CHAPTER I.
1. The shore of Gaul would be the boundary of the world, did not the island[353] of Britain claim from its magnitude almost the appellation of another world; for if measured to the Caledonian promontory[354] it extends more than eight hundred miles in length.[355]
2. Britain was first called by the ancients Albion,[356] from its _white_ cliffs; and afterwards in the language of the natives, Britain. Hence all the islands hereafter described were denominated British.[357]
3. Britain is situated between the north and west,[358] opposite to, though at some distance from, Germany, Gaul, and Spain, the most considerable parts of Europe, and is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean.
4. On the south of Britain lies Belgic Gaul, from which coast passengers usually sail to the Rhutupian port.[359] This place is distant from Gessoriacum,[360] a town of the Morini, the port most frequented by the Britons, fifty miles, or according to others, four hundred and fifty stadia. From thence may be seen the country of the Britons whom Virgil in his Eclogues describes as separated from the whole world,--
"--penitus toto divisos orbe Britannos."
5. By Agrippa, an ancient geographer, its breadth is estimated at three hundred miles; but with more truth by Bede at two hundred, exclusive of the promontories.[361] If their sinuosities be taken into the computation, its circuit will be three thousand six hundred miles. Marcian, a Greek author, agrees with me in stating it at MDI[OO]LXXV.[362]
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 353: The early Greeks and Romans doubted whether Britain was an island, or part of the continent. This uncertainty gave rise to a controversy which was not settled till the time of the proprætor Julius Agricola.--_Tac. Vit. Agric. c._ 38. _Dio. Cass. Hist. Rom. lib._ 39.]
[Footnote 354: Dunnet Head.]
[Footnote 355: Richard gives too great an extent to our island, which, according to the most accurate observations, stretches only from lat. 49° 48', the most southern point, to Dunnet Head, which is in lat. 58° 40' or scarcely 540 geographical miles.]
[Footnote 356: Various explanations have been given of the names of Albion and Britain, applied to our island. Some derive Albion from the white rocks which bound the coast; some from Albion, a son of Neptune, who is represented as its first discoverer and cultivator; others have likewise derived the name Britain from the Phoenician or Hebrew _Baratanac_, signifying the land of tin. It was also called by the natives, _Hyperborea_, _Atlantica_, _Cassiteris_, _Romana_, and _Thule_.
According to the British Triads, "the three names given to the isle of Britain, from the beginning, were: before it was inhabited, the name of _Clas Merddyn_ (or the green spot defended by water); after it was inhabited, _Y Vêl Ynys_ (the honey island); and, after it was brought under one government by Prydain, son of Aedd, it was called _Ynys Prydain_ (or the isle of Britain)."
In some old writings it is also termed, _Yr Ynys Wen_, (or the white island.)]
[Footnote 357: This part is taken from Pliny, who enumerates the British isles in the following order:--Orcades, 40; Acmodæ, 7; Hæbudes, 30. Between Britain and Ireland, Mona, Menapia, Ricnea, Vectis, Silimnus, Andros; beneath, Siambis and Axuntos: on the opposite side, towards the German Sea, the Glessariæ, called Electrides by the later Greek writers, from the amber found there: and last of all, Thule.
He refers to others mentioned by different authors, viz., Mictis, Scandia, Dumnia, Bergos, and Nerigos.]
[Footnote 358: That is, from Rome. Richard, in copying the Roman writers, adopted their expressions in regard to the relative positions of places.]
[Footnote 359: Richborough, Kent.]
[Footnote 360: Boulogne.]
[Footnote 361: Richard errs in supposing the estimation of Bede more accurate than that of Agrippa.]
[Footnote 362: The numerals are here so incorrect that it is difficult to discover what number was meant by Richard. Marcian observes that the circuit of our island is not more than 28,604 stadia, or 3575 miles, nor less than 20,526, or 2576 miles. Hence Bertram is led to prefer the greater number.]
CHAP. II.
1. Albion, called by Chrysostom Great Britain, is, according to Cæsar, of a triangular shape, resembling Sicily. One of the sides lies opposite to Celtic Gaul. One angle of this side, which is the Cantian promontory,[363] is situated to the east; the other, the Ocrinian promontory,[364] in the country of the Damnonii, faces the south and the province of Tarraconensis in Spain. This side is about five hundred miles in length.
2. Another side stretches towards Ireland and the west, the length of which, according to the opinion of the ancients, is seven hundred miles.
3. The third side is situated to the north, and is opposite to no land except a few islands;[365] but the angle of this side chiefly trends towards Germania Magna.[366] The length from the Novantian Chersonesus,[367] through the country of the Taixali, to the Cantian promontory,[368] is estimated at eight hundred miles. Thus all erroneously compute the circuit of the island to be two thousand miles; for from the Cantian promontory to Ocrinum,[369] the distance is four hundred miles; from thence to Novantum, a thousand; and from thence to the Cantian promontory, two thousand two hundred. The circumference of the whole island is therefore three thousand six hundred miles.[370]
4. Livy and Fabius Rusticus compare the form of Britain to an oblong shield or battle-axe; and as, according to Tacitus, it bears that figure on the side of Caledonia, the comparison was extended to the whole island, though the bold promontories at its further extremity give it the shape of a wedge. But Cæsar and Pomponius Mela assert that its form is triangular.
5. If credit may be given to the celebrated geographer Ptolemy and his contemporary writers, the island resembles an inverted Z,[371] but according to the maps the comparison is not exact. The triangular shape, however, seems to belong to England alone.[372]
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 363: North Foreland.]
[Footnote 364: Lizard Point.]
[Footnote 365: The Orkney and Shetland isles.]
[Footnote 366: Under this name the ancients comprised not only Germany proper but Denmark, Norway, &c.]
[Footnote 367: Rens of Galloway.]
[Footnote 368: North Foreland.]
[Footnote 369: Lizard Point.]
[Footnote 370: Bertram has endeavoured to reconcile the various and discordant calculations given by different ancient authors of the circuit of our island. On such vague principles as these estimations are made, it would be almost impossible, even now, for two persons to produce the same result.]
[Footnote 371: Ptolemy's expression is obscure; but he was evidently led to this supposition by the notion that Caledonia or Scotland trended to the east, as appears from his latitudes and longitudes. This form, therefore, he not unaptly compares to the inverted Z. It would be a trespass on the patience of the reader to attempt to reconcile what is irreconcilable.]
[Footnote 372: These words are chiefly taken from Tacitus. The obscurity of the expression and the absurdity of the comparison, will sufficiently show the ignorance of those ancients whose works have reached the present time, in regard to our island.--_Tacit. Vit. Agricolæ, sec. 10._]
CHAP. III.
1. The original inhabitants of Britain, whether indigenous or foreign, are, like those of most other countries, unknown. The Jews alone, and by their means the contiguous nations, have the happiness of tracing their descent since the creation of the world from undoubted documents.
2. From the difference of personal appearance different conjectures have been drawn. The red hair and large limbs of the Caledonians proclaim their German origin; the painted faces and curled locks of the Silures, and their situation opposite to Spain, corroborate the assertion of Tacitus, that the ancient Iberians passed over and occupied this country and Ireland. Those who live nearest the Gauls resemble them, either from the strength of the original stock, or from the effects which the same positions of the heavens produce on the human body.
3. If I were inclined to indulge a conjecture, I might here mention that the Veneti[373] in their commercial expeditions first introduced inhabitants and religion into this country. Writers are not wanting, who assert that Hercules came hither and established a sovereignty. But it is needless to dwell on such remote antiquities and idle tales.[374]
4. On the whole, however, it is probable that the Gauls occupied the contiguous regions. According to Tacitus, their sacred rites and superstitions may be traced; nor is the language very different; and lastly, the tradition of the druids, with the names of the states which still retain the same appellations as the people sprung from the cities of Gaul, who came hither and began to cultivate the country.[375]
5. According to Cæsar, the country was extremely populous, and contained numerous buildings, not dissimilar to those of the Gauls. It was rich in cattle.
6. The inhabitants of the southern part were the most civilized, and in their customs differed little from the Gauls. Those of the more distant parts did not raise corn; but lived on fruits and flesh. They were ignorant of the use of wool and garments, although in severe weather they covered themselves with the skins of sheep or deer. They were accustomed to bathe in the rivers.
7. All the Britons formerly stained their bodies of a blue colour, which according to Cæsar gave them a more terrible appearance in battle. They wore their hair long, and shaved all parts of the body except the head and the upper lip.
8. Ten or twelve Britons had their wives in common; and this custom particularly prevailed among brethren, and between fathers and sons; but the children were considered as belonging to him who had first taken the virgin to wife. The mothers suckled their own children, and did not employ maids and nurses.
9. According to Cæsar also they used brass money, and iron rings of a certain weight instead of coin.[376]
10. The Britons deemed it unlawful to eat hares,[377] fowls, or geese; but they kept those animals for pleasure.
11. They had pearls, bits made of ivory, bracelets, vessels of amber and glass, agates, and, what surpasses all, great abundance of tin.
12. They navigated in barks, the keels and ribs of which were formed of light materials; the other parts were made of wicker and covered with the hides of oxen.[378] During their voyages, as Solinus asserts, they abstain from food.[379]
13. Britain produces people and kings of people, as Pomponius Mela writes in his third book; but they are all uncivilized, and in proportion as they are more distant from the continent, are more ignorant of riches; their wealth consisting chiefly in cattle and land. They are addicted to litigation and war, and frequently attack each other, from a desire of command, and of enlarging their possessions. It is customary indeed for the Britons to wage war under the guidance of women, and not to regard the difference of sex in the distribution of power.
14. The Britons not only fought on foot and on horseback, but in chariots drawn by two horses, and armed in the Gallic manner. Those chariots, to the axle-trees of which scythes were fixed, were called _covini_, or wains.
15. Cæsar relates that they employed cavalry in their wars, which before the coming of the Romans were almost perpetual. All were skilled in war; each in proportion to his family and wealth supported a number of retainers, and this was the only species of honour with which they were acquainted.[380]
16. The principal strength of the Britons was in their infantry, who fought with darts, large swords, and short targets. According to Tacitus, their swords were blunt at the point.
17. Cæsar in his fourth book thus describes their mode of fighting in that species of chariots called _essedæ_.[381] At first they drove through the army in all directions, hurling their darts; and by the terror of the horses, and the noise of the wheels, generally threw the ranks of the enemy into disorder. When they had penetrated between the troops of cavalry, they leaped from their chariots and waged unequal war on foot. Meanwhile the chariots were drawn up at a distance from the battle, and placed in such a position, that if pressed by the enemy, the warriors could effect a retreat to their own army. They thus displayed the rapid evolutions of cavalry, and the firmness of infantry, and were so expert by exercise, as to hold up the horses in steep descents, to check and turn them suddenly at full speed, to run along the pole, stand on the yoke, and then spring into the chariot.
18. The mode of fighting on horseback threatened equal danger to those who gave way, or those who pursued. They never engaged in close lines, but in scattered bodies, and with great intervals; they had their appointed stations, and relieved each other by turns; and fresh combatants succeeded those who were fatigued. The cavalry also used darts.
19. It is not easy to determine the form of government in Britain previous to the coming of the Romans. It is however certain that before their times there was no vestige of a monarchy, but rather of a democracy, unless perhaps it may seem to have resembled an aristocracy.[382] The authority of the Druids in affairs of the greatest moment was considerable. Some chiefs are commemorated in their ancient records, yet these appear to have possessed no permanent power; but to have been created, like the Roman dictators, in times of imminent danger. Nor are instances wanting among them, as among other brave nations, when they chose even the leader of their adversaries to conduct their armies. He, therefore, who before was their enemy, afterwards fought on their side.
20. The Britons exceeded in stature both the Gauls and the Romans. Strabo affirms that he saw at Rome some British youths, who were considerably taller than the Romans.
21. The more wealthy inhabitants of South Britain were accustomed to ornament the middle finger of the left hand with a gold ring; but a gold collar[383] round the neck was the distinguishing mark of eminence. Those of the northern regions, who were the indigenous inhabitants of the island from time immemorial, were almost wholly ignorant of the use of clothes, and surrounded their waists and necks, as Herodian reports, with iron rings, which they considered as ornaments and proofs of wealth. They carried a narrow shield, fitter for use than ornament, and a lance, with a sword pendant from their naked and painted bodies. They rejected or despised the breast-plate and helmet, because such armour impeded their passage through the marshes.
