieval Welsh manuscripts such as the Red Book of Hergest, the White Book of Rhydderch, the Book of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin. ... Caradog (Caradoc, Caradawg, Cradawg, derived from Brythonic Caratacus) is a Welsh name borne by several historical and legendary figures, including: Caratacus, historical British chieftain at the time of the Roman conquest Caradawg ap Bran, a character from Welsh mythology who may correspond with the above Caradog Freichfras, 5th or 6th... Arvirargus was a legendary king of the Britons as recounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. ...

History

Caratacus is named by Dio Cassius as a son of the Catuvellaunian king Cunobelinus.^[1] Based on coin distribution Caratacus appears to have been the protegé of his uncle Epaticcus, who expanded Catuvellaunian power westwards into the territory of the Atrebates.^[2] After Epaticcus died ca. 35, the Atrebates, under Verica, regained some of their territory, but it appears Caratacus completed the conquest, as Dio tells us Verica was ousted, fled to Rome and appealed to the emperor Claudius for help. This was the excuse Claudius used to launch his invasion of Britain in 43. Dio Cassius Cocceianus (c. ... Cunobelinus (also written Kynobellinus, Cunobelin) was a historical king of the Catuvellauni tribe of pre-Roman Britain. ... Epaticcus or Epaticcu (d. ... The Atrebates (meaning settlers) were a Belgic tribe of Gaul and Britain before the Roman conquests. ... For alternate uses, see Number 35. ... Verica (early 1st century AD) was a British client king of the Roman Empire in the years preceding the Claudian invasion of 43 AD. From his coinage, he appears to have been king of the Atrebates tribe and a son of Commius. ... Area under Roman control Roman Republic Roman Empire Western Empire Eastern Empire Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a city-state founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Claudius (disambiguation). ... Britain was the target of invasion by forces of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire several times during its history. ... Events Aulus Plautius, with 4 legions, landed on Britain. ...

Cunobelinus had died some time before the invasion. Caratacus and his brother Togodumnus led the initial defence of the country against Aulus Plautius's legions, primarily using guerrilla tactics, but were defeated in two crucial battles on the rivers Medway^[3] and Thames. Togodumnus was killed and the Catuvellauni's territories conquered, but Caratacus survived and carried on the resistance further west. Togodumnus was a historical king of the British Catuvellauni tribe at the time of the Roman conquest. ... Aulus Plautius (lived 1st century) was the first governor of Roman Britain, serving from 43 to 47. ... The Roman legion (from Latin , from lego, legere, legi, lectus â€” to collect) is a term that can apply both as a transliteration of legio (conscription or army) to the entire Roman army and also, more narrowly (and more commonly), to the heavy infantry that was the basic military unit of... Look up guerrilla in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The River Medway in England flows for 112 km from Turners Hill, in West Sussex, through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway Towns conurbation in Kent, to the River Thames at Sheerness, where it is the latters last tributary. ... The Thames (pronounced //) is a river flowing through southern England, in its lower reaches flowing through London into the sea. ...

We next hear of Caratacus in Tacitus's Annals, leading the Silures and Ordovices in what is now Wales against Plautius's successor as governor, Publius Ostorius Scapula.^[4] Finally, in 51, Scapula managed to defeat Caratacus in a set-piece battle somewhere in Ordivician territory (see the Battle of Caer Caradoc), capturing Caratacus's wife and daughter and receiving the surrender of his brothers. Caratacus himself escaped, and fled north to the lands of the Brigantes. The Brigantian queen, Cartimandua, however, was loyal to Rome, and she handed him over in chains. (This was one of the factors that led to two Brigantian revolts against Cartimandua and her Roman allies, once later in the 50s and once in 69, led by Venutius, who had once been Cartimandua's husband). Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (c. ... The Annals, or, in Latin, Annales, is a history book by Tacitus covering the reign of the 4 Roman Emperors succeeding to Caesar Augustus. ... The Silures were a powerful and warlike tribe of ancient Britain, occupying approximately the counties of Monmouth, Brecon and Glamorgan. ... The Ordovices were one of the Celtic tribes living in the British Islands, before the Roman invasion of Britain. ... This article is about the country. ... This is a partial list of Roman Governors of Britain under the Roman Empire. ... Publius Ostorius Scapula (died 52) was a Roman statesman and general. ... // Events Roman Empire Caratacus, British resistance leader, is captured and taken to Rome. ... The Battle of Caer Caradoc was the final battle in Caratacuss resistance to Roman rule. ... The Brigantes were a British Celtic tribe which lived between Tyne and Humber. ... Cartimandua (ruled ca. ... Centuries: 1st century BC - 1st century - 2nd century Decades: 0s - 10s - 20s - 30s - 40s - 50s - 60s - 70s - 80s - 90s - 100s 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 Sometimes the 50s is used as shorthand for the 1950s, the 1850s, or other such decades in various centuries Events... The Year of the four emperors: After Neros death, Galba, Otho and Vitellius all serve as emperor for a short time each before Vespasian takes over. ... Venutius was a 1st century king of the Brigantes in northern Britain at the time of the Roman conquest. ...

Legend places Caratacus' last stand at British Camp in the Malvern Hills, but the description of Tacitus makes this unlikely: The Herefordshire Beacon is one of the hills of the Malvern Hills. ... Malvern Hills could refer to: Malvern Hills District Council, in Worcestershire, England Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, on the border of Herefordshire and Worcestershire, England This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (c. ...

Although the Severn is visible from British Camp, it is nowhere near it, so this battle must have taken place elsewhere. A number of locations have been suggested, including a site near Brampton Bryan. The Severn is the name of a river in the United Kingdom. ... Brampton Bryan is a small village situated on the northern boundaries of Herefordshire close to Shropshire and the Welsh border. ...

After his capture, Caratacus was sent to Rome as a war prize, presumably to be killed after a triumphal parade. Although a captive, he was allowed to speak to the Roman senate. Tacitus records a version of his speech in which he says that his stubborn resistance made Rome's glory in defeating him all the greater: A Roman Triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly honour the military commander (dux) of a notably successful foreign war or campaign and to display the glories of Roman victory. ... The Roman Senate (Latin: Senatus) was the main governing council of both the Roman Republic, which started in 509 BC, and the Roman Empire. ...

He made such an impression that he was pardoned and allowed to live in peace in Rome. After his liberation, according to Dio Cassius, Caratacus was so impressed by the city of Rome that he said "And can you, then, who have got such possessions and so many of them, covet our poor tents?"^[7]

Togodumnus was a historical king of the British Catuvellauni tribe at the time of the Roman conquest. ... The Catuvellaunii (meaning probably good in battle) were one of the Celtic tribes living in the British Isles, before the Roman invasion of Britain. ...

Caratacus' name

Caratacus' name appears as both Caratacus and Caractacus in manuscripts of Tacitus, and as Καράτακος and Καρτάκης in manuscripts of Dio. Older reference works tend to favour the spelling "Caractacus", but modern scholars agree, based on historical linguistics and source criticism, that the original Brythonic form was *Caratācos, pronounced /ka.ra.taː'kos/, which gives the attested names Caradog in Welsh and Carthach in Irish.^[8] Historical linguistics (also diachronic linguistics or comparative linguistics) is primarily the study of the ways in which languages change over time. ... Welsh redirects here, and this article describes the Welsh language. ...

Legend

Medieval British traditions

Caratacus's memory may have been preserved in medieval British tradition. A genealogy in the Welsh Harleian MS 3859 (ca. 1100) includes the generations "Caratauc map Cinbelin map Teuhant", corresponding, via established processes of language change, to "Caratacus, son of Cunobelinus, son of Tasciovanus", preserving the names of the three historical figures in correct relationship.^[9] Tasciovanus was a historical king of the Catuvellauni tribe before the Roman conquest of Britain. ...