22. Among other particulars, this custom prevailed in Britain. They stopped travellers and merchants, and compelled them to relate what they had heard, or knew, worthy of notice. The common people usually surrounded foreign merchants in the towns, and obliged them to tell from whence they came, and what curious things they had observed. On such vague reports they often rashly acted, and thus were generally deceived; for many answered them agreeably to their desires with fictitious stories.[384]
23. Their interments were magnificent; and all things which they prized during life, even arms and animals, were thrown into the funeral pile. A heap of earth and turf formed the sepulchre.[385]
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 373: The Veneti, a tribe seated on the coast of Armorica or Bretagne, distinguished for their maritime power, and with whom Cæsar waged war. Their territory according to his description, was part of Celtic Gaul, and the present Vannes was their capital.]
[Footnote 374: To these conjectures relative to the original inhabitants, and subsequent colonists of Britain, it may not be uninteresting to add the accounts preserved in the Welsh Triads.
The historical Triads record that the first colonists of Britain were _Cymry_, who originally came from _Defrobani Gwlad Yr Hav_, the summer land, or Tauric Chersonesus. There they have left many traces of their name preserved by ancient authors, among which we may instance the Cimmerian Bosphorus.
Subsequent colonists arrived from the neighbouring continent at various times. The _Loegrwys_ (Loegrians) from Gascogne; the _Brython_ from _Lydaw_ (Britanny), who were descendants from the original stock of the _Cymry_. Two descents are also mentioned in Albin, or North Britain; one called the tribe of _Celyddon_, the other the primitive _Gwyddelians_. Another descent is said to have been made in the south, in _Ynys-Wyth_, or the Isle of Wight, by the men of _Galedin_ (the Belgæ), when their native country was inundated. Another colony called the _Corani_ came from the country of the _Pwyl_ (Poland), and settled on the sea coast, about the river Humber. A descent in Albin, or North Britain, of a colony of _Gwyddelian Ficti_ [Irish Picts], who are described as coming from the sea of _Loclyn_ (the Baltic); and a partial settlement of the men of _Loclyn_ (Scandinavians), who were expelled after remaining for three generations. The arrival of the Romans and Saxons is also mentioned, as well as some partial settlements of Gwyddelians from Ireland.]
[Footnote 375: We discover a few cities in Gaul, bearing nearly the same appellations as those of Britain; and in both countries we find the Atrebates, the Morini, the Ædui, the Senones, the Menapii, and the Rhemi.]
[Footnote 376: The natives of China and Japan follow a similar custom in regard to gold and silver, which are not coined, but pass according to weight.]
[Footnote 377: It seems that they considered the appearance of a hare a fortunate omen; for the Roman historians observe that Boadicea, after haranguing her troops, let loose a hare which she had concealed in her garments.]
[Footnote 378: This species of boat is still used on the Welsh rivers, and is called a coricle in English, and _cwch_ in Welsh. It is so light that a man may carry one on his back.]
[Footnote 379: Richard has mistaken the sense of Solinus, who, in describing the passage from Great Britain to Ireland, observes that from its shortness they abstained from food. "Navigantes escis abstinent, pro freti latitudine." C. 25.]
[Footnote 380: In all periods the Britons seem to have been divided into numerous petty communities or states, headed by chiefs, who are here dignified with the title of kings. From the jealousies and weakness attending such a state of society, the island first became a prey to the Romans, and afterwards to the Saxons; and when the Britons were confined to the mountains of Wales, the same causes hastened the annexation of their country to England.]
[Footnote 381: In the early ages chariots were universally used in war. In the Scriptures they are frequently mentioned as forming the principal strength of an army; and the mode of fighting in chariots among the Greeks and Trojans, according to the description of Homer, was exactly similar to that of the Britons. The steeds of his heroes were
"Practised alike to stop, to turn, to chase, To dare the shock, or urge the rapid race."
His warriors sometimes drive through the ranks of the enemy, sometimes fight from their chariots, and sometimes alight and maintain the combat on foot, while their chariots retire to the rear.
"This counsel pleased, the godlike Hector sprung Swift from his seat; his clanging armour rung. The chief's example follow'd by his train, Each quits his car and issues on the plain; By orders strict the charioteers enjoin'd Compel the coursers to their ranks behind."
The Britons, however, appear to have devised an improvement in this mode of warfare, which was unknown to the Greeks. Their chariots seem to have been of two kinds, the _covini_ or wains, heavy and armed with scythes, to break the thickest order of the enemy; and the _essedæ_, a lighter kind, adapted probably to situations and circumstances in which the _covini_ could not act, and occasionally performing the duties of cavalry. The _essedæ_, with the cavalry, were pushed forward to oppose the first landing of Cæsar; and Cassivellaunus afterwards left 4000 _essedæ_ as a corps of observation to watch his movements.--_Cæsar. Comment. lib._ 5, sec. 15.]
[Footnote 382: The government of the ancient Britons may be denominated patriarchal. Each community was governed by its elders; and every individual who could not prove his kindred to some community, through nine descents, and the same number of collateral affinities, was not considered as a freeman. Beyond this degree of kindred, they were formed into new communities. The elders of the different communities were subordinate to the elders of the tribes. But in times of public danger, as is recorded in the Triads, some chief of distinguished abilities was entrusted with the supreme authority over the tribes or communities, who united in common defence--Such were Caswallon (Cassivellaunus), Caradwg (Caractacus), and Owain, son of Macsen.]
[Footnote 383: This _torques_, chain, or rather wreath, is frequently alluded to by the early British bards.
"Yet in the battle of Arderydd I wore the _golden torques_" _Merddin Avellanaw._
"Four and twenty sons I have had Wearing the _golden wreath_, leaders of armies." _Llywarch Hên._
"Of all who went to Cattraeth, wearing the _golden torc or wreath_." _Aneurin._
The same bard states that in the battle of Cattraeth were three hundred and sixty who wore the _golden torques_.
We give a description of one of these ornaments found near the castle of Harlech, in Merionethshire, in 1692. "It is a wreathed bar of gold, or perhaps three or four rods jointly twisted, about four feet long, but naturally bending only one way, in the form of a hatband. It is hooked at both ends. It is of a round form, about an inch in circumference, and weighs eight ounces."--_Gibson's Camden_, p. 658.
Another mark of dignity was a string of amber beads worn round the head. To this Aneurin alludes--
"With wreaths of _amber_ twined round his temples."
These beads have been frequently found in tumuli, particularly in those on Salisbury Plain.--See _Turner's Vindication of the Welsh Bards.--Owen's Elegies of Llywarch Hên_.]
[Footnote 384: This is Cæsar's account of a Gallic custom; but it is applied, not without reason, to the Britons, and indeed is equally applicable to all uncivilized people.]
[Footnote 385: As the classic authors have left us no description of the modes of interment among the Britons, Richard was induced, by the conformity of their manners and customs to those of the Gauls, to adopt the words used by Cæsar in his account of the Gallic funerals. Unfortunately the remains of the British bards afford little assistance in supplying this deficiency. It appears, however, that the Britons raised tumuli over their dead, and continued the practice till after the introduction of Christianity; and that their other modes of interment were the _carned_, or heap of stones; the _cistvaen_, or stone chest; and perhaps the _cromlec_, or hanging stone. From a curious fragment commemorating the graves of the British warriors, which is printed in the first volume of the Welch Archæology, we learn further, that they buried their dead on the top of hills and lofty cliffs, on declivities, in heaths and secluded valleys, on the banks and near the fords of rivers, and on the sea-shore "where the ninth wave breaks." Allusions are also made to corresponding stones raised on these graves; and it is said, "the _long_ graves in Gwanas, no one knows to whom they belong nor what is their history."
As the modes of interment among all early nations were in many respects similar, there is perhaps no part of our national antiquities which has given scope to so much conjecture as this. The reader who is desirous of more particular information relative to this subject, may at least find amusement in consulting the works of Stukeley, Douglas's _Nenia Britannica_, the _Archæologia_, and various accounts scattered in different periodical publications.]
CHAP. IV.
1. All the Britons, like the Gauls, were much addicted to superstitious ceremonies; and those who laboured under severe disorders, or were exposed to the dangers of war, either offered human victims, or made a vow to perform such a sacrifice.
2. The druids were employed in the performance of these cruel rites; and they believed that the gods could not be appeased unless the life of a man was ransomed with human blood. Hence arose the public institution of such sacrifices; and those who had been surprised in theft, robbery, or any other delinquency, were considered as the most acceptable victims. But when criminals could not be obtained, even the innocent were put to death, that the gods might be appeased.
3. The sacred ceremonies could not be performed except in the presence of the druids; and on them devolved the office of providing for the public as well as private rites. They were the guardians of religion and the interpreters of mysteries; and being skilled in medicine, were consulted for the preservation or restoration of health.
4. Among their gods, the principal object of their worship was Mercury.[386] Next to him they adored justice (under the name of Astarte), then Apollo, and Mars (who was called Vitucadrus), Jupiter, Minerva, Hercules, Victory (called Andate), Diana, Cybele, and Pluto. Of these deities they held the same opinions as other nations.
5. The Britons, like the Gauls, endeavoured to derive their origin from Dis or Pluto, boasting of this ancient tradition of the druids. For this reason they divided time, not by the number of days, but of nights, and thus distinguished the commencement of the month, and the time of their birth. This custom agrees with the ancient mode of computation adopted in Genesis, chapter i.[387]
6. The druids, being held in high veneration, were greatly followed by the young men for the sake of their instructions. They decided almost all public and private controversies, and determined disputes relative to inheritance or the boundaries of lands. They decreed rewards and punishments, and enforced their decisions by an exclusion from the sacrifices. This exclusion was deemed the severest punishment; because the interdicted, being deemed impious and wicked, were shunned as if contagious; justice was refused to their supplications, and they were allowed no marks of honour.[388]
7. Over the druids presided a chief, vested with supreme authority. At his death he was succeeded by the next in dignity; but if there were several of equal rank, the contest was decided by the suffrages of their body; and sometimes they even contended in arms for this honour.[389]
8. The druids went not to war, paid no tribute like the rest of the people, were exempted from military duties, and enjoyed immunities in all things. From these high privileges many either voluntarily entered into their order, or were placed in it by friends or parents.
9. They learned a number of verses, which were the only kind of memorials or annals in use among them.[390] Some persons accordingly remained twenty years under their instruction, which they did not deem it lawful to commit to writing, though on other subjects they employed the Greek alphabet. "This custom," to use the words of Julius Cæsar, "seems to have been adopted for two reasons: first, not to expose their doctrines to the common people; and, secondly, lest their scholars, trusting to letters, should be less anxious to remember their precepts; for such assistance commonly diminishes application, and weakens the memory."
10. In the first place they circulated the doctrine that souls do not die, but migrate into other bodies.[391] By this principle they hoped men would be more powerfully actuated to virtue, and delivered from the fear of death. They likewise instructed students in the knowledge of the heavenly bodies, in geography, the nature of things, and the power of the gods.[392]
11. Their admiration of the mistletoe must not be omitted. The druids esteemed nothing more sacred than the mistletoe, and the tree on which it grew, if an oak. They particularly delighted in groves of oaks,[393] and performed no sacred rite without branches of that tree, and hence seems to be derived their name of druids, [Greek: Druides]. Whatever grew on an oak was considered as sent from heaven, and as a sign that the tree was chosen by God himself. The mistletoe was difficult to be found, and when discovered was gathered with religious ceremonies, particularly at the sixth day of the moon (from which period they dated their months and years, and their cycle of thirty years,) because the moon was supposed to possess extraordinary powers when she had not completed her second quarter. The mistletoe was called in their language _all heal_.[394] The sacrifice and the feast being duly prepared under the tree, they led thither two white bulls, whose horns were then bound for the first time.[395] The priest, clothed in a white vestment, ascending the tree, cut off the mistletoe with a golden bill, and received it in a white cloth. They then slew the victims, invoking the favour of the Deity on their offering. They conceived that the mistletoe cured sterility in animals; and considered it as a specific against all poisons. So great was the superstition generally prevailing among nations with respect to frivolous objects.