Caratacus does not appear in Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain (1136), although he appears to correspond to Arviragus, the younger son of Kymbelinus, who continues to resist the Roman invasion after the death of his older brother Guiderius.^[10] In Welsh versions his name is Gweirydd, son of Cynfelyn, and his brother is called Gwydyr;^[11] the name Arviragus is taken from a poem by Juvenal.^[12] Woodcut of Juvenal from the Nuremberg Chronicle Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis, Anglicized as Juvenal, was a Roman satiric poet of the late 1st century and early 2nd century. ...

Caradog, son of Bran, who appears in medieval Welsh literature, has also been identified with Caratacus, although nothing in the medieval legend corresponds except his name. He appears in the Mabinogion as a son of Bran the Blessed, who is left in charge of Britain while his father makes war in Ireland, but is overthrown by Caswallawn (the historical Cassivellaunus, who lived a century earlier than Caratacus).^[13] The Welsh Triads agree that he was Bran's son, and name two sons, Cawrdaf and Eudaf.^[14] The Mabinogion is a collection of prose stories from medieval Welsh manuscripts. ... Bran the Blessed, also known as Bran Vendigaid, Bendigeidfran or Branovices, is a giant and king of Britain in Welsh mythology. ... In Welsh mythology, Caswallawn son of Beli was a legendary king of Britain who fought Julius Caesar. ... Cassivellaunus was a historical British chieftain who led the defence against Julius Caesars second expedition to Britain in 54 BC. He also appears in British legend as Cassibelanus, one of Geoffrey of Monmouths kings of Britain, and in the Mabinogion and Welsh Triads as Caswallawn, son of Beli... The Welsh Triads (Welsh, Trioedd Ynys Prydein) is used to describe any of the related Medieval collection of groupings of three that preserve a major portion of Welsh folklore and Welsh literature. ...

Modern traditions

Caradog only began to be identified with Caratacus after the rediscovery of the works of Tacitus, and new material appeared based on this identification. An 18th century tradition, popularised by the Welsh antiquarian and forger Iolo Morganwg, credits Caradog, on his return from imprisonment in Rome, with the introduction of Christianity to Britain. Iolo also makes the legendary king Coel a son of Caradog's son Cyllen.^[15] Iolo Morganwg (or Morgannwg in modern spelling; pronounced ) was the bardic name of Edward Williams (Llancarfan, Glamorgan, Wales 1747-1826), an influential antiquarian, poet, collector and literary forger. ... Old King Cole in an illustration by Maxfield Parrish, 1909. ...

Another tradition, which has remained popular among British Israelites and others, makes Caratacus already a Christian before he came to Rome, Christianity having been brought to Britain by either Joseph of Arimathea or St. Paul, and identifies a number of early Christians as his relatives.^[16] British Israelism (sometimes called Anglo-Israelism) is a complex set of theories, not necessarily compatible with each other, that have in common the idea that some ancient British people and/or royal lineages were direct lineal descendants of Lost Tribes of Israel. ... Joseph of Arimathea, according to the Gospels, was the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after his crucifixion. ... Paul of Tarsus (b. ...

One is Pomponia Graecina, wife of Aulus Plautius, the conqueror of Britain, who as Tacitus relates, was accused of following a "foreign superstition", generally considered to be Christianity.^[17] Tacitus describes her as the "wife of the Plautius who returned from Britain with an ovation", which led John Lingard (1771 – 1851) to conclude, in his History and Antiquities of the Anglo-Saxon Church, that she was British.^[18] However, this is a misinterpretation of what Tacitus wrote. An ovation was a military parade in honour of a victorious general, so the person who "returned from Britain with an ovation" is clearly Plautius, not Pomponia. This has not prevented the error being repeated and disseminated widely. Pomponia Graecina was a noble Roman woman of the first century. ... Aulus Plautius (lived 1st century) was the first governor of Roman Britain, serving from 43 to 47. ... Father John Lingard (1771-1851) was a Roman Catholic priest and the author of The History Of England, From the First Invasion by the Romans to the Accession of Henry VIII, an 8-volume work published in 1819. ... The ovation (Latin ovatio) was a less honored form of the familiar Roman Triumph. ...

Another is Claudia Rufina, a historical British woman known to the poet Martial.^[19] Martial describes Claudia's marriage to a man named Pudens,^[20] almost certainly Aulus Pudens, an Umbrian centurion and friend of the poet who appears regularly in his Epigrams. It has been argued since the 17th century^[21] that this pair may be the same as the Claudia and Pudens mentioned as members of the Roman Christian community in 2 Timothy in the New Testament.^[22] Some go further, claiming that Claudia was Caratacus's daughter, and that the historical Pope Linus, who is described as the "brother of Claudia" in an early church document, was Caratacus' son. Pudens is identified with St. Pudens, and it is claimed that the basilica of Santa Pudenziana in Rome, and with which St. Pudens is associated, was once called the Palatium Britannicum and was the home of Caratacus and his family. Claudia Rufina was a woman of British descent who lived in Rome in the 90s AD and was known to the poet Martial. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Aulus Pudens was a native of Umbria and a centurion in the Roman army in the late 1st century AD. He was a friend of the poet Martial, who addressed several of his Epigrams to him. ... Umbria is a region of central Italy, bordered by Tuscany to the west, the Marche to the east and Lazio to the south. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The three pastoral epistles are books of the canonical New Testament: the First Epistle to Timothy (1 Timothy) the Second Epistle to Timothy (2 Timothy), and the Epistle to Titus. ... John 21:1 Jesus Appears to His Disciples--Alessandro Mantovani: the Vatican, Rome. ... Pope Linus (d. ... Saint Pudens was an early Christian saint and martyr. ... Main entrance of the church. ...

This theory was popularised in a 1961 book called The Drama of the Lost Disciples by George Jowett, but Jowett did not originate it. He cites renaissance historians such as Archbishop James Ussher, Caesar Baronius and John Hardyng, as well as classical writers like Caesar, Tacitus and Juvenal, although his classical cites at least are wildly inaccurate, many of his assertions are unsourced, and many of his identifications entirely speculative. He also regularly cites St. Paul in Britain, an 1870 book by R. W. Morgan, and advocates other tenets of British Israelism, in particular that the British are descended from the lost tribes of Israel.^[23] The Drama of the Lost Disciples is a 1961 book by George Jowett, a former bodybuilder and fitness instructor, which purports to trace several of Christs disciples and other associates, including Joseph of Arimathea, St. ... Archbishop James Ussher (1581-1656) James Ussher (sometimes spelled Usher) (4 January 1581â€“21 March 1656) was Anglican Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625â€“1656 and a prolific religious scholar who most famously published a chronology which calculated the date of Creation as 4004 BC. // Ussher... Caesar Baronius (October 31, 1538 â€“ June 30, 1607), Italian cardinal and ecclesiastical historian, was born at Sora, and was educated at Veroli and Naples. ... John Hardyng or John Harding (1378–1465), English chronicler, was born in the north. ... Gaius Julius Caesar[1] (Latin pronunciation ; English pronunciation ; July 12 or July 13, 100 BC â€“ March 15, 44 BC), often simply referred to as Julius Caesar, was a Roman military and political leader and one of the most influential men in world history. ... Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (c. ... Frontispiece depicting Juvenal and Persius, from a volume translated by John Dryden in 1711. ... It has been suggested that Israelite Diaspora be merged into this article or section. ...