13. At a certain time of the year the druids retired to a consecrated grove in the island of Mona, whither all persons among whom controversies had arisen, repaired for the decision of their disputes.
14. Besides the druids, there were among the Gauls and Britons poets, called bards,[396] who sang in heroic measures the deeds of the gods and heroes, accompanied with the sweet notes of the lyre.
15. Concerning the druids and bards, I shall conclude this chapter in the words of Lucan:--
"You too, ye bards! whom sacred raptures fire. To chant your heroes to your country's lyre; Who consecrate, in your immortal strain, Brave patriot souls, in righteous battle slain, Securely now the tuneful task renew, And noblest themes in deathless songs pursue. The druids now, while arms are heard no more, Old mysteries and barbarous rites restore, A tribe who singular religion love, And haunt the lonely coverts of the grove. To these, and these of all mankind alone, The gods are sure revealed or sure unknown. If dying mortals' doom they sing aright, No ghosts descend to dwell in dreadful night; No parting souls to grisly Pluto go, Nor seek the dreary silent shades below; But forth they fly immortal in their kind, And other bodies in new worlds they find; Thus life for ever runs its endless race, And like a line death but divides the space, A stop which can but for a moment last, A point between the future and the past. Thrice happy they beneath their northern skies, Who that worst fear--the fear of death--despise Hence they no cares for this frail being feel, But rush undaunted on the pointed steel; Provoke approaching fate, and bravely scorn To spare that life which must so soon return." _Rowe's Lucan_, book i.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 386: This passage has puzzled the British antiquaries, because it militates against the grand principle of the druidic theology, and because, as they assert, no traces of the Greek or Roman deities are found among the early Britons. Possibly some of the British tribes might have brought this mode of worship from Gaul; but more probably the assertion was derived from the misconception of the ancient authors themselves, who gave the names of their own deities to the objects of adoration distinguished by similar attributes in other countries. The account is borrowed from Cæsar's description of the Gauls, lib. vi. § 15.]
[Footnote 387: "And the _evening_ and the morning were the first day," &c. ver. 5. We also still say a se'n_night_, a fortnight.]
[Footnote 388: Like the excommunication of the catholic church.]
[Footnote 389: Such a custom would contravene the principles of the druidic or bardic system, which prohibited them from using arms. The remark seems to have been extended to a general application by Richard, from a single instance recorded by Cæsar, of a druidic election in Gaul thus decided.]
[Footnote 390: According to the opinion of the Welsh antiquaries, the system of druidical knowledge forms the basis of the Triads. If this be the case, it must be confessed that the bards possessed a profound knowledge of human nature, uncommon critical sagacity, and a perfect acquaintance with the harmony of language and the properties of metre. For example, the subjects of the poetical Triads are,
The Welsh language. Fancy and invention. The design of poetry. Nature of just thinking. Rules of arrangement. Rules of description. Variety of matter and invention. Rules of composition; comprising the laws of verse, rhyme, stanzas, consonancy or alliteration, and accent.
We quote a few of these Triads to show their nature and structure.
The three qualifications of poetry;--endowment of genius, judgment from experience, and happiness of mind.
The three foundations of judgment;--bold design, frequent practice, and frequent mistakes.
The three foundations of learning;--seeing much, suffering much, and studying much.
The three foundations of happiness;--a suffering with contentment, a hope that it will come, and a belief that it will be.
The three foundations of thought;--perspicuity, amplitude, and justness.
The three canons of perspicuity;--the word that is necessary, the quantity that is necessary, and the manner that is necessary.
The three canons of amplitude;--appropriate thought, variety of thought, and requisite thought.]
[Footnote 391: According to the Triads, the theology of the bards was pure monotheism. They taught also the transmigration of souls; believing that the soul passed by death through all the gradations of animal life, from Anoom, the bottomless abyss, or lowest degree of animation, up to the highest degree of spiritual existence next to the Supreme Being. Human nature was considered as the middle point of this scale. As this was a state of liberty, in which the soul could attach itself to either good or evil; if evil predominated, it was after death obliged to retrace its former transmigrations from a point in the animal creation equal to its turpitude, and it again and again became man till it was attached to good. Above humanity, though it might again animate the body of man, it was incapable of relapse; but continued progressively rising to a degree of goodness and happiness, inferior only to the Deity.
It is remarkable that many singular points of coincidence have been discovered in comparing the religious system of the Hindoos with that of the ancient Britons; and in the languages of these two people some striking similarities occur in those proverbs and forms of expression which are derived from national customs and religious ceremonies.]
[Footnote 392: This account of the druids, like some of the preceding paragraphs, is borrowed from Cæsar's description of the Gauls.]
[Footnote 393: Gen. xxi. 33.]
[Footnote 394: The worship and religious ceremonies of the druids have formed the subject of many and voluminous dissertations; and the mistletoe, from its connection with their sacred rites, is a plant that has always been interesting to antiquaries. In a letter recently received by the editor from the learned and scientific Professor of Botany, Dr. Daubeny, of Magdalen College, Oxford, that gentleman observes, that though the mistletoe is occasionally found on the oak in Britain, yet this occurs so rarely that it is difficult to suppose the druids could have got a supply for their purposes from such a source.
"There is a plant nearly allied to the mistletoe, the Loranthus Europæus, which grows freely on the oak, when it occurs; but unfortunately the most western locality known is the garden of Schoenbrunn near Vienna, but out of the limits, I believe, within which the druidical worship existed: it is very uncommon in Hungary.
"This circumstance has given rise to an hypothesis, which I may repeat without attaching to it any very great importance, namely, that the Loranthus is the mistletoe of the druids, and that when the druidical worship was exterminated, this plant, as being introduced into their rites, was extirpated from all those parts of Europe, where the druids were known."
The oak among the ancient Britons was peculiarly sacred as the place of worship, and consequently branches of this tree were used to adorn the altar, and garlands of its leaves to decorate the priest or druid; and the mistletoe, being so seldom found on the oak, was considered so great and desirable an appendage, that no solemn festival was held without it. It has been observed by naturalists that the blossom of the mistletoe falls within a few days of the summer solstice, and the berry within a few days of the winter solstice. These incidents therefore marked the return of two of the usual seasons for holding the bardic conventions and festivals. When the sacrifice was over, the berries of this plant were taken by the ovate, the physician of the tribe, and converted to medical purposes. That these berries possessed medicinal virtues can hardly be doubted. The following passage respecting this sacred plant occurs in Bacon:--"Mistletoe groweth chiefly upon crab trees, apple trees, sometimes upon hazels, and rarely upon oaks; the mistletoe whereof is counted very medicinal. It is ever green, winter and summer, and beareth a white glistening berry: and it is a plant utterly differing from the plant on which it groweth."
Sir John Colbach published a Dissertation on the efficacy of the mistletoe in 1720; but in medicine, as in fashion, what is deemed of high value in one age is discontinued in the next, and thought nothing of. Such is the fate of the mistletoe in the present day as to any medicinal use that is made of it.]
[Footnote 395: As the plough was fastened to the horns of the beasts, this expression signifies that the animal had never been employed in labour.
The doctrine of the druids is said to have been first invented in Britain, and from thence carried into Gaul; on which account Pliny says (in his thirtieth book), "But why should I commemorate these things with regard to an art which has passed over the sea, and reached the bounds of nature? Britain even at this time celebrates it with so many wonderful ceremonies, that she seems to have taught it to the Persians." Julius Cæsar affirms the same in his Commentaries: "And now those persons who wish to acquire a more extensive knowledge of such things, repair to Britain for information."
It is a singular coincidence of circumstances that bulls perfectly white were sacrificed by the Egyptians to Apis. When such an animal was found unblemished, and without a single black hair, the priest tied a fillet about his horns, and sealed it with the signet of his ring; it being a capital crime to sacrifice one of these animals except it was thus marked.--_Herodotus._]
[Footnote 396: According to the Welsh antiquaries, these distinctions are erroneous. The druidical, or rather bardic, system consisted of three classes: the bard proper, whose province was philosophy and poetry; the druid, or minister of religion; and the ovate, or mechanic and artist. For a curious account of the bardic system and institutions the reader is referred to the Introduction to Owen's Translations of the Elegies of Llywarch Hên.]
CHAP. V.
1. This island is rich in corn and wood, is well adapted for the maintenance of flocks and cattle, and in some places produces vines. It also abounds with marine and land birds, and contains copious springs, and numerous rivers, stored with fish, and plentifully supplied with salmon and eels.
2. Sea-cows or seals,[397] and dolphins are caught, and whales, of which mention is made by the satirist:
"Quanto delphinis balæna Britannica major."
3. There are besides several sorts of shell-fish, among which are muscles, containing pearls often of the best kind, and of every colour: that is, red, purple, violet, green (_prasini_), but principally white, as we find in the venerable Bede's Ecclesiastical History.
4. Shells[398] are still more abundant, from which is prepared a scarlet dye of the most beautiful hue, which never fades from the effect of the sun or rain, but becomes finer as it grows older.
5. In Britain are salt and warm springs, from which are formed hot baths, suited to all ages, with distinct places for the two sexes.[399]
6. White lead is found in the midland regions, and iron in the maritime, but in small quantities gold and silver are also produced, but brass is imported. Jet of the purest quality abounds; it is of a shining black, and highly inflammable.[400] When burned, it drives away serpents, and when warmed by friction attracts bodies, like amber.
7. Britain being situated almost under the north pole, the nights are so light in summer, that it is often doubtful whether the evening or morning twilight prevails; because the sun, in returning to the east, does not long remain below the horizon. Hence, also, according to Cleomenes, the longest day in summer, and the longest night in winter, when the sun declines towards the south, is eighteen hours; and the shortest night in summer, and day in winter, is six hours. In the same manner as in Armenia, Macedon, Italy, and the regions under the same parallel, the longest day is fifteen, and the shortest nine hours.
8. But I have given a sufficient account of Britain and the Britons in general. I shall now descend to particulars; and in the succeeding pages, shall describe the state and revolutions of the different nations who inhabited this island, the cities which ennobled it, with other particulars, and their condition under the Roman dominion.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 397: We do not find that Pennant mentions, among the amphibious animals, the _Vituli Marini_, by which Richard probably meant seals.]
[Footnote 398: Richard calls these shells _Cochleæ_, or snails, though he probably alludes to the species styled by naturalists _Murea_, which contained the famous Tyrian purple, so much valued by the ancients. Yet, whatever our island may have formerly produced, we discern no traces in later ages, of any testaceous animal yielding a purple or scarlet dye.]
[Footnote 399: Richard here doubtless principally alludes to Bath, the Aquæ Solis of the ancients.]
[Footnote 400: This substance appears to have been wrought into ornaments for the person. In the barrows, jet beads of a long elliptical form were found, together with others of amber, and a coarse blue glass.]
CHAP. VI.
1. Britain, according to the most accurate and authentic accounts of the ancients, was divided into seven parts, six of which were at different times subjected to the Roman empire, and the seventh held by the uncivilized Caledonians.
2. These divisions were called Britannia Prima, Secunda, Flavia, Maxima, Valentia, and Vespasiana, which last did not long remain under the power of the Romans. Britannia Prima is separated by the river Thamesis from Flavia, and by the sea[401] from Britannia Secunda. Flavia begins from the German Ocean, is bounded by the Thamesis,[402] by the Sabrina,[403] on the side of the Silures and Ordovices, and trends towards the north and the region of the Brigantes.[404] Maxima, beginning at the extreme boundary of Flavia, reaches to the wall,[405] which traverses the whole island, and faces the north. Valentia occupies the whole space between this wall and that built by the emperor Antoninus Pius, from the estuary of the Bdora[406] to that of the Clydda.[407] Vespasiana stretches from the estuary of the Bdora to the city of Alcluith,[408] from whence a line drawn to the mouth of the Varar[409] shows the boundary. Britannia Secunda faces the Irish Sea to the north and west. But sufficient notice has now been taken of the provinces.
3. Before we proceed to a more minute description, let us touch upon the form of government. In remote times all Britain was divided among petty princes and states, some of whom are said to have existed after the country was occupied by the Romans; though, under the Roman domination, they retained scarcely the shadow of regal authority. A legate being appointed by the emperor over the conquered countries, Britain became a proconsular province. This form of government continued several ages, although in the meantime the island underwent many divisions, first into the Upper and Lower districts, and then, as we have before shown, into seven parts. It afterwards became the imperial residence of Carausius and those whom he admitted to a share of his power. Constantine the Great, the glory and defence of Christianity, is supposed to have raised Maxima and Valentia to consular provinces, and Prima, Secunda, and Flavia, to præsidials. But over the whole island was appointed a deputy-governor, under the authority of the prætorian prefect of Gaul. Besides whom, an ancient volume, written about that period, mentions a person of great dignity, by the title of _comes_, or count of the Britons, another as count of the Saxon coast, and a third as leader or duke of Britain; with many others, who, although possessed of great offices, must be passed over in silence, for want of certain information.[410]
4. I now commence my long journey, to examine minutely the whole island and its particular parts, and shall follow the footsteps of the best authors. I begin with the extreme part of the first province, whose coasts are opposite Gaul. This province contains three celebrated and powerful states, namely, Cantium, Belgium, and Damnonium, each of which in particular I shall carefully examine.
First of Cantium.
5. Cantium,[411] situated at the extremity of Britannia Prima, was inhabited by the Cantii, and contains the cities of Durobrobis[412] and Cantiopolis,[413] which was the metropolis, and the burial-place of St. Augustine, the apostle of the English; Dubræ,[414] Lemanus,[415] and Regulbium[416] garrisoned by the Romans; also their primary station Rhutupis,[417] which was colonized and became the metropolis, and where a haven was formed capable of containing the Roman fleet which commanded the North Sea. This city was of such celebrity that it gave the name of Rhutupine to the neighbouring shores; which Lucan,
"Aut vaga quum Thetis Rhutupinaque littora fervent."
From hence oysters of a large size and superior flavour were sent to Rome, as Juvenal observes,
"Circæis nata forent, an Lucrinum ad saxum, RHUTUPINOVE edita fundo Ostrea, callebat primo deprendere morsu."
It was the station of the second Augustan legion, under the count of the Saxon coast, a person of high distinction.
6. The kingdom of Cantium is watered by many rivers. The principal are Madus[418], Sturius,[419] Dubris,[420] and Lemanus,[421] which last separates the Cantii from the Bibroci.
7. Among the three principal promontories of Britain, that which derives its name from Cantium[422] is most distinguished. There the ocean, being confined in an angle, according to the tradition of the ancients, gradually forced its way, and formed the strait which renders Britain an island.
8. The vast forest called by some the Anderidan, and by others the Caledonian, stretches from Cantium a hundred and fifty miles, through the countries of the Bibroci and the Segontiaci, to the confines of the Hedui. It is thus mentioned by the poet Lucan:--
"Unde Caledoniis fallit turbata Britannos."
9. The Bibroci[423] were situated next to the Cantii, and, as some imagine, were subject to them. They were also called Rhemi, and are not unknown in record. They inhabited Bibrocum,[424] Regentium,[425] and Noviomagus,[426] which was their metropolis. The Romans held Anderida.[427]
10. On their confines, and bordering on the Thames, dwelt the Atrebates,[428] whose primary city was Calleba.[429]
11. Below them, nearer the river Kunetius,[430] lived the Segontiaci,[431] whose chief city was Vindonum.[432]
12. Below, towards the ocean, and bordering on the Bibroci, lived the Belgæ,[433] whose chief cities were Clausentum,[434] now called Southampton; Portus Magnus;[435] Venta,[436] a noble city situated upon the river Antona. Sorbiodunum[437] was garrisoned by the Romans. All the Belgæ are Allobroges, or foreigners, and derived their origin from the Belgæ and Celts. The latter, not many ages before the arrival of Cæsar, quitted their native country, Gaul, which was conquered by the Romans and Germans, and passed over to this island: the former, after crossing the Rhine, and occupying the conquered country, likewise sent out colonies, of which Cæsar has spoken more at large.[438]
13. All the regions south of the Thamesis[439] were, according to ancient records, occupied by the warlike nations of the Senones. These people, under the guidance of their renowned king Brennus, penetrated through Gaul, forced a passage over the Alps, hitherto deemed impracticable, and would have razed proud Rome, had not the fates, which seemed like to carry the republic in their bosom, till it reached its destined height of glory, averted the threatened calamity. By the cackle of a goose Manlius was warned of the danger, and hurled the barbarians from the capitol, in their midnight attack. The same protecting influence afterwards sent Camillus to his assistance, who, by assailing them in the rear, quenched the conflagration which they had kindled, in Senonic blood, and preserved the city from impending destruction. In consequence of this vast expedition, the land of the Senones,[440] being left without inhabitants, and full of spoils, was occupied by the above-mentioned Belgæ.
14. Near the Sabrina and below the Thamesis lived the Hedui,[441] whose principal cities were Ischalis[442] and Avalonia.[443] The baths,[444] which were also called Aquæ Solis, were made the seat of a colony, and became the perpetual residence of the Romans who possessed this part of Britain. This was a celebrated city, situated upon the river Abona, remarkable for its hot springs, which were formed into baths at a great expense. Apollo and Minerva[445] were the tutelary deities, in whose temples the perpetual fire never fell into ashes, but as it wasted away turned into globes of stone.
15. Below the Hedui are situated the Durotriges, who are sometimes called Morini. Their metropolis was Durinum,[446] and their territory extended to the promontory Vindelia.[447] In their country the land is gradually contracted, and seems to form an immense arm which repels the waves of the ocean.
16. In this arm was the region of the Cimbri,[448] whose country was divided from that of the Hedui by the river Uxella.[449] It is not ascertained whether the Cimbri gave to Wales its modern name, or whether their origin is more remote. Their chief cities were Termolus[450] and Artavia.[451] From hence, according to the ancients, are seen the pillars of Hercules, and the island Herculea[452] not far distant. From the Uxella a chain of mountains called Ocrinum extends to the promontory known by the same name.
17. Beyond the Cimbri the Carnabii inhabited the extreme angle of the island,[453] from whom this district probably obtained its present name of Carnubia (Cornwall). Their chief cities were Musidum[454] and Halangium.[455] But as the Romans never frequented these almost desert and uncultivated parts of Britain, their cities seem to have been of little consequence, and were therefore neglected by historians; though geographers mention the promontories Bolerium and Antivestæum.[456]
18. Near the above-mentioned people on the sea-coast towards the south, and bordering on the Belgæ Allobroges, lived the Damnonii, the most powerful people of those parts; on which account Ptolemy assigns to them all the country extending into the sea like an arm.[457] Their cities were Uxella,[458] Tamara,[459] Voluba,[460] Cenia,[461] and Isca,[462] the mother of all, situated upon the Isca. Their chief rivers were the Isca,[463] Durius,[464] Tamarus,[465] and Cenius.[466] Their coasts are distinguished by three promontories, which will be hereafter mentioned. This region was much frequented by the Phoenician, Grecian, and Gallic merchants, for the metals with which it abounded, particularly for its tin. Proofs of this may be drawn from the names of the above-mentioned promontories, namely Hellenis,[467] Ocrinum,[468] and [Greek: Kriou metôpon][469] as well as the numerous appellations of cities, which show a Grecian or Phoenician derivation.
19. Beyond this arm are the isles called Sygdiles,[470] which are also denominated Oestromenides and Cassiterides.
20. It is affirmed that the emperor Vespasian fought thirty battles with the united forces of the Damnonii and Belgæ. The ten different tribes who inhabited the south banks of the Thames and Severn being gradually subdued, their country was formed into the province of Britannia Prima, so called because it was the first fruit of victory obtained by the Romans.
21. Next in order is Britannia Secunda, which is divided from Britannia Prima by the countries already mentioned, and from the Flavian province by the Sabrina[471] and the Deva;[472] and the remaining parts are bounded by the internal sea. This was the renowned region of the Silures,[473] inhabited by three powerful tribes. Among these were particularly distinguished the Silures Proper, whom the turbid estuary of the Severn divides from the country we have just described. These people, according to Solinus, still retain their ancient manners, have neither markets nor money, but barter their commodities, regarding rather utility than price. They worship the gods, and both men and women are supposed to foretell future events. 22. The chief cities of the Silures were, Sariconium,[474] Magna,[475] Gobanium,[476] and Venta[477] their capital. A Roman colony possessed the city built on the Isca,[478] and called after that name, for many years the station of the second or Augustan legion, until it was transferred to the Valentian province, and Rhutupis.[479] This was the primary station of the Romans in Britannia Secunda.
23. The country of the Silures was long powerful, particularly under Caractacus, who during nine years withstood the Roman arms, and frequently triumphed over them, until he was defeated by Ostorius, as he was preparing to attack the Romans. Caractacus, however, escaped from the battle, and in applying for assistance to the neighbouring chieftains was delivered up to the Romans, by the artifices of a Roman matron, Cartismandua, who had married Venutius, chief of Brigantia. After this defeat the Silures bravely defended their country till it was overrun by Veranius, and being finally conquered by Frontinus, it was reduced into a Roman province under the name of Britannia Secunda.
24. Two other tribes were subject to the Silures. First the Ordovices, who inhabited the north towards the isle of Mona;[480] and secondly the Dimetiæ, who occupied the west, where the promontory Octorupium[481] is situated, and from whence is a passage of thirty miles[482] to Ireland. The cities of the Dimetiæ were Menapia[483] and Maridunum[484] the metropolis. The Romans seized upon Lovantium[485] as their station. Beyond these, and the borders of the Silures, were the Ordovices, whose cities were Mediolanum[486] and Brannogenium.[487] The Sabrina, which rises in their mountains, is justly reckoned one of the three largest rivers of Britain, the Thamesis (Thames) and the Tavus (Tay) being the other two. The name of the Ordovices is first distinguished in history on account of the revenge which they took for the captivity of their renowned chief. Hence they continually harassed the Roman army, and would have succeeded in annihilating their power, had not Agricola turned hither his victorious arms, subdued the whole nation, and put the greater part to the sword.
25. The territory situated north of the Ordovices, and washed by the ocean, was formerly under their dominion. These parts were certainly inhabited by the Cangiani, whose chief city was Segontium,[488] near the Cangian promontory,[489] on the Minevian shore, opposite Mona,[490] an island long distinguished as the residence of the druids. This island contained many towns, though it was scarcely sixty miles in circuit; and, as Pliny asserts, is distant from the colony of Camalodunum two hundred miles. The rivers of the Cangiani were Tosibus,[491] called also Canovius, and the Deva,[492] which was their boundary. In this region is the stupendous mountain Eriri.[493] Ordovicia, together with the regions of the Cangiani and Carnabii, unless report deceives me, constituted a province called Genania, under the reign of the emperors subsequent to Trajan.
26. I now proceed to the Flavian province; but for want of authentic documents, am unable to ascertain whether it derived its name from Flavia Julia Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, who was born in these parts, or from the Flavian family.
27. Towards the river Deva were situated, in the first place, the Carnabii.[494] Their principal places were Benonæ,[495] Etocetum,[496] and Banchorium,[497] the last the most celebrated monastery in the whole island, which being overthrown in the dispute with Augustine was never afterwards restored; and the mother of the rest, Uriconium,[498] esteemed one of the largest cities in Britain. In the extreme angle of this country, near the Deva, was the Roman colony Deva,[499] the work of the twentieth legion, which was called Victrix, and was formerly the defence of the region. This place is supposed to be what is now termed West Chester.
28. Below these people stretched the kingdom, or rather the republic, of the Cassii, called by Ptolemy Catieuchlani, which arose from the union of two nations. Those nearest the Sabrina were called the Dobuni, or, according to the annals of Dio, the Boduni.[500] In their country the Thames rises, and, proceeding through the territories of the Hedui, Atrebates, Cassii, Bibroci, Trinobantes, and Cantii, after a long course flows into the German Ocean. The cities of the Dobuni were Salinæ,[501] Branogena,[502] on the left of the Sabrina [Severn], Alauna,[503] and the most venerable of all, Corinium,[504] a famous city supposed to have been built by Vespasian. But Glevum,[505] situated in the extreme part of the kingdom, towards the territory of the Silures, was occupied by a Roman colony, which, according to the writers of those times, was introduced by Claudius Cæsar. Adjoining to these were the Cassii, whose chief cities were Forum Dianæ[506] and Verulamium.[507] But when the last was raised by the Romans to the municipal rank, it obtained the pre-eminence over the other cities. St. Alban the martyr was here born. This city was involved in the ruin of Camalodunum[508] and Londinium,[509] in the insurrection of Bonduica, which is related by Tacitus. The Cassii were conspicuous above the other nations of the island; and Cæsar in his second invasion had the severest conflicts with their renowned chief Cassibellinus, to whom many people were tributary; and was repulsed by the Cassii in league with the Silures; to which Lucan alludes:--"_Territa quæsitis ostendit terga Britannis._" But on the coming of Claudius, they, with the neighbouring people, were subdued, and their country reduced to a Roman province, first called Cæsariensis, and afterwards Flavia.