References

^ Dio Cassius, trans Earnest Cary, Roman History 60:19-22
^ John Creighton, Coins and power in Late Iron Age Britain, Cambridge University Press, 2000; Philip de Jersey (1996), Celtic Coinage in Britain, Shire Archaeology
^ see also Battle of the Medway
^ Tacitus, Annals 12:33-38
^ Tacitus, The Annals, translated by A. J. Woodman, 2004; see also Church & Brodribb's translation
^ Tacitus, The Annals, translated by A. J. Woodman, 2004; see also Church & Brodribb's translation
^ Dio Cassius, Roman History, Epitome of Book LXI, 33:3c
^ Kenneth H. Jackson, "Queen Boudicca?", Britannia 10 p. 255, 1979
^ Harleian Genealogies 16; The Heirs of Caratacus - Caratacus and his relatives in medieval Welsh genealogies
^ Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britanniae 4.12-16
^ Geoffrey of Monmouth, The History of the Kings of Britain, translated by Lewis Thorpe, 1973; Peter Roberts (trans), The Chronicle of the Kings of Britain, 1811
^ Juvenal, Satires, 4.126-127
^ The Mabinogion: "Branwen, daughter of Llyr"
^ Rachel Bromwich, Trioedd Ynys Prydein, University of Wales Press, 1963; Triads from the Red Book of Hergest and Peniarth MS 54
^ Iolo Morganwg, Triads of Britain 17, 2, 23, 24, 34, 35, 41, 55, 79, 85, 91
^ This article formerly made reference to a passage of Dio Cassius that described Caratacus as a "barbarian Christian". This derived from a transcription error in the version of the Cary translation of Dio online on the Lacus Curtius website, which has now been corrected to read "barbarian chieftain" as per the print edition (Dio 61.33.3c). See also the Foster translation at Project Gutenberg, which also reads "barbarian chieftain".
^ Tacitus, Annals 13:32
^ "We are, indeed, told that history has preserved the names of two British females, Claudia and Pomponia Graecina, both of them Christians, and both living in the first century of our era." Lingard, John, History and Antiquities of the Anglo-Saxon Church, 2nd. ed. Newcastle, Walker, 1810 Vol. I., p1.
^ Martial, Epigrams, XI:53 (ed. & trans. D. R. Shackleton Bailey, Harvard University Press, 1993)
^ Martial, Epigrams IV:13
^ Baronius, Annales Ecclesiastici, Antwerp, 1614; Archbishop James Ussher (1637), British Ecclesiastical Antiquities, Oxford; Cardinal Michael Alford (1663), Annales Ecclesiae Britannicae: Regia Fides, Vol 1; Williams, J. (1848)(Archdeacon), contributor John Abraham, Claudia and Pudens, Herauld
^ 2 Timothy 4:21 - "Eubulus saluteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren."
^ George Jowett, The Drama of the Lost Disciples, Covenant Books, 1961

Dio Cassius Cocceianus (c. ... For the battle of the Second Anglo-Dutch War, see raid on the Medway. ... Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (c. ... The Annals, or, in Latin, Annales, is a history book by Tacitus covering the reign of the 4 Roman Emperors succeeding to Caesar Augustus. ... Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson was a linguist and phonologist and a translator who specialized in the Brythonic languages. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. ... Geoffrey of Monmouths Historia Regum BritanniÃ¦ (English: The History of the Kings of Britain) was written around 1136. ... Lewis Thorpe, Professor of French at the University of Nottingham, translator, and husband of the Italian scholar and lexicographer Barbara Reynolds. ... Frontispiece depicting Juvenal and Persius, from a volume translated by John Dryden in 1711. ... The Mabinogion is a collection of prose stories from medieval Welsh manuscripts. ... Iolo Morganwg (or Morgannwg in modern spelling; pronounced ) was the bardic name of Edward Williams (Llancarfan, Glamorgan, Wales 1747-1826), an influential antiquarian, poet, collector and literary forger. ... Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (c. ... The Annals, or, in Latin, Annales, is a history book by Tacitus covering the reign of the 4 Roman Emperors succeeding to Caesar Augustus. ... Father John Lingard (1771-1851) was a Roman Catholic priest and the author of The History Of England, From the First Invasion by the Romans to the Accession of Henry VIII, an 8-volume work published in 1819. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Archbishop James Ussher (1581-1656) James Ussher (sometimes spelled Usher) (4 January 1581â€“21 March 1656) was Anglican Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625â€“1656 and a prolific religious scholar who most famously published a chronology which calculated the date of Creation as 4004 BC. // Ussher... Michael Alford (1587-11 August 1652) was a English Jesuit missionary. ... The three pastoral epistles are books of the canonical New Testament: the First Epistle to Timothy (1 Timothy) the Second Epistle to Timothy (2 Timothy), and the Epistle to Titus. ...

Contents