29. Near the Cassii, where the river Thamesis approaches the ocean, was the region of the Trinobantes,[510] who not only entered into alliance with the Romans, but resigned to them Londinium their metropolis, and Camalodunum situated near the sea, for the purpose of establishing colonies. In this city was supposed to be born Flavia Julia Helena, the pious wife of Constantine Chlorus and mother of Constantine the Great, who was descended from the blood of the British kings. It was the chief colony of the Romans in Britain, and distinguished by a temple of Claudius, an image of Victory, with many ornaments.[511] But Londinium was and ever will be a city of great eminence. It was first named Trinovantum, then Londinium, afterwards Augusta, and now again Londona. According to the chronicles it is more ancient than Rome. It is situated upon the banks of the Thamesis, and is the great emporium of many nations trading by land or sea. This city was surrounded with a wall by the empress Helena, the discoverer of the Holy Cross; and, if reliance may be placed on tradition, which is not always erroneous, was called Augusta, as Britain was distinguished by the name of the Roman Island.
30. The boundary of this people towards the north was the river Surius,[512] beyond which lived the Iceni, a famous people divided into two tribes. The first of these, the Cenomanni, dwelt to the north towards the Trinobantes and Cassii, and bordered on the ocean towards the east. Their cities were Durnomagus,[513] and their metropolis Venta.[514] Camboricum[515] was a Roman colony. A tongue of land stretching into the sea towards the east was called Flavia Extrema.[516] Their most remarkable rivers are the Garion,[517] the Surius,[518] and the Aufona[519] which falls into the bay of Metaris.[520] Beyond the Aufona, bordering on the Carnabii, Brigantes, and the ocean, lived the Coitani,[521] in a tract of country overspread with woods, which, like all the woods of Britain, was called Caledonia.[522] This is mentioned by the historian Florus.[523] The chief city of the Coitani was Ragæ.[524] Besides this was Lindum,[525] a Roman colony, on the eastern extremity of the province. The river Trivona[526] divides the whole country into two parts. The nation of the Iceni, being of a warlike character, neglected husbandry as well as the civil arts; they voluntarily joined the Romans; but, revolting, and exciting others to follow their example, were first subdued by Ostorius. A few years afterwards, Præsutagus their king, at his decease, made Cæsar and his descendants his heirs. But the Romans, abusing the friendship of these people and giving themselves up to every species of debauchery, excited their resentment, and the Iceni with their allies, under the warlike Bonduica, widow of Præsutagus, destroyed their colonies, and massacred eighty thousand Roman citizens. They were afterwards reduced by the legate Suetonius, a man highly esteemed for prudence.
31. On the northern part of this region is the river Abus,[527] which falls into the ocean, and was one of the boundaries of the province Maxima, as Seteja[528] was the other. This province was also called the kingdom of Brigantia, because it comprehended the region of that name inhabited by three nations. At the eastern point,[529] where the promontories of Oxellum[530] and of the Brigantes[531] stretch into the sea, lived the Parisii, whose cities were Petuaria[532] and Portus Felix.[533]
32. Above, but on the side of the Parisii, are the proper Brigantes,[534] a numerous people who once gave law to the whole province. Their towns were Epiacum,[535] Vinovium,[536] Cambodunum,[537] Cataracton,[538] Galacum,[539] Olicana,[540] and the chief city Isurium.[541] Eboracum,[542] on the Urus,[543] was the metropolis, first a colony of the Romans, called Sexta, from being the station of the sixth legion, termed the Victorious, and afterwards distinguished by the presence of many emperors, and raised to the privileges of a municipal city.
33. This province is divided into two equal parts by a chain of mountains called the Pennine Alps, which rising on the confines of the Iceni and Carnabii, near the river Trivona,[544] extend towards the north in a continued series of fifty miles.
34. The people to the west of this chain[545] are the Voluntii and Sistuntii, who are united in a close confederacy.[546] Their cities are Rerigonium,[547] Coccium,[548] and Lugubalium.[549] The two last were occupied by Roman garrisons.
35. The northern frontier of this province was protected by a wall[550] of stupendous magnitude built by the Romans across the Isthmus, eighty miles in length, twelve feet high and (_nine_) thick, strengthened with towers.
36. We collect from history, that these people were first attacked by the emperor Claudius, then overrun by the legate Ostorius, and finally defeated by Cerealis. By their voluntary submission to Agricola they obtained peace. The actions and unheard-of perfidy of their queen have disgraced their name in history. These people were descended from those powerful nations, who in search of new habitations quitted their country, which was situated between the Danube, the Alps, and the Rhone.[551] Some of them afterwards emigrated into Ireland, as appears from authentic documents.
37. Further north were situated those powerful nations, who in former times were known under the name of Mæatæ, and from whom that fratricide Bassianus,[552] after the death of his father, basely purchased peace. They possessed Ottadinia towards the east, Gadenia, Selgovia, Novantia, and further north Damnia.
38. Nearest the wall dwelt the Gadeni,[553] whose metropolis was Curia.[554] The Ottadini[555] were situated nearer the sea. Their chief city was Bremenium,[556] and their rivers Tueda,[557] Alauna,[558] and the two Tinas,[559] which ran within the wall.
39. The Selgovæ[560] inhabited the country to the west. Their cities were Corbantorigum,[561] Uxellum,[562] and Trimontium,[563] which, according to ancient documents, was a long time occupied by a Roman garrison. The principal rivers of this region were Novius,[564] Deva,[565] and partly the Ituna.[566]
40. The Novantes[567] dwell beyond the Deva, in the extreme part of the island, near the sea, and opposite Ireland. In their country was the famous Novantum Chersonesus,[568] distant twenty-eight miles from Ireland, and esteemed by the ancients the most northern promontory of Britain,[569] though without sufficient reason. Their metropolis was Lucophibia, or Casæ Candidæ;[570] their rivers Abrasuanus,[571] Jena,[572] and Deva,[573] which was the boundary towards the east.
41. The Damnii[574] dwelt to the north of the Novantes, the Selgovæ, and the Gadeni, and were separated from them by the chain of the Uxellan mountains.[575] They were a very powerful people, but lost a considerable portion of their territory when the wall was built, being subdued and spoiled by the Caledonians. Besides which, a Roman garrison occupied Vanduarium[576] to defend the wall.
42. In this part, Britain, as if again delighted with the embraces of the sea, becomes narrower than elsewhere, in consequence of the rapid influx of the two estuaries, Bodotria and Clotta.[577] Agricola first secured this isthmus with fortifications, and the emperor Antoninus[578] erected another wall celebrated in history, which extended nearly five and thirty miles, in order to check the incursions of the barbarians. It was repaired, and strengthened with eleven towers, by the general Ætius. These regions probably constituted that province, which, being recovered by the victorious arms of the Romans under Theodosius, was supposed to have been named Valentia, in honour of the family from whom the reigning emperor was descended.
43. Beyond the wall lay the province Vespasiana. This is the Caledonian region so much coveted by the Romans, and so bravely defended by the natives, facts which the Roman historians, generally too silent in regard to such things, have amply detailed. In these districts may be seen the river Tavus,[579] which appears to separate the country into two parts. There are also found the steep and horrid Grampian hills, which divide the province. In this region was fought that famous battle between Agricola and Galgacus, which was so decisive in favour of the Romans.[580] The magnitude of the works at this day displays the power of the Romans, and the ancient mode of castrametation; for, in the place where the battle was fought, certain persons of our order, who passed that way, affirmed that they saw immense camps, and other proofs which corroborated the relation of Tacitus.
44. The nations which were subject to the Romans shall now follow in their order. Beyond the Isthmus, as far as the Tavus, lived the Horestii.[581] Their cities, which before the building of the wall belonged to the Damnii, were Alauna,[582] Lindum,[583] and Victoria,[584] the last not less glorious in reality than in name. It was built by Agricola on the Tavus, twenty miles above its mouth.
45. Above these, beyond the Tavus, which formed the boundary, lived the Vecturones or Venricones,[585] whose chief city was Orrea,[586] and their rivers Æsica[587] and Tina.[588]
46. The Taixali[589] inhabited the coast beyond the boundaries of the Vecturones. Their principal city was Devana,[590] and their rivers the Deva[591] and Ituna.[592] A part of the Grampian hills, which extends like a promontory into the sea, as it were to meet Germany, borrows its name from them.[593]
47. To the west of these, beyond the Grampian hills, lived the Vacomagi,[594] who possessed an extensive tract of country. Their cities were Tuessis,[595] Tamea,[596] and Banatia.[597] Ptoroton,[598] situated at the mouth of the Varar,[599] on the coast, was at the same time a Roman station, and the chief city of the province. The most remarkable rivers of this region, after the Varar, which formed the boundary, were the Tuessis[600] and Celnius.[601]
48. Within the Vacomagi, and the Tavus, lived the Damnii Albani,[602] a people little known, being wholly secluded among lakes and mountains.
49. Lower down, to the banks of the Clotta, inhabited the Attacotti,[603] a people once formidable to all Britain. In this part is situated the great lake formerly called Lyncalidor,[604] at the mouth of which the city of Alcluith[605] was built by the Romans, and not long afterwards received its name from Theodosius, who recovered that province from the barbarians. These people deserved high praise for having sustained the attacks of the enemy after the subjugation of the neighbouring provinces.
50. This province was named Vespasiana, in honour of the Flavian family, to which the emperor Domitian owed his origin, and under whom it was conquered. If I am not mistaken, it was called under the later emperors Thule, which Claudian mentions in these lines:
"Incaluit Pictorum sanguine Thule, Scotorum cumulos flevit glacialis Hierne."
But this country was so short a time under the power of the Romans, that posterity cannot ascertain its appellations or subjugation. We have now examined in a cursory manner the state of Britain under the Romans; we shall next as briefly treat of the country of the Caledonians.
CONCERNING CALEDONIA.
51. Although all the parts of Britain lying beyond the Isthmus may be termed Caledonia, yet the proper Caledonians dwelt beyond the Varar, from which a line drawn accurately points out the boundary of the Roman empire in Britain. The hithermost part of the island was at different times in their possession, and the remainder, as we have related, was occupied by barbarous Britons. The ancient documents of history afford some information thus far; but beyond the Varar the light is extinct, and we are enveloped in darkness.[606] Although we know that the Romans erected altars there to mark the limits of their empire, and that Ulysses, tossed by a violent tempest, here fulfilled his vows; yet the thick woods and a continued chain of rugged mountains forbid all further research. We must therefore be satisfied with the following information, gleaned from the wandering merchants of the Britons, which we leave for the use of posterity.
52. The Caledonians,[607] properly so called, inhabited the country to the westward of the Varar, and part of their territory was covered by the extensive forest called the Caledonian wood.
53. Less considerable people dwelt near the coast. Of these the Cantæ[608] were situated beyond the Varar, and the above-mentioned altars, to the river Loxa,[609] and in their territory was the promontory Penoxullum.[610]
54. Next in order is the river Abona,[611] and the inhabitants near it, the Logi.[612] Then the river Ila,[613] near which lived the Carnabii,[614] the most remote of the Britons. These people being subdued by the proprætor Ostorius, and impatiently bearing the Roman yoke, joined the Cantæ, as tradition relates, and, crossing the sea, here fixed their residence. Britain in these parts branches out into many promontories, the chief of which, the extremity of Caledonia, was called by the ancients Vinvedrum, and afterwards Verubium.[615]
55. After these people were placed the Catini,[616] and the Mertæ[617] further inland near the Logi. In these regions was the promontory of the Orcades,[618] contiguous to which are the islands of that name. Beyond this part flowed the Nabæus,[619] which bounded the territory of the Carnabii.
56. In the lower part of this region were situated the Carnonacæ,[620] in whose territories was the promontory Ebudum,[621] beyond which the ocean forms a large bay, formerly called Volsas.[622] The lower coast of this bay was inhabited by the Cerones;[623] and beyond the Itys,[624] the territory of the Creones extended as far as the Longus.[625] The promontory stretching from thence, and washed by the ocean and the bay Lelanus,[626] is named after the inhabitants the Epidii.[627]
57. I cannot repass the Varar without expressing my wonder that the Romans, in other respects so much distinguished for judgment and investigation, should have entertained the absurd notion, that the remainder of Britain exceeded in length and breadth the regions which they had subdued and occupied. There is, however, sufficient evidence that such was their opinion; for whoever attentively considers their insatiable desire of rule, and reflects on the labour employed in the erection of those stupendous works which excite the wonder of the world, in order to exclude an enemy scarcely worthy of their notice or resentment, must in this respect, as in all others, adore the providence of the Divine Being, to whom all kingdoms are subject, and perpetual glory is due, now and for ever. Amen!
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 401: Rather by the estuary of the Severn.]
[Footnote 402: Thames.]
[Footnote 403: Severn.]
[Footnote 404: Here some word is evidently omitted in the original. We would supply it by comparing this description with that of Britannia Secunda in the second section, and read "_Sabrina et Deva_," &c., by the Severn and the Dee from the Silures and Ordovices.]
[Footnote 405: The wall or vallum erected by Severus between the Solway Frith and the mouth of the Tyne.]
[Footnote 406: Bodora and Bodotria, Frith of Forth.]
[Footnote 407: Clotta. Clyde.]
[Footnote 408: Dumbarton.]
[Footnote 409: Murray Frith.]
[Footnote 410: These remarks seem to have been drawn from the _Notitia Imperii_, and consequently refer to a late period of the empire.]
[Footnote 411: Cantium contained the present county of Kent, as far as the Rother, except a small district in which Holwood Hill is situated, and which belonged to the Rhemi.]
[Footnote 412: Rochester.]
[Footnote 413: Canterbury.]
[Footnote 414: Dover.]
[Footnote 415: Situated on the Lymne.]
[Footnote 416: Reculver.]
[Footnote 417: Richborough.]
[Footnote 418: The Medway.]
[Footnote 419: The Stour.]
[Footnote 420: A rivulet at Dover.]
[Footnote 421: The Rother.]
[Footnote 422: The North Foreland.]
[Footnote 423: The Bibroci, Rhemi, or Regni, inhabited part of Hants, and of Berks, Sussex, Surrey, and a small portion of Kent.]
[Footnote 424: Uncertain. Stukeley calls it Bibrox, Bibrax, or the Bibracte of the Itinerary.]
[Footnote 425: Chichester.]
[Footnote 426: Holwood Hill.]
[Footnote 427: Pevensey.]
[Footnote 428: Part of Hants, and Berks.]
[Footnote 429: Silchester. For the proofs that this place was the site of Calleva see the Commentary on the Itinerary.]
[Footnote 430: Kennet.]
[Footnote 431: Part of Hants, and Berks.]
[Footnote 432: Probably Egbury Camp.]
[Footnote 433: The Belgæ occupied those parts of Hants and Wilts not held by the Segontiaci.]
[Footnote 434: This is an error: the ancient Clausentum was at Bittern, on the Itchin, opposite Northam.]
[Footnote 435: Portchester.]
[Footnote 436: Winchester.]
[Footnote 437: Old Sarum.]
[Footnote 438: This passage as printed in the original is very obscure; but the meaning is supplied by Cæsar, from whom it is taken, and a subsequent page where Richard mentions the same fact.--_Vide the Chronology in_ b. ii. c. i. sect. 9.]
[Footnote 439: Thames.]
[Footnote 440: There was a tribe of Celts called Senones seated on the banks of the Seine as late as the time of Cæsar, and this was one of the tribes who marched with Brennus against Rome. But we cannot discover from whence Richard drew his information that these Senones originally emigrated from Britain, leaving their country to be occupied by the Belgæ.]
[Footnote 441: Nearly all Somersetshire.]
[Footnote 442: Ilchester.]
[Footnote 443: Glastonbury.]
[Footnote 444: Bath.]
[Footnote 445: This is drawn from Solinus, who speaks of Britain in general. We know not on what authority it was applied by Richard to Bath.]
[Footnote 446: Maiden Castle, near Dorchester.]
[Footnote 447: Isle of Portland.]
[Footnote 448: Part of Somerset and Devon.]
[Footnote 449: The Parret.]
[Footnote 450: Uncertain,--probably in Devonshire.]
[Footnote 451: Ibid.]
[Footnote 452: Lundy Island.]
[Footnote 453: Part of Cornwall.]
[Footnote 454: Near Stratton.]
[Footnote 455: Carnbre.]
[Footnote 456: Land's End, and Lizard Point.]
[Footnote 457: Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, and part of Somerset.]
[Footnote 458: Probably near Bridgewater.]
[Footnote 459: On the Tamar.]
[Footnote 460: On the Fowey.]
[Footnote 461: On the Fal.]
[Footnote 462: Exeter.]
[Footnote 463: Ex.]
[Footnote 464: The Dart.]
[Footnote 465: Tamar.]
[Footnote 466: The Fal.]
[Footnote 467: Probably Berry Head.]
[Footnote 468: Lizard Point.]
[Footnote 469: Ram Head.]
[Footnote 470: Scilly Isles.]
[Footnote 471: Severn.]
[Footnote 472: Dee.]
[Footnote 473: The Silures, with their two dependent tribes, the Dimetiæ and the Ordovices, possessed all the country to the west of the Severn and the Dee, together with the island of Anglesey.
"Of these territories the Dimetiæ had the counties of Pembroke, Cardigan, and Caermarthen; while the Silures possessed all the rest of South Wales, as well as such parts of England as lay to the west of the Severn and to the South of the Teme: while the Ordovices occupied all North Wales, as well as all the country to the North of the Teme, and to the West of the Severn and the Dee, except a small tract to the West of Bangor and Penmorvay, which together with the isle of Anglesey belonged to their subordinate clan the Cangani."]
[Footnote 474: Rose or Berry Hill, in Weston.]
[Footnote 475: Kentchester.]
[Footnote 476: Abergavenny.]
[Footnote 477: Caerwent.]
[Footnote 478: Caerleon on Usk.]
[Footnote 479: Richborough in Kent.]
[Footnote 480: Anglesey.]
[Footnote 481: St. David's Head.]
[Footnote 482: XXX milliarium.]
[Footnote 483: St. David's.]
[Footnote 484: Caermarthen.]
[Footnote 485: Llanio Issau on the Teivi.]
[Footnote 486: On the bank of the Tanat.]
[Footnote 487: Near Lentwardine.]
[Footnote 488: Caer Segont.]
[Footnote 489: Brach y Pwyl Point.]
[Footnote 490: Anglesey.]
[Footnote 491: The Conway.]
[Footnote 492: Dee.]
[Footnote 493: Snowdon.]
[Footnote 494: The territory of the Carnabii was bounded on the north by the Mersey, west by the Severn, east by part of the Watling Street, and to the south by Staffordshire.]
[Footnote 495: Benonis; High Cross.]
[Footnote 496: Wall.]
[Footnote 497: Banchor.]
[Footnote 498: Wroxeter.]
[Footnote 499: Chester.]
[Footnote 500: The _Dobuni_ were bounded on the west by the Severn, on the south by the Thames, on the east by the Charwell, and on the north by the Carnabii.
The _Cassii_, bounded on the south by the Thames, on the west by the Dobuni, on the east by the Trent, and on the north by the Iceni.]
[Footnote 501: Droitwich.]
[Footnote 502: Near Lentwardine.]
[Footnote 503: Alcester.]
[Footnote 504: Cirencester in Gloucestershire.]
[Footnote 505: Gloucester.]
[Footnote 506: Dunstable.]
[Footnote 507: Old St. Albans.]
[Footnote 508: Colchester.]
[Footnote 509: London.]
[Footnote 510: It stretched from the Thames to the Stour on the north, and on the west to the Brent and the Ouse.]
[Footnote 511: This temple with its ornaments is mentioned in Tacitus.]
[Footnote 512: Sturius, the Stour.]
[Footnote 513: Castor near Chesterton.]
[Footnote 514: Castor near Norwich.]
[Footnote 515: Cambridge.]
[Footnote 516: Part of the Suffolk Coast.]
[Footnote 517: The Yar.]
[Footnote 518: The Stour.]
[Footnote 519: The Nen.]
[Footnote 520: Boston Deep.]
[Footnote 521: In the map given by Bertram these people are called the Coritani. They seem to have inhabited Lincoln, Leicester, and Nottingham.]
[Footnote 522: Calyddon means coverts or thickets.]
[Footnote 523: B. iii. ch. 10, where, speaking of Cæsar, he says, "Caledonias sequutus in sylvas."]
[Footnote 524: Leicester.]
[Footnote 525: Lincoln.]
[Footnote 526: Trent.]
[Footnote 527: The Humber.]
[Footnote 528: The Mersey.]
[Footnote 529: Part of the East Riding of York.]
[Footnote 530: Spurn Head.]
[Footnote 531: Flamborough Head.]
[Footnote 532: Broughton on Humber.]
[Footnote 533: Near Bridlington Bay.]
[Footnote 534: Their territory stretched from the bounds of the Parisii northward to the Tine, and from the Humber and Don to the mountains of Lancashire, Westmoreland and Cumberland.]
[Footnote 535: Lanchester.]
[Footnote 536: Binchester.]
[Footnote 537: Slack.]
[Footnote 538: Catteric.]
[Footnote 539: Galgacum, uncertain.]
[Footnote 540: Ilkley.]
[Footnote 541: Aldborough.]
[Footnote 542: York.]
[Footnote 543: Probably from the Ure, which receives the name of Ouse above York, on its junction with the Nid.]
[Footnote 544: Trent.]
[Footnote 545: To the Voluntii belonged the western part of Lancashire; and to the Sistuntii, the west of Westmoreland and Cumberland as far as the wall.]
[Footnote 546: Hence, in § 31, they are called one people.]
[Footnote 547: Ribchester.]
[Footnote 548: Blackrode.]
[Footnote 549: Carlisle.]
[Footnote 550: The wall of Severus. The exact site of the barrier erected by Severus against the northern tribes, has furnished matter of dispute to many of our antiquaries. The researches of others, particularly Horsley, have, however, set this question at rest. From their information, joined to the scanty evidence of history, it has been proved that three walls or ramparts were erected by the Romans at different times, to secure the northern frontier of their dominions in Britain.
The first was a rampart of earth, from the Solway Frith to the Tine, raised by Hadrian about the year 120; but its form and construction have not been satisfactorily ascertained. It was, however, evidently nothing more than a line intended to obstruct the passage of an enemy between the stations which constituted the real defences of the frontier.
The second was raised by Lollius Urbicus under the reign of Antoninus Pius, about 140, between the Friths of Forth and Clyde. This was likewise of earth, though perhaps faced with stone, and, like that of Hadrian, seems to have been intended as a line connecting the chain of stations, which formed a new barrier on the advance of the Roman arms. In the course of both these was a military road communicating from station to station.
The last and most important is that begun by Severus, after his expedition against the Caledonians, about 208. It runs nearly over the same ground as that of Hadrian; but is a complete and well combined system of fortification. From an examination of its remains it appears to have been built of stone, fifteen feet high and nine thick. It had parapet and ditch, a military road, and was defended by eighteen greater stations placed at intervals of three to six miles; eighty-three castles at intervals of six to eight furlongs, and, as it is imagined, a considerable number of turrets placed at shorter distances.
Either from superior sagacity or superior information, Richard clearly distinguishes these three walls, which so much puzzled later writers, though it must be confessed that in other places he has suffered himself to be led into some errors in regard to their situation, and the persons by whom they were erected.--See b. ii. ch. 1, sect. 22, 27, 36, 37; ch. 2, sect. 17, 23. For a detailed account of these works the reader is referred to _Horsley's Britannia Romana_; _Warburton's Account of the Roman Wall_; _Hutchinson's Northumberland_; _Roy's Military Antiquities_; _Hutton's Account of the Roman Wall_.]
[Footnote 551: These were the Helvetii, whose emigration is mentioned in _Cæs. Comm. de Bell. Gal. lib._ i. We have not discovered from what authority Richard draws his account of their emigration to Ireland.]
[Footnote 552: Caracalla.]
[Footnote 553: The Gadeni appear to have occupied the midland parts from the wall probably as far as the Forth.]
[Footnote 554: Uncertain.]
[Footnote 555: The Ottadini stretched along the eastern coast, from the wall as far as the Frith of Forth, and were bounded on the west by the Gadeni.]
[Footnote 556: Ribchester.]
[Footnote 557: Tweed.]
[Footnote 558: The Coquet.]
[Footnote 559: The North and South Tine.]
[Footnote 560: The Selgovæ appear to have occupied all the shire of Dumfries, and part of Kirkudbright.]
[Footnote 561: Drumlanrig, or Kirkudbright.]
[Footnote 562: Uncertain.]
[Footnote 563: Birrenswork Hill.]
[Footnote 564: Nith.]
[Footnote 565: The Dee.]
[Footnote 566: The Eden.]
[Footnote 567: The Novantes held the south-western district of Scotland, from the Dee to the Mull of Galloway; that is, the west of Kirkudbright and Wigtown, and part of the Carrick division of Ayr.]
[Footnote 568: Rens of Galloway. It is not, however, more than eighteen miles from the nearest part of Ireland.]
[Footnote 569: By an error in the geographical or astronomical observations preserved by Ptolemy, the latitudes north of this point appear to have been mistaken for the longitudes, and consequently this part of Britain is thrown to the east.]
[Footnote 570: Wigtown, _Horsley_. Whithern, _Stukeley_, _Roy_.]
[Footnote 571: The Luce.]
[Footnote 572: Cree, _Roy_.]
[Footnote 573: Dee.]
[Footnote 574: The Lothers.]
[Footnote 575: Paisley, or Renfrew, _Roy_.]
[Footnote 576: Friths of Forth and Clyde.]
[Footnote 577: These people inhabited the principal part of what are called the Lowlands. Their territories beyond the Isthmus evidently stretched as far as the Grampians, consisting of great part of Ayr, all Renfrew and Lanark, a considerable part of Stirling, and perhaps Linlithgow.]
[Footnote 578: See page 448.]
[Footnote 579: Tay.]
[Footnote 580: It may perhaps appear superfluous to refer the antiquary to Roy's masterly Commentary on the campaigns of Agricola in this part of Britain; but it will scarcely be deemed so to observe, that we see few instances in which military and local knowledge are so well applied to the elucidation of antiquities.]
[Footnote 581: The Horestii occupied Clackmannan and Kinross, and part of Perth as far as the Tay. To them belonged likewise all the country stretching from the Grampians to Loch Lomond.]
[Footnote 582: Uncertain.]
[Footnote 583: Ardoch.]
[Footnote 584: Dealgin Ross.]
[Footnote 585: The Vecturones occupied the eastern part of Perth, Forfar, Kincardin, and part of Aberdeen.]
[Footnote 586: Bertha, or Old Perth.]
[Footnote 587: South Esk.]
[Footnote 588: Tine.]
[Footnote 589: The Taixali held the eastern coast of Aberdeen, apparently as far as Kinnaird Head.]
[Footnote 590: Probably Old Aberdeen.]
[Footnote 591: Dee.]
[Footnote 592: Ithan.]
[Footnote 593: Kinnaird Head.]
[Footnote 594: The Vacomagi were spread over an extensive region west of the Taixali and north of the Grampians, comprising a considerable part of Aberdeen, all Banff, Murray, Elgin, and Nairn, with the north-east of Inverness.]
[Footnote 595: On the Spey.]
[Footnote 596: Brae Mar Castle.]
[Footnote 597: Uncertain, but near the Ness; perhaps Inverness or Bonness.]
[Footnote 598: Burgh Head.]
[Footnote 599: Murray Frith.]
[Footnote 600: Spey.]
[Footnote 601: Dovern.]
[Footnote 602: The Damnii Albani may have been a remnant of the Damnii, who, after the erection of the wall, being cut off from the rest of their tribe, were gradually circumscribed by the neighbouring people, to Braidalbane, and a small part of the west of Perth and east of Argyle.]
[Footnote 603: The Attacotti occupied a considerable part of Argyle, as far as Lochfyn.]
[Footnote 604: Loch Lomond.]
[Footnote 605: Dumbarton. It was afterwards called Theodosia.]
[Footnote 606: It must be confessed that the information preserved by Richard, in regard to this remote part of our island, is extremely obscure, and that his descriptions will only assist us in guessing at the situation of the different tribes. Perhaps this can scarcely be deemed extraordinary, when we consider how imperfectly the interior of this country is known even at present.]
[Footnote 607: The country of the proper Caledonians was the central part of Inverness and Ross.]
[Footnote 608: The Cantæ seem to have held Cromarty and East Ross.]
[Footnote 609: Frith of Cromartie, _Stukeley_. Loth R. _Roy._]
[Footnote 610: Tarbet Ness, _Stukeley_. Ord Head, Caithness, _Roy_.]
[Footnote 611: Frith of Dornoch, _Stukeley_.]
[Footnote 612: The Logi seem to have held the south-east of Strathnavern, and north-east of Sutherland.]
[Footnote 613: All, _Stukeley_. Shiel, _Roy_.]
[Footnote 614: The Carnabii inhabited part of Caithness, the north of Ross, and central part of Sutherland.]
[Footnote 615: Ness or Noss Head, _Stukeley_.]
[Footnote 616: The Catini held part of Caithness and the east of Sutherland.]
[Footnote 617: The Mertæ held the country comprised between the Catini and Carnabii.]
[Footnote 618: Dunnet Head, _Stukeley_. Duncansby Head, _Roy_.]
[Footnote 619: Navern.]
[Footnote 620: The Carnonacæ seem to have held the detached portion of Cromarty, situated near Loch Broom, and a small part on the border of Sutherland.]
[Footnote 621: Cape Wrath.]
[Footnote 622: Loch Broom.]
[Footnote 623: The Cerones held the north-west part of Ross;--the Creones south-west of Ross and Inverness, and a part of Argyle.]
[Footnote 624: Shiel, _Roy_.]
[Footnote 625: Loch Loch, _Stukeley_. Linnhe Loch, _Roy_.]
[Footnote 626: Lochfyn.]
[Footnote 627: The Epidii probably occupied the Western part of Argyle, as far as the Mull of Cantyr, and were bounded on one side by the sea and on the other by Lochfyn.]
CHAP. VII.
The different parts of Britain having been cursorily examined according to my original design, it seems necessary, before I proceed to a description of the islands, to attend to a doubt suggested by a certain person.[628] "Where," asks he, "are the vestiges of those cities and names which you commemorate? There are none." This question may be answered by another: Where are now the Assyrians, Parthians, Sarmatians, Celtiberians? None will be bold enough to deny the existence of those nations. Are there not also at this time many countries and cities bearing the same names as they did two or three thousand years ago? Judea, Italy, Gaul, Britain, are as clearly known now as in former times; Londinium is still styled in the common language, with a slight change of sound, London. The negligence and inattention of our ancestors in omitting to collect and preserve such documents as might have been serviceable in this particular, are not deserving of heavy censure, for scarcely any but those in holy orders employed themselves in writing books, and such even esteemed it inconsistent with their sacred office to engage in such profane labours. I rather think I may without danger, and without offence, transmit to posterity that information which I have drawn from a careful examination and accurate scrutiny of ancient records concerning the state of this kingdom in former periods. The good abbat, indeed, had nearly inspired me with other sentiments, by thus seeming to address me: Are you ignorant how short a time is allotted us in this world; that the greatest exertions cannot exempt us from the appellation of unprofitable servants; and that all our studies should be directed to the purpose of being useful to others? Of what service are these things, but to delude the world with unmeaning trifles? To these remarks I answer with propriety. Is then every honest gratification forbidden? Do not such narratives exhibit proofs of Divine Providence? Does it not hence appear, that an evangelical sermon concerning the death and merits of Christ enlightened and subdued a world overrun with Gentile superstitions? To the reply, that such things are properly treated of in systems of chronology, I rejoin: Nor is it too much to know that our ancestors were not, as some assert, Autochthones, sprung from the earth; but that God opened the book of nature to display his omnipotence, such as it is described in the writings of Moses. When the abbat answered, that works which were intended merely to acquire reputation for their authors from posterity, should be committed to the flames, I confess with gratitude that I repented of this undertaking. The remainder of the work is therefore only a chronological abridgment, which I present to the reader, whom I commend to the goodness and protection of God; and at the same time request, that he will pray for me to our holy Father, who is merciful and inclined to forgiveness.
The following Itinerary is collected from certain fragments left by a Roman general. The order is changed in some instances, according to Ptolemy and others, and it is hoped, with improvement.
* * * * *
Among the Britons were formerly ninety-two cities, of which thirty-three were more celebrated and conspicuous. Two municipal,[629] Verolamium;[630] and Eboracum.[631] Nine colonial;[632] namely, Londinium[633] _Augusta_, Camalodunum[634] _Geminæ Martiæ_, Rhutupis,[635] ***** Thermæ[636] _Aquæ Solis_, Isca[637] _Secunda_, Deva[638] Getica, Glevum[639] _Claudia_, Lindum,[640] **** Camboricum[641]. **** Ten cities under the Latian law:[642] namely, Durnomagus,[643] Cataracton,[644] Cambodunum,[645] Coccium,[646] Lugubalia,[647] Ptoroton,[648] Victoria,[649] Theodosia,[650] Corinum,[651] Sorbiodunum.[652] Twelve stipendiary[653] and of lesser consequence; Venta Silurum,[654] Venta Belgarum,[655] Venta Icenorum,[656] Segontium,[657] Maridunum,[658] Ragæ,[659] Cantiopolis,[660] Durinum,[661] Isca,[662] Bremenium,[663] Vindonum,[664] and Durobrivæ.[665] But let no one lightly imagine that the Romans had not many others besides those above-mentioned. I have only commemorated the more celebrated. For who can doubt that they who, as conquerors of the world, were at liberty to choose, did not select places fitted for their purposes? They for the most part took up their abode in fortresses which they constructed for themselves.
(The Itinerary, which follows here in the original Latin, being a dry list of names, is omitted. See the Appendix, No. I.)
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 628: These remarks prove how much Richard rose superior to the prejudices of his age and his profession. From the tone which he assumes, it is however, evident that he found it advisable to yield to the remonstrances of his superior.]
[Footnote 629: Municipia were towns whose inhabitants possessed in general all the rights of Roman citizens, except those which could not be enjoyed without an actual residence at Rome. They followed their own laws and customs, and had the option of adopting or rejecting those of Rome.--_Rosini Antiq. Rom._ b. x. c. 23.]
[Footnote 630: St. Alban's.]
[Footnote 631: York.]
[Footnote 632: There were different kinds of colonies, each entitled to different rights and privileges; but we have no criterion to ascertain the rank occupied by those in Britain.]
[Footnote 633: London.]
[Footnote 634: Colchester.]
[Footnote 635: Richborough in Kent.]
[Footnote 636: Bath.]
[Footnote 637: Caerleon.]
[Footnote 638: Chester.]
[Footnote 639: Gloucester.]
[Footnote 640: Lincoln.]
[Footnote 641: Cambridge.]
[Footnote 642: The Latian law consisted of the privileges granted to the ancient inhabitants of Latium. These are not distinctly known; but appear principally to have been the right of following their own laws, an exemption from the edicts of the Roman prætor, and the option of adopting the laws and customs of Rome.--_Rosini._]
[Footnote 643: Castor on Nen.]
[Footnote 644: Catteric.]
[Footnote 645: Slack.]
[Footnote 646: Blackrode.]
[Footnote 647: Carlisle.]
[Footnote 648: Burgh Head, Elgin, Scotland.]
[Footnote 649: Dealgin Ross.]
[Footnote 650: Dumbarton.]
[Footnote 651: Cirencester, Gloc.]
[Footnote 652: Old Sarum.]
[Footnote 653: The stipendiary were those who paid their taxes in money, in contradistinction from those who gave a certain portion of the produce of the soil, and were called Vectigales.--_Rosini._]
[Footnote 654: Caerwent, Monmouth.]
[Footnote 655: Winchester.]
[Footnote 656: Castor, near Norwich.]
[Footnote 657: Caer Segont.]
[Footnote 658: Caermarthen.]
[Footnote 659: Leicester.]
[Footnote 660: Canterbury.]
[Footnote 661: Dorchester.]
[Footnote 662: Exeter.]
[Footnote 663: Riechester, Northumberland.]
[Footnote 664: Possibly Egbury camp, Hants.]
[Footnote 665: Rochester.]
CHAP. VIII.
1. Having now finished our survey of Albion, we shall describe the neighbouring country, Hibernia or Ireland, with the same brevity.
2. Hibernia is situated more westerly than any other country except England; but as it does not extend so far north, so it stretches further than England towards the south, and the Spanish province of Tarraconensis, from which it is separated by the ocean.[666]
3. The sea which flows between Britain and Hibernia is subject to storms, and according to Solinus, is navigable only during a few days in summer. Midway between the two countries is the island called Monoeda,[667] but now Manavia.
4. According to Bede, Hibernia is preferable to Britain, on account of its situation, salubrity, and serene air, insomuch that snow seldom remains more than three days, nor is it usual to make hay for the winter, or build stalls for cattle.
5. No reptile is found there, nor does it maintain a viper or serpent; for serpents frequently carried from England have died on approaching the shore. Indeed almost all things in the island are antidotes to poison. We have seen an infusion of scraped pieces of bark brought from Hibernia, given to persons bitten by serpents, which immediately deprived the poison of its force, and abated the swelling.
6. This island, according to the venerable Bede, is rich in milk and honey; nor is it without vines. It abounds with fish and birds, and affords deer and goats for the chase.
7. The inhabitants, says Mela, are more than other nations uncivilized and without virtue, and those who have a little knowledge are wholly destitute of piety. Solinus calls them an inhospitable and warlike people. The conquerors, after drinking the blood of the slain, daub their faces with the remainder. They know no distinction between right and wrong. When a woman brings forth a son, she places its first food on the point of her husband's sword, and, introducing it into the mouth of the infant, wishes according to the custom of the country, that he may die amidst arms and in battle. Those who are fond of ornaments adorn the hilts of their swords with the teeth of marine animals, which they polish to a degree of whiteness equal to ivory; for the principal glory of a man consists in the splendour of his arms.
8. Agrippa states the length of Hibernia to be six hundred miles, and the breadth three hundred. It was formerly inhabited by twenty tribes, of whom (_fourteen_[668]) lived on the coast.
9. This is the true country of the Scots, who emigrating from hence added a third nation to the Britons and Picts in Albion. But I cannot agree with Bede, who affirms that the Scots were foreigners. For, according to the testimony of other authors, I conceive they derived their origin from Britain, situated at no considerable distance, passed over from thence, and obtained a settlement in this island. It is certain that the Damnii, Voluntii, Brigantes, Cangi, and other nations, were descended from the Britons, and passed over thither after Divitiacus, or Claudius, or Ostorius, or other victorious generals had invaded their original countries. Lastly, the ancient language which resembles the old British and Gallic tongues, affords another argument, as is well known to persons skilled in both languages.[669]
10. The Deucaledonian Ocean washes the northern side of Hibernia; the Vergivian and Internal the eastern, the Cantabric the south, as the great British or Atlantic Ocean does the western. According to this order, we shall give a description of the island and the most remarkable places.
11. The Rhobogdii occupied the coast of the island next to the Deucaledonian Sea. Their metropolis was Rhobogdium. In the eastern part of their territories was situated the promontory of the same name; in the Western the Promontorium Boreum, or Northern Promontory. Their rivers were the Banna, Darabouna, Argitta, and Vidua; and towards the south, mountains separated them from the Scotti.
12. On the coast between the northern and Venicnian Promontory, and as far as the mouth of the Rhebeus, dwelt the Venicnii. To them the contiguous islands owe their name. Their capital was Rheba. The Nagnatæ dwelt below the Rhebeus as far as the Libnius, and their celebrated metropolis was called after them. The Auterii lived in a recess of the bay of Ausoba, towards the south, and their chief city was named after them. The Concangii occupied the lower part of the same region, near the southern confines of which flowed the river Senus, a noble river, on which was situated their chief city Macobicum. Hibernia in this part being contracted, terminates in a narrow point. The Velatorii inhabited the country near the southern promontory by the river Senus; their metropolis was Regia, and their river Durius. The Lucani were situated where the river Ibernus flows into the ocean.
13. The southern side of the island stretched from the Promontorium Austriacum, or Southern Promontory, to the Sacred Promontory. Here lived the Ibernii, whose metropolis was Rhufina. Next was the river Dobona, and the people called Vodiæ, whose promontory of the same name lies opposite to the Promontorium Antivestæum in England, at about the distance of one hundred and forty-five miles. Not far from thence is the river Dabrona, the boundary of the Brigantes, who have also the river Briga for their limit, and whose chief city is called Brigantia.
14. The part of this island which reaches from the Sacred Promontory as far as Rhobogdium is called the Eastern. The Menapii, inhabiting the Sacred Promontory, had their chief city upon the river Modona called by the same name. From this part to Menapia[670] in Dimetia, the distance, according to Pliny, is thirty miles. One of these countries, but which is uncertain, gave birth to Carausius. Beyond these people the Cauci had their metropolis Dunum [Down]; and the river Oboca washed their boundaries. Both these nations were undoubtedly of Teutonic origin; but it is not known at what precise time their ancestors first passed over, though most probably a little while before Cæsar's arrival in Britain.
15. Beyond these were the Eblanæ, whose chief city was Mediolanum, upon the river Loebius. More to the north was Lebarum, the city of the Voluntii, whose rivers were Vinderus and Buvinda. The Damnii occupied the part of the island lying above these people, and contiguous to the Rhobogdii. Their chief city was Dunum [Down], where St. Patrick, St. Columba, and St. Bridget are supposed to be buried in one tomb.
16. It remains now to give some account of those people who lived in the interior parts. The Coriondii bordered upon the Cauci and Menapii, above the Brigantes; the Scotti possessed the remaining part of the island, which from them took the name of Scotia. Among many of their cities, the remembrance of two only has reached our times: the one Rheba, on the lake and river Rhebeus; the other Ibernia, situated at the east side of the river Senus.
17. I cannot omit mentioning in this place that the Damnii, Voluntii, Brigantes, and Cangiani were all nations of British origin, who being either molested by neighbouring enemies, or unable to pay the heavy tribute exacted of them, gradually passed over into this country in search of new settlements. With respect to the Menapii, Cauci, and some other people, it has been before remarked that many things occur which cannot safely be relied upon. Tacitus relates that Hibernia was more frequented by foreigners than Albion. But in that case, the ancients would undoubtedly have left us a more ample and credible account of this island. While I am writing a description of Hibernia, it seems right to add, that it was reduced under the Roman power, not by arms, but by fear: and moreover, that Ptolemy, in his second map of Europe, and other celebrated geographers, have erred in placing it at too great a distance from Britain, and from the northern part of the province Secunda, as appears from their books and maps.
18. North of Hibernia are the Hebudes, five[671] in number, the inhabitants of which know not the use of corn, but live on fish and milk. They are all, according to Solinus, subject to one chief, for they are only divided from each other by narrow straits. The chief possessed no peculiar property but was maintained by general contribution: he was bound by certain laws; and lest avarice should seduce him from equity, he learned justice from poverty, having no house nor property, and being maintained at the public expense. He had no wife; but took by turns any woman for whom he felt an inclination, and hence had neither a wish nor hope for children. Some persons have written concerning these Hebudes, that during winter darkness continues for the space of thirty days? but Cæsar upon diligent inquiry found this assertion untrue, and only discovered by certain water-measures of time that the nights were shorter here than in Gaul.
19. The Orcades, according to some accounts, are distant from the Hebudes seven days and nights' sail; but this is erroneous. They are thirty in number, and contiguous to each other. They were uninhabited, without wood, and abounded with reeds: several were formed only of sand and rocks, as may be collected from Solinus and others.
20. Thule, the last of the British isles, is placed by Mela opposite to[672] the coast of the Belgæ. It has been celebrated in Greek and Roman verse. Thus the Mantuan Homer says,--
"Et tibi serviat ultima Thule."
Here are no nights during the solstice when the sun passes the sign of Cancer; and on the other hand, in the winter there are no days, as Pliny asserts. These circumstances are supposed to happen for six whole months. The inhabitants, as Solinus affirms, in the beginning of the spring live among their cattle upon herbs, then upon milk, and lay up fruits against the winter. They have their women in common without marriages. Thule, according to the same author, abounds in fruits. At the distance of a day's sail from Thule the sea is difficult to pass through, and frozen; it is by some called Cronium. From Thule to Caledonia is two days' sail.
21. The isle of Thanatos[673] is bounded by a narrow channel, and separated from the continent of Britain by a small estuary called the Wantsum.[674] It is rich in pasture and corn. According to Isiodorus, its soil is not only salubrious to itself, but to others, for no snakes live in it, and the earth being carried to a distance destroys them. It is not far distant from Rhutupis.[675]
22. The isle of Vecta,[676] conquered by Vespasian, is thirty miles in length, on the side next to the Belgæ, from east to west, and twelve from north to south. In the eastern part it is six miles, in the western three, from the above-mentioned southern shore of Britain.
23. Besides the isles just specified, there were VII Acmodæ,[677] Ricnea,[677A] Silimnus,[677B] Andros,[677C] Sigdiles,[677D] XL Vindilios,[677E] Sarna,[678] Cæsarea,[679] and Cassiterides.[680]
24. The island Sena, opposite the Ossismican[681] coast, is according to Mela famous for the oracle of the Gallic deity, of whom the priestesses, sanctified by perpetual virginity, are said to have been nine in number. The Gauls call them Senæ, and suppose them gifted with singular powers; that they raise the winds and the seas with incantations, change themselves into what animals they please, and cure disorders which in other places yield to no remedy; that they have the knowledge of future events, and prophesy. They are not favourable except to mariners, and only to such as go thither for the purpose of consulting them.
25. The rest of the isles of smaller size and consequence which lie round Albion will be better perceived and known by the inspection of the annexed map[682] than from any description. Here, therefore, we stop, and anxiously commend our labours to the favour and judgment of the benevolent reader.
The first book of the geographical Commentary on the situation of Britain, and those stations which the Romans erected in that island, is happily finished, through the assistance of God, by the hand of Richard, servant of Christ and monk of Westminster. Thanks be to God!
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 666: As we have neither the assistance of an Itinerary to guide us in our researches, nor a local knowledge of Ireland, we have not attempted to specify the situation of the ancient states and cities in that island.]
[Footnote 667: Man.]
[Footnote 668: In the original is an error in the numerals, the number afterwards specified is fourteen.]
[Footnote 669: Nearly one-third of the words in the Irish tongue are the same as the modern Welsh, and many idioms and modes of speech are common to both languages.]
[Footnote 670: St. David's.]
[Footnote 671: The Hebudes amount to more than five. From hence it may perhaps be inferred that the Roman fleet in their voyage of discovery did not reach these seas, though they coasted the northern part of Scotland, for the Orcades are rightly numbered.]
[Footnote 672: Littori apposita, Richard. From the sense in which this phrase is generally used in geography, it might be rendered _under the same meridian_.]
[Footnote 673: Thanet.]
[Footnote 674: See Bede's Eccles. Hist. p. 37, note.]
[Footnote 675: Richborough.]
[Footnote 676: Wight.]
[Footnotes 677-677E: No geographer has hitherto attempted to ascertain the modern names of these islands.]
[Footnote 678: Guernsey.]
[Footnote 679: Jersey.]
[Footnote 680: Scilly Isles.]
[Footnote 681: From a tribe of the Veneti called Ossismii, who inhabited part of Bretagne.]
[Footnote 682: The map being no longer of any use, has been omitted in this edition.]